Foam Fest to fill the Fairgrounds next Saturday

By Casandra Turnbull

The 5K Foam Fest brought its family-friendly course to the Paris Fairgrounds as one of its summer tour stops in 2022. It was wildly popular with participants with over 4,600 people participating in the one-day obstacle course and run that raises money for Make-AWish Canada. Participants were urged to Get Filthy Clean and in doing so, raised around $16,000 in online sales plus another $5,000 from the gear check the day of the event

With a successful debut, it’s no wonder organizers are bringing it back to the Paris Fairgrounds again next Saturday, August 12th . The course will be similar to last year, in terms of layout and how more than 20 obstacles spanned the entire Agricultural Society grounds, but they always add something fun each year to make sure it’s a little different, teased Michael Lambert, Vice President and General Manager of 365 Sports Events.

“We had tons of good feedback from the last event. The weather was perfect and we saw tons of happy participants and smiles throughout the course,” said Lambert.

Last year’s stop in Paris was somewhat of a surprise to organizers who originally planned to hold it Chicopee Ski Resort before the pandemic hit Due to renovations at the resort following the pandemic, there was a bit of a scramble to find a replacement venue. Paris checked all the boxes they were looking for, said Lambert.

“We enjoyed working with the staff at the Paris Fairgrounds The venue has such a great festival area and a fun course,” he added. This year’s summer tour goal is to raise $150,000 for Make-A-Wish Canada. They’re also introducing a ‘Go Green’ initiative aimed at reducing their carbon footprint. “We have taken some pretty big steps as a company to reduce our environmental impact,” explains Lambert. “Our participant items like the buffs are made from recycled water bottles, remove all unnecessary plastics packaging from any items we procure for participants, we are going fully paperless, no bibs or bib buttons (digital offering), paper cups and giving all day staff and volunteers reusable water bottles.”

All partners, sponsors and participants are encouraged to do the same. Tickets are on sale now online, if you’d like to go down the world’s largest inflatable waterslide, duck through mucky mud pits or float through 2 5 million cubic feet of foam! So far, organizers have confirmed more than 4,300 people have registered. The event is open for ages 7 and up and there will be a free kid’s zone for kids under 6, adult supervision required. This zone will have a mini inflatable obstacle course, a bouncy castle and games.