Family Day is a great holiday. Not only does it come at the perfect time of year, that long stretch between New Year’s and Easter when there were no long weekends, but the concept of a holiday devoted to encouraging families to spend time together can’t be argued with.
And unlike many of the existing statutory holidays, Family Day comes without any religious or commercial overtones. It’s simply a day for families to have fun.
Since the holiday was first celebrated in 2013, the City of Penticton has enthusiastically supported Family Day through the Community Centre, with a day of events and games for families to enjoy together. Kudos to community partners like Coldwell Banker who sponsored 32 complimentary family passes and Penticton IGA pitched in food to add a free barbecue.
Many Penticton residents probably wouldn’t feel the $25 fee the city charged is too high a price for a day of fun with their family, especially when it included everything from access to the swimming pool to family movies in Cleland Theatre.
For some families, that $25 is a major stumbling block (even at the discounted fee of $15 for single parents); money they can’t afford to pay out.
Keeping the community centre open for a day does cost money, and the city should be commended for trying to not operate at a loss. But Family Day is a special case. If the city is truly interested in supporting families, then it should do it wholeheartedly.
There are a couple of ways this could be accomplished for next year’s Family Day: the event at the community centre could be free of charge, or the city could ensure there are an assortment of free events to complement what is going on inside the building. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not such a big investment.
We have lots of special days — some statutory holidays, some not — where commerce threatens to overwhelm the sentiment of the day. We shouldn’t let Family Day become like Valentine’s Day or Halloween.