With all the worries about safety in Williams Lake lately, it was great to see our downtown nice and busy on Sunday, May 25.
The Lakers Car Club Spring Roundup and Show and Shine saw hundreds of people of all ages as did the Children’s Festival in Boitanio Park and some people participating in the accessibility awareness event at the Boitanio Disc Golf Course.
I for one really noticed it was such a contrast to how our downtown is normally on the weekends. On most Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, there are not very many people out and about unless there is a special event going on.
It has been that way since I moved here in August 2011. Maybe there's reasons that it became that way that I don't know about?
I like to walk at night at least once a week with a friend and our route takes us downtown. We’ve never felt unsafe and she does that route every day - mostly on her own.
Boitanio Park does get more use now that the disc golf course is there - all year round even - and of course once Performances in the Park resumes the Thursday nights in the summer will be busy too.
It is a beautiful park. Last summer on a Friday evening about 8 p.m. we noticed some people having a picnic in Boitanio Park and were so happy we went up to find out who they were. As it turned out, they were tourists, and one of them had been a college instructor at Selkirk College in Castlegar when I was a student there.
Over the years I’ve thought about starting a club in Williams Lake that would go shopping or dining together on a Friday or a Saturday just to infuse some life into our downtown. Maybe it's time to get serious about it.
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