Located above the post office in downtown Stettler is a hidden treasure for parents and young children looking for fun activities and friend-making opportunities.
The treasure is the free activity program known as Parent Link, which closed its 2014 year out with a “Messy Art” day where kids could paint with sparkles, sparkle-glue, markers and paints.
The kids, however, were more interested in playing with the fabulous playsets and the costumes than working on the messy art, leaving parents to complete the projects as they drove around as firefighters and police officers, climbed mountains, and crawled through deep, “dangerous” underground tunnels (also known as cardboard tubes).
Vicki Callianteris was at the Messy Art day with her son, three-and-a-half year-old Mason Proven. Proven was determined to become everything he could be, starting out as a police officer, graduating to a firefighter, and closing off his career as a doctor.
“Mason has been (here) two or three times now,” Callianteris said, explaining that her husband brought him by the first few times. “Now that we know about it, (we’ll be here more). We didn’t know about this at all.”
According to Candice Magee, the parent link program assistant, it’s a common comment from new guests at the play program.
“We’ve been (above the post office) for six years and most people don’t even know we’re here,” she said.
When parents find out, though, they tend to be longterm friends of the program, which offers free activities for parents and their toddlers.
“Some days, I think the parents have more fun than the kids,” Magee said with a laugh.
Tiffany Gopfrich was supervising her son, Liam, who was determined to become a master builder, building towers out of blocks. The four-year-old had to rebuild several times as firefighter Mason drove his car into the tower repeatedly.
“We just found out about (parent link) recently ourselves,” Liam’s mom noted.
The program has several different activities for January planned out, including the return of some regular programming and some unique opportunities.
On Tuesdays between 10 a.m. and noon is Messy Art Tuesday, with Music and Movement following on Wednesday during the same time period. On Friday, again 10 a.m. to noon, is Mixed Up Fridays, featuring different themes. This Friday, Jan. 9, is bouncy day, where the upstairs toy area will be cleared out and bouncy houses inflated for kids to enjoy.
Parent Link is found upstairs at the post office building. Access to the second floor is not through the doors leading to the post office, but by the doors by the outdoor message board.