Miguel Osorio and his family came to Canada from Chile 10 months ago and they experienced something very Canadian Saturday, ice skating.
Hundreds of new Canadians took to the ice in downtown Windsor's Charles Clark Square for the fifth annual Newcomer Skate. The event ran all afternoon and Osorio took full advantage, spending the entire day on the ice with his wife Priscylla and 11-year-old son Tomas.
Coming from a much warmer climate in Chile, the 33 year old says strapping on the skates was a fun adventure.
"It's been crazy. It's my first time on the ice. We borrowed skates from the church and I think it took 15 minutes before I was able to stand up by myself. It was really hard," he says.
He says newcomer events make it easier to find new hobbies.
"For newcomers like us it's great because this is completely new for us. We came from a country where we don't have this kind of winter, it's not this cold. We don't have ice or places we can skate. This is great," says Osorio. "The cold is kind of a thing that makes you stay at home, so if you have something to do as a newcomer you just go and have fun there."
The event is a partnership between All Saints Church, the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario and Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative.
Skates and helmets were available to loan for free and there was also soup, bread, fruit, vegetables and hot chocolate.