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Staying together

Residents say Habitat for Humanity’s annual event at the CLE grounds helps to bring families closer together. Families came to the CLE Coliseum for the ninth annual Family Day event on Saturday.
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Louis Turgeon, 2, starts a craft project at the CLE Coliseum Feb. 19, 2011. Turgeon came with his family for the Habitat for Humanity Family Day event on Saturday. (Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com)
Residents say Habitat for Humanity’s annual event at the CLE grounds helps to bring families closer together.

Families came to the CLE Coliseum for the ninth annual Family Day event on Saturday. The province implemented Family Day about three years ago as one of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s campaign promises. The holiday falls on the third Monday of February.

Kari McKeown came with her husband, Ryan and their daughter Marley, 2, to celebrate Family Day for the first time. They decided to go out and have some fun now that Marley was old enough to enjoy the bouncy castle, she said.

With another baby due next month, McKeown said it was important to have family activities.
"I think (Family Day) gives everyone an opportunity to spend time with their kids and it’s nice to be off work," McKeown said.

Families and children rushed to the castle but also took time to play the various video games and create some art in the crafts area.

Andrew Abbink also wanted to get out and have some fun with his wife, Karlene, and their two children Willem, 4, and Hanna, 2. he said he thought the three-day weekend in February was a good idea to spend some time with his family.

"It’s always good to have a day off," Abbink said.

But the Family Day event wasn’t aimed just at children.

Magdalena Dziekonski and a number of other participants performed a short demo of Zumbia at centre stage. An instructor with Zumba Fitness, Dziekonski compared the workout regiment to that of a dance party. The difference between Zumba and other dance workouts is the music keeps participants energetic and excited, she said.

"You dance your calories away," Dziekonski said. "I’ve been dancing since I was a little girl and when I discovered this program in Florida (about two years ago) it was meant to be. It was so easy for me to ease into it."

Dziekonsk and her family immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1991. The 29-year-old said she knows the value of Family Day so she had her 8-year-old-son Adam join her on stage dancing. She added that they planned to go see the ice racing on Monday.

Diane Mitchell, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, said she expected 3,000 people to show up on Saturday. While still a fundraiser for the Habitat for Humanity, the real purpose of the event started as a way to thank the public for supporting the organization, she said.

"Habitat for Humanity is all about families," Mitchell said. "We partner with families, we build houses with them so that they have a suitable and decent place to live. We’re all about helping our community. We wanted to take on Family Day and make it a huge celebration."

Habitat for Human moved the Family Day event from Monday to Saturday because some parents were still worked despite the holiday, she said.





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