Leading up to Beacon's 3rd Annual Family Day Festival, all eyes were on the forecast. It was not looking good. They were predicting 10-15mm of rain and positive temperatures. It looked like a day destined to melt our ice rinks, flood our skiing trails, and make a waterfall out of our tube hill. We prayed hard.

And lo and behold, God decided it was a good day for a little miracle! We woke to a forecast of a cloudy, but mainly rain-free, period during the festival. Renewed by God's faithfulness, we got ready to welcome our camp family through the gates for a fun-filled day!

This year camp teemed with about 175 guests plus volunteers, making it our highest attended festival! We were encouraged to see both families familiar with camp as well as new faces. It was also great to see big groups connected with Rexdale Alliance Church (Toronto) and Bethel Community Church (Barrie) joining in the day.

Other than the ever-popular tube hill run and Liz Grootenboer's famous cross-country ski lessons, guests this year could enjoy not just one but two large skating rinks as well as Mark Vandervecht's longest skating path ever. There were also new locations to enjoy the warmth of a campfire: not just the beach, but in front of the tuck shop and at the base of the tube hill. 

A snowman contest ensued, and the winner was the snowman family of 3, all of whose names were Bob. The creators Avalene, Abby and Marin showed great ingenuity, incorporating Beacon promotional activities and unique decorations. 

Everyone enjoyed the delicious Beacon classic of chicken-a-la-king for lunch, complemented by Elisa Best's homemade buns and apple spice cake. Hot chocolate and marshmallows were also consumed in large quantities throughout the day!

By the time we were doing our final clean-up, all the Beacon staff were tired but could agree that God was good in rearranging the weather of the day so that we could enjoy Beacon's natural beauty in the company of so many great friends. Thank you to all who came out, and we hope to see you again next year!