At the end of October, the Inner City Recreation and Wellness Program team was proud to be awarded the Providing Health Education Award at the annual Alberta Recreation and Parks Association Conference. This award was given by the Communities ChooseWell Program which aims to help provide accessible and inclusive healthy living opportunities in our province.

Women’s Wellness, an ICRWP venture, aims to remove barriers and create opportunities for females in our inner city community to engage in physical activity and healthy living. Several new women-focused activities are in the works for the new year, including but not limited to: a women’s self-defense course and an all-levels yoga class. The seeds of these programs were planted with the help and support of initiatives like Communities ChooseWell.

Last month, Street Prints Artist Collective had the opportunity to take part in a pair of workshops at the Society of Northern Alberta Print-Artists (SNAP). These workshops were designed to share the skills and methods for relief printing using linoleum blocks to generate an inverse block which can be used to recreate the artwork for multiple printings. Throughout the holiday season, our Street Prints artists will be creating and selling art cards at local events using these techniques. Look for our displays and art cards popping up in local venues and businesses throughout the winter.

The ICRWP takes on some winter based recreation opportunities with the season change. Trips to Elk Island National Park and Sunday Skating at the Downtown Community Arena are among the frosty adventures the program takes participants on during the winter months. To find out more about what we are up to, visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/recandwellness.

Mike Siek and Rebecca Kaiser are Program Coordinators with ICRWP.