On the last evening of August, more than 300 people attended a special event at the ball park in Wawota. There was a long line for the hamburgers and salad, and a shorter line for the drinks. As the evening progressed, live musical entertainment was provided by some of the townspeople, and a few folks even got up and danced. Although many people left early to make sure their kids were ready for start of school the following morning, for some of the attendees, the night did not wind down till 2 a.m.
This special night was held as a benefit for a local couple, whose house had burned to the ground a few weeks before. Thankfully, the wife was out of town that night and the husband awoke to the sound of the fire alarm, a sound that likely saved his life. He managed to escape even as the house was falling down around him. Of course they are very glad to be alive, but they lost just about everything else.
That's where Wawota once again showed its community spirit, and it is not the first time. A few years back, fire destroyed another local home and a benefit was held for those folks too. In fact, the list of community events in Wawota is long and extensive. They raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research every year without fail, they rallied together to save the beds at Deer View Lodge, and that is still ongoing. Yes, it seems the community comes together whenever there is a need, or even an excuse.
The music in the park has been a delightful feature again this year, and you may have read the article about Lulu and the Tomcat last week, where world-class entertainment came to town to entertain and educate the younger kids. And then there are the regular groups that get together for coffee, the Senators and the senior ladies, who meet daily at the Inn. There's even a new move in place to convert part of a local church into a youth facility. Yes, Wawota has a great deal going for it in terms of community togetherness and spirit, there's a heart that beats at the centre, and it makes for a very attractive sense of community.
Community spirit is vitally important, and the sad thing is that we are losing it as a society. While we still see it in small towns, as soon as you move to a larger place, it is no longer there. Back in Ontario, we lived in quite a few communities, and sometimes never even knew the folks two doors down from us. So what can we do to maintain a sense of community?
I believe that uniting for a common goal is one of the best things that any town can do. The goal does not necessarily need to be to raise funds for a family, or to save beds at a health centre. It could be a goal to beautify a town park, or to bring more business into a community, or to win a sports event. Providing it is something that captures the attention, imagination and hearts of the people, a community can unite on just about any goal.
I also believe that community can be developed on a smaller basis. It used to be that churches fulfilled a greater community role, not just being a place where folks gathered under a common belief, but also in a sense of togetherness just for companionship and company. Some churches need to look at that again and see if they can open up to others, not with a view to conversion, but with a view to inclusion. Sport is another great unifier. Just attend a ball tournament between the local junior teams and watch the sense of community between the parents.
I guess all this reminds us that we are basically social creatures, and when it comes down to it, we need each other. And that is where we need to take a really good look, and ask ourselves some serious questions. First, when we do get together, do our community events serve a positive purpose, whether they are smaller gatherings or large, town-wide events? And second, are we including everyone or do we still have our in-crowd to the exclusion of the out-crowd?
Community is very important, most of us like to belong to something, whether it is a church, a sports team, a club or even facebook. We need to do everything we can to develop more opportunities for positive togetherness, with greater inclusion for all, and greater sense of positive purpose. Think about it this week, it is a responsibility of each and every one of us.
