The Saskatchewan Conservation Learning Centre (CLC) hosted their fourth Fall Family Fun Day on Saturday and had the best turnout ever.
The event saw extensive growth in the fourth year as families came out to enjoy the fall activities. CLC community outreach coordinator Rachael Groat said the excellent weather made for a great early turnout.
“This is definitely our most well attended Fall Family Fun Day that we’ve had yet,” Groat said early in the event. “This is the fourth year that we’ve done this. We’re only about halfway through and we’ve already exceeded our best attendance of 600 people, so we’re really excited.”
By the end of the day on Saturday, Groat said they had 1,100 people in attendance.
The event served many purposes including letting the public know that the CLC is in the community.
“The purpose of the Fall Family Fun Day is to bridge the urban and rural divide,” Groat said. “One of the mandates of the Conservation Learning Centre is to educate the urban public about agriculture and the importance of agriculture in our food system.”
She explained that they do that through their CLC school program.
“We don’t have opportunities to reach a broader audience, so this event allows us to reach families and people of all ages,” she said. “(It’s) an opportunity to learn about agriculture, get people out visiting the farm and the Conservation Learning Centre.”
The event also served a fundraiser for the free CLC school program. By the end of the day they had raised more than $3,000.
Activities included the ever-popular Corn Maze and a bouncy castle among other features.
“We’ve added a couple activities this year. We added some carnival games and we added the face painting,” Groat said. “Then with our brand new shop we’ve been able to have all of the vendors inside, so we’ve been able to increase our vendor capacity as well.”
Adverse weather conditions prevented vendors from being on site in 2024. The CLC opened their new shop space over the summer.
“We’re really grateful for the new shop and then especially for events like this,” Groat said. “It allows us to have indoor space, especially if the weather wasn’t as nice. On a day like today when it is windy, then it enables us to have them inside and protected from the wind.”
There was also a storywalk featuring the book ‘How Did that get in my Lunchbox? The Story of Food,’ which allowed families to read and get some exercise at the same time.
The Corn Maze was a popular feature at the Conservation Learning Centre’s fourth annual Family Fun Day on Saturday.
The petting zoo was another feature at the Conservation Learning Centre’s fourth annual Family Fun Day on Saturday.
Tyne Taylor played in one of the interactive parts of the storywalk at the Conservation Learning Centre’s fourth annual Family Fun Day on Saturday
There was also a photo booth on bales of hay and a tractor set up to take photos on. There were also horse drawn wagon rides in the afternoon.
“The purpose is, of course, to fundraise for the school program, but in addition we want to educate people about agriculture,” Groat explained. “That’s one reason this year we chose a theme.”
This year’s theme is Bushels, Bales, and Tales. The Bushels were represented by a pool of Canola for people to play in. Bales were set up at the end of the storywalk path and the storywalk itself was the Tale.
“Today is a great fun day, but there’s also that educational component through things like the storywalk and info signs that we’ve got along the way to help people understand where our food comes from and what role does agriculture play in our food system,” Groat said.
There was a great mix of people in attendance, according to Groat.
“We’re seeing all ages and lots of people. The YWCA Language Learning Program brought out a bus full of newcomer Canadians, so that’s really exciting. We’re seeing people of all types,” she said.
The event again partnered with the Prince Albert Early Years Family Resource Centre, who ran the carnival games and crafts.
“We’re really grateful to partner with them,” Groat said.
She thanked everyone who contributed to the success, including the Family Resource Centre and the Northern Lights Community Development Corporation, which provided funding for the event.
The Saskatchewan Conservation Learning Centre is located roughly 18 km south of Prince Albert, just off Hwy 2.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
