ESTEVAN — The Hometown Family Fun Day, which is a traditional part of the Festival of Trees put on by the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation (SJHF), brought festive cheer to Estevan on Nov. 17, with families enjoying a variety of activities across multiple locations.
Sponsored by the Estevan Mercury, the event aimed to provide community-centred holiday fun while supporting a local cause.
The day offered something for everyone. Kids and their families could partake in North Pole crafts at the Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre, enjoy cookies and milk at McDonald's, and visit Santa at the Estevan Market Mall, where he listened to Christmas wishes and posed for pictures. At the Estevan Leisure Centre, children enjoyed bouncy castles, Christmas stories, family pictures and a free family Christmas swim.
"The Hometown Family Fun Day went off without a hitch," said Lori Gervais, executive director of the SJHF. "We had made some changes to that where it was some other groups around town, some charitable groups that did the activities for others, and it was a great idea. It saved us some time and energy and allowed others to participate."
Gervais noted the day's success was evident in the high turnout and festive atmosphere.
"From what I could see, there were kids everywhere having a great time, which is exactly what we're hoping for – families getting out and participating."
The fun day was part of a broader weekend of activities supporting the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation. While the weekend included events like a gala that catered to adults, Sunday's family-friendly programming offered opportunities for everyone in the community to participate.
"It's about the community and having everybody find some part of the weekend that they can participate in," said Gervais. "The gala is fantastic and a great Christmas party and a kickoff to Christmas, but it's not for everybody, it's not for families. To have the family fun day on the Sunday where everybody else can take part in everything is our goal, and it looked like everybody was having a great time."
While all activities were donation-based and attendance numbers weren't officially tracked, Gervais estimated that hundreds of people participated.
"Between the free swim and standing in line to see Santa and doing all the bouncy castles, and there was the library with kids' stories getting read and there were lots of other things for them to do, I feel like there are hundreds of people that go through."
The Festival of Trees is the SJHF's annual kickoff to the holiday season and a fundraiser for the hospital and its needs. This year funds raised through the festival are supporting the MRI campaign.
