Well, we were fooled by the mild winter weather we entered January with when Jan. 9 packed a wallop of high winds and snow.
Lots of curling fans from Unity were able to take in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season’s Meridian Canadian Open event hosted in North Battleford Jan 8-13, and loved the close proximity to a big ticket curling event. Speaking of curling, plenty of action on tap for the Unity Curling club. In addition to regular weeknight league action, up next is the Pattison Ag Men’s bonspiel Jan. 21 to 26. Immediately following that event will be Northern Senior Men’s Curling Playdowns Feb. 1 and 3. February is another full slate of bonspiel events that include high school district playdowns, and Knights of Columbus provincial event..
Several Rush fans from Unity won opportunities to get up close and personal with the musical group The Hunter Brothers as they were part of the home opener of the Rush on Jan. 5. The Leesons and the Mays won the opportunity to be on field during the half time performance of this dynamic musical group of brothers while my family won the meet and greet opportunity post-game. This group of five brothers are very personable, humble and engaging with their fans.
UCHS continues to demonstrate community and stewardship amongst their peers. Each grade has been responsible for a month of Telemiracle fundraisers and they have all hosted some fabulous, fun events to help contribute to this annual telethon. The student body is excited that one of their own will be performing live on this year’s event, as well as the SLC and leadership class are hoping to be selected for total board duty somewhere within the 20-hour telethon. In addition, at UCHS, students have been hosting ACTIVATE projects leading up to their April Activate Day. All of these activities are aimed at inclusion and kindness, with many including some sort of food sharing and caring. These actions are in addition to the football team hosting an event to benefit a local mental wellness group, the senior boy’s basketball team hosting an event to benefit brain cancer research and the senior girls continuing their breast cancer b-ball tourney fundraiser and awareness campaign. Semester one exams are on the horizon and that means just one term left for Grade 12s.
Unity Public School is mixing learning and fun this month. Participating in their annual Telemiracle fundraising efforts, they hosted a PJ day on Jan. 10. On Jan. 17, they sold ice cream treats for Telemiracle and on Jan. 24 they will hold a gum-chewing by donation as well as capping off their initiative Jan. 31 with a Teddy Graham guess to contribute to their TM fundraising efforts. The Grade 6s will host a curling bonspiel at the end of this month. The UCHS CWE students are now done with their contributions at UPS and the program is enjoyed by both highschoolers and UPS students.
St. Peter’s school continues on with their curriculum learning, faith practice and adding in some fun and sporting activity. Curling and basketball are next up on their sporting calendar with students preparing for a bonspiel coming up next month. Students will also get to take part in a Table Mountain ski excursion. It won’t be long before all the music programs will begin their practicing for the upcoming music festival.
The Kin Club is looking for your support in their “Treat your Sweet” Telemiracle fundraiser coming up Feb. 8 at the community centre featuring well-known artist Jeffrey Straker with the added addition of the Prairie Dogs playing live for the dance to follow. The evening includes supper, entertainment, dance, raffles, silent auction and 50/50 and it’s all set to benefit Telemiracle 43. Tickets are available at Wildeman’s Sports Excellence or contact Cherie Wagner. Also, if you don’t want to call in or mail in your Telemiracle donation, I know the Unity Kin Club would be happy to add it to the Unity total they will be taking in and presenting on air on behalf of this fundraiser and personal donations/collections.
The Chamber of Commerce annual “Celebrate Unity” will be upon us in just six weeks. Contact Andrea Lauinger at Unity Credit Union or Helena Long at the Press Herald office if you know of someone who should be nominated for this event. They will have all the criteria required. Mark March 4 on your calendars to attend this event that always includes an amazing supper, awards ceremony and terrific entertainment.
Also upcoming in March is the Knights of Columbus Fundraising Gala Dinner Event for the Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation to take place March 9 – stay tuned for details.
Coffee row folks certainly have weather on their minds and this topic is a large part of morning conversations. However, they are sure to include local sports teams, current and upcoming community activity as well as what a new year has presented so far for our province. These daily gatherings present community engagement and fun, taking place at various venues. So you can see life is full of fun and activity in Unity and our friends at coffee row sharing this traditional part of our community culture. Until next time…
