The Very Merry Elm West Christmas event, hosted on Saturday, December 13 from 6-8pm, was a wonderful celebration. Attended by many community members, the event offered horse drawn wagon rides, Christmas crafts, and a bon fire to warm up around, with marshmallows of course! 

Guests were encouraged to write their name on a ribbon and add it to the Christmas tree prior to the tree lighting ceremony. Event attendance was approximated between 80-100 people, a great success and is a showcase of the value that playground events provide to their nearby neighbourhoods.

The community gathered around the tree and lit small candles passing the flame to one another, creating a nostalgic feel leading up to the tree being lit for the first time. If things got too chilly outside, people could warm up inside with a nice hot chocolate and cookies, while enjoying the sound of Christmas carols. 

The evening was topped off by a visit from Santa, who warmed the hearts of the children in attendance.  A heart filled thank you to the volunteers from Elm West Playground Association for putting on a delightful event.

On Saturday December 6, the DEWCAN put on it's first ever Christmas event, a Tree Lighting Social to bring together members of the community, showcase the power of the DEWCAN, and highlight the improvements that have been made to Antwerp Playground since the organization came back from it's COVID hiatus.

Surrounded by faces of all ages and backgrounds, approximately around 175 people attended our first ever Christmas event. Families, friends and couples kept warm roasting marshmallows by the fire in our rink. They came together to make art & crafts, get their faces painted, slide down the nearby hill and enjoy some delicious homemade hot chocolate or hot apple cider made by our kitchen volunteers.

Beyond the decorations and holiday shopping, moments like these represent the beauty of a community, one that helps to bring people together during times of little light and immense cold, and cold it was, reaching up to -17c with the wind chill! (Brrrr.)

We could not have put on this event without the help of our dedicated community volunteers, the Healthy Communities Initiative grant, the staff of the City of Greater Sudbury, the nearby elementary schools of Lansdowne & St. David's, as well as people from the Elm West Playground Association.

Most of all, we could not have done it without the attendance and participation of everyone in our community who came to the event, helping to put a smile on our faces and joy in our hearts. Your participation gives motivation for us to keep going, and your smiles help our heart grow three times in size.

May the season bless you all with prosperity, generosity and festivity. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all the folks of the Donovan - Elm West.