It wouldn’t be Christmas in the valley without the community coming together for an afternoon of fun at Yavis Family Restaurant.
Yavis’ will be holding a Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day 2022.
“The biggest thing is we want people to come down, enjoy the company and fellowship. Really that’s what it is all about. No one should be alone at home during Christmas,” said Ken Routh, chef and general manager at Yavis Family Restaurant, which is once again hosting the dinner.
The dinner provides a venue to enjoy a hot meal in the company of others. Attendance for the event spans all groups. Some seniors may not have family coming home, to others alone on the holiday.
Routh says this year, they will be collecting donations for The Salvation Army Food Bank during the event.
“Canned donations and cash donations are all going to go straight to The Salvation Army,” said Routh. “That’s because we want to help out the people who really need the help.”
“It’s tough in Alberta, and a lot of people are having challenges, the last thing we want to see is people alone at Christmas.”
The community is invited to the annual dinner from noon until 3 p.m. Volunteers will provide a pick-up service for those who do not have transportation.
There won’t be any deliveries this year but to arrange transportation to the event, you can call Yavis Family Restaurant on the day of the dinner, between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The Liberal federal government brought forward several proposed amendments to its gun control legislation, Bill C-21, in late November which could potentially lead to many rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting prohibited.
One major change in the proposed amendments would add a definition for “assault-style” firearms, which is currently not defined in Canadian law, and would also include a clause to ban any long gun capable of accepting a detachable magazine able to hold more than five rounds of ammunition.
“Bill C-21 is deeply problematic in and of itself,” Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek tells the Mail.
He adds there were significant problems with the bill, even before the proposed amendments were “dropped on the table in the eleventh hour,” and says the proposed amendments are a “backhanded, undemocratic approach” by the Liberal government.
“A bunch of firearms meant for hunting and farmers to protect their property, and sports shooters-these are important activities; for hunters and farmers, it’s integral to their livelihoods,” stated Alberta’s Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro during a virtual roundtable with rural media on Friday, December 9.
Bill C-21 was initially meant to ban handguns in a bid to reduce violent gun crime, but critics say the proposed changes are a significant departure from the original intention.
Both Minister Shandro and MP Kurek share concerns the federal Liberal government is using the image of “scary-looking” firearms to take them out of the hands of legal gun owners in Canada.
Conservatives are not the only ones with concerns around the proposed amendments to Bill C-21, either.
The amendments are also facing opposition from NDP and Liberal MPs, and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) also publicly stated it could not support the bill as it is currently presented due to the impact it would have on Indigenous hunters and communities, many of whom currently use firearms on the proposed banned list.
Minister Shandro noted the Liberal government was previously accused they would use Bill C-21 to “eventually go after hunters and sportsmen,” and says this is exactly what is being proposed with the amendments to the bill.
MP Kurek acknowledges there is a rise in violent crimes and gun violence in the country, but says the proposed amendments do not address the real problem; he adds, in most cases, guns used in violent crimes are often illegally obtained through means such as cross border smuggling.
He also expressed concerns over “softened penalties” and reduced mandatory minimums for some firearms offenses outlined in Bill C-5, which received royal assent in November.
Minister Shandro shares similar sentiments, noting the fact Canada does not currently track illegal gun crime-an issue he says he has brought up to federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino.
He worries the proposed changes are not focused on safety, but rather on politics and targeting law-abiding Canadians.