For many families in the area it was a Family Day filled with fun as volunteers from the Keremeos Search and Rescue and the Keremeos Elks held the first event to mark the holiday.
Family Day in BC started in 2013.
“There wasn’t anything going for the families so we decided we would make something happen,” Darrell Taylor, president of the Keremeos Search and Rescue group said.
And make it happen they did.
With help from the Keremeos Elks, who cooked a lunch of hotdogs and rodeo burgers for a donation, well over 200 people attended the day-long event at the Similkameen Recreation Centre.
Dave Barker, an Elks member helped cook and when his job was done he went out on the lanes to enjoy the rest of the day with his daughter and granddaughters who were visiting from Vernon.
“It’s been a great day. As the Elks we tried to find out how much food to bring but we really didn’t know what the turnout would be. We sold out and that’s good. Everyone’s had a really good time,” he said.
Children and their families spent the day bowling at the recreation centre’s four-lane alley, climbing the rock wall, and using some of the exercise equipment.
They also had a chance to check out the search and rescue truck, which was parked outside, and ask members about the organization.
“Some asked but what we heard a lot was that people didn’t realize we had a bowling alley or a rock wall. So it’s been a big win-win for us and the recreation centre,” Taylor said.
The Search and Rescue crew hope to hold a similar event next year and are already working on plans to make it bigger.