In June of 2010 the Moose Mountain Lions were formed with the assistance of Carlyle and Kipling Lions Clubs.
"We were approached by the other clubs about starting it," Stuart Balfour, president of the Moose Mountain Lions, explained. "There was an opportunity for a service club here especially with more and more people living in the village and park year round."
Balfour has been a member since the Moose Mountain Lions were chartered and explained it was an easy choice to join.
"I'm the mayor of the village and I was just approached by some people who knew I had volunteered before," Balfour said. "It seemed like a great organization and I'm glad I did it. It's been fulfilling and a lot of fun. It's a rewarding organization and the camaraderie of the different clubs and at the different events is well worth it."
Having begun with 40 members, the Moose Mountain Lions have seen some come and others go, but their numbers have remained approximately the same.
Each year the group holds two major fundraisers to help finance projects around Kenosee Lake and Moose Mountain Provincial Park. One of these is a golfing fundraiser held in the fall, while the second is the upcoming Moose Mountain Lions Winter Carnival.
"We're a young club and we break in the summer so we thought about different fundraisers we could do," Balfour stated. "We thought we wanted to break it up a little, so we decided to have two big events."
"We originally tied [the Carnival] in with Family Day in the park, but we kind of moved away to our own weekend because it's evolved. It sort of just turned into its own event."
Finding many people would leave the area for Family Day the Moose Mountain Lions decided to host it another day, which has meant more people attend the activities.
"It's been successful," Balfour said. "It sort of breaks up the winter."
This year the Winter Carnival will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22. It will begin with a pancake breakfast at the Moose Mountain Church of Christ between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The breakfast will be $5 for youth eight-years-old and under, while it will be $10 for anyone nine-years-old or older.
Activities will then begin on Little Kenosee at noon and will run until 4 p.m. There will be food, refreshments, and a beer gardens available in the area while families enjoy numerous planned events. This includes the creation of an Olympic speed skating oval on Little Kenosee for people. Ice will also be cleared off for recreational skaters and cross country skiers are encouraged to make their way through the trails which start at the Little Kenosee parking lot.
A hockey challenge will be set up focused on speed shooting as well as an accuracy competition for those interested. The final afternoon activity then includes a curling challenge of drawing to the button.
With the Sochi Olympics happening for the month of February, the Moose Mountain Lions are also encouraging everyone to dress in their best Team Canada attire. If you show your Olympic spirit you'll be given a chance to win the best dressed competition for the day.
But, that's not all as the Lions will then host a pulled pork supper for $10 at the Kenosee Rec Hall at 6:30 p.m., with cocktails beginning at 5 p.m.
This will be followed by a cabaret for $10 with a live band to be featured.
All the money raised, Balfour is happy to say, goes to great causes with the majority remaining in the local area. Though some is donated to Lions International and various other Lions initiatives, the majority of funds raised remain in the community.
"We have the Lions Public Dock for people to come and use in order to go to the store and use the beach," Balfour stated. "Other projects we've worked on include the baseball diamond, playground equipment at the little beach, outdoor rink work, and cross country skis and snow shoes purchased for rentals at the Kenosee Inn."
