What a fantastic weekend the second weekend of May was in Unity. The weather was grand and events were plentiful. We take for granted all the great events we host until out of town visitors remind us how lucky we are to have these events in our community, and how well these events are put on. And even though we wanted to complain about that relentless wind, we stopped for a moment and thought of those suffering either side of our province either by flood or fire, and we realized the wind was a small inconvenience in our lives.
May 13 and 14, the Unity School of Dance held their annual recital and what a wonderful event it was. For a bargain admission price you got a full two-hour show with all the beautiful costumes and dance numbers you could ask for. Friday night's show housed over 500 and Saturday's numbers were close to the same. Before each number, the MC read a list of awards that group had won at various festivals throughout the season. He also listed the thousands of dollars in scholarships the dancers had won over their season. The show they put on and hearing this list of accomplishments is true testament to the dedication of the dancers, school of dance executive, parents and participants to this program.
The Unity Quilters hosted their annual quilting show at the United Church CE building May 14 and 15. It is a pleasure to tour this event just to see all of the time and talent these gals put forth in their projects. There were 180 quilting projects on display. This included five entries from quilters under 20 years of age. One was eight years old and four were 15-year-olds from UCHS. Quilts displayed included the communities of North Battleford, Neilburg, Senlac, Unity, Cut Knife and Regina.
May 14, UCHS played host to the football ID camp sponsored by Football Saskatchewan. Pat Orboko, UCHS teacher and Warriors football coach, has worked diligently to host events like this to develop players locally and in the area. Seventy players attended and ran through drills and skills for the day. Specialized instruction on offense and defence was held as well as receiving and throwing. The theory on this camp is to identify potential top 100 players for Football Saskatchewan.
Unity Soccer club has started up with many kids participating. This group has seen its ups and downs over the years but with the inclusion of three year olds it has started a new enthusiasm for these tots and garnered a loyalty to the sport. Contact Jennifer Wilson if you need more details. Game nights are each night of the week in various divisions at the UCHS and UPS soccer fields.
The Unity Health Care Auxiliary held their 47th annual auxiliary tea and bake sale May 12. The proceeds benefit both the hospital and the long term care center. Over the years, this ambitious group has purchased IV pumps, air mattresses, TV sets and stands for long term care and even rods for privacy curtains in long term care. They also offer two $500 scholarships annually for two Grade 12 students who will be furthering their education in the health care field.
Their present project is a visual web cam for long term care residents which will make it possible for them to see and speak to family who are not always able to visit.. They are also looking at purchasing new furniture for the hair dressing room to make it more comfortable.
This group has five meetings a year with a bargain price annual membership of $1. They are thankful for the continued support and are always looking for new members to continue to meet the needs of both hospital and long term care. Contact Dorothy Whiting or Rose Mauthe if you can help out.
May 17 was the local track meet at UCHS. The top two competitors in each event have advanced to district qualifiers in North Battleford, which will take place May 25 and 26. I will have those results for you next week. Those advancing from districts will compete at provincials the first weekend in June. Unity has a strong field again this year and thoughts are there will be as many, or more, athletes returning to Provincials again this year for UCHS.
This is the week that the UCHS drama club enthusiastically presents their production, The Harry Potter Musical Parody on May 17, 18 and 19 for the general public. The May 19 performance will include a dinner theatre, but advance tickets are needed. This semester's musical won seven awards at Regional Drama Festival will be no different!
May 24 and 25, there will be registration for swimming lessons from 1 to 5 p.m. at the town office. May 26th registration will be from 1 to 6 p.m. No phone registrations will be accepted. Forms were distributed through the schools May 9, or they can be picked up at the town office. After these dates, you can register right at the pool, which is slated to open on June 5.
May 28, the Unity credit union branch, will host a children's carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in their parking lot. This event will host various games and face painting as well as a barbecue.
Coffee row is alive with discussion on the flooding stories - provincially and nationally, the terrible fire disaster at Slave Lake, the upcoming Rider season, as well as the anticipation this moisture filled growing season has optimistically given us.
So, again you can see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next week
