SUDBURY -- It was all smiles, no matter where you looked, as thousands came out to enjoy Family Day in the Greater Sudbury area.

Skaters gradually trickled in at the Sudbury Arena, as they came out for a free skate sponsored by Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre.

"It was a great time to skate and be with the family and practice on a couple things like crossovers," said Kyle Gray, who was practicing skating with his young son Hudson.

It was also a busy day at the YMCA where inflatables were a big hit with even the youngest of crowds.

Jack was of one many children having a great time hanging out with his loved ones.

"Have fun with your family and play mini-sticks with your family and play hockey," he told CTV News.

The local ski hills and skating rinks were all packed; it was hard to find even a parking space.

Bowlers in Hanmer decided to spend the day at Chico's Bowl, raising money for classrooms in Rwanda.

"Currently we have a kindergarten class, three kindergarten classes actually and what we're working on right now is additional classrooms," said Nicholas Ntaganda, a founder of La Chemin de la Lumiere.

There were also festivities at Centennial Arena that included a magician, skiing, skating and roasting marshmallows.

"It's great, I love the horse rides, I love the venue up here, it's packed-jam, it's perfect, it's beautiful," said Marc Levesque.