Picnic with a Purpose serves up smiles on Sunday

The third annual Picnic with a Purpose was a huge hit on Sunday in downtown High River.

The annual event was taken over by the FCSS County nonprofit group this year and they couldn't be happier.

Amanda Midgley, FCSS Coordinator for Foothills County, said they had a fabulous day.

"It was fantastic, it was a great day. We had our face painters, we had our petting zoo, we had a toonie barbecue, we had tonnes of fun, and the weather did cooperate, thank goodness, it was a little cool in the morning, but it warmed up. We also had some great artists come and play for us. It was a fabulous day all around. All of our vendors really had a good time and got to meet tonnes of local and Foothills folks. We figured about 600 people came out."

Midgley explains why FCSS County took over the planning this year.

"It was a little tough for our not-for-profits to put it together this year, so County decided that we wanted to help grow it as a Foothills region event and not just a High River event."

Dozens of local businesses offered up their support in many ways including cooking up toonie hot dogs.

"The Kinsmen and Kinettes did an amazing job with our barbecue. There were so many people there helping out. Our volunteers and our vendors, oh my goodness it was just a wonderful day. We were so grateful for the community to come together for sure."

The event was held once again at George Lane Park in downtown High River.