Return from the wild

By Neil Ostafichuk

Survived another road trip into the wilds of Alberta over Easter – the 4 family visits of kids and grandkids in the centre part of the province. Always an insightful journey, we get to see interactions and behaviour of toddlers and younger creatures both between themselves as well as the people that produced them which in turn helps understand the behavior and wants of the same demographic to the Community Complex. Not that we necessarily had a family as part of a giant social experiment but you do gain an understanding of some young family dynamics from the inside. You also can gain a runny nose, cough, drool on your shirt and a bruise on your forehead from being hit by Ironman but those are just bonus features.

We did check out an aquatic complex during our visit – only to once again confirm ours is nicer and cleaner; perhaps my bias is showing but a good example of bigger is not necessarily better. What we missed during our expedition were the regular visits to our pool and fitness area – since you are always on the go, the opportunity to exercise regularly to try and offset all the burgers and McSomethings you have eaten on the fly isn’t always there. Once again the most striking difference is when you roll into our Valley this time of year and see the brilliant green grass and blossoming trees and bushes after several hours of brown landscape. Just our jumpstart on spring we get to enjoy.

If you want to see something cool, drift up here this weekend and peek in one of the rooms to see the Rocky Mountain Cloggers do their thing. They have been coming here for their Annual Conference for many years and it all started with Susan Woods who used to drive from Cranbrook each week in the winter no less to teach Clogging as an evening Rec program for us. OK, I had to go dig into my stash of old Leisure Guides which I have saved since I started (no, I don’t want your old National Geographics) – looks like she introduced this style of folk dance into the Creston Valley the fall of 1997 making it almost 22 years since our first course. Man, I’m getting old… and a bit clogged up…

Focus on Youth hits us next week as it enters its 33rd year – there will be a multitude of performances at the PCSS Theatre and a great variety of student artwork in the Creston Room beginning Monday, May 6th – I’m sure there will be advertising to provide you with more details on all these events. You should check this out as the talent of our youth in the Valley never fails to impress me each year. It takes a lot of dedication to put this on each year by classroom teachers, private music teachers, and many others and often is the first opportunity for a student to perform on stage or have a public “showing” as well as appreciate the talents of their peers. Come check it out!