Six-time Olympian Clara Hughes has scheduled North Battleford as a stop on her 12,000 kilometre bike ride around Canada.
According to a press release, Hughes is riding her blue bike across the nation to bring mental health conversation to communities in every province and territory.
Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk began March 14 in Toronto and will conclude July 1 as part of Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. So far Clara's ride has made its way through Atlantic Canada before heading north to Iqaluit through to Whitehorse, Yukon.
A "Let's Talk About Mental Health in Our Own Backyard" event will be held June 6 in Rotary Plaza outside the Dekker Centre to welcome Hughes. This free event will give participants the chance to hear from people who live with mental illness, as well as obtain information about services available in the Battlefords.
There will be draw prizes and a fundraising barbecue, with all proceeds going towards both the Canadian Mental Health Association Battlefords Branch and AMGITS, the Saskatchewan Hospital Auxiliary.
The community is invited to come out from 4 to 7 p.m. with speeches beginning at 5 p.m. There will be booths set up by local organizations that support persons living with mental illness and promote mental health in an effort to raise awareness of the services they provide.