Neepawa’s Louis Riel Day celebrations planned

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Published on Thursday, February 11, 2016

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

This Louis Riel Day, there will be something for the whole family at Neepawa’s Winter Wonderland. The Town’s Leisure Services department, along with a variety of local organizations have created a fun filled day.

The festivities will start with free sleigh rides at the flats, starting at 10 a.m. The rides will end at noon. 

At 1 p.m., the Amazing Race will kick off. Designed for ages 4 and up, participants are given passport which are to be completed by taking part in activities at six locations.  The activities include curling at the Neepawa Curling Club (indoor shoes required), a craft at the VCC, disk golf at the Disk Golf Course, skating at the Yellowhead Centre, an obstacle course at the Flats and a family dance at the Yellowhead Centre, which will start at 4 p.m. The skating at the Yellowhead will take place with the Farmers, NACI and Natives hockey teams.

Completed passports can be entered into draws for a $50 recreation credit, which can be redeemed towards fees or membership costs at local recreation clubs or organizations. Recreation director Amanda Novak said that they felt this prize would be put to good use, instead of sitting in someone’s garage. The winners must be in attendance at the dance in order to claim their prize.

The family dance will feature music by Prairie Outlaws and there will be a reasonably priced pancake supper for those looking for a bite to eat.

The evening’s last event will be the judging of the moustache growing contest, a fundraiser for the new fire hall, at 7 p.m. Anyone wanting to pledge one of the participating fire fighters can contact either the Town Office, or the fire fighters themselves.

At 7 p.m., there will also be a candle walk at Riverbend Park.  At this fundraiser for the Neepawa off-leash dog park, participants will use glow sticks to follow a treasure map.  There will be a “pot of gold” at the end of the walk.  Glow sticks can be purchased at the start of the walk, which will set off from the swimming pool parking lot. This event is open to all family members, including dogs. This event was originally planned to take place on Feb. 14, but has been changed to Louis Riel Day. 

The Louis Riel Day activities will take place on Monday, Feb. 15, but there will also be a jam session at the Legion on Feb. 14. Novak said that this is planned to include some Eagles music as a tribute to Glenn Frey, co-founder and guitarist for the Eagles, who passed away last month.

Any changes to the schedule or events will be posted on the Facebook page, “Coming Events Neepawa & Area”.