One of Drumheller's longest-enduring events has decided to take a year off.
The Drumheller Music Festival, now called the Drumheller Performing Arts Festival has been a staple in the valley for over 80 years, only missing performances due to wartime and most recently the pandemic.
President of the Drumheller Performing Arts Festival Jaclyn Skytt sent a letter to teachers and performers indicating the committee has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2025 season.
“This was not an easy decision for the committee. We understand that this is disappointing for many – Festival is a key performance opportunity in our community, however, it is an important step in ensuring that Drumheller has a performing arts festival for many years to come,” states the letter.
The Festival is a tradition where students have the opportunity to play before professional adjudicators who provide feedback and encouragement. Thousands of youngsters have participated in everything from spoken word to music and dance. It culminated in an awards ceremony and final performance.
“Our primary goal is to strengthen our organization and enhance the quality of festival we offer to participants and audiences alike,” states the letter. “We believe by taking this time to build out membership and explore new strategies for registrations, we can create more competitive and engaging festivals in the future.”
“We are committed to ensuring that the Drumheller Performing Arts Festival remains a vibrant celebration of the arts in our community and we are looking forward to returning in 2026.

It was a joyous Thanksgiving weekend for the Cardamone family as they celebrated the wedding of Ryan and Maria.
One person beaming from the wedding party was grandmother Anna May, 89.
She arrived at the wedding at St. Anthony's Church on Saturday, October 12 to learn that unfortunately one of Maria’s bridesmaids was unable to attend.
“So then we had to quickly decide whether we just go with it and have an odd number of bridesmaids versus groomsman, however then we thought it could be wonderful and special if my grandma filled in as the fourth bridesmaid. Although very last minute, she seemed to be very happy to fill in and be a part of the wedding party,” said the groom, Ryan.
She was happy to fill in.
“One of the bridesmaids was ill, so they just asked me if I would stand in with one of the groomsmen who was going to have to walk down the aisle by himself,” Anna May explains.
“I ended up carrying her flowers and entered the church on the arm of this young groomsman. It was very nice.”
The groomsman was Ryan’s friend Kole Ashbacher. He is a professional saddle bronc rider and is ranked in the top 10 in Canada.
“So after the ceremony, my grandma made a comment that she was lucky she got to walk with ‘such a handsome young man.’ So we told her more about him; he competes professionally in rodeos. She then commented ‘well ooooh maybe I should start watching rodeo,’” chuckles Ryan. “We all had a good laugh about it all.”
She said it worked out well and looked natural.
“It looked like it seemed to be intended that way. I was the only grandmother there, so they figured it would be suitable if I stood in with him,” she said.
She walked down the aisle with the young man (whom she considered very handsome). She said she did not stand with the bridal party during the ceremony but sat in the pew with her son and daughter-in-law.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, she accompanied the groomsman out.
With her bridesmaid duties completed, she enjoyed the rest of the wedding sitting with the parents.
The Groom Ryan was happy his grandmother was able to stand in.
“My wife and I are both so glad that my grandma was happy to fill in last minute as a Bridesmaid and that she enjoyed being a part of our day even more. We really appreciated it,” he tells the Mail. “She enjoyed filling the role.”
“It was an honour for me to do that, and everybody was quite thrilled for me,” said Anna May.