Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2024) - Heritage Park Historical Village is excited to invite everyone to a special celebration on July 1st, marking its 60th birthday. This year, the park focuses on its rich history and commitment to community and stewardship as it celebrates six decades of preserving and sharing Western Canada's heritage.
60 years ago, trustees from the Woods Foundation came together with Calgary City Council to create a "children's pioneer park." That idea turned into Heritage Park, and since that time, Heritage Park has become one of the largest and most visited living history museums in Canada, with more than 618,000 guests in 2023. Hosting school programs (over 50,000 kids every year), weddings (over 4,000 in the last 60 years), and everything in between, Heritage Park has continuously cemented its legacy as one of the most loved tourist attractions in Alberta.
Now, we're turning 60 and we want you to come and celebrate with us! Here are the highlights:
10:00am: Be one of the first 1,000 guests in the gate to savour one of our famous butter tarts for free!
11:00am: Enjoy a parade around the village centre, featuring vintage vehicles, Heritage Park's adorable farm animals, live performers, and the costumed Interpreters of Heritage Park.
11:30am: Witness the spike drive ceremony at Midnapore Station. We'll honor our railway, at the heart of the original plan for Heritage Park, and an essential part of our living museum. We salute the Park's 60 years in the community, and the progress Heritage Park aims to achieve in the future.
12:00pm: Sing happy birthday to Heritage Park! We'll serve 600 pieces of birthday cake, first come, first serve, at Midnapore Station. It's our way of saying thank you to the community for its continued support and for making Heritage Park a beloved destination for generations.
Performances throughout the day include the Chinook Country Line Dancers, Watâga Dance Troupe, Calgary Police Service Pipe Band, Balzac Kitchen Party String Band, and concert sets by Country Music Alberta's two-time Horizon Female Artist of the Year, Mariya Stokes, and Hayley Isabel, 2024 winner of Country Music Alberta's Youth Horizon Award.
Enjoy displays, demonstrations, and hands-on activities around the Park. The Nifty Fifty's Ford Club will have a collection of beauties to admire on Celebration Field. Challenge your friends and family at the old-fashioned games like three-legged and egg-in-spoon races. Let your children get creative with colouring and crafts.
One of the highlights of this celebration is the story of Jim Heaton, who was here on the day Heritage Park opened - July 1st, 1964. Jim is now an employee at the Park, helping with events and as a key member of its donor outreach group. He will share some of his stories emceeing the spike drive ceremony.
"Heritage Park is more than just a historical village; it is a living testament to the spirit of our community and the dedication to preserving our collective history for future generations," says Lindsey Galloway, president and CEO of Heritage Park. "This 60th birthday is a celebration of our legacy and our commitment to another 60 years of community and stewardship."
Join us in celebrating our 60th birthday and honoring the past, present, and future of Heritage Park. Full details are found here.
Heritage Park Presents in Celebration of Our 60th Birthday, Mariya Stokes.
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Hayley Isabel, winner of the 2024 Alberta Country Music Youth Horizon Award.
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Heritage Park's 60th Anniversary Parade.
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Chinook Country Line Dancers.
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Old-Fashioned Family Games.
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Media Inquiries:
Pam Taylor
Director, Marketing and Communications, Heritage Park
403-519-3409
ptaylor@heritagepark.com
Alternative Media Contact:
Noelle Aune
403-861-1982
noelleaunepr@gmail.com
About Heritage Park Historical Village
For 60 years, Heritage Park has been proud to be one of Canada's leading living history museums. The Park is located on Treaty 7 territory, respecting the history, languages and cultures of the nations on whose traditional land we reside. A registered charity, Heritage Park receives hundreds of thousands of guests from around the world every year. A key contributor to the tourism landscape of Alberta since 1964, Heritage Park is an immersive educational and community hub, telling the diverse stories of the multicultural history of Western Canada.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/214956
SOURCE: Heritage Park
