Family Day in Kingston

Next Monday is Family Day.  This extra day off was added to Ontario’s calendar in 2008 as a provincial holiday, following the lead of South Africa; Alberta; British Columbia; Saskatchewan; Arizona; Nevada and Australia.  Alberta was the first province in Canada to establish Family Day in 1990, with the rest of us following suit in the 2000s.  The idea behind the holiday is to allow for families to have a day to focus on spending time together.

Although the idea of Family Day is a nice one, its status as a provincial versus a stat holiday means many folks still have to work.  This leaves many parents making the choice between finding childcare or using one of their personal days – should they be lucky enough to have any.  For self-employed folks like myself, provincial holidays like this usually means a day off whether we want it or not, resulting in lost revenue.  At the same time, I do welcome the day off at a time when winter blues are at their highest.  Keeping in mind that “Family” is not restricted to those with children, we want to know:

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If you are planning on celebrating this relatively new holiday, tell us what you plan to do.  If you’re staying in Kingston, will you be out and about, skating at Market Square, going for a ski at Little Cat or maybe catching a movie?  Or will you stay home and hunker down for the day?  If you’re headed out of town, where are you going?  Maybe to visit family or for a weekend of skiing?  For those of you who are taking one for the team and spending the day at the office, you’re welcome to vent here.  Tell us all about it and, whether you get family day off or not, I hope you’re able to find time to spend with your loved ones.

Thanks to Michael Lokner for today’s photo.