There promises to be plenty of kindness shown for this year's local Family Day events.
The Family Day celebrations in Innisfail on Monday, Feb. 15 are being hosted by the Town of Innisfail, with huge help from the Innisfail Kinsmen. The service club has been enthusiastically helping out for many years with a proud mantra of kindness, and more kindness.
“My oldest is 12 and I remember her going to it when she was just a baby,” said Lee Kemp, local Kinsmen president, who noted the holiday coincides with the club's 4th Annual National Day of KINdness on Feb. 20, the day of the year the club was founded. Last year, 141 clubs across the country participated, with members packing groceries for customers, giving away free coffee and snacks, making donations within their communities, and spreading lots of cheer to everyone they met.
“It gets us out into the community to do something good. Whenever we started doing this we thought our contribution to the national day of kindness would be to look after doing something on Family Day as it gets families out and about doing something,” said Kemp. “It has grown from there and has been a steady thing we do in the community, and we give some stuff away and feed some people, and have a fun day at the outdoor rink.”
Lisa D'Arcy, the town's marketing and social media administrator, said Family Day in Innisfail will start at 11 a.m. at the Innisfail Arena where there will be a skating loop behind the facility, a bonfire and hayrides. Free hotdogs and hot chocolate will be served, courtesy of Tim Hortons and Central Alberta Co-op.
From 2 to 4 p.m. the Innisfail Aquatic Centre will be open for a family swim. D'Arcy said admittance will be free of charge with a donation to the local food bank.
“It's extremely fun,” said Kemp. “I personally bring in my tractor and a trailer with bales on it and the town plows a trail behind the arena and we do hayrides for the kids, while the other guys cook hotdogs and watch everybody out public skating.”
For more information on the Kinsmen National Day of KINdness visit the website at www.kincanada.ca/national-day-of-kindness.
Lee Kemp
"Whenever we started doing this we thought our contribution to the national day of kindness is we will look after doing something on Family Day as it gets families out and about doing something.
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