Volunteers are getting close to completing the long-awaited Heritage Garden, located at the intersection of 2nd Street West and 3rd Avenue.
    After a summer of work by volunteers and inmates from the Drumheller Institution, most of the garden is finished. The garden beds, shelters, and most of the plants are completed. All that is left are a few finishing touches.

The Heritage Garden, an ambitious project at the corner of 2nd Street West and 3rd Avenue, is almost complete. Volunteers and Drumheller Institution inmates worked hard over the summer, planting, weeding, and finishing the shelters. The Community Garden Association is aiming to finish the project next summer.

    “It still needs some work, but I’m pleased with how things have turned out,” said Trish Parker, with the Community Garden Association. “The inmates really helped us out. Without them, it wouldn’t have happened.” The Community Garden Association is aiming to put paths through the park next summer and are considering a few more additions.
    “We’d like to add lighting, we have birdhouses planned, and we’d like to get some more trees,” said Patrice Wolfe, a member of the Community Garden Association. “I would love to add some colour to the garden, like a mural, paintings, or sculptures.”
    A unique feature of the garden is it uses flora native to the prairies of Alberta. Next summer, signage is hoped to be installed where residents can learn about the various species of plants, so they may plant their own at home.
    “There would be a code you’d scan, then it would come up with what the plant is and what it needs,” said Parker. “All these plants are locally grown, in and around Calgary, so they can take our crazy weather.”
    The construction of the park was made possible through a grant from the provincial Community Initiatives Program, which issues grants as high as $75,000. However, to continue with construction, the Community Garden Association will be fundraising over the winter.
    The most important need at this point is volunteers, who build, weed, plant, and more.
    “It is difficult to maintain these large gardens. We’ve spent a lot of time over the summer building and weeding things. It takes a community to maintain these gardens,” said Wolfe. “I think it’s going to be a gem for the community.”
    For more information on the Heritage Garden or to volunteer, contact Wolfe at 403-820-1763.

    The Drumheller Valley is stepping into the spotlight at this year’s Alto Awards.
    Drumheller is a finalist for the Tourism Community of the Year Award and the Canadian Badlands Passion Play is a finalist for the Alberta Pride Award.
    “Drumheller is one of the jewels in Alberta’s crown, the other being Jasper and Banff,” said Chris Curtis, executive director of Travel Drumheller.    “There are so many things people are doing well here, and so many other things that could be done, that this place could just skyrocket in terms of tourism. I think the partnerships that do exist between the private sector, the public sector and the not for profits have served Drumheller well in terms of bringing people here.
    “That is why we are finalists, because we are working together.”
    According to the Travel Alberta website, the Tourism Community of the Year is designed to acknowledge a collective and successful effort on the part of a community to work together to promote or support tourism.
    The Red Deer 2013 Centennial is also nominated for the Tourism Community of the Year Award.
    The Canadian Badlands Passion Play knows it is in tough for the Alberta Pride Award, being named a finalist along side the Calgary Stampede. Despite this, general manager Vance Neudorf said the Passion Play had a challenging year it should be proud of its success.
    “The flood knocked us back,” he said. “The flood hit at our prime selling time and the phone lines just went dead.”
    The first weekend saw their lowest number in nearly a decade. What got the Passion Play back on track was word of mouth. At the performances, they simply asked attendees to help spread the word that the Passion Play was unaffected and there were lots of seats available.
    “By the second weekend we were on par, if not a little above. So we ended up with about 12,500 for the year which is not where we wanted to be but it was still a good year,” said Neudorf.
    “He said just being named as a finalists is important.
    “With an Alto Award, you are up in front of 600 community leaders and they see your presentation, so it is fantastic PR,” he said.
    This award comes on the heels of the Passion Play being named one of North America’s 100 best events for 2014 by the American Bus Association.

The Canadian Badlands Passion Play  is a finalist for Alberta Pride Award and Drumheller is a finalist for the Alberta Tourism Community of the Year Award