What events do you want to see in Sicamous?
This was one of the questions residents had an opportunity to respond to last week during an open-house meeting in district council chambers on community events.
There was a good turnout by locals, some of whom shared which events/performers they’d like to see return, such as Elvis impersonator Adam Fitzpatrick who, to paraphrase, has moves that even had men in the Sicamous Legion audience whistling.
Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly your typical meeting in council chambers.
District recreation programmer Jamie Sherlock organized the meeting and used it to gather input, encourage volunteerism and go over some of the events the district is helping to organize for 2016. These include a couple of big hockey events, one playing up the unusually high number professional hockey players who hail from the community.
The Stomp will be returning and representative Wade Stewart, also in attendance, welcomed input. He was particularly enthusiastic towards a suggestion of having more events during the Stomp weekend for kids to participate in.
Michelle Wolff also got to share a few details of what the chamber has in store, including a music in the park program in the works for this summer.
Speaking of music, while some in the crowd would liked to have seen Brad Paisley stop and perform in the community, as opposed to just driving through, they also recognized there are financial limitations to what can be done.
Some suggestions weren’t about particular events, but instead focused on how Sicamous does things as a whole. One was to have a single website serving as a mobile-device-friendly hub, listing all events and linking the different community groups/organizations. Another was to do more to recognize and celebrate volunteers.
Sicamous has some terrific resources for events, including Finlayson and Beach parks, as well as the rec centre. How about a day-long, all-ages yoga event at the beach, or a party for dog owners at the dog park?
There’s plenty that can happen with the right people and support.