The new year is just hours away. Soon, we will say goodbye to 2016 and welcome 2017, which is a big year in this country. 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation and there will be many opportunities to celebrate Canada from coast to coast.
Parks Canada is offering free park passes for Canadians and it’s a great opportunity to see our national parks. In Alberta, there are five – Elk Island, Jasper, Banff, Waterton Lakes and Wood Buffalo (shared with Northwest Territories) – all offering incredible beauty. If you feel like visiting outside of the province, there are dozens of others across the country to see and explore. The pass also gives access to National Historic Sites operated by Parks Canada – which includes 171 locations in Canada and 15 in Alberta – some of the most important landmarks in our country’s history.
In St. Albert, the celebrations will kick off with New Year’s Eve fireworks at Mission Hill. St. Albert’s Canada 150 co-ordinator Rhonda Egar-Lee will be there, giving out hot chocolate. Egar-Lee is in charge of all the events and activities related to the sesquicentennial, not the least of which includes collecting stories from St. Albertans.
“What we’ll be doing is getting 150 stories from local residents to mark Canada’s 150th and putting that on our social media and website, and sharing it through video,” she said.
“To gather those 150 stories, we’ll be going out into the community and doing certain small events to obtain those and engaging with the community that way. That’s one part of it and of course, there’s just being out and about in the community for the events that other community stakeholders have as well.”
More activities, events and contests will be posted at www.stalbert.ca/canada150. There is already information about a St. Albert songwriting competition in the spring. There are plans for a large block party downtown and a public art project is expected to be unveiled in the fall.
Here at the Gazette, we’ve been running a monthly feature highlighting local history, written by Kevin Ma. This is a great opportunity to learn about the history of the people of our region and we would encourage all to visit our local heritage sites this year. Whether it is Father Lacombe Chapel or the Grain Elevator Park, there is plenty to see and learn. We have a lot of natural beauty and interesting history to experience closer to home.
Don’t let 2017 be just another year, participate in the celebration. Take your vacation in Canada. Watch a Canadian movie. Take up the opportunity to see some of our national parks. Learn local history and visit historic sites. Take the opportunity to experience, celebrate and appreciate this great country. Have a happy new year.
