Canadian Badlands Ltd. is gearing up for its second annual conference and AGM, and is excited to be hosting it at the new Badlands Community Facility.
    The conference is scheduled for March 28 and 29 and is about Building, Moving and Growing. Bob Davis, executive director of Canadian Badlands, says they are expecting in the area of 150, including Canadian Badlands shareholders and people involved in the tourism industry at large.
    “We are excited to be able to host a region-wide event in a brand new exciting
facility in the heart of the Canadian Badlands,” said Davis.
    There are number of different seminars at the conference.  There are three streams of sessions; one is on tourism investment readiness.
    “This is for someone who has land or a business and may like to expand, or get connected into the tourism industry. Our investment readiness workshop would be good for them,” said Davis.
    Another stream of seminars are on cluster development.
    “There are various clusters of tourism activities in the Badlands and those range from bed and breakfasts to artists to people who produce Badlands specific foods or these kind of things.  If a person is interested in getting involved in this type of thing, they could go into that stream,” said Davis.
    This includes a historical development panel as well as a panel on guided tours.
    The third stream of seminars is about communicating. It includes a session  on innovative uses of technology.
    “We are going to introduce some apps to get to know the Canadians Badlands,” said Davis.
    Part of this session includes a presentation from Travel Alberta and is Remember to Breath campaign, as well as a session on how to work with the media.
    Throughout the event there will be displays throughout the conference centre  and opportunities to network with Canadian Badlands shareholders and operators.
    In the evening there will be a dinner and the Honourable Jack Hayden, Minister of Tourism will be the keynote speaker.
    On Thursday morning, Canadian Badlands will be holding its AGM.
    For more information on the conference see www.canadianbadlands.org.

In June of this year, residents and tourists alike will have a chance to show their dino-pride in DinoFest 2012, a celebration of all things dinosaur.
    Dinosaurs have been known to be in the Drumheller area for over 130 years, but it wasn’t until well after the coal industry had gone extinct that dinosaurs spurred the revitalization of the town.
    The Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce, Canalta Hotels, Festival Seekers, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum have banded together to celebrate the impact the extinct animals have had on the community.
    “There are a lot of interesting things happening in Alberta in regards to palaeontology,” said Jim Barr, president of Festival Seekers. “It makes Alberta an attractive destination for anyone interested in dinosaurs, so why not capitalize on that with a festival celebrating that fact?”
    Next year will be a big year for dinosaurs. A new dinosaur museum is opening in Grande Prairie and Disney/Pixar and the BBC are both producing multi-million dollar dinosaur films.
    “DinoFest will be a great opportunity to boost our shoulder season visitation,” explains Heather Bitz, General Manager of the Chamber of Commerce. “Our primary target market is going to be Edmonton, and our marketing efforts will encourage Edmontonians to trek to Drumheller for the weekend to take part in the events and discover our community.”
    The event will offer a blend of family-friendly activities, such as a prehistoric scavenger hunt, presentations by the Tyrrell scientists, a dinosaur inspired play, a band competition, rib cook-off, and more.
    It is hoped that DinoFest will become an annual event and perhaps last five to ten days.
    Everything begins on June 1 and will last through the weekend. For more information or to get involved, contact Bitz at 403-823-8100.
    “Drumheller is already on the world stage for anyone who is a dinosaur buff,” said Barr. “We can propel that even further.”