The downtown plaza finished its trial run this weekend and Drumheller council and the economic advisory committee will assess its success in mid-September.

Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening since July 13 entertainment was booked at the plaza for free, with crowds of people turning up each night for events from live music, car shows, and historic walking tours. Mayor Heather Colberg says this summer was a trial run to see whether or not it would be viable in future summers, and based on feedback so far, it looks likely to return again.

“I’d think with the success of it, it will be something we’ll figure out. I've had so many people ask to make it year-round with Easter, Thanksgiving, and at harvest,” she says.

There have been talks about whether or not to make the plaza a permanent fixture downtown, and Mayor Colberg says its too soon to start that conversation.

“If it became permanent we’d have to have a group come together to see what the most effective way to do it. After the meeting well have a really good idea of where we’re going to go from there.”

Town officials and members of the committee will meet in mid-September to assess whether to bring the event back next year and in what ways it can be improved.

On top of this, they will be debriefing with downtown businesses to see whether they saw any spin-off revenue over the last two-plus months. As well as providing evening entertainment downtown for both locals and tourists, one motive of the plaza was to spur economic spin-off for nearby business, who agreed to extend their business hours until 8 p.m. three days a week.

“When it started, I wasn’t that positive,” says NN News owner Neerja Negi, whose business operates on the corner directly adjacent from the plaza. “But in one or two weeks we saw some good changes. Everything takes time. It’s been four years we’ve been here and there was nothing special, but this year we saw some changes for good.”

Not all business owners saw benefits. Cafe Ole owner Caroline Bomford says despite being only a block away from the plaza and extending her closing hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., she saw maybe one or two customers in the three hours she was stayed open.

“My days are very busy, but after five we get nothing. For me, I think the issue is the lack of businesses between us and the plaza. It’s not bringing the people from plaza during the plaza hours,” she says. “I love the plaza idea, but it’s not worth it for my business.”

It has been a tough week for Drumheller’s iconic dinosaurs as three have been damaged.

Last weekend the dinosaur in front of the Shopper Drug Mart had to be removed after it was damaged, and then the dinosaur wearing a safety vest at the Westview Co-op has been toppled.

On Wednesday evening, August 29, the dinosaur in front of the Post Office was smashed by the driver of a campervan.

The Mail has since learned the driver of the van has been charged with making an unsafe left turn. Corporal Gerald Sherk explains the driver was eastbound on Railway Avenue when the van turned in front of an oncoming vehicle and was hit on the side.  The van spun on to the sidewalk taking out a fire hydrant and the dinosaur.

“We are just very lucky there was no one hurt in the accident. There is a bench there as well and someone could have been seriously hurt with the number of tourists that take pictures with the dinosaur. Thankfully there was no one around,” said Sherk.

Courtney Bell is the vice president of the DinoArts Association, a group that has a mandate to take care of the dinosaurs that are owned by the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce. She notes that the dinosaur at the Co-op is not under their umbrella. The overall loss, however, is disheartening.

‘It is quite costly to replace them if you are looking at the same as what was there. The quotes are very high,” she said. “We are looking at the possibility of preserving one of the ceratopsian looking one that is still in pretty good shape. We are trying to figure out if there is a way to preserve them or a way to get a new one made in the same fashion as one of the old ones.”

Many of the concrete dinosaurs created by Tig Seland and Murray Olsen are decades old, and while they have stood the test of time, they are starting to decay.

“We have noticed lots of them right now are needing a lot of repairs or are beyond the point of repairing because the outside of them are getting so weak and brittle that it cannot support the inside,” she said.

Bell explains the chamber of commerce owns many of the dinosaurs and they are insured. The last two that were smashed, the chamber was able to make a claim.

DinoArts is working toward new projects and possibly exploring the idea of preserving one of the older ones, but with that, there are pretty hefty costs,” she said.

Those interested in learning more about DinoArts or getting involved can get more information from their Facebook page. The group has a fundraiser, the second Ultimate Pie Championship, at the October 5 Dragons home game.