Isn't today the first day of spring on the calendar? Does it feel like it? The rash of sunshine and warm weather March 8 - 14 was fantastic. Even if it did send residents and town workers scrambling to unthaw storm drains and move snow away from homes, it sure was fun to watch bikes out again, kids splashing and giggling and mostly to see water running rather than snow falling.
This week has been deemed Agriculture Week so I would like to salute our area agriculture community. Recognizing agriculture helps us realize the big part farmers play in providing food for us, our province, our country and our world. And for this, we say thank you!
At Unity Composite High School, the senior and junior badminton teams host a home tournament this weekend as badminton season kicks into full swing. The track team will be anxious for the weather to become warmer and to have the outdoors available for track practices as they want to ramp up their preparations for upcoming track season. And the drama students continue to prepare for their upcoming spring production and the regional drama festival taking place next month.
At Unity Public School, they are hosting a new adventure for the upcoming report cards. Student-led conferences will be held from 5 - 8 p.m., March 25, themed in conjunction with the book fair, entitled Learning Fiesta. It is a great way to celebrate the students' learning and show their growth since last report card session.
Division II students are hoping the snow holds out for their rescheduled ski trip, set to take place March 28.
St. Peter's School is busy with Lenten season, Easter preparations, music festival practices, AR reading challenges and much more.
Don't forget to attend Part II of their Growing Up Digital presentation March 27 at the school. This session encourages attendees to bring their own device for hands-on learning and the message is "learn how to tweet, snap, tag and post." This is a lead-up session in preparation for the April session on cyberbullying, a very important issue with parents and kids today. All parents are welcome, not just those of St. Peter's School students.
As March ticks away, more and more teams are heading to the final leg of their playdowns. The peewee team played the league final March 14 against Leader and won. Midget A and midget AA are in the final stages of their league and provincial playdowns, filling the ice time at the rink on the March 14 weekend. Results will be updated next issue.
The Unity Miners also began their league final series this past weekend. All players involved in out-of-town girls' and guys' teams are also in the end series of their playoff season with updates coming to you soon.
A big apology to Samantha David for your name being missed last week as a player, also part of the Neilburg Monarchs Midget A Girls.
Your best bet for knowing what is going on at the rink is to check the schedule hanging in the lobby or checking the Town of Unity website.
Unfortunately the busy hockey season took its toll on the annual ladies' bonspiel and it was cancelled for this year. The year-end funspiel is hoping to not be another casualty of lingering hockey playoffs, combined with the spring-like weather outside.
The curling club is very proud of another extremely busy and highly successful season. They hope in the off season curlers can enjoy their summer and will want to return to the club in full force next season.
Special thanks to Sharon Reiter, the lounge manager who works tirelessly lining up volunteers, organizing events and managing the multiple other duties that need to be completed for a successful season and a well-run year.
Also a big thanks to the man who makes all the curlers smile, for his quality ice and for his sense of humour. Icemaker Gerry Guggemos ensures Unity ice is the envy of everyone and he spends a lot of time meticulously maintaining and preparing the ice for all league and bonspiel events.
Minor ball registration is tonight with another expected full house of players coming back to join the softball and baseball divisions of Unity Minor Ball. UMB is hosting Softball Fever camp May 10 with the annual Minor Ball Day slated for May 11. This will have teams working out indoors as soon as hockey season is over, and hoping for the outdoor venues to dry up as soon as possible so players and coaches can hit the field.
If you love watching dance, then you won't want to miss the Show Case of the Stars put on by the local dance school, Revolution Dance. A different show will be performed each night of March 28 and 29. Show times are 7 p.m. at the UCHS senior gym. Advance tickets are available at Our Drug Store for only $7 adults and 12 and under $5. Tickets can be purchased at the door but the prices will increase by $1 on each admission.
And you know what? April brings another whole slew of events upcoming. You will have to watch this column or the local paper so you don't miss a moment of action in Unity. April 12 will be a big day at the arena as the curling rink side will host the second annual spring trade show starting with a pancake breakfast while the hockey arena side hosts the 10th annual Delta Co-op Easter egg hunt. Sounds like a fun day.
Coffee row certainly is getting their fill of curling talk before the season is over, discussing the big cash spiel in Fort Mac, the women's worlds and upcoming men's worlds. As well, they are enjoying and reviewing all the excitement this hockey season has brought with so many teams and players still in the final run for their league or provincial championships. Much discussion has taken place with regards to the recent thaw being a month sooner than last year, and what effect this might have on our landscape. Spring weather, spring seeding and still existent grain backlog are hot topics as well. So you see we keep busy in Unity with activities and wisdom from our friends on coffee row. Until next week.