The City of Red Deer and the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society have secured an alternate location for this weekend’s Canada Day celebrations.
The Canada Day celebrations will be relocated to the grounds at the Collicutt Centre while cleanup efforts at Bower Ponds continue.
“We are very pleased to have found a location to host the much anticipated Canada Day celebrations,” said Manager of Recreation, Parks & Culture, Shelley Gagnon. “It’s an event that is near and dear to many Red Deerians’ hearts, and we are confident it will continue to be an excellent event, regardless of physical location.”
This year’s event will be outdoors on the Collicutt Centre grounds.
Food booths will be on the north side of the building and the entertainment stage will be on the east side. Residents can access the Collicutt Centre’s washrooms through the east entrance.
“This isn’t the first time we have had to move our Canada Day celebration. Back in 2005, we moved the party to the Collicutt Centre, and it was a great success,” said Sherry Scheunert, coordinator with the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society. “We are sure this year will be no different.”
The Canada Day celebrations will run from 11 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. at the Collicutt Centre grounds on July 1. Regular drop-in hours at the Collicutt Centre are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Canada Day.
Parking is available at the Collicutt Centre, Hunting Hills High School and Notre Dame High School parking lots, and residents can take regular holiday transit service. Bike racks are available on site in the parking lots of Collicutt, Hunting Hills and Notre Dame.
More details to be finalized include specific times and locations for the Park & Ride transit service and details on the fireworks display.
Meanwhile, Red Deer’s Centennial Committee is excited to announce two significant modifications to its planned River of Light event, scheduled for this weekend.
The planned light projections on the water tower are to go ahead as planned. Delivery of the projection equipment was delayed due to the major flooding in Calgary, putting the light projection portion of the event into doubt, but it has arrived just in time. The spectacular light show will be projected onto the water tower starting at dusk from June 28 through July 1.
The second announcement concerns a revision to the planned River of Light installation.
“We were forced to cancel our plans for the original River of Light event, due to unsafe river conditions,” said Sheila Bannerman, chair of the Centennial Committee. “However, we have been able to come up with an alternate plan.”
Fort Normandeau will be the new site for a glowing installation representing the river and incorporating aspects of the previously planned event. The new installation will be open to the public on June 29 and June 30, from 10 a.m. until after dark.
There will be no vehicle access to Fort Normandeau after 7 p.m. both days. Instead, people can park at Crossroads Church and use the free shuttle buses, which will run from 8 p.m. to midnight. Crossroads Church is located on 32 St. just west of Hwy. 2.
The entire River of Light project is designed by UK-based Creatmosphere, an art and conceptual lighting studio.
Other Homecoming Weekend activities and events have been affected by the closure of Bower Ponds and Great Chief Park. Confirm the location and time of all events by visiting www.reddeer2013.ca.
For more information about the Canada Day celebrations, contact the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society at 403-346-0055 or email rdchs@telus.net, or visit the City of Red Deer’s web site at www.reddeer.ca for more information.
-Weber
