Sports at the centre of attention as 38th annual West Mo Days concludes

MOBERLY LAKE, B.C. — After days of competition featuring Indigenous practices and artistic performances, the last day of West Mo Days was all about sports.

The 38th annual event took place over several days during the last weekend of July, finishing on July 26 at West Moberly First Nations (WMFN).

Competitions during the final day included a partner-led canoe race, leg wrestling, handgames, volleyball, a honeymoon race, children’s Indian bingo and tug of war, with competitors going toe-to-toe for cash prizes in some events.

Event coordinator for WMFN, Daniel Desjarlais, spoke to Energeticcity.ca about the event’s ending, which also featured food and artisan vendors.

While taking the lead in planning and executing the gathering, Desjarlais said there was still plenty of action left on West Mo Days’ last day.

“West Mo Days is a community celebration,” said Desjarlais. “The goal is to bring our community together, along with everybody else in their surrounding communities.”

“We have a ton of events and games that happen. We have live music, and we have all different categories and age groups for events.”

While last year’s event was a rainout, the weather cooperated for the most part until Sunday, but Desjarlais wasn’t too deterred about it.

“It’s been really hot,” said Desjarlais. “This morning, it was raining a little bit when we got here, which was actually a relief because it cooled it down. It is really nice weather, especially for the competitions we have today.”

A noticeable change from one year ago was the event space: Trees were cut down in an area on the grounds.

A LinkedIn post from WMFN states the expansion gave the event a “bigger and better” layout, which also made the grounds’ less congested, as volleyball was moved to the expanded area.

Desjarlais estimates it might be an additional square kilometre added to the grounds. He also revealed WMFN’s plans to have new staging in time for West Mo Days in 2027.

Tug of War and Indian leg wrestling dominated for the most part on Sunday, with competitions held for teenagers, men and women.

Jessica Gauthier told Energeticcity.ca this was her first experience at West Mo Days, and she entered both women’s leg wrestling and tug of war with a team.

Gaulthier said the key is having “body strength” in both legs and arms, and that she attends the gym five times a week.

Other events held during the weekend included both magician and hypnotist Hadlen on Friday, and a performance by Fort St. John-born artist Kyle McKearney on Saturday evening after the West Mo Got Talent variety show.

“We had amazing performances from all age groups,” said Desjarlais. “We had Elders up there, adults, even young kids as young as five going up.”

West Mo Days took place from July 24 to July 26 on WMFN’s grounds in Moberly Lake.