Canada is a bilingual country and often in western Canada this can fall by the wayside, but in Wawota the Canadian Parents for French (CPF) - Wawota have been working towards providing youth with an opportunity to learn French despite coming from a predominantly Anglophone community.
"Canadian Parents for French is all about helping English speaking parents in providing support and materials for their kids to learn French," Sarah Weatherald explained.
The group in Wawota welcomes those in the surrounding area to join if interested because it is a unique program that can help aid the linguistic development of youth. CPF - Wawota hosts a French fun club, a monthly French story time, and a French camp in the summer for youth to enjoy.
CPF, however, thought it would be a fun idea to create a winter event for youth to enjoy, which will meld fun and festivities with a little bit of French.
"Throughout meetings at Canadian Parents for French we thought this would be a good way for the community to have fun and interact as a way to present French," Weatherald said. "It's a winter festival with a French flair."
The event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. The Wawota Town Hall will be the base of operations for the day and from there people will be given maps and a program to different activities that will be spread throughout the town including pond shinny, tobogganing, and a town wide snow sculpture contest to make use of the abundance of snow.
Registration deadline for Wawota residences to enter the snow sculpture contest is Tuesday, Feb. 11. Voting will take place on the day of the festival and a list of houses involved will be made available at Wawota Town Hall and in the Feb. 14 issue of Wawota's "News in a Minute." Prizes will be given to the largest sculpture and the most creative sculpture.
In addition to this there will be painting and beading available inside the hall, while later in the afternoon will see bilingual bingo open for people to participate in.
One of CPF's unique ideas is to also make maple taffy throughout the day in honour of Quebec which produces 93 percent of Canadian maple syrup making up a grand total of 85 percent of the world's maple syrup according to the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The evening's festivities will then include shows with bilingual elements including fiddling and other unique performances.
A free community event CPF - Wawota hopes to provide youth with a fun day in the snow while introducing many and continuing to educate others about French.
"We're able to do this with the great community support we've received and donations, as well as a Sask Lotteries grant..." Weatherald explained.
Supper is also available at the hall. For $10 per adult or $5 per child there will be pulled pork on a bun with baked beans and coleslaw to be enjoyed followed by a dessert and coffee or tea.
Overall those at CPF - Wawota are excited to create an afternoon filled with entertainment and exercise for youth, while introducing them to French.
For more information Weatherald is happy to speak with anyone interested in bringing their children out for the day, (306)575-9789.
