By Martin Martinson

Community, art and history to be celebrated at upcoming Operun

Sep 4, 2018 | 12:00 PM

The fourth annual Operun is coming up this month.

Like many trail runs or marathons, the Operun is open to everyone and is a great way to live out a healthy and active lifestyle, while taking in the surrounding beauty of the Battlefords.

What makes the Operun unique, however, is the artistic component.

Every participant will receive a T-shirt featuring artwork from the year’s featured artist. On Sept. 23, Mary Mattila’s artwork will be on the shirts with a theme true to the region, titled “Birch Branch.”

“We wanted to have a fundraiser that raised money for our local Opera House,” Suzanne Reid, a member of the Historical Battlefords Lions Club, said. “But because the Opera House project has stalled, we now donate funds to local initiatives like the walking trails in Battleford.”

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Reid said showcasing the local arts is also an important aspect of the event.

“We also started [the Operun] as a platform to promote the arts in our community, so we promote a local artist each year, and each year the souvenir T-shirt has a different artist on it. This year it’s Mary Mattilla.”

Unique custom-designed shirts are some of the visual art on display at the Operun, but there is also music, dancing and performing arts on display.

“We also try and get local groups to entertain along the road,” Reid said. “We’ve had John Paul II band play at the start when the runners get sent out on their race, and then we’ve had different musical groups; we’ve had the highland dancers dance along the road and we’ve had the Soul Sisters perform as well.”

Reid said the Operun features a number of races, suitable for anyone in the community and serves as a great way to enjoy the view of the area.

“We have a five [kilometre], 10K and Young at Heart two [kilometre] for kids and seniors. It’s a run that really shows to the advantage the beauty of our community,” she said.

Reid said the route of the run also highlights several historical landmarks throughout the community.

“It takes you past the historic buildings like the Court of Queen’s Bench,” she said. “We start at the Opera House, it goes down the main street past the post office and to the Fred Light Museum and then through our river valley, which is just beautiful this time of season.”

With each year of the Operun, Reid said the Lion’s Club has seen their event gain more and more traction as the number of participants continues to grow.

“Last year we had over 100 people register,” she said. “It’s been increasing in numbers each year which is really exciting.”

With the event attendance climbing, comes the opportunity to expand and add some new ideas to the fold.

“We’re trying a new initiative this year,” Reid said. “We are partnering with local businesses, welcoming businesses to sponsor classrooms at school. A local business can sponsor a class of 10 to 20 kids for $250, and then that group of kids will run in the [two kilometre] run.”

The idea is to help encourage kids to take part in a healthy and active lifestyle.

“It’s really exciting,” Reid said. “We had one classroom take part last year, and so now we’re just trying to challenge more businesses and more classrooms to get involved so we can kind of foster that life-long love of running with the kids in our community. Running is an important thing to our health and we’re just trying to make sure kids learn about its importance.”

For more information about the Operun, visit their website, or find them on Facebook.

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1