BANFF – The Town of Banff is partnering with a number of different organizations in the community, such as the Banff Centre, this Sunday (June 2) to kick off Recreation and Parks month.
The event allows community members to come spend the day engaging in a number of different recreational activities from physically active sports like basketball to creative arts with a nature drawing class.
Christine LaRocque Limoges, the recreation program coordinator for the Town of Banff, said the event is a national initiative through Alberta Parks and Rec (ARPA), and is a chance for locals to celebrate the areas we come together in as a community.
“We just want to celebrate [recreation] and take a deep breath, enjoy our parks and enjoy some fun together as a community,” she said.
“One of the main things for me is that as a community, as the Banff community, we share a lot of our special events, we share Christmas and we share Halloween, just because we are an international community and we have visitors coming from all over that this is really a day for locals to come together and enjoy each other in our rec rooms and have a really nice time.”
One of the ways in which you can do that is the drawing in nature event, hosted by Banff Centre’s public program officer Samantha Welsh. She said it’s important to remember that recreational activities don’t have to be physically active ones.
“We have very excitedly been working with the Town of Banff to add some artistic components to the umbrella of recreation. We understand that not everybody’s going to want to do physical activities for recreation and sports celebrations,” said Welsh.
“Artistic activities absolutely can be a really essential part to doing recreation in general.”
Welsh said the Banff Centre has added two drawing classes that she’ll be instructing and that it can be a great way to clear the mind.
“I’m not sure how many times we actually get to go outside into nature and just sit down and enjoy it and really see it through an artistic perspective, which can help you start to see things a little differently,” she said.
“It can be almost like a mindfulness practice and it can have a lot of influence on how we feel, I think people might enjoy slowing down and sitting out in nature for a period of time – even if they haven’t picked up a pencil since the second grade.”
The event boasts 17 different free activities for locals to come try out, starting with family yoga in the park at the Rec Grounds at 9 a.m. as well as meditation, skateboarding, Indigenous drumming and dancing, a voyager canoe paddle, art in the park, and a barbeque – to name a few.
“I think it’s a great way to get everybody outside and meeting each other, participating in something fun that maybe they might not normally have a chance to participate in or maybe they were curious – and [it’s] free of course,” said Welsh.
While the activities are all free, Limoges said the chance for connection with a neighbour is priceless.
“It’s just a way to come and connect – because community is really what holds us together as a society, it’s who your next door neighbours are and who you play in the streets with and who you talk to at Nesters. This just gives us another way to get together and communicate as friends and neighbours,” she said.
For more information or to sign up as some events do require registration, visit the Town of Banff website.
