Most Alberta towns celebrate Family Day but Morinville has so many events happening, they’ve planned for an entire weekend of entertainment and activities to engage everyone in the community.
The fun begins with a town-wide snowman-building competition requiring registration of completed entries by noon Friday, Feb. 13 and concludes Monday evening with a candlelit Luminaria on the trails in St. Jean Baptiste Park.
“It’s a real winter celebration for the family and we’ve made it a three-day affair,” said Allen Jacobson, community development co-ordinator for the Town of Morinville.
The theme for this year’s snowman-building contest is “Winter Activities” and many local businesses donated gift certificates to be used as prizes for the event. Those prizes will be awarded beginning at 12:15 p.m. Monday at Ray McDonald Arena.
“Last year’s theme was the Winter Olympics and we had snowmen with cardboard skis and so on. People even put lawn chairs in their displays to show they were watching the Olympics. There was a lot of creativity involved,” Jacobson said.
Two Saturday events are planned: a tobogganing party from noon until 2 p.m. at Sunshine Lake and a Family Fun Skate at the arena from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“The Girl Guides will have hot chocolate and coffee at the tobogganing party and because it is Valentine’s Day, we’ll give out roses to the first 50 girls or ladies, who come to the Family Fun Skate,” Jacobson said.
Sunday is earmarked for the annual Bob Foster Kids’ Fishing Derby at the Fish and Game Pond in northwest Morinville. Morinville Fish and Game Association organized this event, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The action begins at 12:45 p.m. at Ray McDonald Arena and continues through to 8:30 p.m. Try a sweet treat at the cabane Ĺ• sucre provided by members of the l’Association de Francophones de l’Alberta. And while you’re licking the maple sugar off your fingers, try snow sculpting or making a variety of crafts, or simply lace up your skates and go for a spin around the arena.
The Family Dance takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Cultural Centre. Family ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for one child and $2.50 for additional children.
Most of the scheduled events on Monday, Family Day, take place at Ray McDonald Arena. Activities include a three-on-three family hockey tournament in the morning followed by a family fun skate in the afternoon. Families can also try curling or they can take a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the town to see some of Morinville’s oldest homes.
The day culminates with the Morinville Luminaria between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at St. Jean Baptiste Park.
“It will be the last thing of the weekend, held in iconic St. Jean Baptiste Park. Candles will be lighting up the paths and the ice sculptures and it will be a formal but also relaxing way to complete Morinville’s Snowman Festival. I hope it will be magical,” Jacobson said.
For more information about the Snowman Festival visit www.morinville.ca
