Hatters celebrate family across the city
Hundreds of Medicine Hat families swarmed the Family Leisure Centre on Monday for the facility’s annual Fiesta for Family Day.
The public crowded into the centre in Crescent Heights to take part in public skating and swimming throughout the afternoon.
Bracelet making, other crafts and races were held throughout the day. In one side of the gymnasium backyard games, such as patio Jenga (played with two-by-four pieces), floor hockey and giant twister.
Next door, a mob of toddlers clamoured over pint-sized play equipment as part of tot-time.
It was the 29th observance of Family Day in Alberta, which was created in 1990 as a provincial holiday, meaning federal workers, such as postal workers, were still on the job.
The weather seemed to brighten throughout the day, however.
From an extreme cold warning and wind chill overnight Sunday, the high on Monday rose to a sunny -21C in the late afternoon.
A high of -8C is expected Tuesday with periods of light snow, and similar conditions forecast for Wednesday.
The Leisure Centre, Police Point Park, the YMCA and several other parks saw lots of activity.
The downtown location of the YMCA also offered a family-friendly festival indoors with bouncy castles and activities on a drop-in basis.
At the Leisure Centre, hundreds of Hatters filled the main hallway by 2 p.m.
In the field house, bouncy castles and obstacle courses were well used. The neighbouring indoor soccer field was cordoned off and reserved for Nerf Wars. That is similar to paintball, but played with soft foam bullets.
Elsewhere in the city, the police Point Interpretive Centre again offered its winter holiday weekend programming in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club. Discounted ski and snow shoe rental was popular. A hotdog roast and open fire were offered, as was a well attended birdhouse-building clinic for youngsters.
Outdoors, sledders and tobogganers at the Kin Coulee hill enjoyed hot chocolate and other offerings from a pilot project to run a concession booth one day each weekend there during the month of February.