Fishing, skating highlight Family Day in Kennebecasis Valley, N.B.

A crowd of anglers are pictured outside of the fishing shacks at the Renforth Wharf Fishing Village in Rothesay, N.B.

The Renforth Wharf ice fishing village in the greater Saint John area was one of the top New Brunswick Family Day destinations for the 2nd annual smelt derby.

Over 100 anglers and their family’s registered for the derby. There was food onsite to fuel competitors and prizes to be won in categories that included largest and smallest catch.

Kelson Hilchie, the organizer of the smelt derby, said he’s been fishing the area his whole life and describes himself as a “mental health guy.” He created the derby for families to celebrate the holiday and raise money for a mental health services. All funds raised from the derby go directly to Gentle Path Counselling Services.

“It’s great to see this many people coming out and it looks like there’s more people coming as we speak,” said Hilchie.

It’s the second time the derby has contributed the proceeds to the counselling service.

Trish Hamilton is the executive director at Gentle Path. She said they are incredibly grateful to benefit for two years in a row from an event that bring families together.

“Our mission is to provide counseling services for everyone, whether they can afford it or not,” Hamilton said. “This money from [the derby] goes an awful long way to help people get the counseling that they deserve.”

The winds was strong Monday but Mike Durley was among the anglers who were happy for a day of fishing with loved ones.

“It’s just things that my father-in-law, myself, my uncle would come over for years and did,” Durley said. “I’m pleased to do it with my son and my grandson, that’s for sure.”

Jessie Lanigin’s family was among those who celebrated the holiday but avoided the elements. They laced up their skates at the Qplex in Quispamsis, N.B., for a free public skate hosted by the town.

“We were going to go sliding until we saw how windy it was and how much it hurt our face,” said Lanigin. “So we said, I guess skating is going to be what we pick today.”

A pair of hockey games offered more alternatives for families in the Greater Saint John area to stay out of the cold Monday afternoon. One game saw the Saint John Sea Dogs take on the Cape Breton Eagles at TD Station for a matinee game in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. The other could be seen on TV and featured Canada and Finland in their final round-robin game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.

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