Wm. Dyck & Sons has been one of Niverville’s anchor businesses for more than 60 years, and now they want to once again show some appreciation to their valued customers.
On Sunday, August 14, from 2:00–5:00 p.m., the team at Wm. Dyck’s is going to be throwing a community appreciation event.
“It is a big thank-you to our community for all their support over the last few years,” says co-owner Heather Fast.
The afternoon event, to be held in Wm. Dyck’s parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Fifth Avenue, will include a concert by local cover band Last Call, the Prancing Pony Petting Zoo, Monster Truck Bouncer and Slide, and face-painting. There will also be a dunk tank featuring local celebrities—and who doesn’t want a chance to watch their favourite, or least favourite, local celeb get dunked?
“More details on which local celebs have graciously agreed—or perhaps I should say have been coerced, for a good cause!—to sit in our dunk tank will follow on Wm. Dyck’s Instagram and Facebook pages,” says Fast.
There will be free cotton candy, canned drinks, popcorn, ice cream treats, and Negash Coffee. Guests will also be able to purchase food from Extreme Fries and Thunderbird food trucks.
Fast suggests bringing a lawn chair so you can relax under their big tent and enjoy your food while listening to the live music.
The business will also be accepting cash donations to the Mennonite Disaster Service in support of wartorn Ukraine. They will match these donations dollar for dollar.
Wm. Dyck’s is a fourth-generation family-owned business. When Heather and Carl Fast first took ownership of the store, they had a staff of 15. They now employ more than 80 people. Their son Ryan has worked in the business for 13 years and has also become part of the ownership team.
“Even though our company continues to grow and expand along with our community, we still firmly believe in the value of relationships with our customers and the community at large,” says Fast. “We ourselves live, work, and play in the same community that we continue to serve, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!”
She says that part of the team’s commitment to the community is hosting customer appreciation events such as this one. In fact, Fast recalls how popular their last event was.
“Before the pandemic, we had a customer appreciation event that consisted of a ball hockey tournament,” Fast says. “We had never organized a ball hockey tournament before, but with the help of a local farmer bringing in some rather large bales to use as hockey boards, and our great Wm. Dyck’s team, we did just that! We made three ball hockey rinks in our parking lot and the tournament was a huge success! We hope to see just as many families attending our customer appreciation event this year.”