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Fort Edmonton Park
By Suzzette Mellado
Photos Courtesy Fort Edmonton Park
This year Fort Edmonton Park is celebrating 40 years of connecting generations to Edmonton’s dynamic history. As one of Canada’s largest living history museums, it boasts more than 80 buildings and exhibits and over 40,000 artifacts on its 148 acres, in addition to a multitude of costumed interpreters whose presence animates the site.
Fort Edmonton Park is excited to share its celebratory plans for 2014 and the near future. This year the Park is proud to introduce two new rides to its 1920s Midway: the classic Chair-O-Plane ride and a magical fun house. These rides will join our 1920s hand carved carousel, Big Eli Ferris wheel, a bug ride and fabulous old-fashioned carnival games such as the Hoopla Game, Plate Pitch, Spill the Milk, 3 Ball Game and the Milk Can Toss. These new additions are part of the Midway expansion plan that will capture the energy and excitement of the time.
Signature events like Opening Weekend, Dominion Day and Harvest Fair will feature new and special programming for the whole family. The Park will also announce a few birthday surprises soon. All we can say for now is that the Park will celebrate its anniversary all season long, through signature events, theatre productions, special children’s courses and dining events. Visitors will feel the birthday fever and it will be contagious.
Over the next few years, the Park will introduce an exhibit like no other: Pehonan, The Spirit of the First Nations. This will be a stirring celebration of Canada’s original inhabitants and their culture. New programming at this site, and throughout the Park, will offer a more complete picture of the role of Aboriginal people played in the development of the region over the past 10,000 years. It will add an additional layer of cultural perspective to the Park, and give recognition to the significant Aboriginal population in the Edmonton area.
Other expansion plans include the opening of Windsor Block, an expansion of the existing Hotel Selkirk. The enlarged hotel complex will encompass a conference centre, banquet facilities, and meeting space – all designed with period flair.
New and returning visitors can also check out the Park’s iconic landmarks that include a representation of the Fort Edmonton HBC trading post c. 1846 and accompanying Cree encampment, the original Rutherford House, the detailed reconstruction of the elegant Hotel Selkirk, a reproduction of the Allen Brothers’ Capitol Theatre from the 1920s and of course our 1919 Baldwin Steam Train.
Follow Fort Edmonton Park on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest news and events. You can also sign up for the Park’s newsletter on their website: www.FortEdmontonPark.ca