’Tis the season for fun at Roblin Park
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This article was published 23/04/2019 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winter is king at the Roblin Park Community Centre.
“Our outdoor winter wonderland is only (second) to the Forks,” board president Kelsey Genik said via email.
“We are quaint and have the best iceman in the city. It is a safe place in the winter for all of our community members to come together and enjoy.”
Established in 1949, the Charleswood community centre — located at 640 Pepperloaf Cres. — has been the hub of the neighbourhood for the last 70 years. During the coldest months of the year, the club operates three outdoor rinks, ice slides and an ice path for leisure skating.
In addition to facility rentals and its annual operating grant from the City of Winnipeg, Roblin Park holds two major fundraisers each year: a winter carnival and the Rob/West Fall Classic. The latter is the one of the largest pre-season minor hockey tournaments in Winnipeg and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018.
The centre recently received a renovation grant from the City to upgrade the windows in its skate change room and the board is hoping for a capital grant this fall to enable further upgrades. Roblin Park is the home of the Raiders and runs youth hockey, ringette and basketball teams. Regular youth programs include preteen dances, summer camp, karate, dance classes and Scouts Canada groups. Adults can partake in aerobics, art classes, round dancing and slo-pitch. The community centre also runs a 70-space licensed child care facility that provides care for children from nursery to school age.
There are currently nine people on the board at Roblin Park and, aside from maintenance staff, the club is run entirely by volunteers. Genik said attracting new volunteers and raising money for programming are the centre’s biggest challenges.
“We provide a quaint place for our community to come together,” she said. “It really is the hub of Charleswood especially in the winter.”