Lots to do for the whole pack as multiple establishments celebrate Family Day in Lethbridge

There were many events in Lethbridge and southern Alberta where families took advantage of the day off and spent some quality time together.

LETHBRIDGE — The University of Lethbridge brought back its Play Day event for Family Day on Monday.

It was the first time the institution held the event in-person since the start of the pandemic and families from across southern Alberta came out.

"We (invited) families from across southern Alberta to our campus to explore together through a variety of fun play-zone activities," said Kali McKay, the U of L's director of community engagement.

There were sporting activities like basketball, floor hockey, swimming and climbing, as well as crafts like building cardboard forts.

"I like it because you get to hang out with your family and spend time with them," said seven-year-old Mila Fuentes.

"I'm looking forward to going swimming and playing down there at the sports area because I'm a sports guy," added Quinn Byers, who turned 13 on Monday.

This year's Play Day was jungle-themed and took more than 150 volunteers and helpers to make happen.

"We have groups from across campus who donate their time," said McKay.

"Groups like Destination Exploration and our Pronghorn athletes."

"It's great just to be able to come out and engage with our community to put faces to some of the programs that we do run here at the U of L," added Steph Elder, who was volunteering for Play Day as part of Destination Exploration.

Parents say they're glad to take the whole family for a free day of fun out of the cold.

"It's great to do things as a family together," Brad Moser told CTV News.

"This is a great opportunity because it's all together, it's all inside and we don't have to bear the cold weather. We can just have some fun together as a family."

Play Day was held at the First Choice Savings Centre on the University's campus and was put on by multiple groups including key sponsor North & Company Law Offices.

That's not all that was going on in Lethbridge for Family Day.

While many businesses closed down for the holiday, the Helen Schuler Nature Centre opened its doors despite the fact it's typically closed on Mondays.

Families spent the day learning about climate change, electricity and getting up close to Davy the gopher snake.

The centre looked to provide educational activities for families to take part in this Family Day.

Despite the snow, plenty of visitors even explored the centre's outdoors trails.

"It's been a busy day, which is good. We always like to see it. But lots of people, not only indoors but also heading out on the trails. So it's good to see this winter storm hasn't kept people from enjoying nature," said Taylor Hecker, nature program co-ordinator.

The Casa art centre also held its own free event for Family day, allowing visitors to learn everything from how musical instruments work, button-making and drawing.

The most popular attraction was Box City, where children and their parents could paint boxes and craft them into whatever they wanted.

Those at Casa hope the event will help steer attendees to the arts.

"We are very focused on teaching kids art fundamentals. We want people to be lifelong artists and creators, so coming to casa and getting to do a free art event is a really great way to do that," said Courtney Faulkner, education co-ordinator at Casa.

Those were just some of the many events in Lethbridge and southern Alberta where families took advantage of the day off and spent some quality time together.