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Family Day of Fun

Hundreds take in Family Day events in the city on Monday

Families had all kinds of fun all over Guelph on family day, hitting tobogganing hills, bouncing around in an inflatable amusement park, dusting off fossils, and making art based on honeybees.

City amenities that are normally closed on Mondays were open and teeming with kids and parents. The Guelph Civic Museum opened its events room up to board games and puzzle making – typical family time activities. And the Art Gallery of Guelph, usually hear-a-pin-drop quiet, was raucous with activity as kids ran around and through art exhibits, and made art of their own.

Far and away that largest event of the day was the Ariss and Maryhill Lions Club’s Family Fun Day, held indoors at the Gryphon Fieldhouse on the University of Guelph campus. A veritable blow-up village was inflated in the cavernous space, with every kind of air-filled apparatus that could be bounced upon, slid down, or crawled through.

Ray Bolton, a coordinator of the event, said about 1,000 people had come through the doors throughout the morning and early afternoon. Attendance was somewhat disappointing, he said, but it was clear people were having loads of fun.

“This is something we do for the community,” Bolton said. “Parents especially really enjoy the day.”

A host of community groups, including the army and air cadets, along will pet related groups like New Hope Animal Rescue, Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, and Donkey Sanctuary, had information booths at the event.

In another part of town, Guelph Police Chief Jeff DeRuyter, in full uniform, towered over children during a road hockey game in Howitt Park in the city’s west side. Junction Neighbourhood Group hosted Family Day activities in the outdoors, with dozens sliding on the steep tobogganing hill, others playing road hockey, and some off in the nearby woods on a Nature Guelph bird count.

“It’s been a great success for us,” said Christine Lafazanos, an event organizer. She said as many as 70 people turned up. She attributed Sunday’s bearable temperature of about -5C to the strong neighbourhood participation.

“It’s great to have an event that brings a bunch of neighbours together,” she said.

The family fun room of the Guelph Civic Museum was active throughout the day.

“We’ve been here a few times for Family Day, and there are always fun things to keep us occupied,” said Susan Alexander, who brought her son, Ross, 6, out for the community event. Ross seemed particularly engrossed in an archeology displace where fossils could be unearthed and dusted off.

“Families like to stay close together this time of year,” said Val Harrison, the museum’s supervisor of visitor experiences. “Offering something for the families of Guelph to participate in on Family Day was important for us. There’s a chance to learn more about our history, and to have fun in new ways.”

An exhibition by Cole Swanson entitled “Out of the Strong, Something Sweet,” was the impetus behind Family Day activities at the Art Gallery of Guelph. Children made honeybee-themed prints, and coloured pictures of honey cone on tables interspersed throughout the exhibition.

The gallery was crawling with people, a large number of them small.

“We’re a little run off our feet, which is exactly what we wanted,” said Robbyne MacKenzie, the gallery’s community engagement coordinator. “We’re hoping to give them an experience that is something different, something that could easily be replicated at home.”

Jacob Mancini brought his daughter Mya out to the event.

“It’s great,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, but I had never been to the gallery before. This gave me a chance to visit it for the first time. It’s a great way to get out and do something different.”

The skating rink in front of Guelph City Hall was also buzzing with activity during the Monday holiday, as families took advantage of the break in the extreme cold that had settle over the region in the last two days. 


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Rob O'Flanagan

About the Author: Rob O'Flanagan

Rob O’Flanagan has been a newspaper reporter, photojournalist and columnist for over twenty years. He has won numerous Ontario Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Award.
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