From now through Jan. 7, Hatters can enjoy a downtown Christmas StoryWalk, thanks to the Esplanade, the public library and Police Point Park. "A Porcupine in a Pine Tree: A Canadian 12 Days of Christmas" is written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Werner Zimmermann. The first stop for the StoryWalk can be found on the exterior window by the front entrance of the Esplanade, with a map and directions to each other stop.--News photo Lauren Thomson
lthomson@medicinehatnews.com
The downtown StoryWalk is back for a second year, this time with a Christmas book that can be read and sung.
The Esplanade, in collaboration with the Medicine Hat Public Library and Police Point Park, is bringing the StoryWalk to downtown Medicine Hat with the children’s book, “A Porcupine in a Pine Tree: A Canadian 12 Days of Christmas,” by author Helaine Becker and illustrated by Werner Zimmermann. The StoryWalk is up now and you can view it through Jan. 7.
“The StoryWalk is not a new tradition in Medicine Hat,” said Candace Lundrigan, Cultural Public Programmer for the Esplanade. “Police Point Park and the Library have been collaborating for years on this, and it’s just kind of occurred to me last year that it would be nice to do it for Christmas.”
Lundrigan said they wanted to provide a safe and fun activity that was easily accessible to the public during the pandemic, since they were unable to provide indoor programming at the time.
“The idea was to make a special Christmas downtown StoryWalk,” said Lundrigan. “To get it printed on vinyl and have the pages of the book adhered to the windows of different organizations and businesses downtown.”
Lundrigan said they had such good feedback last year, they knew they needed to bring it back for a second run this Holiday Season.
“It’s a different book this year. Last year was ‘The Night Before Christmas’ and this year is ‘A Porcupine in a Pine Tree.'”
The StoryWalk starts at the Esplanade with the first page of the book located at an outside window by the front entrance. This also includes a map with locations of all participating businesses and other information about the StoryWalk. The second stop is the library and Lundrigan said each page tells you where the next stop is.
“Each page gives you another direction, we didn’t want it to be troublesome for people to find their way around.”
There is also a map and information at http://www.esplanade.ca on the Experiences page.
Lundrigan said the participating locations are closely spaced as she felt it was important to make sure it was accessible for small children. The StoryWalk is also free of charge.
“I think it’s always important to have accessible experiences, so something that everyone can do and enjoy,” she explained. “You don’t need to enter anywhere, it’s accessible anytime, day or night, any day of the week, so you can really just make it your own experience and use it as an opportunity to create your own memories with your family and friends.”
Check out the downtown Christmas StoryWalk, on now until Jan. 7.
