(Photo essay) Bon Soo rocks on Day One

At Memorial Gardens, Mr. Bon Soo proved he can still boogie at age 40.

Down the street at the Bondar Pavilion, an energetic performance by a Britney Spears tribute artist dislodged sheets of snow off the roof onto unsuspecting spectators.

It was Day One of the 2003 Winter Carnival Bon Soo and it rocked.

Mr. Bon Soo's 40th Birthday Party attracted a large crowd to the Gardens, where the pumped-up guest of honour made a running entrance like a Tampa Bay Buccaneer on his way to a Super Bowl victory.

Organizers provided several minutes of delightful suspense as they tried to perform a balloon drop for the birthday boy, with the balloons stubbornly insisting on remaining at the arena ceiling.

Finally, a mighty tug brought the entire collection of hundreds of balloons down as one piece, which was promptly torn apart by the mostly younger audience of well-wishers.

Britney rocks snow from the roof

At the Roberta Bondar Tent Pavilion, the opening ceremonies were followed by a fireworks extravaganza that was in turn followed by an energetic performance by a Britney Spears look-alike who rocked a couple of minor avalanches of snow off the roof onto the crowd.

As the resulting whiteouts cleared, the snow-plastered spectators laughed, dusted themselves off and moved to a less-hazardous part of the venue.

SooToday photo coverage

J-Lo heats things up Bon Soo fireworks extravaganza More Bon Soo fireworks Aftermath of snow drop from roof of tent pavilion Bon Soo still rocks at 40 A 40-year birthday cake Lordy, Lordy, look who's 40 Mr. Bon Soo's Super Bowl-like running entrance Birthday balloon drop