Celebrate your Arena Family this Family Day

The Elk Point Recreation Department has an exciting day planned for Family Day, that will celebrate your “arena family”. Rec Coordinator, for the Town of Elk Point, Jena Colbourne says the day celebrates the people who helped build the arena, the bonds you form with your teammates or other rink parents and the family you go home to every night.

“Every year, the Town hosts free public skating at the arena,” explains Colbourne, “this year we wanted to expand it to celebrate the people who fundraised, lobbied, and put their whole hearts into building the arena in the late 1970’s.” Colbourne admits she doesn’t know the exact date of the AG Ross Arena opening, but is excited to find out, “we have a team of local history buffs working on putting together a timeline and gathering photos and stories from the rink’s conception. I’ve heard bits of a story of a late-night party that ended with one parent betting another $5 that they could get the rink built. I’m really looking forward to the end of that story.”

There will be a story swap and slide show, which will surely be very popular, says Colbourne, “sometimes we forget about all the hard work it took to build our community. The arena is one of the most popular places in town, there are hundreds of people who get pleasure from this rink every week. You can’t say that about a lot of places.” There’s a special bond formed throughout the years of hockey and figure skating. The kids form relationships with each other, while the parents build communities that start with the bond of the rink.

Colbourne is an assistant coach of the Elk Point Peewee Storm and played on the team as a kid, “it’s really cool to see your kid starting her own family with her team mates, in the same way I did when I was young. And very cool to have your kid play on the same team you did. That’s what’s special about the small town rink.”

On Family Day, Colbourne, along with Councillors for the Town of Elk Point will be hosting public skating, the reunion and serving free food. There will also be a charity hockey game to follow the reunion. The Elk Point Emergency Forces, made up of the RCMP, EMS, and Fire Fighters will take on the Elk Point Hockey All-Stars, kids from different age groups in minor and pond hockey. The charity game will feature fun intermission games, like a puck toss and a chance to drive the zamboni. The figure skating club will also be putting on special performances throughout the day. Any money raised during the game will go back into the operation of the arena.

Public skating starts at 11:00 am, the reunion stories and presentations at 12:00 pm, and charity game at 2:00 pm.