For families planning on making the move to RidgeWood West, there is a great neighbourhood feature that promises to sweeten the deal: Westdale Community Centre. While the community centre has been around since the 70s, the facility has seen a number of important improvements in recent years.
"We have new flooring for basketball, volleyball and badminton, and recently completed a $200,000 renovation for new bathrooms in our main hallway and skate change area," explains Angela Caron, General Manager of Westdale Community Centre.
"We also have a new dance studio that operates seven days a week and we've introduced a number of other new programs."
For families with young children, the community centre offers Kids Play Blvd. on Tuesdays, featuring bouncers and tons of toys. This drop-in is the perfect place for kids to get active and parents to socialize. For older kids, there is a popular sports drop-in on Friday evenings for kids 6-12 where you can expect a fun night of volleyball, basketball, soccer or floor hockey.
One of the community centre's newest programs is called Kids in the Kitchen – it's so popular, in fact, that there is currently a wait list. "There are 10 kids aged 6-12 per lesson and we teach all sorts of cooking skills," Angela explains. "In the new year, we are also planning a sewing program for kids 8-12 where they will create dolls, clothes and other fun creations."
While all of these programs are a big draw, most traffic coming through the community centre is for the Westdale Warriors hockey club. The community centre hosts 11 teams across a wide range of age groups with a total of 140 kids registered. The Westdale Community Centre has two sheets of outdoor ice, and their Warriors teams also practice at the Pembina Trails Community Centre which is only minutes away.
For seniors, they currently offer pickle ball and aerobics through the Charleswood Senior Centre. Other programs include The Karen Luba School of Dance, a softball team, as well as Dynamite Cheerleading which makes use of the centre's athletic mats, tumble tracks and trampoline. At Westdale Community Centre, there is truly something for everyone!
For a full calendar of programs and event listings, visit the Westdale Community Centre website.