The Town of Legal is the grand-prize winner of a high profile marketing campaign.
The tiny town located about 30 minutes north of St. Albert is the recipient of Big Valley Jamboree’s Small Town Saturday Night competition.
By entering a two-minute video promoting Legal, the town won the honour of hosting a mini country jamboree on Saturday, April 28. It also received $5,000 for the Friends of Legal School to construct a playground.
“I’m thrilled silly,” said Legal councillor Trina Jones. “It’s gone from a marketing tool to getting Legal’s name out there and it’s given the whole town a morale booster. To see people smile whenever there’s talk about the jamboree is like a mini-legacy and we can build on that.”
Travel Alberta in partnership with Panhandle Productions (organizers for the internationally successful Big Valley Jamboree) made the announcement at the Growing Rural Tourism (GRT) Awards dinner at the Camrose Regional Exhibition on Tuesday, April 3.
Since then Jones has been overwhelmed by the community’s response.
“I have not put the phone down. My email box is overflowing and I’ve responded to 100 emails in the last two days,” Jones said.
In total, Panhandle Productions received 53 entries and 100,000 fan votes.
“Legal received the highest overall votes. For a community of 1,200 to get 17,000 votes – that’s fantastic,” said Chris Melnychuk, Panhandle marketing and publicity director.
“Their video was a fantastic show of everything they are proud of – community spirit, community involvement, pride and why someone might want to visit.”
Small Town Saturday Night will be one of the largest events to hit Legal, with sought-after country singer/songwriters Dean Brody, Aaron Lines, Samantha King, Duane Steele, Shane Chisholm and Tim Hus all scheduled to perform.
The tentative framework includes acoustic performances, autograph sessions, a songwriters’ circle, an evening concert, family activities and a beer garden.
Legal was shortlisted along with four other rural communities – Bashaw, Bonnyville, Devon and High River.
“In general, anybody who made the top five did an exceptional job and they deserve the recognition,” Melnychuk added.
The town, convinced of its high standings, took a delegation of 13 to the GRT conference.
“We were pretty confident, but there was a little tickle of fear,” Jones said.
The two-minute video Legal entered was a spoof on Toby Keith’s drinking song Red Solo Cup. The lyrics were refreshed into a family-friendly satire under the moniker Red Plastic Cup.
“We owe a lot to Mr. Keith for coming up with the song. But I think the success had more to do with the message and how the community pulled together to do it,” Jones said.
Jones stressed that the contest entry was a complete community effort.
“It’s not just a pat on the back of the committee. It’s not just one person doing it. It’s all our supporters. We were amazed at reaching the level we did, and we want to thank everybody who helped out,” she said.
Volunteers will be needed in every area from ticket takers and concession attendants to beer servers and to general gofers. The Town of Legal has set up a volunteer registry. Email [email protected] or call 780-961-3773.
Ticket sales will be posted on the town website at www.town.legal.ab.ca when they become available.
