September the perfect month to celebrate Alberta's Centennial
You've heard it here before, and I'm going to say it again.
September is my all-time favourite month of the year - especially here in Canmore.
This month marks my personal new year, as this is the time of the year I was born, the time of year I most associate with fresh beginnings, and indeed the time of year when I feel most alive and energized.
Ironic, really, that a surplus of energy can come from a time of year when the Earth begins to show signs of a seasonal shift - a dying, if you will. While others mourn the passing of the warmest few months of the year, and even shed a tear or two as they put their summer clothes into storage, I look forward to the shortening of days, and the thought that a fire in the hearth isn't far off.
Avid hikers in these parts save their favourite hikes until the calendar turns the page into September. While most trails are anything but crowded, this time of year sees fewer vacationers out and about, and affords solitude and contemplation amidst Mother Nature's finest display. I used to miss the variety of colour found in a West Coast autumn - the variation of red and russet mixed up with all the shades of gold. I have to appreciate fall colours associated with the Canadian Rockies - a sea of gold against a blue sky that seems to intensify with the cooling of the air. You'll read about some of those hikes - amidst the larch forests for which the Canadian Rockies are famous - in this edition of SolaraLife.
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September kicks off in Canmore and Banff with celebrations that mark Alberta's Centennial. September 1 will be marked by activities that take our residents and visitors back to a time when ladies wore skirts on mountain hikes, coal mining was the main industry in Canmore, and Banff still had dirt roads and horse carriages. To mark a century, residents and visitors together will enjoy everything from an old-fashioned tea and a box lunch social to children's games, live music and brilliant fireworks displays.
It seems fitting that Alberta's birth as a province occurred on Sept. 1 - in my opinion the best time of year to start something new. I can imagine the hope and promise in the creation of a new province in a country as large, beautiful and free as Canada. In 1805, the future riches of Alberta's oil industry still stood off in the distance, and tourism wasn't likely a topic discussed around the board room table by those early politicians. Today, it's oil and tourism that come to mind when Alberta is mentioned around the globe.
I'm thrilled to be part of such a bright, promising time in the history of this province, and directly involved in attracting visitors to the gem that is Canmore.
- Shari Bishop Bowes, Editor, SolaraLife
We welcome your comments and suggestions, as well as submissions from freelance writers who have a passion for the Canadian Rockies. Contact us at contact@solaralife.com
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