Rosebud has a new must-see this Christmas – Angel Square. The Bethlehem Star and the Heavenly Lights, a 24 ft sculpture fabricated by Craig Palmar of Old World Welding and Forge Ltd. of Standard and designed by LaVerne Erickson, was lit up on Friday, October 25, for the pleasure of the home-town crowd and visitors.
The Hamlet of Rosebud has a new Christmas light display to help celebrate the season.
The following night two 12 ft angels, by the same collaborators, joined the scene. The light-up ended a successful 2013 season for the Rosebud Community Enhancement Society.
The season began with the Society volunteers installing flower boxes throughout the hamlet and at both highway welcome signs which Cheryl Daugherty repainted in preparation for Rosebud’s 130th Anniversary. Charlotte and Stanley Riegel oversaw many volunteers who planted flowers, and watered them throughout the season.
New park benches were installed on Main Street and First Avenue complements of Rona.
Over one hundred new trees were planted throughout the hamlet. New viewpoints and rest areas were created at the Hamlet’s two waterfowl ponds. The landscaping of the small West Side Park was completed.
A new fitness room was developed, under the guidance of Bill Daugherty, in the Community Centre. This is open for all community members.
Jaybo Russell oversaw and maintained the Rosebud Public Transit System. This is a fleet of bicycles bearing the licence plates – Rosebud Public Transit. These bicycles can be ridden by anyone and left in any of the Hamlet’s bicycle parking racks for the next rider to use. The hamlet always welcomes donations of bicycles that can be restored to join the fleet.
Keith Hamm returned to Rosebud for the summer of 2013 from his role as Principal Violist with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. The Community Enhancement Society partnered with Keith on the first Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, which featured world-class international artists. The overwhelming success of this venture has lead to the re-engagement of the artists for another Rosebud Chamber Music Festival over the Heritage Day holiday week in 2014.
With 75,000 visitors passing through the hamlet of Rosebud each year, the Rosebud Community Enhancement Society has entered into a multi-year agreement with Wheatland County to develop municipal parcels of land into picnic sites.
Knibb Developments Ltd. donated several days of equipment work and operator hours preparing a new site for the first public picnic area.
It overlooks a quarter-mile running, cycling, skiing track. These projects are designed to turn Rosebud into a welcoming picnic and recreational park. Visitors can bring their own picnic lunches or pick up lunches at either of Rosebud’s unique cafes, the Thorny Rose or Wild Horse Jack’s.
The Hamlet looks forward to the thousands who will visit this coming Christmas Season. On November 1st Rosebud Theatre launched “It’s a Wonderful Life” for a two month run. The Studio Stage features “The Other Side of the Pole”.
