A gaggle of Fort 91原创 community groups of all stripes 鈥� from Scouts to dancers, environmentalists to musicians 鈥� gathered on Thursday, May 8, to get the word out about how much there is to do in the neighbourhood.
The Fort 91原创 Connections open house was hosted in the iconic community hall on Glover Road from 4 to 8 p.m., with a total of 27 groups represented in the packed room.
The event was organized by the Fort 91原创 Community Association (FLCA), with chair Susan Mackenzie saying it was born out of encounters with the public at the weekly Fort 91原创 Village Farmers Market.
The FLCA had a table at the market, and got a lot of interest from people who knew nothing about them.
"We were absolutely amazed at how many people were not aware that we existed," Mackenzie said.
The FLCA members there also fielded a lot of questions about other services, groups, and activities that might exist around the village.
Mackenzie said that led to the idea to gather all the groups together in one place.
The gathering included everything from the FLCA itself, to the Kwantlen First Nation's Stalew Arts + Culture group (which has its pow wow coming up in September), Fort 91原创 Jazz & Arts Festival, 91原创 Senior Resources Society, BC Farm Museum, Fort 91原创 Voyageurs Scottish Country Dance Club, Soroptimists International of 91原创, Salmon River Enhancement Society, and the Dancing Witches of Fort 91原创.
The Dancing Witches group is about 30 women who wear elaborate "witch" costumes and take part in dances based on those of a group in Germany. The trend has spread around the world since it started, organizers said.
"It's just dancing, no sorcery or anything weird," said Ann English.
The 1st Fort 91原创 Scouts were also there, hoping that they could raise their profile and find some new members. Right now, the group has about 30 young members, ranging in age from Beavers, through Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, and Rovers.
The Scouts do a lot of volunteer work with their local sponsor, the Fort 91原创 Lions Club.
Mackenzie was pleased to see the turnout of local organizations for the first such event.
She said it's unlikely they'll make it an annual event, however, since the goal is simply to raise community awareness.
"We were thinking maybe every second year," she concluded.
