The Best Barn Raising Ever + More to Come!

The 10th Annual Barn Raising was a smashing success!

Thank you for celebrating the Old Barn Community Centre’s 10th birthday with us! I hope you had as much fun as we did. At least 600 party-goers showed up: members of the community and beyond, from babies to seniors, from dogs to men in hot dog costumes! The music from Rob Hill Band was great, the artists blew everyone away in the art battle, and the weather was absolutely beautiful.

“What a party!“, said a local man as he walked past me with a hot dog drowning in ketchup.

What a party, indeed! Here are some of the best highlights from the best Barn Raising yet:

Nils, one of our longtime (and dare I say handsomest) volunteers was dressed up in a full hot dog costume while, you guessed it, grilling and serving hot dogs. He gets bonus points for total dedication to the role and making everyone smile.

During the youth pie eating contest, a little boy named Anthony simply refused to eat his pie. His reason? “I just don’t want to”. When host Andrew asked him if he’d like a To-Go box, he simply refused again. Who wouldn’t want to take a free pie home? Poor Anthony was disqualified. It’s okay, Anthony, I’ll eat that pie for you.

It was clear that the miniature horse named Princess was stealing everyone’s hearts with her cuteness. In related news, no one has heard from Vanessa, Front Desk Receptionist, or Princess since Saturday. It is believed that they rode off into the sunset together.

A local woman and lover of animals told me that it was endearing and a little bit hilarious to see the community children interact with farm animals for the first time. Some kids didn’t even know how what to do around them! I suppose that’s what happens when kids are around books and academics instead of barns and animals!

Everyone loved the barn photo booth and it turned out to be fantastically silly, especially when Luna the Cow showed up. What’s a good Barn Raising without Luna?

Lastly, my favorite highlight of the whole party was actually at the end, when volunteers, staff, and children from the community all came together for an amazing photo. It truly shows how everyone can work, play, and celebrate all together.

Everyone’s contributions at this year’s barn raising are so appreciated. Thank you to: all the volunteers, staff, and sponsors for your time and support; Dan for taking some great photos of the event; Andrew for being a great host and MC; and two extra big thank yous to Taylor and Valenda for putting so much time and effort into planning and organizing this celebration.

If you loved the 10th Annual Barn Raising and want to get involved in more activities at the Old Barn, there are tons of things to do starting this September.

• The next family movie night is Saturday, September 3rd. Bring the whole family and have a relaxing, cinematic evening! We’ll be watching Kung Fu Panda!
• Join us on Friday, September 30th, for an intimate flute and string trio concert presented by Muzewest!
• Sportball is a multi-sport class where kids aged 1.5-5 will learn basic skills common to all sports, while developing social and motor skills. Saturday mornings starting September 17th.
• Start your child on their Kung Fu journey! Kids aged 6-14 years will learn traditional training methods and techniques in a fun, family-oriented environment. Class starts on September 12th and 15th!
• Enrich your mind through the Old Barn Book Club! Discuss one book a month with your neighbours and friends. The first meeting is Sunday, September 25th.

More information for all of our Old Barn programs can be found in our Program Guide at http://wearecommunityvan.ca/ !

I am already excited for next year’s Barn Raising and I hope to see you all there!

-Krysta