‘We do it for the smiles’: Outdoor festival takes over Churchill Square during spring break

CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg headed down to Churchill Square to see how Edmonton families are enjoying the spring weather.

Spring is in the air, and to celebrate the occasion, the City of Edmonton is hosting a week-long all-ages event in Churchill Square for families enjoying spring break.

Spring on the Square features loads of games and activities for families with kids on spring break including hockey, basketball, curling and giant-sized versions of snakes and ladders and chess.

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The Edmonton Arts Council, which helped organize the event, told CTV News Edmonton on Monday the party sparks excitement in the downtown core.

“We’ve been cooped up inside for a few months now … seeing the sun in Edmonton when it’s warming up, everyone takes advantage to come out,” said Bob Rasko, the manager of connections and activations with the Edmonton Arts Council.

“It’s great to see parents with young ones coming out, playing with them, playing with us, and it’s great to see those smiles and the kids discovering some new things that they’ve never had a chance to try out before,” he added. “We do it for the smiles.”

Besides the games, there will be plenty of scheduled workshops throughout the week, including hula-hooping with Amanda Panda, stilt-walking workshops, an ‘Artvestigation’ in which folks can have a group discussion about art, a paper airplane and air balloon crafting workshop, and a celebration of World Theatre Day with Puddle of Mud Productions.

Parents at the event said they were happy to get their kids out of the house and enjoy a warm day at Churchill Square.

“We used to come downtown a lot when they were younger, and I just want to get back into that and enjoy what there is to offer … I love to spend time with them and to be able to give them new experiences,” said Beryl Giffen, a mom enjoying her day out with her children.

“With it being spring break, I think it’s a great opportunity for the kiddos to be able to get out of the house, be able to spend time with all different age groups and have some fun outside of home,” said Nicole, another parent at the event.

The outdoor festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. until March 28.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg