Y Day a celebration of Stratford YMCA’s impact on community

Y Day at the Stratford YMCA on Oct. 3 will have lots of activities during the free event including open swims, group fitness, bouncy castles and face painting.

By: Emily Stewart

Whether or not you’re a member, you’ll have a chance to learn about all the local YMCA has to offer.

The Stratford YMCA will have a free open house as part of Y Day at its site on 204 Downie St. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 3. There will be activities like a bouncy castle and EarlyON’s Run, Jump, and Play program in the gym, face painting, a photobooth, open swim and group fitness classes. Representatives from Employment and Immigration Services will also be there to promote the services and programs that are offered.

“Y Day is really an opportunity for the Stratford community to come in, have some fun and experience the YMCA in a different way,” Keristen May, general manager said to the Times.

The Stratford YMCA is part of the YMCA of the Three Rivers, which also includes the locations St. Marys, Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. All six locations will celebrate Y Day as part of the six-year unification anniversary, but May said the team at Stratford’s YMCA wants to showcase its local impact.

“The biggest reason to come is to see that the YMCA is so much more than a gym and a pool. Those are certainly a big part of what we do, but there are so many other programs, services and opportunities happening here that people in our community may not even realize are available to them,” she said.

To learn more about the programs and services offered by the YMCA Three Rivers online, visit www.ymcathreerivers.ca.