News | DrumhellerMail - Page #3395
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Last updateSat, 21 Sep 2024 12pm

Downtown looks to create plaza

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    Downtown Drumheller is proposing changes to a small part of Centre Street they hope will yield big results in revitalizing the core.
    The committee of the Chamber of Commerce are in talks with the town over an idea to widen the sidewalks on both sides of Centre Street from the alley south of Bits and Pieces to 3rd Avenue. Within this area they are proposing to create a plaza style space. It would contain seating, and would also have a permanent bandstand in front of S&S News. The bandstand will reflect the image of a tipple and future development will include a life sized statue of a miner ready for work.
    The proposal is called Miners Square, and Mike Todor of  Downtown Drumheller says the committee has the support of the Chamber of Commerce.
    “As our downtown core is the result of the creation of shops built here 70-100 years ago, the space should be a tribute to the miners who  lived and worked here, thus facilitating the need for this retail development,” states the proposal.
    Todor says the proposal has the goal of increasing  foot traffic and building on reinventing downtown Drumheller as a tourist destination.
    “We hope to attract  one -quarter of the visitors to the Royal Tyrrell Museum,” said Todor. “This year that would have been 100,000.”
    The new space would allow the downtown core to host special events, as well as allow entertainment. They are also looking at possibly bringing a farmer’s market to the core  with this development.
    The walking and seating area is proposed to be cobbled/ paved with interlocking bricks.
    “This development will create a situation where spontaneous entertainment may occur (buskers) and organized events will have an anchor and ease of access.”
      Todor said he has been sharing the idea with local businesses and has been greeted by positive responses. The group is talking to the Town of Drumheller about the proposal. He says they have raised the idea of creating the new vibrant space in the core because currently the town is looking at a traffic study and proposing changes to downtown parking.
    He sees the development as only being of benefit to the businesses in the core. The proposed change would leave the bulk of parking along Centre Street untouched and only eliminate 13 parking spots. The change however would help downtown Drumheller become more of a destination for visitors to experience the downtown core more fully, and result in an increase of visitors who will likely spend more time using the shops and services.
    They hope to implement the proposed changes by next season, according to Todor.
    “The net result will be a downtown core where visitors and locals will feel welcome, and a growing feeling of community. Our history will be shared by all and the significance of Drumheller and past economic value of the area will be showcased,” states the proposal.
    "The vibrance and camaraderie will assist in the creation of community."

Calgary Flames alumni aid facility fundraising

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    Familiar Calgary Flames stars of the past like Lanny McDonald, Jamie McCoun and Jim Peplinski will lead a group of alumni team members in a charity hockey game in Drumheller on Wednesday November 11 at the Drumheller Memorial Arena at 6 p.m.
  The event will be the official kick-off to the fundraising campaign for Drumheller’s $24 million (est.) Badlands Community Facility.
    The Flames alumni team will face a dedicated and fearsome team of hockey-playing weekend warriors who have ante’d up $500 each for the honour of playing against some of Canada’s greatest players.
    Players wanting to suit up and play with the All-Stars can do so by purchasing their sweater, and it’s theirs to keep as a souvenir from the game.
    Event organizer and fundraising committee member Dave Powell commented that this will be a great event for hockey fans plus the proceeds from the game will go directly to the Badlands Community Facility.
  “We have a great event planned and we hope to fill the Memorial Arena,” Mr. Powell said, “plus this is the official kick-off to our fundraising campaign.”
  There will be a special recognition ceremony to thank Encana Corporation for their significant contribution to the project during the opening ceremonies, and lots of ways for the hockey fans to show their support for the facility as well, including a 50-50 draw and a silent auction event.
  Tickets will be available at The Sports Room Source for Sports, ATB Financial andChinook Credit Union. They are priced at $20 dollars a reasonable cost  for the entertainment value provided by the Flames Alumni Team.
    Doors will open at 5:00 p.m., with opening ceremonies starting at 5:45. This will include a Veterans Parade, singing of O Canada, and the official puck drop ceremony with major sponsors on hand.
    Following the game, a meet and greet social at Oshea’s Pub will enable fans to talk to the Flames alumni players, get autographs, and enjoy some snacks, for an additional $50 ticket.
 
 

Canadian play about first love graces Rosebud stage

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    As an organization that is supportive of Canadian artists and emerging talent, Rosebud Theatre is proud to produce a Canadian play written by Calgary playwright Stephen Massicotte.
    Playing until October 24, Mary’s Wedding is a beautiful story of love and courage that has received rave reviews from both the Calgary Sun and CBC radio.
     “I picked this play because it is about love,” says Artistic Director, Morris Ertman. “There is no more significant human interaction than love. And Stephen’s play sets it against a backdrop of war that raises the stakes to the point where the drama of it all is potent. The piece is beautifully constructed within a dream on the eve of Mary’s Wedding, and it paints a picture of first love that I think is recognizable to all of us."
    “First love is an adventure! It’s full of surprise and delight and hope and more. The play is a wonderful visceral experience on the page, which means that it becomes absolutely electric on stage! There’s nothing better than a great love story lived out by great young actors!”
    A Calgary based writer and actor, Stephen Massicotte grew up in Thunder Bay, went to college in Sudbury and then to the University of Calgary. He has written several autobiographical pieces that have won awards at various Fringe festivals, but Mary’s Wedding is his first full-length fictional play.
    He found that writing Mary’s Wedding became a human story very close to home. While he began writing a play about the First World War and specifically the Strathcona Regiment’s heroic charge on Moreuil Wood, the love story of Charlie and Mary closely mirrored personal events in his own life.
    He found he was inserting lines he and his own girlfriend had exchanged during the course of their relationship. As a result of the intensity of that relationship, the love story became the heart of the play with the tragedy of the Great War as a backdrop. He feels he was helped enormously through reading great authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Graves who wrote of the war experience in such a moving way.
    Massicotte’s award-winning plays Looking After Eden, Pervert, and The Boy’s Own Jedi Handbook series originated at Calgary’s Ground Zero Theatre. In 2002, Mary’s Wedding, premiered at Alberta Theatre Projects’ PlayRites Festival and won the 2000 Alberta Playwriting Competition, the 2002 Betty Mitchell Award for Best New Play, and the 2003 Alberta Literary Award for Drama.
    Mary’s Wedding continues to be produced throughout the US, Canada and the UK.
    Mary’s Wedding plays until October 24 at the Rosebud Theatre Opera House, Wednesdays thru Saturdays. Book your tickets at 1-800-267-7553 or visit www.rosebudtheatre.com for more information.

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