INNISFAIL – A year ago Brittany Letourneau brought her Innisfail Grinchmas celebration inside after having it outdoors for the first two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the inaugural free indoor Innisfail Grinchmas in 2022 Letourneau and her volunteers had to contend with the CPKC Holiday Train arriving in town close to door-opening time at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104.
But the holiday train was late. It was bitterly cold. Many citizens decided to just head to the legion with their kids.
The first indoor Innisfail Grinchmas became a resounding success.
And now Letourneau can add the adjective “spectacular” for how the second indoor and 4th annual Innisfail Grinchmas was received.
“There's definitely a bigger crowd. As we started, we had people lined up outside waiting for one o'clock for it to start,” said Letourneau. “Every year it gets bigger. Every year more people are messaging me about how they're so excited to come and how their kids are looking forward to it.
“And it's getting right up there with wanting pictures with Santa.”
The 4th Annual Innisfail Grinchmas was a relatively short event on Dec. 9 at the Innisfail legion. It went from 1 to 4 p.m.
When it was over Letourneau estimated between 500 to 600 Innisfailians had enthusiastically attended, with many clamouring to get their photos taken with the ornery but beloved Grinch.
“It keeps the town together. It keeps the spirit alive. Everyone is happy,” said local mom Charla Audet-Dulac, who brought her two young daughters, three-month-old Lily and three-year-old Rylee, to meet the Grinch. “It's a lot of fun. The Grinch is changing and growing to love people and accepting who they are.”
With solid backing from the Town of Innisfail, which included a $1,250 Community Grant, along with sponsorships from the legion, Innisfail Kinsmen, Central Alberta Co-Op Red Deer, and local market vendor Brindy Craft, who supplied painting craft kits, the event had it all for kids, and yes parents too.
Along with craft kits and activity booklets there was free cotton candy and hot chocolate.
Innisfail Grinchmas had plenty of games for the kids, including the new Snowball Scramble where children waited in long line-ups to hop in an inflated ring to find snowballs among beach balls within a one-minute time limit to win a Goodie Bag.
And of course the Grinch was everywhere.
Taylor Teufel brought her two children, six-year-old Odin and four-year-old Lyra, to Innisfail Grinchmas for the second year in a row.
The Innisfail mom said her kids have seen the Grinch movie, and for them to meet the famed legend in person was “magical."
“It’s about the colours; the heart growing three sizes, and I really like the idea that it’s not about gifts. It’s about the spirit of Christmas,” said Teufel.
The event’s signature moment was the reading of the Grinch story, made famous by Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! that was first published in 1957.
It’s about the power of friendship; the turnaround of the mean-spirited Grinch through the love of Who-ville resident Cindy Lou.
This year volunteer Kyle Letourneau also read the new Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Lost Christmas!; a delightful sequel with Grinch embracing Christmas and not wanting to let Who-ville residents down.
“It’s more about responsibility. At the very end, it's when his heart grows,” said Brittany, emphasizing there’s also a message for Innisfailians.
“Once you look around at the community you have, it's very much like a family and there’s always someone there for you,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to look a little harder.”
