Pipestone Flyer
This young lady is thrilled with the design she
received at the face painting booth!
After several years of celebrating Canada Day in a big way, the festivities that take place at Leduc Family Worship Centre have become a standby for anyone looking for some good, clean and free family fun.
In a world where they say nothing is free any more, LFWC gives the lie to that statement! All of the activities, games, interactive displays and even the hotdog and hamburger BBQ, is completely free of charge.
Last year 2,500 people attended the event, and with it continuing to grow, this year organizers were expecting to see about 3000 people show up. With the rain that occurred in the morning, volunteers thought the numbers might not be quite that high, but it was still extremely well attended, with the final numbers still being tallied.
It is estimated to cost LFWC approximately $10,000.00 to host the event every year, with donations and sponsors covering some of the costs, but over half is still paid directly by the church. As one volunteer stated, it is well worth it to be able to engage and give back to the community, "After all, isn't that what a church is supposed to do?" he asked.
This year, because Canada Day fell on a Sunday, the church even rearranged their normal Sunday morning service and moved it to Saturday night, so the volunteers had time to set everything up and get it running on Sunday morning.
A very unique display available this year was the 1st Military Police Regiment, who brought three military vehicles with them. One of the vehicles had a revolving gun turret mounted on the top, and people were welcome to climb through the vehicles and pose for photos up in the turret. Two MP's were also on hand to answer any questions from the public.
Another addition this year was a brand new 60foot long inflatable obstacle course, which was hugely popular with kids of all sizes. There were bouncy houses, face painting, and of course, the ever popular dunk tank. Competition was fierce and lots of good natured razzing was flying around when Pastor Landen of LFWC took the seat inside the dunk tank. The biggest laugh of the day was had when Pastor Landen's mother rushed the dunk tank and pushed the target with her hands, ensuring that her son did not leave his seat dry.
LFWC was also offering hay rides with the wagon and horse team that had taken first place in their category, the day before at the Ponoka Stampede Parade.
Now, with this year's Canada Day celebration come and gone already, all we can do is sit and wait to see what new, inventive and impressive things LFWC has in store for next year!