ATHABASCA/WESTLOCK — Youth from Athabasca, Boyle, Thorhild and Westlock were among the participants in the annual Lemonade Day event on June 15, where kids host a lemonade stand for one day in order to learn how to start, own and operate their own business.
Amanda Robinson, marketing and communications analyst for Community Futures (CF) — Tawatinaw Region said they had 14 lemonade stands set up in Westlock, six in Athabasca, two in Boyle and three in Thorhild. Four lemonade stands were set up in Barrhead that day, although the community falls in another CF region, Robinson said.
Lemonade Day was originally established in Texas in 2007, but was brought to the Community Futures — Tawatinaw Region in 2018. At its inception, the program was offered in just nine towns.
It proved so popular that it grew beyond the region, and in 2024, 14 offices offered the program in 58 communities, with more than 1,200 kids participating in Lemonade Day.
Lemonade Day is open to children of all ages from Kindergarten to high school. Each child that registers attends “Lemonade University” where they learn how to set a goal and plan for their lemonade stand using either a workbook or app.
“As Community Futures’ purpose is to support rural small business owners, we believe it's extremely important to impart skills such as financial literacy and budgeting at an early age. If you want responsible, successful business owners in the future then introducing that knowledge early is essential,” said Robinson.
“Lemonade Day is much broader than just one individual child selling lemonade from his or her stand. It’s a process that gets the whole community focused on investing in our youth and teaching them about business.”
Participants keep all the money they earn, but the program encourages them to save some and share some, so usually, the children pick a local non-profit organization to donate some of their proceeds. As a result, more than $35,000 has been donated to local charities since 2018.
In addition, judges also go around to the various lemonade stands and select some of the youth for the following three awards: best-tasting lemonade, best lemonade stand and best entrepreneur. The winners of these awards receive a ribbon and a prize of $100.
The local winners are as follows:
Westlock Best Tasting Lemonade — Lemony Lemonade, Oliver Woynorowski
Westlock Best Lemonade Stand — Detective Lemonade, Hailey and Lisbeth Dul
Westlock Best Entrepreneur — Aloha Lemonade, Rayna Kneller
Athabasca and Boyle Best Tasting Lemonade — Crafty Lemonade, Emily Young
Athabasca and Boyle Best Lemonade Stand — Jack and Wade’s Lemonade, Jack and Wade Samson
Athabasca and Boyle Best Entrepreneur — When Life Gives You Lemons, Theo and Carter Benn
Thorhild and Clyde Best Tasting Lemonade — AK Lemonade, Amelia Lahti and Katie Murphy
Thorhild and Clyde Best Lemonade Stand — Candy Lemonade Stand; Emma and Kate Feledichuk, Myles and Maisy Kidd
Thorhild and Clyde Best Entrepreneur — Squeezed, Bryson Mackin
Legal, Gibbons and Redwater Best Tasting Lemonade — Zach and Max’s Lemonade Stan, Maxwell and Zachary McKay
Legal, Gibbons, and Redwater Best Lemonade Stand — Dallas and Elizabeth’s Lemonade Stand, Dallas Conway and Elizabeth McWhirter
Legal, Gibbons, and Redwater Best Entrepreneur — Lemony Snippets; Kyileigh Morgan, Serenity Clark and Temperance Clark
Morinville Best Tasting Lemonade — Puck Drop Lemonade Stop, Alexander Hebler
Morinville Best Lemonade Stand — Little Lemon Shop, Isbaella Montpetit
Morinville Best Entrepreneur — Sunshine Citrus, Margaret Werbicki and Daria Davidenko-Shavyrina
