ESTEVAN - Mainprize Regional Park has had a busy summer so far and plans on staying on track with many more community events and activities.
General manager Michelle Walsh said they've been enjoying their great and busy summer. And while some of their numbers in different areas are a bit down as people are back into the swing of things, they still have many campers joining them on regular basis to take advantage of the gorgeous area and have a good time with loved ones.
"On average, our weekends are super busy and during the week it's a little bit quieter. Mainprize park hosts quite a few more seasonal campsites than some parks," Walsh said. "One big feature at Mainprize park is we have the public beach area. And we also have the Dam Store, which is a privately owned business within our park. And they offer all sorts of treats. They also run fishing equipment and host rentals. So you can come out for the day and rent a kayak or paddleboard. We have a lot of people that will sometimes come out during the evenings after work, rent one of those when the water's nice and it's hot weather, and just go off for a little paddle. We have a little bit of everything for every age or interest."
Also, Mainprize Regional Park offers numerous events throughout the summer.
"We had our regular different golf evenings. We've had a couple of events in the park, we had a really big July 1 weekend. And then for August long, we did a movie in the park and we had a really busy park that weekend because it was a long weekend. We've had a little bit of different collaborative crafts, and then just some different smaller events around the park. We also have Singo that's going on into the next few months. And then our Pederson Place has been rented for different private functions," Walsh shared.
Mainprize Regional Park is trying to have events every weekend for everybody in the family to keep their guests entertained. And there is a lot of fun planned for August and into September.
On Aug. 10, the park will host a ladies’ golf tournament. As of the end of last week, they already had over 90 golfers registered, so the event promised to be a big success.
"We're hoping that we can host our full capacity, so it should be a good one," Walsh said.
Coming up next will be Halloween in the Park in the afternoon of Aug. 13. It's open to everyone, and kids ages two to five are welcome to dress up and go trick-or-treating through the park, showcasing their costumes and enjoying nice summer weather.
That same day in the evening, their parents will have an opportunity to enjoy the Get the Fire Burning rib supper and live music cabaret at Pederson Place.
On Aug. 14 at 2 p.m., Mainprize Regional Park is hosting a collaborative craft event
"There are six different crafts that you can do. Some are geared for the younger audience, and some are geared for moms or dads, so we just put a wide variety in there and you can choose your craft and sign up for that," Walsh explained.
Every Tuesday they also invite golfers to take advantage of their Tightwad Tuesdays, which is a two-for-one golf promo. Each Wednesday is their ladies' night, every Thursday is men's night and on Fridays, they do mixed skins.
"That's a fun, good turnout to kick off every weekend in the clubhouse there," Walsh said.
Mainprize Regional Park is also a part of a regional park partnership with Saskatchewan public libraries this year.
"Regional parks did a partnership with a Library Pass Program. So if you go to any of your local libraries, you can actually check out a regional park pass with your library card to come down and visit any local regional park in your area," Walsh said.
"And every other Wednesday we have Library on Location. Our local librarian out of Midale comes in and she usually does a little craft or event for some of the little guys. And you can take books out and then return them the next Wednesday she's at the park. Weather permitting, we do that right on our beach or else we take it up into our Pederson Place here if it's a not-so-great weather day."
Aug. 20 they are hosting a juniors’ tournament for golfers, and non-golfers will have a chance to enjoy Singo hosted by a DJ at Pederson Place.
Aug. 27, the park invites guests for the Glow Golf event, which Walsh said is really popular and usually attracts many participants.
The Labour Day long weekend will be the last one for this season, so the park will have a fun party.
Sept. 2 will see another edition of Singo, and the following day will offer a cornhole tournament and a movie in the park.
"It's a family fun weekend. And we still have lots of temporary campsites available, so people can book in and grab a site and come out and enjoy that for the weekend, just after school starting and we all get back into the swing of things," Walsh said.
More details about planned events can be found on the Mainprize Regional Park Facebook page.
