Banff has plans afoot for year-long Alberta Centennial celebration
by Rob Alexander
Happy Birthday Alberta!
Named for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, the Province of Alberta will officially be a century young this September 1.
And since it's a stellar reason to celebrate - and we're not a group to pass up a good party - Albertans have decided to extend the celebrations throughout the entire year of 2005.
In the Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff, a local committee - the Banff-Lake Louise Centennial Committee - got underway last year to begin coordinating their community's Centennial celebration. With their slogan, "our people, our history", Banff intends to honour the history and the people that made Banff what it is today.
"One of the things with Banff, it is older than the Province… and yet even in 1905, people had already well discovered Banff and Lake Louise and there was so much happening in that time period with people coming out and doing paintings and then there was the rail excursions and mountaineering was getting going - it was just a beehive of activity," said Nigel Paterson, a long-time Banff resident and a spokesman for the Centennial committee.
The history of this "beehive of activity" dates back to 1883 when hundreds of men descended on the Bow Valley while building the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Three of these workers discovered the famed sulphur hot springs that eventually led to Banff becoming Canada's first national park. Since then, the town has always been busy, just as Paterson suggested, with scores tourists from all parts of the world arriving daily.
Banff also has a special link to the creation of the Province of Alberta - the town's doctor, Dr. R.G. Brett, chief medical officer for the CPR and one of Banff's first doctors, became Alberta's Lieutenant-Governor, the Queen's representative for Alberta, from 1915 to 1925.
Paterson said the group has been encouraging local organizations to keep the Centennial celebration in mind as events are planned and find ways to give a nod to Alberta's historic moment.
And the unique part of this year-long celebration is that it does not matter how or when Alberta's Centennial is honoured, just that it is, he said.
"A lot of it is doing what your parents and grandparents did, and if they lived in Alberta in the past century they probably visited Banff and Lake Louise. So, even if you're recreating a family event and coming out for an overnight or an afternoon and have a picnic or do a hike, anything that reconnects you," he said.
The Centennial officially falls on Sept. 1, the day Alberta formally joined the rest of Canada in 1905.
In Banff, Paterson said a full-day of activities are already planned for that day, including a procession down Banff Avenue, special exhibits at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and a Centennial Tea, hosted by the International Order of the Daughters of the Empire in the picturesque gardens at the Banff National Park Administration Building. In the evening, a concert is planned to take place in Central Park, followed by fireworks.
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Banff's residents were members of a very active community 100 years ago. These women enjoy a rousing game of hockey circa 1904-'05.
The celebrations, which began in January with the Banff/Lake Louise Centennial Winter Festival, are not just about the heritage of the town or the province, but a way to create more awareness of and a greater appreciation for Alberta.
Other local organizations, including The Banff Centre and the historic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel are planning their own special celebrations.
Paterson said the committee hopes to include the Stoney-Nakoda First Nation and the recently resurrected Banff Indian Days in the local celebrations as people of the First Nations have a history in the region that predates Banff, Alberta and Canada. Compared to the First Nations, Alberta's Centennial is "a blink of the eye," Paterson said.
"Certainly if we could include that group in the celebration it would be good," he said.
Some of the events are physical, others are thought provoking, while others are inviting and friendly and simply fun, but all of the events - "a lot of little things added up," Paterson said - serve to create one huge birthday party.
The schedule of events will be updated constantly and the latest versions will be available at the information centres in Banff and Lake Louise, the Banff Town Hall and on-line at www.banffheritagetourism.com/2005. At this point, the website is the best resource to get a better idea of exactly what events are planned and when.
To learn more about the history of Alberta and to find events happening throughout the province, go to www.albertacentennial.ca
Canmore, Banff's sister to the east, is also planning events throughout the year. Keep an eye on this space for more information on Canmore's 2005 Centennial Celebrations. With Canmore's history rich in coal, the celebrations are sure to be quite different.
Rob Alexander, a lifelong resident of Canmore, enjoys life in the mountains and his freelance and community newspaper writing career. He is currently wrapping up work on a book that shares the history of Exshaw, the tightly knit hamlet located 15 minutes east of Canmore.
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