Teens and seniors enjoyed floor curling together as part of the library’s monthly program

Each month the Whitecourt & District Public Library holds two Teen Nights just for children aged 10 to 16. Both nights are regularly held on Thursdays except for special occasions. The third Thursday is designated as Teen Night when the teens do different events as a group, and the fourth Thursday is movie night.

On Thursday, February 15 the teens marched down the street to the Seniors Circle for another adventure in floor curling. Library Assistant Judy Watson said the floor curling event was popular last time they did it. “I had one boy come to the next Teen Night after we went curling the first time and he asked if we going to go curling again. So, I was encouraged to bring the teens back here,” she said.

More seniors signed up to take part this time which shows that not only are the children having fun learning from the seniors, but the seniors are also enjoying getting to hang out and teach the children. There were a total of 24 people playing which included 14 children. “I think parents like that their children are out doing something away from a screen and the kids really enjoy it once they get going.” After playing for an hour, the group sat down for some snacks including a delicious apple crisp made by Judy which proved to be a huge hit.

Thursday, February 22 will be the next Teen Movie Night and Judy said they are hoping for better weather after last month’s event was snowed out except for one boy who showed up. “We’re showing Valerian at the library. It’s a sci-fi and we will be starting it at 5:30 p.m. The lone boy from last month saw Valerian as one of the trailers at the beginning of the movie he watched, and he said he wanted to see that. So, that’s what we picked.”

Judy said something very different will be taking place on Teen Night next month. “We are doing murder-mystery at the library with the help of the Girl Guides and Pathfinders.” Children can still be registered for the free event by calling the library at 780-778-2900.