How are you sending off 2022? Is it a fond farewell, or good riddance? 

There was good news and bad throughout 2022, just like any other year. If there was a consistent theme running through Respect’s coverage, it was people coming together at events and activities throughout the Lakeland.

Our annual Year In Review begins on page 7. Since Respect focuses primarily on seniors’ activities and community events, a lot of the year’s big stories—war, disease, inflation, politics—aren’t there. (We hope you don’t mind!) 

But you will see stories about our communities coming together in solidarity with Ukraine, of activities resuming as pandemic restrictions eased, of people supporting charities, living their lives, and enjoying each other’s company.

Maybe that’s the big story of 2022 after all: whether people gathered together in joy or in sorrow, we gathered together. 

So out with the old, in with the new. Goodbye, or good riddance, to 2022.

Happy New Year to all our readers!

Some of the faces of 2022: in joy or in sorrow, it was a year of getting out and being together. JEFF GAYE

Respect Year in Review 2022

January 11:

• Age Friendly Cold Lake was designated as a community ambassador by the Alzheimer Society for Alberta and the Northwest Territories. 

January 25:

• The Alberta 55-Plus Winter Games, slated for Edmonton April 7 to 10, are still going ahead.

• Some playoffs are in the books, and other spots have been assigned “by acclamation” as the Lakeland Senior Games Association (LSGA) forms its team for the upcoming Alberta Winter Games in Edmonton.

February 8: Fresh air and fresh powder make afternoon skiing a delight. FILE PHOTO

February 8:

• Local cross-country ski clubs built on the 2020-2021 breakthrough interest in the sport.

February 22: 

• The second annual Cold Lake Ice Fishing Tournament brought out 400 enthusiastic anglers on the weekend.

• St Paul Curling Club had a fun day at their Funspiel February 12. They introduced some new curlers to the game, and they raised some serious money for Haying In The 30s.

March 8:

• The Town of Bonnyville invited people from across the Lakeland to take part in the raising of the Ukrainian flag at Town Hall.

• L’ACFA Régionale de St.-Paul celebrated the launch of Francophone Month by raising the Franco-Albertan flag in front of
l’École du Sommet March 1. Students, staff, and invited dignitaries were on hand for the ceremony and celebration of French-Canadian culture.

• Drumming, dancing, music, food, art, and other activities kept people warm as Bonnyville Native Friendship Centre presented its Winterfest on February 25. 

March 22:

• A skijoring meet in Cold Lake on March 12,  raised $20,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society.

• The Lakeland Cross-Country Ski Club offered a track-setting clinic at Elk Point Golf Course,  20 skiers came out to try the new 2.1-kilometre loop.

April 5: Rock talk: local artist. Loretta Kyle, listens when the stone is speaking.
Carving will reveal the snake’s head in the stone. FILE PHOTO

April 5:

• If organizers of the All Saints Ukrainian Cultural Centre’s fundraising supper were concerned about the turnout, that concern quickly turned to relief. And the relief gave way to joy and satisfaction as almost a thousand people came out to support Humanitarian Relief for Ukraine.

April 19: Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games
Women’s hockey, darts, bowling. FILE PHOTOS

April 19:

• The 2022 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games were in Edmonton April 7 – 10, with approximately 1,100 participants taking part. Competitions were held in more than a dozen sports and activities, at various age groupings.

May 3:

• Golf courses and driving ranges emerge from the snow. Golf season started in St. Paul, Elk Point, and Bonnyville on the weekend with Grand Centre and the Cold Lake Golf and Winter Club soon to follow.

May 17: Hearts for Healthcare. More than 600 people attended the gala and partied to the sounds of Vancouver band Ten Souljers. FILE PHOTO

May 17:

• Hearts for Healthcare Gala comes roaring back.

• Music, displays, and powerful testimonials were part of the Red Dress Day commemorations for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in Cold Lake May 5. Meanwhile, the first full public display of Susie O’Connor’s “RED Series” photographs took place across the street at the Best Western.

May 31: 

• The St. Paul and District Arts Foundation played host to the Alberta Community Art Clubs Association (ACACA) North Zone Art Show on the weekend. The two-day show and sale featured paintings, sculptures, fibre arts, and digital pieces from artists across northern Alberta.

June 14: Wayne Warner manned the grill while Bonnie Folkard cooked and served hot dogs at the Age Friendly Cold Lake barbecue. “I feel bad cooking up all my little cousins!” she said. FILE PHOTO
June 14: Chuckwagon races went all afternoon at the final day of competition at the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo. FILE PHOTO

June 14: 

• A Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) project has been selected by Library and Archives Canada for funding as part of the Documentary Heritage Communities Program.

June 28: Indigenous Peoples Day. It was a day of ceremony and a day of celebration as local Indigenous
and non-Indigenous people joined in the festivities together. FILE PHOTO

June 28:

• Zone 7 (Northeast Alberta) participants came away with 23 medals from the Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games, held in Peace River June 16 to 19.

July 12:

• Overnight campers and day trippers came out to Boscombe Hall for the annual Hillbilly Jam all weekend long. The overall mood reflected the big sunny skies.

July 26:

• Nearly 30,000 people took in the 2022 Cold Lake Air Show July 16 and 17. Planning has already started for the 2024 show. 

August 9: More than 300 people came out to visit Willow Prairie Agricultural Society’s Farm Fair in LaCorey, family farm fun including hayrides, kids’ games and activities, farm animals, and plenty of food. FILE PHOTO

August 9:

• The sun shone on Mallaig over the August long weekend, and the Haying In The 30s initiative certainly made hay. The organization’s president Martin Naundorf said the weekend broke the record for donations received.

August 23: 350 Farms is a small pig farm near Ethel Lake in the M.D. of Bonnyville. They specialize in producing kunekune (pronounced “koo-nee koo-nee”) pigs, a smaller pig breed originally from New Zealand. FILE PHOTO

August 23: 

• Lindsay Hodgins and Vic Ouellette pitch for the top at the Canadian Horseshoe Pitching Championships in High Prairie last week.

• Cold Lake Public Library celebrated the grand opening of a teepee in their garden space last week. The teepee is an important part of the library’s Indigenous services initiatives, said the library’s director Leslie Price.

September 6:

• The Lakeland Rodeo Association Finals were the focus of activity with five rodeo performances, but the St. Paul Ag Society and the entire community put on a full week of food, fun, and charitable fundraisers.

• 55 Plus Canada Games were held in Kamloops August 23 – 26. 

September 20:

• Royal Canadian Legion branches across Canada held memorial parades in honour of Queen Elizabeth II

.October 4:

• Events were held in the Lakeland and across the country to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

• “Shed Happens” was a three-day conference, which brought representatives from existing Men’s Sheds as well as people who are interested in bringing the movement to their communities. Attendees were mostly from Alberta, but some came from farther afield.

October 18:

• Walkers and riders raise $8K for food bank. Fifty participants hit the road for Cold Lake’s seventh annual Ride For Refuge on October 1.

November 1: The Wakulchyk family farm near Iron River was selected as a BMO Farm Family Award recipient
by FarmFair International. PHOTO COURTESY OF WAKULCHYK FARM

November 1

• The M.D. of Bonnyville Council passed a motion formally opposing the development of an Indigenous Protected Conservation Area (IPCA) within M.D. boundaries near Wolf Lake.

• Not just a summer place: St. Paul scores big at Communities in Bloom awards.

November 15: The Colour Party marches off after the Cold Lake Remembrance Day service. FILE PHOTO

November 15

• Lakeland communities mark Remembrance Day.

November 28: Diwali Night. Music, dance, food, and festivity brought the festival of lights to life in Cold Lake. Photos courtesy BENJAMIN SMITH, BENSMITHMEDIA

November 28

• Alberta Health Services (AHS) opened new weekly walk-in clinics for addiction and mental health support in Bonnyville and Cold Lake.

December 13: 

• Four community choirs took their turns on stage at Bonnyville’s annual Christmas Choir Festival December 8 at St. Louis de France Catholic Church. 

• Grand Centre Lions Club lends Santa a hand