It was the end of an era at the Loggers Sports Grounds.
For more than a quarter of a century, Stirling Hart watched his dad scale the climbing trees in Squamish and banter with the Loggers Sports MC as the character Ramblin鈥� Jesse Elliot.
On Sunday (Aug. 2), he was with his dad entertaining thousands in the crowd as part of the act.
It was the final show for his father, but Stirling said he鈥檚 going to become the new tree act star and hopes that his 鈥渓adykiller_93鈥� (follow him on Instagram) moniker becomes as beloved as his dad鈥檚 character name.
鈥淚t was a big event for me and my dad to do the tandem tree act,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been seeing him do it for 26 years and he didn鈥檛 want to do it anymore, but I told him I wanted him to do one more act and do it with me. It was really cool 鈥� not too many people get to have a beer with their old man in front of thousands of people 80 feet up in the air.鈥�
The one-time act saw the pair climb the brand new climbing trees, harass MC Armand Hurford, have a few beverages and dance before being 鈥榮hooed away鈥� by Loggers Sports officials.
Stirling is a big part of the Grouse Mountain lumberjack show and said he wants to follow in his father鈥檚 footsteps. He said Squamish Days is always a good time and this year raised the bar.
鈥淚鈥檝e been coming here since I was in the womb and been here every year since,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I come here it鈥檚 more like a family reunion and I鈥檓 just hanging out with friends and family.鈥�
Stirling, a former open climb world champion, said the new 80-foot spar trees installed at the Loggers Sports Grounds this year are excellent and competitors were impressed with them.
鈥淭he new trees are beautiful,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ohn Hurford and Bryan Couture put a lot of hours into making these trees perfect. I think they鈥檙e the best competition trees that have ever been assembled.鈥�
He said the two new trees should be the centrepoint for the grounds for years to come.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a lot faster and both trees are the exact same size and don鈥檛 taper 鈥� it鈥檚 the same size at the bottom as the top,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey were sanded really well and they should be healthy for a while. I think everyone was super impressed with the new trees.鈥�
The Maple Ridge resident said the atmosphere of the Squamish event makes it special, and the volunteers help it shine. One of the longest running volunteers was honoured this year, as Debbie Patterson was named the volunteer of the year.聽
Patterson has been involved with the festival for years and is well known as the event secretary and one of the most important people behind the scenes.
This year鈥檚 festival concluded with a new event 鈥� Picnic at the Pavilion on Monday (Aug. 3). The free event saw local bands Dentville, the Will Ross Band and the Overcomers hit the stage.
Other popular events included the chair carving competition, the downtown street party, the bed races, axe throw, the kids鈥� festival, the loggers鈥� breakfast and the festival parade.
