Mark your calendar for a birthday bash that's 150 years in the making.
A homecoming will be one of the signature events of St. Albert's yearlong 150th anniversary celebrations next year. It will run on Saturday, July 16, 2011 and give descendants and relatives of the community's early settlers a chance to renew old friendships and celebrate St. Albert.
"We're hoping that people who used to live in St. Albert will come back for a visit," said Margaret Plain, chair of the 150th anniversary celebration committee. "We're hoping to be in touch with descendants of families who used to live here long ago, or even [not that] long ago."
A host of activities is planned for the homecoming, including tours of designated sites in the city and a banquet dinner. The tour starts at Servus Credit Union Place and includes stops at St. Albert Botanic Park, St. Albert Place, the farmers' market, Grain Elevator Park and the replica train station.
Everyone who participates on the tour will receive a passport that can be stamped at each stop along the tour. Passports can then be used to enter a draw at dinner, Plain said.
Tour-goers can purchase a bagged lunch from the committee to picnic along the way or they can break for lunch, Plain said.
The Enjoy Centre, part of Hole's Greenhouses & Gardens new retail development, is the final stop on the outing. Visitors will receive a tour through the complex prior to a banquet dinner with entertainment by Danny Boisvert.
Several families are already planning reunions during 2011, Plain said, and all are welcome to participate in the homecoming. The committee will put together packages for families that can't make it, allowing them to visit the tour sites on their own time, she said.
Register early
Plain recommends signing up early for the homecoming.
"We know that we can accommodate 500 people at the dinner. That's our target number," she said. "We could have a cast of thousands, potentially."
Registration forms will be available at www.rendezvous2011.ca, on Facebook , using registration forms in the St. Albert Gazette, or the 150th anniversary celebration office at 109B – 50 St. Thomas St. (St. Thomas Manor).
Families can also register this weekend at the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce Spring into Spring Lifestyle Expo at Servus Place, where the 150th anniversary committee will have a booth.
"We would like people to get in touch with family and friends that have lived in St. Albert and invite them to come back and have a visit. And see St. Albert as it is now."
For more information about the 150th anniversary celebrations, visit www.rendezvous2011.ca.
