INNISFAIL - This year's Fall Registration Night had a little bit of everything -- music, barbecue, and fast skating roller derby stars.
Best of all for the many scores of Innisfailians who turned up at the Arena on Sept. 4 there was more than 50 tables full of information on fall activities and programs.
As always, the sports community was well represented with tables for soccer, swimming, hockey, curling, water polo, fencing, skating, kayaking, football, bowling and roller derby.
For folks who wanted to know more about what was happening in the arts community, representatives from Joy's School of Dance, Dyment Vocal Arts and the Penhold School of Dance were happy to answer any questions. And for those looking for something a bit more on the spiritual side, members of the Innisfail Alliance Church and the Innisfail Baptist Church were on hand.
"This is for people to see all the awesome stuff that people are doing in this town and around the area," said Kane Williams, the town's recreation program coordinator, adding the event is important because many people put in a lot of time and hard work into their organizations. "This is the chance they get to show it off, and they get so many people come in asking all the questions they can.
"This event is so important. It drives registration. It encourages the people who are doing all that hard work," he added. "It is just a great showing of the town and the community for all the great things they put in."
The Town of Innisfail was of course front and centre throughout the entire evening, showcasing its many programs and services. Members of town council were busy outside the front doors flipping hamburgers and hotdogs and always prepared to meet the people and listen to whatever was on their minds.
For Coun. Donnie Hill, the annual Fall Registration Night helps the community become more aware that many worthwhile programs do go through their struggles and need public support or else they will cease being available.
"Without the numbers our programs would not survive, as we know with the crisis we are having with the minor football program," said Hill. "Going forward there needs to be an immense amount of support for these kinds of nights to get the awareness out and get the strengths out for the groups coming. There is a lot of new sports coming into Innisfail that won't survive without this kind of exposure."
In the meantime, town officials were pleased with the heavy turnout on Sept. 4, noting that the Arena venue is well suited to host Fall Registration Night, which is larger than the spring version that is held at the Innisfail Schools Campus.
"To have a full space on the Arena opens it up significantly. You can have people doing demos, have people hang up banners and people with multiple tables," said Williams. "It's a great chance to really put organizations on display."
