Stepping Stones Crisis Society has begun construction on a new facility. Stepping Stones, formerly Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre, offers short-term emergency accommodations and other programs for women and their children who are struggling with an unhealthy or abusive relationship or have left one. The new facility will bring all of the society’s existing services—including […]
In the 1980s a friend of mine from Ontario came to Winnipeg on an extended visit. He had never been out west before, and was impressed that the city was laid out with a system of back lanes behind every street. (I was raised in Winnipeg and was amazed to learn that every city didn’t […]
In a 2014 TV series, a celebrity panel named the birchbark canoe as number 20 on a list of the 50 Greatest Canadian Inventions. Of course the canoe wasn’t invented by Canadians at all; it had already been in use for centuries before Indigenous people discovered Europeans building forts on the seacoasts and pondering how […]
While the Calgary Stampede—The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth—is in full swing down south, the grass roots of rodeo are testing the cowboys and entertaining crowds in communities across rural Alberta. The Stoney Lake Stampede offered the full slate of rodeo events on Saturday and Sunday. Bronc riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, and barrel racing […]
Peggy Flett has been appointed Head Elder for the Bonnyville Friendship Centre’s Indigenous Advisory Council. Flett has been active in the community, in schools, as a board member at the Bonnyville Indian-Metis Rehabilitation Centre and the Bonnyville Friendship Centre’s programming. She says she’s not sure that the appointment as Head Elder will change her roles […]
People have been enjoying Lions Park in downtown St. Paul for several years now, but the park was officially opened with a celebration on Saturday. Local harpist Natalie Beland played to open the proceedings, followed by a performance by the Kita No Taiko drummers from Edmonton. The drummers performed their music and spoke about their […]
This didn’t really happen: Prior to passing the National Symbol of Canada Act in 1975, a parliamentary committee discussed the importance of the beaver to Canadian history and heraldry. All parties agreed that the beaver is a suitable emblem for Canada. It was raised in committee that the beaver does not have the majestic bearing […]
Travel is stressful. I am not entirely sure why it seems so much more so today than only a couple of years ago, but it does. While not yet a blood sport, air travel has become distinctly adversarial. Passengers want the most for the least, and airlines try to provide the least for the most. […]
A lot of us can remember setting up a lemonade stand or a Kool-Aid stand as kids. I don’t know if anyone else ever made any money at it, but I know I didn’t. There wasn’t a lot of foot traffic on our out-of-the-way residential street, and not a lot of potential customers. But it […]
Lakeland seniors celebrated Alberta Seniors Week with information, entertainment, games, and food—plenty of food! Most of the activity took place between Monday June 5 and Friday the 9, but Bonnyville Seniors’ Drop-In Centre offered “bookends” to the celebration beginning with a pancake breakfast on June 4 and finishing with a social evening June 11. […]