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A day at the Diamond Aces Remote Control Fun Fly event in photos

A day at the Diamond Aces Remote Control Fun Fly event in photos

Remote control airplanes were soaring through the sky yesterday at the Steinbach Fun Fly event.  

There were plenty of passionate airplane enthusiasts at the event, including Andrew Rodriguez who has a collection of over 40 planes. Then there was Scott Haslem who built some fairly large planes, and his significant other Diana who crocheted pilots for the planes he built. 

Another fun fact: some of the planes at the event could fly at over 150mph! 

Enjoy these photos we took at the event! Make sure you send us your summer photos to win some awesome prizes that are being given away throughout the season during the Show Us Your Summer contest.   

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‘Girls Can Fly’ event takes off this Saturday

'Girls Can Fly' event takes off this Saturday

The event aims to promote women in aviation and inspire the next generation of pilots

This Saturday, girls can tour the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre, meet inspiring female pilots and get a chance to learn more about the growing industry for their annual ‘Girls Can Fly’ event.

The free event is for girls aged 8 to 18-years-old to experience what it is like to take flight and give them a chance to learn more about aviation.

‘Girls Can Fly’ was created over 10 years ago to promote women in the aviation industry. They want to help inspire the younger generation of girls to think about a career as a pilot or in aviation.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 14, everyone is invited to attend, even if registration is full for flights for a plane or helicopter ride, kids will get a chance to visit unique exhibitors, educational activities, meet women in aviation and a food truck will be on site. 

Girls will get a chance to meet female pilots, flight attendants and other women who help make the industry a success. 

Julie Mudry, the marketing and communications manager for the WWFC, said there a range of aviation companies coming out to help give young girls an experience in flight, including Cambridge company Great Lakes Helicopter, which will offer helicopter rides all day. 

“We will have a few companies that will be conducting activities, such as creating airplanes out of cardboard boxes, that was something we did in previous years. We want them to come out and make a day of it, there will be lots for them to do.” 

The Flight Centre is located at the Region of Waterloo Airport in Breslau.

“We created this 10 or 11 years ago as a way to promote women in aviation and give young girls a chance to experience what being a pilot is like, what working in aviation is like,” said Bob Connors, the General Manager at WWFC. 

“We are not sure how many we’ve inspired over the years but at least one told us her first experience in planes was at one of our events when she was young.” 

They are excited to be able to offer the event this year as the pandemic had put a pause on it previously. 

Over the years, they have put over a thousand girls in planes, said Connors.

“Come out, even if you can’t get a flight, there will be lots on the ground for them to do.” 

The ‘Girls Can Fly’ event takes place Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre.

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‘Magical’: Fairies fly in to Burnaby for children’s nature event in May

'Magical': Fairies fly in to Burnaby for children's nature event in May

Parents and kids can dress up as fairies, elves and animals in this nature-themed spring event.

Fairies will flutter into Burnaby Lake Regional Park for a whimsical gathering of mirth and magic on Saturday, May 21.

Metro Vancouver is hosting the popular Forest Fairy Gathering event, hoping to encourage children to use their imaginations and play in nature.

Guests are encouraged to dress up as fairies, gnomes or woodland creatures. Children can build fairy homes and participate in the Elf Olympics (which includes a trail walk).

Mona Matson, a special events assistant at Metro Vancouver Regional Parks who is coordinating the event, said fairies are symbols of spirits that protect nature.

“By exploring the realm of fairies and gnomes, it helps to inspire nature protection, as well as connection,” Matson said.

She noted that regional parks have a mission to connect people with nature, in order to lead people to care for the parks in return.

“We try to bring people together to have a shared experience in the park, to get excited about nature and wildlife so that people want to learn more and then become stewards of the parks themselves,” Matson said.

Irene Lau, chair of the Burnaby Lake Park Association, called the event “magical.”

“It’s a really fantastic event in the sense that you really get kids interested in nature at a really young age,” Lau said. She said the park association helps teach children about invasive species, like English ivy.

This is the first year since the pandemic that the event is back to its full capacity. The first fairy gathering event was held in 2013.

In past years, Matson has dressed up as a forest gnome in a red polka-dot dress, striped tights and mushroom accessories.

“We want to have places for people to recreate and enjoy the park, but it’s also much more about protecting the ecosystems and nature,” Matson said.

The Burnaby Public Library will also host two story times in the mushroom circle behind the Nature House.

The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 at 4519 Piper Ave., near the Burnaby Lake Nature House. For more information, call 604-432-6359.