Every February you will find youth and staff bundling up in parkas and toques to not just brave the winter but to conquer it.

Our annual Winterfests (we hold one at Buckland and Pilot Butte campus) are looked forward to by kids and adults alike. It is a ray of sunshine in a long cold winter, where everyone has the opportunity to have fun outside.

Youth and staff start their morning with a warm breakfast and then spend the rest of the day doing winter-themed activities. Events like smoosh races (a team of kids strapped into two 2x4s who need to move together to move forward), tug of war, and log cutting. Traditional activities like show shoe races and the bell kick are also featured every year.

These events are staff driven. They plan the games and run the events with help from the youth. To build relationships with youth, our staff often can take charge of a particular activity in which they have an interest and then get their unit to join in and help.

While the snow might be falling and the temperatures freezing, as you can see from the photos below outside is the place to be.