Westshore Town Centre will be bursting at the seams this weekend.
The Royal Astronomical Society, Boy Scouts, B.C. Lapidary club and the Victoria Model Shipbuilding Society are among 25 community groups that will line the busy shopping mall’s hallways celebrating the Family Day weekend.
“Langford is one of the fastest-growing communities with young families, and we wanted to meet their needs,” said mall spokesperson Sandra Doris. “We are excited to kick things up and it’s going to be fun.”
The groups’ presence at the mall is a longstanding annual event formerly known as the Westshore Hobby Show. Included in the activities is a ribbon cutting for the mall’s new 1,000-square-foot children’s play area, a structure that stretches toward the ceiling of the spacious mall interior.
An 18-foot by 10-foot pool will be set up for the model shipbuilders, who will show off a swath of floating crafts, some as big as six feet long.
“I enjoy replicating full-sized ships in miniature, although mine aren’t that miniature,” said society executive member Ron Armstrong. “Mine are models of Canadian ships and a way of restoring and showing Canadian heritage … By reproducing them in model form, it’s a way for capturing history and the role (they played) in our history.”
Armstrong has been attending the hobby show since 1987 and always looks forward to greeting visitors. “It is great to expose our club to the general public and expose the hobby. I would encourage people (to come down), not just for our exhibit. There are planes, plastic models, hats, knitting – all kinds of hobbies – so there should be something for everyone to enjoy.”
The weekend also includes the unveiling tomorrow (Feb. 7) of the mall’s new West Coast-flavoured family play area right in the middle of the mall.
Hobby exhibitions and activities, including a visit from Tickles the clown, run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday.
alim@goldstreamgazette.com