A Weekend at Manning Park

Late last week a cold arctic wind came blowing through the valley. We packed up our van while being pummeled by cold slanting rain and then made our way up into the mountains on snowy roads. Our friends organized a lovely weekend family singing retreat with singer-songwriter-instructor Anna B. at Manning Park. Most of the group stayed at the very unique Last Resort, a large building with numerous bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen and living room. It was the perfect size for our group of close to 35. The only complaint was that it wasn’t particularly warm inside which I am sure wasn’t helped by the close to -25C weather outside. I should add a reminder for myself to bring slippers and long johns for next time.

The landscape at Manning Park was picturesque. It was a veritable winter wonder land. The trees were covered in snow and the air was cold and crisp. The children enjoyed sledding and cross country skiing. There was even a pool and hot tubs were we could go to warm up chilly toes after winter play. We gathered together for singing twice a day, once in the morning and once after supper. It was an experience reminiscent of Jam Camp, which we’ve been to this year and last year. Our weekend was filled with plenty of jamming, energetic singing and children running around like hooligans.

Thank you to S and E for organizing this great weekend! We hope there will be more weekends like this in the future.