The community non-profit Little Squids raised the roof at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park on Sunday (Sept. 11) with its first large-scale, community-wide event. Between 4 and 7 p.m., the Barnyard Bash attracted more than 400 people with its Western theme, fun-filled free activities and outpouring of community spirit.
"We wanted to make sure that every single person was welcome," said Little Squids vice-chair Rachel Boguski, "and I think that we achieved that."
The Bash featured live bluegrass music by Tantalus Pass, portrait photography by Gabi Moeller Photography, face painting by Stan Matwychuk of Homebase Studios, kids' crafts, prizes, and food and beverages - all at no cost, while Campfire Grill treats were available for purchase outside.
Donations were received from a number of local businesses including Save-On Foods, Nesters, Starbucks, Canadian Tire, Samurai Sushi, Red Robin, Booster Juice, Pearson Financial, Tumblewoods, Maplewood Farm, Mark's and Rona.
"It went phenomenally well," said Jeanne Cameron, outreach co-ordinator of Putting Children First, the Sea to Sky initiative funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development and United Way that supports Little Squids.
Little Squids - squids is a condensed version of Squamish kids - formed earlier this year when Cameron approached the community group Squamish Mom, of which Boguski was a co-founder.
"Basically we felt that they had a healthy following so it would be a good starting point for a parent group," Cameron said. "There are parents' groups in Whistler, Pemberton, D'Arcy, Mount Currie and the Lower Lakes communities that receive that funding."
"They contacted us and thought we might be the right people to kick it into gear," said Boguski, "so we called a general meeting to see who would be interested in forming a group."
With the mandate of supporting and creating free programming for Squamish kids ages 0 to six, Little Squids has taken official sponsorship of the play area in the Squamish Adventure Centre. There, two weekly programs for Squamish families - the Monday Matinee between 3 and 5 p.m. and Little Squids Storytime every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. - are already in effect.
"[And] making sure there are age-appropriate toys, that toys aren't broken, that they're clean," said Boguski. "Basically, we are in charge of making sure that that space remains a safe and fun space for kids to go to."
The Barnyard Bash - planned as a free back-to-school kick-off - was the first official event and Squamish families can expect more seasonal events and weekly drop-in activities for the entire year.
"We're also going to look at a window where we can do a drop-in for mothers of babies ages 0 to six months who are new mothers and need to get out," Boguski said. "We basically took a look at what Squamish currently had and where we can fill the gaps."
Little Squids is entirely a volunteer effort with scheduled monthly meetings, which anyone interested is welcome to join, to contribute ideas and help grow the group's membership.
"A member is someone who comes to two or more meetings within an annual period," Boguski said," so then once you become a member you can vote on anything."
"It's really important that we feel like we're representing what the community wants and we'd love to hear more about what parents are looking for," she said.
For more information on Little Squids, visit the website at www.littlesquids.ca.To inquire about the Putting Children First initiative, contact Cameron at [email protected] or call (604) 849-1733.
