(file photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Holiday fun

North Battleford plans fireworks & family activities for New Year’s Eve

Dec 29, 2023 | 5:00 PM

Families in the Battlefords will have plenty of activities to take part in to celebrate the New Year.

The City of North Battleford will have a fireworks display at the lookout at King Hill starting at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.

Don Ross Community Centre Manager and Community Programmer Siobhan Gormley said there won’t be any access to King Hill during the show.

“The best place to view them is behind the Don Ross Arena, in the parking lot, and also from Railway Avenue,” she said. “This is the first year since 2020 that we’ve done fireworks on New Year’s Eve. The last time we [offered] them we had to postpone them from the summer of 2020. We held them on New Year’s Eve of 2020 instead. This is new for us.”

Before the fireworks show, the city will offer some free public skating and ice games for youth at the Don Ross Arena from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 31. The games will be led by a couple of staff members.

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“Everybody has to have skates, and we do recommend everybody wear helmets,” Gormley said. “Children should be accompanied by an adult. They are putting up some pile ons, hula hoops, and they’ll do some relay races. That’ll be fun.”

Also in North Battleford, the city plans to offer free public skating and shinny sessions at the Access Communications Centre from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Dec. 30.

“The outdoor rinks aren’t open, and there is no sliding hill [due to the lack of snow], so it’s an alternative to get out and do something with your family and enjoy the day,” Gormley said.

At the Western Development Museum (WDM) in North Battleford, the Light up the Village illuminations display is still underway for the holidays, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. until Jan. 7. The Heritage Farm and Village will be beautifully aglow in the night sky. Light Up the Village will not be open on New Year’s Day though.

WDM Programming and Volunteer Coordinator Heather O’Neill encourages people to take in the show while it’s still on.

“It’s been really popular this year,” she said. “I think maybe because of the [milder] weather. We’ve had a record number of people out this year, so it’s really nice to see people out enjoying the lights.”

As a reminder of holiday hours for Battlefords residents, both the Town Hall in Battleford and City Hall in North Battleford will be closed on New Year’s Day.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW