Cuddly blue bear mascot Willy Winmar was ‘born’ right here in Moose Jaw, and his second birthday bash in Crescent Park will be another great party with food trucks, live music, bouncy castles, a magician, and more.
The event will be in Crescent Park at the amphitheatre/waterfall on Saturday, May 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Last year was Willy’s first birthday, and it was a great success, said Pete Iatridis at Winmar Moose Jaw.
“We did it last year and it was very successful, everyone seemed to be having a great time, so we thought we’d do it again,” Iatridis explained. “It’s something for the community, for the kids, for families to come out to the park and have some fun.”
Live music will be provided by Moose Jaw’s Ray Rawlyk, magician Sitruc James will be on hand performing his marvelous illusions, and there will be food trucks including Smokin’ Outlaws BBQ, Hot Diggity Moose Jaw, and Kona Ice. Face painting, balloon tying, obstacle courses, and birthday cake and cupcakes are also included.
Winmar is a disaster restoration and renovation company with franchises across Canada. The company’s mascot Willy Winmar was launched July 1, 2021, by Anna Tzortzis. Tzortzis and her husband, Kyle Jacques, own four Winmar locations in the province — beginning with Regina and Moose Jaw in 2010. The couple added a location in Estevan in 2016 and in Yorkton in 2020.
Last year’s inaugural Willy Winmar birthday party was attended by hundreds of people. Willy was even joined by Moose Jaw Warriors mascot Morty the Moose.
This year, Winmar has invited all local businesses with mascots to join in as a way of elevating the celebration even further.
“We’ve invited any business that has a mascot, and we even reached out to some people in Regina to see if they wanted to send their mascots,” Iatridis said. “Just to have them come walk around and take some pictures and enjoy the festivities.”
This year’s charitable group is the Moose Jaw Health Foundation. Winmar will be collecting monetary donations for the Health Foundation during the party. After last year’s birthday party, the company was pleased to make a donation to the Moose Jaw Humane Society.
“Willy is super excited for his 2nd birthday,” said Anna Tzortzis. “It’s nice to go back to [his] stomping grounds — he really misses his family and friends there … We’re also thrilled he wants to partner up with the Moose Jaw Health Foundation.”
“We try to do as much as we can in the community and for the community,” Iatridis added. “We do lots of sponsorships and connect with different groups and organizations. We want to give people a fun, beautiful day in Crescent Park.”
