Unplug & Play Promotes Screen-Free Fun
Thomas Briginshaw & Sierre Allison of LASS are preparing for the 2025 Unplug & Play event (Photo Credit: Scoop Staff)
By Jo Boxwell
Unplug & Play Family Literacy Week, a program of the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society (LASS), returns January 25 to February 1, 2025. With a focus on getting children off screens and engaged in activities that promote literacy, physical activity, creativity and community connection, the week has become a much-loved program for families in the Shuswap, attracting 2,400 people across 50 events in 2024. Last year’s program saw organizations hosting events in and around Salmon Arm as well as in Blind Bay, Sicamous, Armstrong, Enderby and Falkland. Families went on story walks, tried tennis and taekwondo, joined a drumming circle, learned about different cultures and much more, all completely free. Thomas Briginshaw, LASS Literacy Outreach Coordinator said, “The whole community gets behind it and it’s really a good time.”
Sierre Allison, Assistant Literacy Outreach Coordinator with LASS, handles much of the organization for Unplug & Play. She explained, “We see a lot of community partners returning year after year, which I think speaks for itself, and we’ve had emails from families asking when Unplug and Play is happening because they’re planning their January schedule around it.”
Community organizations host most of the events with LASS managing the promotion. Participating organizations benefit because it is a great opportunity to introduce families to the programming they offer. Thomas expressed his appreciation for everyone who gets involved, noting that there are “50 or more community organizations who put in a lot of effort planning and coordinating and hosting and doing really strong programming for free that week, and the feedback is incredible.”
Every year brings new events as well as returning favourites, like the magic show and skating with the Silverbacks. 2025 activities that may be of particular interest to families in the South Shuswap include the NSSCR’s Unplug and Play Cooking Challenge. “Families cook from provided ingredients and then post pictures of what they’ve made,” with the potential to win prizes, Sierre explained. Pre-registration is required at www.nsscr.ca.
The South Shuswap Library in Blind Bay will be hosting several events including Bubble Wonders (January 25), a Little Art Making session that will include supplies for making a 5” x 7” artwork (January 28) and a session on how to make a pinecone bird feeder (January 29).
Passports that include a full schedule of events will be distributed through elementary schools and can also be downloaded from organization’s website (shuswapliteracy.ca). The continued support that schools provide in sharing Unplug & Play event information with their communities is a big help to LASS in getting the word out about the numerous events taking place.
Unplug and Play takes place every January to align with Family Literacy Day on January 27. Sierre hopes the week will spark conversations and encourage families “to think about the role that screens play in their daily routines, and if there are ways to change that or make screens less important to the daily routine.”
Businesses and community organizations who may be interested in hosting a future free, family friendly Unplug & Play event when the annual program returns in 2026 can contact Sierre at info@shuswapliteracy.ca for more information.
