Canora and Kamsack residents are being invited to a symposium being held in Canora next week to explore ways to create a healthy, active community and develop realistic local strategies to get more youths and their families more active more often.
The symposium, which is being sponsored by Parkland Valley Sport, Culture and Recreation District and Saskatchewan in motion, is being held March 30 at Rainbow Hall in Canora.
The “Moving Together Symposium: Solutions for a Healthy Active Community” is the latest step in a process that included a series of public meetings in Kamsack in November and December and in Canora in January.
The meetings were led by Kacie Loshka of Saskatchewan in motion and Chelsey Johnson, the community consultant with Parkland Valley Sport, Culture and Recreation District.
The event has been designed to share what’s already happening in the communities and to create practical local solutions for getting youths moving more,” Johnson said.
It is important to get as many people out as possible, Loshka said. “We want the community to speak.”
Dr. Louise Humbert, a professor at the College of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan and a past president of Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE Canada), will be the keynote speaker.
Humbert will deliver “an engaging presentation on the importance of physical activity for children, youth and their families.”
Also on the agenda are community physical activity profiles and active community workshops.
“Be a part of the solution and join other community members, leaders and decision makers to hear how others are making a difference to be more active; find out what can be done together as community partners; participate in developing realistic local actions to make physical activity an easy choice, and celebrate what’s happening in “our” community,” said information from the organizers.
In addition to what had been heard at the community meetings in Canora and Kamsack, Loshka and Johnson will be talking about results of similar meetings that were held in Langenburg and Churchbridge. A symposium for those two communities will have been held the day before the Canora symposium.
One of the deficits identified at these community meetings had to do with communication, Loshka said. Some people said they believed there was not enough communication and suggested such initiatives as a community calendar as a way for residents to quickly identify where to find events.
After the supper during the symposium, the meeting will break up into workshops to discuss specific topics, identify priorities and determine what steps may be made to move forward, Johnson said.
Members of the Canora in motion committee are: Deleena Faryna, Katherine Rewkowsky, Leona Kitchen, Barb Messinger, Aaron Herriges (recreation director) and Jill Gulka. Members of the Kamsack in motion committee include: Kev Sumner (recreation director), Chantel Kitchen, Michelle Irvine, Andrea Verigin, Megan Peters, Hillary Walter and Audrey Horkoff.
Persons planning to attend the symposium were asked to register by March 23 in care of Chelsey Johnson at Parkland Valley Sport Culture and Recreation District in Yorkton. She may be reached at cjohnson@parklandvalley.ca.
