REVS event brings first sign of spring

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

The annual spring REVS (registration, education, volunteer services) event took place Feb. 28 with another strong showing.
Historically a smaller event than the one in the fall, the crowds were still large despite the fewer options of warmer weather activities to choose from.
“There’s always more sports going on in the winter, with all the hockey, ringette and skating,” said Tracy Cullen, Town of Strathmore administrative assistant. “There’s usually about 20 more groups at the fall event compared to the spring one.”
The twice-yearly event was featuring groups for the upcoming spring and summer season as 29 booths were open for business.
“The biggest reason we like the REVS is that people can come out and see everything Strathmore has to offer in one place. It’s about getting out there and seeing everything that our town has to offer,” said Laurie Stephens, administrator with the Strathmore Minor Soccer Federation (SMSF).
The SMSF is still calculating the results as groups of online registrations are still trickling in, but Stephens said her booth was steady and busy all night with parents wanting to sign their children up for the sport.
A slight tweak in this year’s event saw a few more demonstrations for the kids to try.
The Strathmore Disc Golf Club had a small course set up, the Strathmore smashball volleyball camp had a net set up for target practice, and Expressions, the Dance Gallery, put on brief shows for the audience.
“It was great to have groups show off what they do instead of people having to read about them,” said Cullen.
Not all groups were looking for registration at REVS. For some, it was a great chance to educate a new crowd about a program they aren’t that familiar with.
“We talked to a lot of people but didn’t get a lot of registration. For us, it was a way to fill them in about what we do, invite them out to our open house and hopefully get some registration then,” said Becky Skuter with Humble Horse Ranch. She added that they had to cancel their open house last weekend due to the winter storm, but that it has been rescheduled to March 10 starting at 11:30 a.m. and running until 3:30 p.m.
For families that missed out on this spring’s REVS event, contact information for all 29 groups can be found on the Town of Strathmore website.
The REVS event will be back Sept. 6 at the Civic Centre for another large gathering of families looking to sign up for winter events.