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Heritage Park Golden Anniversary
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Fritz Tolentino
Heritage Park - Gasoline Alley
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Fritz Tolentino
Heritage Park - Gasoline Alley
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Heritage Park Golden Anniversary
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Fritz Tolentino
Heritage Park
Fritz Tolentino Design + Photography
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Fritz Tolentino
Heritage Park
Fritz Tolentino Design + Photography
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Heritage Park Golden Anniversary
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Heritage Park Golden Anniversary
By Barb Munro
The train’s whistle sounds, and a puff of smoke appears like a fluffy white cloud against the vivid blue sky. The rhythmic chugging of the train increases in tempo and volume as the massive black steam engine emerges from around the bend, pulling century-old passenger cars behind it. The snow-capped Rocky Mountains and glistening blue water of the Glenmore Reservoir provides a picturesque backdrop. It is a familiar scene, and one that has greeted visitors for fifty years.
On July 1, 1964, Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary, Alberta opened its doors for the first time. Located on 69 acres of picturesque land that belonged to one of the area’s first settlers, Sam Livingston, the Park consisted of 12 sparsely laid out exhibits and a steam train that circled around the Park on one mile of track. Over the years, numerous historical buildings were moved to the site and replicas were erected with detailed accuracy. Today, Heritage Park is Canada’s largest living history museum. The Park has nearly doubled in size to encompass 127 acres and features over 180 exhibits. Heritage Park is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014 with a year of new exhibit openings, exciting new events and enhanced activities throughout. This is the year to discover Heritage Park.
Situated within the southwest section of Calgary, Heritage Park is easily accessible from any direction and has ample free parking, with room for RV parking. The Park transports visitors back in time, specifically to four different periods that connect visitors to the settlement of Western Canada.
At the entrance is the recently developed Heritage Town Square. This area is open year-round and represents the 1930s to 1950s. There are four shops, an antique portrait studio, café, fine dining restaurant and an enormous automobile museum bursting with colour, chrome and vintage detailing. Hundreds of oil and gas signs hang from the rafters of Gasoline Alley Museum, high above a stunning display of restored vehicles and gas pumps from the turn of the century to the 1950s. Take a trip down memory lane in the backseat of a ‘50s drive-in movie car and enjoy a guided tour of the museum. Kids can busy themselves maneuvering their own tricycle roadway and playing vintage games.
Dine on upscale Canadian fare for lunch or dinner in the casually elegant Selkirk Grille restaurant and enjoy the peaceful patio overlooking the 1930s style town square. On Wednesday evenings during the summer, the patio is the perfect location to enjoy dinner while watching a free live concert performed outdoors.
Once through the gates and into the historical village, the sights and sounds of the antique train circling the bend greet you. From here, rhythmic drumming draws you to the park’s Aboriginal Encampment where tipis stand tall in an open grassy plain. Blackfoot interpreters share the stories and traditions of the First Nations people dating back thousands of years. Sit by an open fire inside a tipi and join in a drumming circle, listen to stories and watch traditional dances. Directly across from the encampment sits a catholic mission and a replica of an 1860s Hudson Bay Company Fur Trading Fort. Barter with the friendly fur traders for goods and practice your paddling skills in the fort as you train to be a voyageur. Wander down the road and you will find yourself ahead twenty years in a rustic pre-railway 1880s town. Tour the original home of Sam Livingston and visit with the lady of the house as she prepares a simple meal on the wood burning stove. Across from the Livingston house, sip on ice-cold beer in the local saloon and meet the friendly North West Mounted Police Officer who keeps a close watch on the townsfolk at the barracks next door.
A short walk leads to the Park’s ranching area, complete with rodeo grounds, farm animals, a sod house and inviting ranch house. In August, watch traditional harvest and agricultural demonstrations during the Rural Roots event, and get up close to all the heart pounding action of a mini rodeo on August 9.
The largest area of Heritage Park is made up of a 1910 prairie town. Streets bustle with the coming and going of the townsfolk and horse drawn wagons. Enjoy lunch in the elegant Wainwright Hotel; pick up a freshly baked item in the bakery or a snack at a number of other eateries. Young–and those young at heart– flock to the old-fashioned candy store, ice cream parlour and antique midway, which features seven rides and games from the turn of the century. A paddlewheel boat departs throughout the day for a relaxing twenty-minute boat ride, and Thursday evenings throughout the summer for a two-hour evening cruise with live music, food and a cash bar.
Three train stations situated throughout the Park allow riders to board and depart the antique passenger cars at various locations. For the first time ever, you can enjoy a pre-booked elegant lunch or a private dinner aboard a moving, newly restored 1920s dining car, the River Forth.
Shops and businesses line the streets and trades people are busy at work printing the weekly newspaper, pounding hot iron into horseshoes and selling their wares. Stop by the snooker parlour for a lesson and game, or tour through the most opulent house of its time, a beautiful brick three-story mansion belonging to Peter Prince, the namesake of Prince’s Island Park in downtown Calgary. Canada’s rail car history is on display in two massive buildings where you can tour through the passenger cars or sit and enjoy a 40-minute one-man show. Theatre pops up on the street corners throughout the day, and on weekends, family-friendly productions are performed in the world’s only log opera house. In June, the brand new Famous 5 Interpretive Centre, a recreation of Nellie McClung’s beautiful craftsman style home, will open and serve to share the stories of Canadian women. Enjoy a leisurely Sunday afternoon tea on the verandah and wander through the Park’s newest exhibit.
Each day a variety of activities and tours are scheduled throughout the Park, and through the year a number of special events will take place. This year, the events will be bigger and better than ever. Quilt lovers can view hundreds of quilts on display throughout the Historical Village during the second last weekend of May at the Festival of Quilts. On July 1, the Park celebrates its 50th birthday with a massive Canada Day/Birthday party bash. In August, the Heritage Day holiday will feature a day of concerts, a first time rodeo will play out the second week of August and a Treaty 7 Powwow in September will fill the Park with an explosion of colour, tradition and music.
Detailed information on Heritage Park’s 50th anniversary events are listed on the website, www.HeritagePark.ca, and you can pre-purchase tickets, single day and consecutive two-day admission passes online, or buy your day passes at the front gate. Heritage Park is not just about the past; it is about creating memories in the present, and doing so for years to come.