Pipestone Flyer
Artist Jeanine McIntosh was the winner of the art contest for the County's 50th Anniversary. Jeanine said that her painting encompassed everything that the County means to her as well as having a representation of the County logo "hidden" in the center of the picture.
Traditional anniversary gifts call for something made of wood at the five year mark, ten years gets you tin, twenty five is of course silver, and for those lucky enough to make it to their 50th anniversary gold is the reward. Well in 2013 Leduc County has earned gold status as they are celebrating the 50th year since establishing themselves as a County. And a big party to commemorate that fact is being planned for July 26th from 4-8 pm at the Leduc West Antique Society grounds.
A kind of theme for the day is "A trip down memory lane while looking forward to a prosperous future." So along these lines the County is looking for submissions from the public that tell the story of Leduc County. The County is currently gathering stories and artifacts from residents to display at the celebration. There will be multimedia displays set up around the site with everything from antique farm machinery and equipment from the oil and gas industry to a "video capsule" of interviews with residents telling stories about their lives in Leduc County and various other interesting interesting displays capturing moments in time. If you have any interesting stories of the region, about community VIP's or area characters, local school, sports, or industry stories, or photos and artifacts from Leduc County's history that you think would be of interest and you would be willing to put on display, you are asked to please contact the County at 780-979-6183.
On July 26th the Antique Society grounds will be jumping with all kinds of musical talent on two different stages. Inside the Hooper Building the Old Time Aires and the Sandholm Square Dancers will be having a foot stomping, skirt spinning good time, while outside on the main stage harpist Tracy Dienes will be welcoming guests as they arrive with the magical sounds of her instrument, and then she will pass along the microphone to local artists Brendan Guy, Joanne Janzen, Tiffany Dowhan, and Dwayne Steele. In between the musical guests emcee Danny Hooper will keep the evening flowing and people laughing while everyone is welcomed to chow down on some traditional country fare such as beef on a bun, hotdogs for the kids, salads, baked beans, watermelon, and cupcakes.
In a contest that the County recently held artist Jeanine McIntosh won top honours by creating a beautiful oil painting that represented all the aspects of life that Leduc County means to her. The painting is broken into four quarters with scenes depicting agriculture, oil and gas discovery, the river valley, and prairie lands. In the center of the painting she has cleverly incorporated a "hidden" County logo that takes pieces from each aspect to create the whole logo. This painting will be turned into greeting cards to be used by Leduc County as a promotional item, as well as being recreated in quilt form which will them be auctioned off at the celebration.
A very unique event that the County has decided to run, which will lead up to the July celebration, is a "50 for 50" geocaching challenge. With the help of local group the Leduc County Cachers, fifty "treasures" will be hidden around the region that can be found using a GPS system and other navigational techniques. For those who have never geocached before a free two hour session will be held at the Nisku Recreation Centre on June 15th from 2-4 pm, which is when the locations of the fifty items will be released. The first 50 people to find the items and record the special passwords into their Leduc County "passports" will win a prize and be entered into a grand prize draw. For more information on this challenge please go to the Leduc County website and look for the "50 for 50" under the "news" column.
All Leduc County residents will receive invitations to the celebration in their tax notices which have already been mailed out, but the event is open to everyone. It is absolutely an event the whole family can enjoy and not break the bank seeing as the entire celebration is free!
So whether you are new to Leduc and area or someone with deep roots in the community this event is one not to be missed. Besides, who has more reason to celebrate than we do? After all, we live in the best place on earth!