LAC LA BICHE - For more than two decades, families in the Lac La Biche area have been getting together to enjoy fun activities and socialize during the annual Family Day festival.
The 2025 edition of Family Day will be taking place on Feb. 17 at Lac La Biche’s Bold Centre from 12-3 p.m.
According to Cornelia Fechner, a community outreach worker with Lac La Biche County FCSS, the Family Day celebration will feature many of the signature activities that are put on each year, including a free chili lunch, sleigh rides, as well as survival skills training.
Those who take in the festivities will also have the chance to go skating, engage in hockey games with members of the Portage College Voyageurs men’s hockey team, participate in a scavenger hunt, climb an obstacle course, and sit around the fire listening to stories while enjoying smores and hot dogs.
Once again, members of the congregation of New Life Victory Fellowship in Lac La Biche will be making batches of sweet cinnamon buns, which will be served with the hot chocolate.
There will also be some new things for people to see and participate in.
“This year, we are looking at some of the same activities and some new ones,” Fechner told Lakeland This Week.
Family Day often includes musical entertainment, and this year, Fechner says the live music on offer will include children performing for those in attendance, much like a talent show.
Throughout the afternoon, the Lac La Biche and District Curling Club will also be opening its doors to people who would like to try something different.
Seasoned curlers will be on site guiding participants through the steps on the ice. Indoor shoes are required to take part.
A winter event wouldn’t be the same without a hockey component, and the 2025 Family Day will include a new activity called ‘Hockey Sock Toss Shoot Out.’ The event aims to raise money for those in need.
Organizers of the event encourage participants to gather in the bleachers in the Bold Centre’s performance arena. As to how this works, Fechner explained socks will be thrown onto the ice when the whistle signals that the hockey shootout has begun.
Socks can be purchased at the FCSS welcome table for 50 cents a pair. Money from the sale goes to the food bank, while the socks are donated to local homeless shelters.
The first Family Festival in Lac La Biche was held on Feb. 18, 2001. The event came about during a discussion at an interagency meeting in the fall of 2000, says Fechner.
At that time, many agencies contributed time and energy to organizing and hosting the event, and the Town of Lac La Biche FCSS and Recreation departments were a part of that work.
“While the festival is still supported by volunteers such as the Voyageurs and the New Life Victory Church, it has been County led for over 10 years.”
The 2024 festival attracted 925 people, and organizers are anticipating a strong turnout again this year.
Fechner says the event is important because it connects the community.
“A connected community creates a safe space and resiliency.”
