Blue Ridge Family Fun Day, a blast for all ages

Woodlands County held its annual Family Fun Day at the Blue Ridge Recreation Area on Saturday, July 23. The summer event brings families out to the site for an afternoon of fun doing various activities. This year’s event featured rock painting at the craft booth allowing anyone interested to pull up a chair and add their creative spin to a rock of their choice.

Alberta Wildfire and Alberta Environmental and Parks were on hand to provide information and converse with event-goers. Much of the tents, including the free BBQ, were held on the far pond recreation area, near the beach, while the free canoe rentals took place on the opposite side, by the dirt bike track.

Upon arrival, attendees were greeted by Woodlands County staff and provided some swag, including a pedometer, lanyard, and little Norway Spruce seeds ready to plant. The seeds came in little Woodlands County boxes that read, “there is no wi-fi in the forest but what you’ll find is a better connection.”

Heather Anderson, Community Services Coordinator for Woodlands County, was one of the friendly faces greeting people as they arrived. “We are connecting again. We are getting people out and about. The whole thing is about families enjoying our rec area, which is a reclaimed gravel pit. It’s reclamation at its finest, really. I think today is about reconnecting with people, the grassroots. That’s why we built this park, for this reason.”

Anderson said that inviting people to come out and explore the Blue Ridge Recreation Area for their yearly event tends to bring a lot of new faces as people, not just residents from Whitecourt and Woodlands County, take a drive to experience something new. “One of the best parts is having people who come out and say that they didn’t even know that this existed in Woodlands County, and it’s just a few short minutes outside of Whitecourt. It’s a nice spot. We get people from Spruce Grove, Parkland, from all over the place.”

Reeve John Burrows and Councillor Bruce Prestidge were manning the BBQ late in the afternoon and chatting with attendees. Other councillors attended earlier in the day and the Rotary Club of Whitecourt donated the hot dogs. “Today was good,” said Reeve Burrows. “We had really good attendance, and the weather cooperated. Attendance was upwards of 200 from what I hear at the gate.” Having flipped a few hot dogs himself, Reeve Burrows said the day was fabulous. “The weather is very nice. The hot dogs are good. It’s a great little rec site too. It’s a real jewel hidden away here.”

Reeve Burrows said that getting people out to enjoy the gems of Woodlands County is something he regularly brings up at meetings. “Every meeting when we are doing the reports section, I talk about getting back to community and getting outside and trying to get on the volunteer end of things and revive some of the clubs that have been suffering over the years. It’s really nice to see people out today.”

Getting to introduce people to the site is always a bonus. “You’ve got the two little lakes and the dog park here. We have picnic tables and a fire pit to use. It’s a well-manicured, wide-open place. There’s a small beach too, which is nice if you have small kids. There’s lots of room for people to hang out here and be spread out.”

One of the attendees enjoying some family time was MLA Martin Long. “This has been a fantastic day. We went out on a canoe and got some face painting done. I just love when communities focus efforts on making some fun activities for families as a whole. I just learned today that this was a gravel pit at one point. For me, this is a reclamation showing the success of what can be done if people put some thought into it and the industry leaving something like this for people to enjoy.”

Long said he thoroughly enjoyed bringing his children out to enjoy the festivities. “It’s been a great opportunity for us to come as a family and see the smiles on everyone’s faces. The community has gotten involved in helping the County put this on. It’s a great opportunity for the County to show what it does to support the families it represents.”