Lowell YMCA Puzzle Art Fair Offers Family Fun

Program director Marta Rozema and member Garland Berry show off one of the puzzles to be auctioned at the Puzzle Art Fair.

Lowell families looking to get out of the house tomorrow will want to make a beeline for the YMCA. Located in the strip mall next to Rite Aid and across from McDonald’s, the Y will be hosting a Puzzle Art Fair featuring plenty of activities for all ages.

Puzzles Puzzles Everywhere

The Puzzle Art Fair isn’t your typical YMCA event, but that may be because the Lowell branch offers more than exercise equipment, fitness classes and youth sports leagues. It’s a place that has cultivated a sense of community among members who enjoy hanging out with each other long after the workout is done.

That sense of camaraderie may be what led someone to first lay out a puzzle on a table by the front entrance. Marta Rozema, program director for the Lowell YMCA, doesn’t remember all the details, but she knows that when the puzzle was done, she broke it apart and put it back in the box.

Members were aghast. They kept asking what had happened to the puzzle, Rozema recalls. After that, the puzzle table was a regular fixture in the Y, and members decided to glue together the completed works and frame them. “We’ve had young kids sit with the older folks,” Rozema says of the appeal of the puzzle table. “It’s been neat [and] everything has been donated.”

Now, the Y has at least 40 framed puzzles and the question has become: what to do with them? The answer, it was decided, is to hold a Puzzle Art Fair and auction them off.

Community Comes Together for Event

The 40+ puzzles will be available for bids during a silent auction from 10am-7pm on Wednesday, September 20. All proceeds from the auction will stay in Lowell and support the branch’s annual campaign. Money raised will be used for financial assistance for childcare, memberships and the Live Strong Cancer Survivor Program.

However, that’s not the only activity planned for the fair. “I thought, why don’t we make this a family fun event?” Rozema says. Members agreed it was a great idea, and area businesses have pitched in to help.

From 4pm-7pm, there will be:

  • Bounce houses from Bernard’s Ace Hardware
  • Food from B.C. Pizza
  • Drinks from McDonalds
  • Live music from Lucky Dog Band, Lexie Rose, Eric Clark and Laurie Thebo

Plus, the Lowell Area Fire Authority will be there with one of their trucks, an outdoor zumba class will be held and arts and crafts will be available for the kids. For those who want to try out the gym equipment, the Lowell YMCA will be handing out free guest passes.

All activities are free, and the Lowell Y hopes residents will stop down for an evening of fun. However, don’t leave without also checking out the puzzles and bidding on your favorite. Your support is crucial to helping keep programs at our local YMCA accessible to everyone.

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