Eastiew Community Church
Eastview Community Church

Kids Go Crazy for Keenleyside Carnival

Philip Wiebe - 2008-06-22

Keenleyside CarnivalLet’s start by acknowledging that Love Winnipeg is a tall order. It means loving the 650,000 or so people that call our fair city home. That includes the person who cut you off in traffic and almost caused an accident. That includes the grouchy old neighbour who never has a kind word for anyone. That includes the rude teenagers who think the world revolves around them.

Yes, to Love Winnipeg is a tall order. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying, right? That was the attitude of a number of groups throughout the church who participated in a variety of events focusing on loving our fair city. Among them were 25-30 volunteers who, on Saturday, June 14, decided that if they couldn’t love all of the 650,000 people in Winnipeg, they’d bite off a more manageable portion and love the 200 or so kids and parents at the Keenleyside housing complex at the 2008 “Eastview Loves Keenleyside” Carnival and Barbecue. 

The weather cooperated only periodically, but that didn’t stop everyone in attendance from having a blast. And who wouldn’t, when there was a bouncer to jump in; sack races to hop through; faces to have painted; flowerpots to decorate and plant in; and watermelon, cotton candy, and 20 dozen hot dogs to eat? Even the volunteers, led by Eastview summer staffers Kylee Chandler and Sonja Lepp, had a blast. “Have you ever tried to get a cotton candy machine to work in 100% humidity - when it’s raining?” asked Greg Armstrong, Community Outreach chaplain. “It’s almost impossible, but there were Robin Gilmour, Maria Wilms, and Helen Bell (below) fighting with the machine and having a good time making sure the kids had their cotton candy.”

Helen Bell and Maria Wilms prepare cotton candyIndeed, no amount of rain could dampen the spirits of the pint-sized participants, and that’s the kind of excitement that Greg hopes will parlay into VBS participation. “Obviously this is a key event in our Love Winnipeg efforts, but in past years we’ve found it’s also a great way to get the kids excited about coming to VBS in August. This year, we had parents basically ask us for the registration forms already!”

That spirit of welcoming towards Eastview’s partnership is a big deal for a community that’s more than a 15 minute drive from the Church, a community that likely would never have heard of Eastview but for becoming a key outreach focus of the church (spearheaded by Greg Armstrong) a few years ago. Now, by the grace of God and the tireless efforts of many Eastview volunteers, a breakfast club at HampsteadSchool is in place and many programs like Alpha have and will continue to run their course. Lives are being impacted as a community is being loved.

Indeed, that’s something that should put a smile on all our faces that would rival those of the kids.

Did you have an interesting Love Winnipeg experience? Write it down and send it the church and we might feature your story on Eastview.org or in an upcoming edition of the Eastview Link.