By Tammy Toor
I love the holiday season.
The traditions of holiday decorations, music, food and gatherings help us to reconnect with family, friends and our community.
It’s a particularly busy season with Parks, Recreation and Environment.
To help you in your planning and connecting with your community, here are some things happening this month.
We’d love to see you there.
Special holiday programs If you have an elementary school child, your child should have been given our Winter Wonders flyer full of holiday programs and special events to keep you and your family entertained during the Christmas break.
Didn’t get one? Check out our website under What’s New for a copy.
Winter Wonderland From Dec. 26-30, the Frank Crane Arena will be transformed into a winter carnival theme with some public skating sessions costing only $1 (some are even free).
There will be daily raffle prizes for tickets to Mt. Washington and a grand prize raffle for Vancouver Canucks tickets.
Come and see why this annual event has become so popular with the community.
Finale 2014 The city’s biggest and best family New Year’s Eve party takes place at Beban Park with a tropical theme.
The countdown will be at 8 p.m. to accommodate the younger ones.
Enjoy an evening of entertainment with The Big Mess, Ian Johnstone, The Purple Pirate, Jake West, Vibe Dance Group and more. You can swim, skate, make crafts, get your face painted and much more. I can’t think of a better way to bring in 2015 with the entire family.
Tickets are only $32 for a family of five or $10 individually.
Still looking for that perfect gift? How about a Parks, Recreation and Environment gift card? They can be used for program registrations, drop-in admissions, facility rentals and more. They come in denominations of $20, $50 or $100 and are reloadable. This holiday season, buy a $20 or more gift card for your chance to win a $50 gift card. Contest ends Dec. 24.
From all of us here at Parks, Recreation and Environment, we wish you and your family the best of the holiday season and a happy, healthy new year.
Tammy Toor is a communications specialist with the City of Nanaimo.
