Today, BMO Bank of Montreal and the Calgary Stampede recognized 17 southern Alberta families, including the McDougald family of Starland County, the Ferguson family of Kneehill County and the Praeker family of Wheatland County.
    These families best represent the values of the family farmer to our society. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the BMO Farm Family Awards were created to promote a renewed urban-rural relationship and focus on recognizing the contribution to the enhancement of quality of life as a family unit.
    “The BMO Farm Family Awards are fundamental in recognizing the many innovations and world-class business and environmental practices Alberta farmers and ranchers implement every day,” said Susan Brown, Senior Vice-president, Alberta and Northwest Territories Division, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We’re thrilled to honour these families for their commitment to promoting western heritage to future generations and support of the Alberta economy.”

    The Alberta minister of agriculture, Oneil Carlier, attended alongside Bill Gray, president and chairman of the board, Calgary Stampede, and Brown, to congratulate the winners of the 2015 BMO Farm Family Awards.
    “Alberta farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our thriving agriculture sector and rural communities,” says Carlier. “These awards recognize their unwavering commitment to community and agriculture in our province.”
    Each year, the municipal districts in southern Alberta nominate one family. Selected families, who best display the qualities of a Farm Family, are brought to the Stampede for the BMO Farm Family Awards, which includes a reception, greetings from Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture, brunch, awards presentation, and family photograph session. The winning families are then treated to the afternoon Stampede Rodeo.
    “For two decades, the BMO Farm Family Awards have recognized the important work done by families in the agriculture world,” says Gray. “They’re an important part of the Stampede and showcase the importance of sustainable agriculture and help bridge the gap between urban and rural communities.”

The Canadian Badlands Passion Play rose again for another opening weekend on Friday, beating attendance numbers of the last two years thanks to a revised script and cooperative weather. 

The new script, an adaptation of the Gospel of Luke titled “Face to Face” and written by Alberta playwright Barret Hileman, is causing quite a buzz around the Passion Play’s 23rd season says executive director Vance Neudorf .

“Everything is new this year,” Neudorf. “If you haven’t been for a few years, (the Gospel of) John was a very different experience than what you’ll get this year – music-wise, how it looks onstage, the costuming and movement – in almost every way the play is different. It’s giving people a fair bit to chat about.”

It’s strange to think that a 2,000 year old story could be reimagined in a different light that would cause a stir amongst the most Bible-savvy play goers, but Neudorf said the script doesn’t waver far from scripture.

“You would find everything that’s in the play in the Book of Luke. Every single part is there, the entire story, it’s just the way we arrange it and put it together in order to make it work on stage. There’s people of course who want it to be more true to the Bible and to use exact words, but for the most part the ones that know the story are coming back and saying we are staying true to the story,” said Neudorf.

“If you sit down and read the gospels it will take considerably longer than the play’s two-and-a-half hour runtime. We are adapting it in different ways and formats to make it come across quite different on stage.”

The music in this year’s performance is striking and on point, provided through a surround speaker system and composed by Alberta composer Luke Ertman. The play is directed by Brian Jensen, who played the role of the apostle John for the previous five seasons.

The Passion Play runs from July 8 until July 24 on weekends.