Manitoba Sunflower Festival weekend in Altona was a very successful one with crowds coming out in large numbers Friday through Sunday for the wide variety of family friendly entertainment.

Festival chair Mike Friesen says the weekend offered activities for all agesOne of those events was the annual quilt show which was held at the South Park Mennonite Brethren Church. Altona Heirloom Quilters were proud to display their work, said social committee member Elvera Peters.

“They are all quilts that have not been shown before. It's a fun thing to do and people like to work together,” she said.

The 30 members put together a show of quilts that have not been shown before.

Peters stands in front of a quilt she created

“We also do a raffle quilt every year and the money that we make with that goes to community projects,” said Peters.

Peters believes quilting is a great activity for bringing the community together.

The festival also featured food, music, and live entertainment, as well as the annual pageant.

Mike Friesen, chair of the festival, said this year had a great turn out, estimating about 3,000 people attended the stage shows this year.

“We try and hit every age group with our activities and events, from little kids right up to adults and grandparents,” he said.

Some new attractions this year included an extreme motocross show and a mobile escape room.

Other activities included a parade, petting zoo, swimming, a baseball tournament and car show.

“We had a fantastic parade with about 140 entries, and the stage shows are always huge,” said Friesen.

He adds the weather cooperated well with all of the events.