According to the event’s coordinator, Désirée Tremblay-Giroux, reaching the milestone brought a great sense of joy and there was no better way to share it with the community than an evening of socializing.

“Birthday parties are a fun celebration,” she said. “Everyone has a good time and it’s a great way of bringing everyone together.”

Usually, the MDJ reserve Friday evenings at PHS for musical pub-nights.

So, to celebrate their first anniversary in style, the MDJ invited members of local rock collective Beyond Driven, Erin Davis and Jeremy Williams, to play a set of hard rock classics for the small crowd on hand.

Throughout the evening, groups of attendees sat at tables and socialized while others enjoyed themselves playing video games, foosball or air hockey.

Stationed just outside the school, Billy T’s food truck doled out tons of delicious slices of pizza along with ice cold beverages free of charge to keep the youngsters’ appetites satisfied.

While admission to the event was free, the MDJ invited attendees to donate funds or food to Bouffe Pontiac’s food drive.

“There’s a definite need in each of our communities for the food bank,” Tremblay-Giroux said.

She emphasized that the MDJ’s first year in Shawville has been a huge success, made evident by the consistent uptick in participation numbers since it first got launched last November.

“It’s awesome because it seems we grow every month,” she said. “We have new participants, new activities, a new partnership too – it’s fun.”

According to the organization’s Director General, Stéphane Durocher, the MDJ’s collaboration with PHS has been very beneficial for youth in the community, all thanks to its popularity among locals.

“We’re really happy with the development,” he said. “We have a great participation rate with Shawville youth. Since we’ve developed it, we’ve offered a lot of activities to young people. We have a really good partnership with PHS and the Western Quebec [School Board] (WQSB).”

With a solid crowd on hand to celebrate the MDJ’s milestone, Durocher was quite happy with the turnout.

Logan Black, Jeremy Giroux and Jackson Williams play some video games during Saturday night’s party.

Kailee Dowdall competes on the air hockey table on Saturday night.

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