Warm temperatures and sunny skies made for one of the busiest Silver City Days Saturday in years as the crowds gathered for the parade and seemed to stay on for the rest of the day.
The 50th anniversary festivities began Thursday night with the unveiling of the refurbished Home of Champions monument in downtown Trail in front of over 100 people and wrapped up with the sounds of music in Gyro Park on Sunday afternoon.
In between, steady streams of fairgoers attended events ranging from the Trail Ambassador pageant on Friday to the always-popular parade on Saturday morning and the spectacular fireworks closing out Saturday evening.
Over 200 hundred runners took part in Sunday's fun run followed by a day of music at Gyro Park.
The downtown food court and midway was the usual centre of attention after getting off to a rough start on Wednesday when a failed generator shut down the rides.
But things ran smoothly for the remainder of Silver City Days.
On the beat, Sergeant Rob Hawton of the Greater Trail and District detachment said things were relatively peaceful over the weekend.
“I haven't gone through any stats, but in speaking with the members working Silver City Days, the overall impression was that there were fewer problems this year with alcohol and drugs than in past years.
“From a policing standpoint, it seems to have gone over quite well. We had extra people on duty, with high visibility, and the crowd seemed a little more family oriented than previously.
The soaring temperatures sent many fairgoers into the Cominco Arena seeking cooler conditions following the parade.
However, Tom Gawryletz, president of the Trail Smoke Eaters, said the Italian Sidewalk Cafe didn't attract large numbers.
“I don't think we had the crowd like we had last year,” said Smokies president Tom Gawryletz.
He added many of the patrons headed back out into the sunshine by about 3 p.m.
There were lengthy lineups for tickets and rides as crowds descended on the West Coast Amusements midway and as the afternoon wore on shady spots were at a premium and possibly the busiest vendor in the food mall was the Hawaiian Shaved Ice trailer.
The evening's fireworks display attracted a large gathering at Gyro Park and the pyrotechnic experts didn't disappoint as the booming display echoed down the valley.
Sunday's brief respite from the heat allowed a large group of runners to tackle the 5km and 10km events before settling down to an afternoon of music and fun in Gyro Park.