Sky’s the limit for Discovery Day Camp

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2018 (3050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is no “been there, done that” at Discovery Day Camp.

At least, that’s the goal of camp director Mark Werner, who is also the youth pastor at Centerpoint Church (700 Watt St.).

“That’s the key,” Werner said, who started as a staff member with the camp in 1994, and took over as director the next year. “Every year we try to do something better.”

This year, Discovery Day Camp celebrates its 30th year providing kids between kindergarten and Grade 8 with activities during the work week over summer vacation. They also offer programs over Christmas holidays, spring break, and on in-service days.

From trips to aquatics centres in Portage La Prairie and Steinbach, to days spent exploring downtown Winnipeg or the Whiteshell, the faith-based program aims to provide new experiences to their day campers.

“We have our own bus, so we go somewhere every day, all over Manitoba,” Werner said.  “We try to give kids an opportunity to see places and do things they wouldn’t normally be able to do. I want the kids to be able to explore Manitoba, and give them experiences of places that are awesome here in our own neck of the woods.”

Every day starts off, though, at Loft Town, a kid-sized ‘town site’ that takes up most of Centerpoint Church’s mezzanine level.

“Loft Town started when I decided to build a foam pit for the kids,” explained Werner, who studied city planning in university. “It’s safe for them to jump and do flips into. It’s something you’d get at, say, SkyZone or something. It looked like a building, so it sort of went from there.”

Two years later, Loft Town continues to grow. Now, the interconnected ‘town site’ features an arcade, spa, police and fire station (which house a mini-stick hockey area), a post-office (home to a slide) and more.

“There are nine different buildings with different things for kids to do in each of them,” Werner said.

“The interchangeable ins and outs of the entrances are a bit hit with the kids. Playing tag in loft town is huge for them,” Werner said. “A lot of times kids at the waterslides will ask when we’re going back so they can play in Loft Town again. It’s like, ‘Dude, we’re at the waterslides right now!’”

As a faith-based organization run by Centerpoint Church, Discovery Day Camp also features a religious component.

“We do a high-impact Bible program on the church stage there,” Werner said. “It’s fun, flashy. We have a light show and we’ll do songs and stuff, teach them about God.”

Every Thursday night during the summer, the church also hosts a weekly dinner for parents and family of the day campers, catered by nearby Grace Cafe.

“It’s a way to showcase the camp and the church, and let people get to know us,” Werner said. “Our biggest footprint in the community is this camp, by far.”

While summer camps this year are already booked up, Werner suggested parents interested should follow Discovery Day Camp’s Instagram (@discoverydaycamp) or Facebook page to keep up with the camp’s activities. Information is also available at www.ddconline.ca