Tag: festival of trees

I have written about events in many towns and cities around the world, but have not written about my home town of Rocky Mountain House, a town of about 7000 people in west-central Alberta, Canada. There is so much to do in the winter. I made a point to attend as many special events in and around the community held between November and February and had a great time!

November

The first part of November was surprisingly snow-free, but that didn’t last. Snow fell for several days and has remained piled up in the yard still now at the end of February. It makes for beautiful pictures and kids (and adults) in Canada know how to make the best of it. You will see lots of evidence of that.

Evergreen Coop Gala

The local grocery store holds an entertaining gala every year in November. Food and drink are available for sampling with an emphasis on how to entertain at home. Some local craft breweries and meaderies also shared samples. The deli manager was so excited to share all he had learned at a recent cheese course about setting up a delicious charcuterie board display.

The grocery store staff dress up for the occasion and they hold the event in the home center part of the store where all the Christmas decorations are on display. The $5 ticket draws in people from throughout the community.

Parade of Lights

The Parade of Lights kicks off the Festival of Trees, which concludes with Santa’s Workshop. The Rocky Kinsmen Club looks after organizing all the events.

The Parade of Lights is a unique parade that makes Rocky Mountain House special. While we also hold a Rodeo Parade in June, this parade occurs at night, near the end of November and occurs no matter what the temperature.

Families begin to park their vehicles along Main Street early in the afternoon. This year, one family set up their propane fire ring in the midst of their lawn chairs on the street. The back of their truck contained a generator to keep their inflatable upright and the lights sparkling. Memorial Presbyterian Church offers free hot chocolate and coffee to those who pass, as well as hosting Advent activities to anyone interested. As they also offer the use of public washrooms, it is a popular spot.

The parade itself is about 40 minutes long and consists of vehicles and floats covered in Christmas lights and decorations. The Rocky Cinema handed out bags of popcorn and most businesses shared candy with the kids along the route.

The parade passes by two of the senior homes and has been held up a couple of times by ambulances needing access to these centres. The local Facebook page informs everyone along the route of any delays.

Festival of Trees

The Lou Soppit Community Centre becomes the hub for this festival. Businesses and individuals donate decorated trees and wreaths, sponsor Father/Daughter dinners, Seniors lunches, Mom/Son Brunch and Skate, teen dances and business mixers. Local choirs entertain at several of these gatherings. The final day is Santa’s Workshop where children can have their pictures taken with Santa, make Christmas crafts and even buy a gift for their parents. An auction of the trees and wreaths benefits community projects.

December

Nativity Display

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hosts an annual Nativity Display of the community’s donated Nativity scenes. The church transforms its gym with cloth draped tables and twinkling lights surrounded by Nativity collections from around the world.

The variety is incredible with ceramic sets, wooden ones and even life-size characters made from cloth and paint. Hot drinks and Christmas music add to the festive atmosphere. It feels like walking through a Christmas art gallery. This is another free event to attend.

Fur Trade Christmas

Rocky Mountain House was an active fur trading post from 1799 to 1876, which explains the “house” part of the name. In celebration of this history, a National Historic Site was created at the location of the original trading post and the park opened in 1979. (PDF link)

While Parks Canada manages the park during the summer, the Confluence Heritage Society organizes Fur Trade Christmas each December. This group of volunteers teach Metis finger weaving, and bird feeders with ice cream cones, peanut butter and seed. They create music, as well as feed visitors stew and bannock. Alberta Parks made snowshoes available for those who wanted to imagine being a fur trader from the past.

Several sleighs and horses with the requisite jingle bells were available for rides through the fields. Tobogganing hills were fun for kids of all ages. There were even some white camels in attendance, cared for by keepers in Hudson Bay blanket coats. Families bundled up for the cold and spent the afternoon along the North Saskatchewan River imagining what life would have been like around Christmas time in 1799.

Other Christmas Events

Rocky Mountain House has another unique event at Christmas time. Santa flies over the town at 7 pm on Christmas Eve with lights blazing behind the sleigh. Evening church services are delayed so that children can see this spectacular hint of what is to come. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds this year for Santa (Ken Fowler in his stunt plane from the Rocky Airport) to be seen (or fly without visibility).

Christmas Markets occur almost every weekend in November and December at the Farmer’s Market and throughout the county in Community Halls. There are many talented craftspeople who create items during the year to sell during the Christmas Season.

Riverside Campground hosted a Riverview’s Country Christmas in November and December. Families could take sleigh rides, enjoy the thousands of lights and participate in several Christmas activities.

January and February

Winterfest

January is a quiet month. Musicians perform at local restaurants or in people’s homes. Boardgame nights happen in bars on Saturday nights. Cross country ski trails are groomed and snowshoe hikes on the lake are popular. Methane bubbles on Abraham Lake are visible once the lake freezes completely so tours are popular during January and February. Temperatures can get down to -40C so many people stay home and hibernate.

Family Day is an Alberta holiday on the third Monday in February. Alberta Parks and Pioneer Ranch Camp organize a Winterfest at Crimson Lake Provincial Park, a few km outside of town.

The Freezin’ for a Reason Polar Bear Dip is a highlight. Volunteers remove the surface ice and provide tents and emergency support. This year, twelve brave fundraising individuals jumped in. Local charities received $10 000. Fortunately, the temperature was a balmy -5C.

Alberta Parks made snowshoes available for visitors and a parking lot had been turned into a real skating rink. People tried out curling with painted r rings and stump “rocks”. Pioneer Ranch Camp hosted a sleigh ride and market. Hot dogs purchased hot dogs to munch around the fire. Many families spent their Saturday playing in the snow and ice.

Oras Cutter Rally

The final winter event I attended was a Cutter Rally in the Oras Community, about ten minutes from Rocky Mountain House. A cutter is a light sleigh, although it is also a kind of ship. The way they move through snow or water is very similar, I imagine. A local farmer hosts this event in his fields and clears a large parking area for many horse trailers.

The afternoon began with Skijoring, which is a Norwegian sport that involves horses pulling skiers through a set track that included pylon gates and jumps. Children as young as 6 participated in this exciting event. There were 3 horses that did the pulling and about 12 children that raced in different age categories.

After the Skijoring races, everyone piled onto the 15 sleighs or onto horseback and headed out. A few children rode on their sleds behind a sleigh on a trail that passed through the trees and fields.

Over 100 participants who braved the snowy, windy day gathered around the fires to warm up. Horses rested while their passengers roasted hot dogs. People visited with each other and with the horses. These rallies occur throughout Alberta in the winter and people travel long distances to attend.

Other Winter Activities

People that I talk with who live in warmer places in the world find it hard to imagine how we survive in the winter cold. I tell them that winter is long and happens every year so we buy warm clothes, layer and make the best of it. The pictures below represent some of the ways we enjoy winter, both outdoors and in.

I am blessed to live in a community that is beautiful but also enriched with so many activities in the winter and summer. There is no reason to complain about having nothing to do in Rocky Mountain House, AB. I’ll finish with a list of the scheduled events for the year and you will see how true this statement is.