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Nothing to do, huh

July 13, 2018   ·   0 Comments

I recently read a news article about a local resident who is running for council in the next election who lamented there ‘wasn’t much for kids to do in town.”

Yes, how boring is Orangeville. There’s nothing to do.

Where have I heard this before? It was when I was in high school and an article in the local newspaper said there was nothing for kids to do. Basically it was the same article just years later.

Nothing to do in Orangeville? Well, maybe if you’re prime activity is staring at your iPhone or sitting in front of a Netflix screen like a robot.

It doesn’t take much research to learn about activities for kids in this town. Lets take a look at this horrible void that leaves kids standing on the street corner with nothing to do.

For starters, the sports scene is covered in all seasons. There is a hockey league, soccer leagues, a football league, baseball leagues, lacrosse leagues, slo-pitch and softball leagues, and a beautiful well equipped tennis club right in the middle of town. Most, if not all of these leagues have divisions starting at very young ages and go right up through high school and beyond.

All of these sports consist of games and practices – yes, that will keep a kid busy.

There are two arenas in town, both equipped with swimming pools. Try taking swimming lessons – it’s something to do and just may save your life some day.

The Alder Street arena has a full gym and a professionally coached gymnastics club.

Try your local church. On top of regular activities, most churches have youth groups that participate in a variety of activities. One of my best memories was going with my church’s youth group on everything from outdoor adventures to pool parties.

There is a well maintained skateboard and BMX park in Orangeville that is always full of kids and even older people that seem to be having a blast every time I drive by.

We have the Island Lake Conservation area that has trails and offers fishing, boating, and kayaking. Nothing to do? You could spend a lot of summer days there trying new adventures.

Orangeville has several well maintained parks with a wide variety of activities from splash pads and playgrounds to areas for friendly pick-up games of ball or soccer.

Maybe your kid isn’t the athletic type. No problem there.

There is a youth theatre group in town and a public library that is always holding activities for kids.

There are all sorts of clubs for kids like the Scouts and Girl Guides who run great programs and teach the kids a lot while having fun doing it.

Try getting on your bicycle and following one of the bike paths through town.

The fact that Orangeville is surrounded by rural land means there’s a whole other bevy of things to do in the wide open spaces, but doing that means getting off the couch.

There are summer camps and even winter sports camps to keep active

The Town has a variety of festivals each year – and good ones. Being a part of that as either a visitor or volunteer means ‘doing something.’

There are plenty of places in town for kids to find part-time summer jobs where they can actually earn money and learn about life in the workforce.

The article goes on to say youth are leaving Orangeville because of the lack of jobs or to seek other opportunities.

Really? Since when are you supposed to spend your entire life in the same town? Many people do leave their hometown in search of something new. That’s life – not an indictment of Orangeville’s failure to keep people around.

With Orangeville’s population expanding and a lot of newcomers in the area, does that mean all these new people abandoned their own hometown in a youth-drain to come here, and now those other towns have dwindling populations and are about to crumble because everyone left? If that’s the case, most of the towns and cities in the country would be full of nothing but retired senior citizens.

If there’s ‘nothing to do’ in Orangeville it’s because you haven’t looked for something to do.

Life doesn’t come to you and knock on your door – you have to seek it out.

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