While exact numbers are hard to come by, it’s safe to say more than 1,000 people came through the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre last weekend for the Festival of Christmas Wonder.
The inaugural festival, organized by Wendy Lister and a handful of volunteers, was the first indoor festival of its kind in the Westlock area and, judging by the many happy faces all over the facility, it won’t be the last.
She said she was very pleased to be able to use the new facility to bring members of the community together to get into the Christmas spirit.
“To be able to do what we did, this facility is the only one that would meet the requirements,” she said. “To be able to put a 56-foot, 18-foot high bouncy house inside, this is it. And even the hallways for the vendors — to be able to put 58 vendors and still have walking room this was the only one.”
Along with the three bouncy-house stations, there were craft stations, a cookie-decorating station, a public skate with Santa Claus, the Parent Link Centre’s annual Little Elves’ Workshop, the market, a children’s movie and a performance by local Ukrainian dancers.
Kelly Harris-Martin, one of the key volunteers, said it’s hard to pin down any one aspect of the two-day event that stands out more than the rest, but the field house events were a big hit.
“The highlight was just the festival, overall, and that there were as many activities as there were,” she said. “I don’t think there was any one thing in that field house that was a crown jewel, but kids were just flying from one station to the next.”
Westlock FCSS got involved with the event, as well, hosting a family dance in the field house on Friday night — and getting a record turnout.
“It was fabulous,” FCSS director Jayme Baxter said. “I heard nothing but great feedback.”
The biggest challenge in putting on such a large event, however, was getting enough volunteers.
Lister said she and a small group began working in September, and met weekly to iron out a lot of the details. For the two days of the event, all the activities were hosted by only two dozen volunteers, and many of them were visibly exhausted by the end of Saturday.
“More volunteers will need to step up a little bit,” she said. “It would be nice to have a more people commit.”
Harris-Martin and Baxter both echoed that feeling, noting that volunteer-run events in Westlock seem to involve the same people year over year, which could potentially lead to burnout and the loss of some big events like this festival or Wacky Saturday in the summer.
These festivals are not likely to grow or expand without an injection of fresh energy and ideas.
“With more volunteers, there’s the possibility of expanding the number and type of activities in the field house,” Harris-Martin said.
