The Big Give 2026

 Yes, It's true. 

We held another BIG GIVE Event this year at Calvin. 

We have held this event for many years now.  You can go back to other years to see those posts. 

If you wanted to know more about THE BIG GIVE, just click on this link. 

https://thebiggive.ca/

This year, the weather was iffy, so we decided to do a hybrid indoor/outdoor BIG GIVE. 

We also held a yard sale again. 

Enjoy the pics : ) 

The yard sale portion of the Big Give. Thanks Jaccinta, Josh and Joel for organizing this this year. 

People were waiting outside at 8 a.m.  : ) 

There was some confusion about the start time, but people were patient.  

The prayer station was inside this time. 

There was a craft table again. Megan headed that up with some younger folks.  

They painted Rocks.  

We had live music as well, outside.  

To start with, Leif played his guitar for us. 

Thanks Leif.  

Bike repair was done again. 

Waiting for things to begin. 

Thanks Doug, Brian and Albert for doing this again. 

Before we knew it, it was 10 a.m. and we let people in. 

Some folks came with their kids, which was perfect for rock painting : ) 

The car wash happened even though rain threatened all morning. 

The group was kept pretty busy.  

We also did the BBQ outside, under tents. 

Hot dogs and other healthy snacks : ) 

Michael and Carrie gave us more live music

The car wash continues.  

The prayer spot was busy throughout the day. 

Bikes being repaired.  

Lunch is served.  More like a brunch : ) 

We started at 10:30 a.m. this time. 

It worked out better. 

We started at 10 a.m. and concluded more or less at 12:45 p.m.  

We served about 280 hot dogs, which was GREAT.  

Thanks to all who came out to help, chat with people who came to visit, pray for people, and just be a general blessing to the community. 

Whoot  !!!! : ) 

Pizza and Games night. Whoot!!!

 This past Saturday, Calvin once again had some fun eating pizza and playing games. 

Enjoy the pics.  

We were supposed to start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, but some late arrivals got us going at 6:15 : )  People waited semi-patiently for the pizza. 

We had several varieties of pizza, 

along with healthy veggies. 

We had juuuusssstttt enough. 

And then, well, it was 

GAME TIME!!!!  

I'm not sure what this one was.  

Catan here

Neanderthals??? 

Banana Grams! 

Apples to Apples! 

Mexican Train? 

A traditional game of Scrabble. 

Even Chess!!! 

All in all, another great intergenerational night of food and fun.  Until next year D.V. 

Calvin's GEMS and CADET Cub Car Construction and Races!

 Welcome back to my blog. 

Today, we focus on another annual tradition at Calvin.  Something that requires skill, ingenuity, and a bit of luck : ) 

CUB CARS!!!! 

Once again, the GEMS and Cadets took a Thursday evening to make their coveted Cub Car that would hopefully bring notoriety and fame to the builder : ) 

The next Thursday the races happened with the results bringing joy and some sadness as well.  But all in all, it was another fun event.  Enjoy the pictures and short video clips below.  

Construction begins.  

Lots of cutting and sanding take place.  

A quick way to dry the paint : ) 

Parents participated as well 

Weights need to be added to give the cars a bit of a push.  But there are stringent weight guidelines. 

Construction continues.  

The next week were the races. 

Cars were weighed, registered, and given a number. 

The infamous track is set up. 

I think this thing is like 30 years old or more!! : ) 

The registration line is getting long : ) 

Some of the finished cars. 

Nice work. 

Let the races begin. 

There were some close races.  

The trophies. 

Fastest Car

Best Looking Car

and one other thing. hhmmm 

That can be found in last year's blog entry :) 

Time to give out the trophies.  

Shawn gave the Cadets a special trophy for coming in 3rd place at the snow derby this year.  

Great effort boys.  

The trophies have been awarded. 

Below are some quick videos of the races to give you an idea of how close some were.