The 2015 Fall & Winter Community Guide is Now Available!

The 2015 Fall & Winter Community Guide to Recreation, Culture & Social Support Services is now available! You can find the Community Guide at various locations around town such as MacDonald Island, Wood Buffalo Regional Library, Keyano College, Heritage Park and the Oil Sands Discovery Centre.  A full listing of locations is available at www.rmwb.ca/communtiyguide. Be sure to pick up your copy!

The Guide is a great resource to learn more about the fun events, programs and activities in our community. Whether you are interested in learning about different cultures or discovering a new hobby, participating in local environmental initiatives or signing up for one of the many sports and recreational groups, you can find more information in the Guide. And if you’re a parent looking for fun ways to keep your kid busy, there’s a section specifically for Children & Youth too!

As you flip through the pages, I’m sure you will be amazed at all the opportunities that await you in Wood Buffalo- I know I did!

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo publishes the Community Guide every Spring and Fall to provide free advertising opportunities for not-for-profit community organizations to promote their recreation and cultural activities or community services. Every effort was made to invite all community organizations to participate in the Community Guide. If you are part of such an organization and would like to be featured in the Guide, please contact jessica.barry@rmwb.ca.

Come Celebrate Our New Mural!

Artists Daniel J. Kirk and Ivan Ostapenko of Calgary, air brushing the graffiti abatement mural at Lions Park in Fort McMurray.

Residents are invited to attend Lions Park (3 Tolen Drive) on September 18 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. to witness the unveiling. The event will also feature guest speakers, food, music, and of course, great art.

The initiative is intended to discourage graffiti vandalism while encouraging creativity through positive contributions to the community.

Painted by professional artists Daniel J. Kirk and Ivan Ostapenko of Blank Page Studio in Calgary, this year’s mural covers a large section of the retaining wall under the Prairie Loop Boulevard bridge. The mural artists were chosen by a selection panel after the Municipality issued a national call to artists. 

The Lions Park mural is the fourth installment of the Graffiti Abatement Mural Program, which provides legal spaces for street art and is a proactive approach to preventing graffiti vandalism. Previous installations include last year’s mural on the Beacon Hill pump house, also painted by Kirk and Ostapenko, a mural behind Father Turcotte Elementary School painted by artist Allan Ryan in 2013, and another mural behind Composite High School painted in 2012 by Wil Yee.

Please RSVP to alanna.bottrell@rmwb.ca by September 18.

Fort Mac Hand Crafted Market Returns to Alberta Culture Days

Returning to this years’ Alberta Culture Days festival in Wood Buffalo will be the very popular handcrafted market organized by Fort Mac Hand Crafted Market – a unique, locally based group that organizes markets and helps incubate their member’s businesses. Etsy Made in Canada is part of Fort Mac Hand Crafted Market’s plan to help craftpreneurs expand globally. Etsy, the online marketplace that has garnered an almost cult-like following of shoppers looking for handcrafted, vintage goods, and supplies, is bringing its cross-Canada Made in Canada marketplace to Fort McMurray the weekend of Alberta Culture Days, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26^th and 27^th, at the Westwood Community High School (221 Tundra Drive) from  10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The market will be placing a special emphasis on makers and suppliers this year. Etsy online shoppers will have the chance to meet, greet and shop from Wood Buffalo area sellers from as far away as Fort Chipewyan. All fees raised from table rentals will be donated to the Westwood Improv Team to help support their travelling expenses to the Edinburgh Fringe where they’ve been invited to perform.

Made in Canada is a part of Etsy’s recent initiative to take the online marketplace offline, creating the opportunity for our local sellers to connect with each other, and with buyers,” Erin Green, country manager for Etsy Canada said in a press release. “We are really proud to be supporting local Etsy sellers across the country, such as in Fort McMurray and its surrounding areas, and fostering creative collaborations and the growth of the maker movement in Canada.”

The event, which is one of 34 similar pop-up marketplaces happening across the country including events in Edmonton and Calgary, will bring together many local established and newly signed up Etsy sellers and interested shoppers for the first time. The space will also be host to a Pop-Up Art Gallery with the Art Guild, a Run for the Cure display, and youth buskers to entertain the crowds.

During the market, SWAG bags will be given to the first 10 shoppers through the door on Saturday. They’ll also be drawn for throughout the day. The gift bags will feature some Etsy goodies and gift card, samples from vendors and some items from businesses supporting the pink ribbon Run for the Cure. There will also be a draw for a gift basket of products from the vendors and the Fort Mac Hand Crafted Market at the end of the market on Sunday.

As a part of the festival Alberta Culture Days in Wood Buffalo will be having a special contest; Attend three events at three different venues and you can enter to win a pair of season tickets to Keyano Theatre’s 4-Play Drama Series. For contest details and a full listing of events, download our online booklet, www.rmwb.ca/culturedays. 

For more information on Etsy please visit Etsy.com/madeincanada,          or email fortmachandcrafted@gmail.com.