LAC LA BICHE - It's an annual community event that draws thousands to Lac La Biche County each summer — and many signature events have been part of its 60-year history. But that might change this year.
The Lac La Biche Summer Days weekend, a modernized continuation of Lac La Biche Pow Wow Days that first began in the early 1960s, is going ahead this year ... but it will likely have a few big changes to some of those big events.
"I have some events that are solid and fixed ... and some that are still in the air," says Neil Timm, the president of the Lac La Biche Pow Wow Days Association organizing the event that is slated for August 4-7 this year.
Thanks to a massive, summer-long downtown road construction project that began on May 1 and the closure of the Lac La Biche Recreation Grounds for the three-year construction of a new McArthur Park, some events still need some more planning.
"Some of those events in the air are the fireworks show due to the renovations in McArthur Park as well as the Midway ride location ... we also don't have a parade route," said Timm in the most recent update of the event.
"We're hoping to have these events — it's something we are still working on," he said.
Activities that have been confirmed include the morning pancake breakfasts hosted by the Lac La Biche Heritage Society and the community fish fry at McArthur Place hosted by the Lac La Biche Rotary Club. The Children's Fish Derby at the Alexander Hamilton Park, coordinated by the Ladies Muslim Association is also still on track. Music in the Park performcances are also said to be continuing near McArthur Place, away from construction in the adjacent recreation area.
The annual slow-pitch tournament that is part of the Pow Wow Days and Summer Days tradition is also continuing ... just at a new location. With the removal of the two remaining ball diamonds at the Lac La Biche Recreation Grounds in recent weeks, the Summer Days tourney will take over two of the three ball diamonds at the Bold Center Sports fields and the two diamonds beside the Aurora Middle School. The third diamond at the Bold Center Sports fields was booked by municipal staff for another event happening at the same time.
There won't be anymore baseball games at the Main One Diamond in the Lac La Biche Recreation Grounds; there arent' any ball diamonds there anymore.
"Coming in as the new president this year has been a struggle to say the least," said Timm with a laugh.
Other ideas?
He recently met with Lac La Biche County council for an update on the progress.
When asked if Beaver Hill Road could be a substitute route for the parade instead of the traditional Main Street, Timm said from the research he has collected, the road has an incline that won't work for diverse parade floats.
"Up until now, I've never been an expert on parade routing," he laughed, "but now I know a thing or two."
He said 90 degree turns on and off an incline are a concern, so is the stress on animals in the parade trying to navigate the up-hill route.
"If ever you've walked up there or took a bike up, you know it's a pretty long hill. For the big floats, and animals ... horses and slopes on asphalt is never a good idea," he said.
Rides?
A new midway location is also still being confirmed. Discussions with property owners of the large parking areas south of Lac La Biche's Main Street are continuing, says Timm, admitting that with the construction closing down Main Street, traffic congestion could be an issue.
One idea coming to the event organizers from municipal officials in recent days was to move the midway rides to the Bold Center grounds. A map highlighting two locations near the new running track inside the Bold Center Sports Fields were shown to Timm. But he said the two locations are too small ... and covered with grass, so there are safety and structural concerns.
As Lac La Biche County councillors tried to push for a permanent home at the Bold Center, using some of the existing paved parking areas for a midway area and opening up the outside arena doors in case of inclement weather, Timm said he isn't looking that far down the road.
"I'm just trying to get through this year's event. It is my intention to eventually look for a permanent home ... but we are basically right now reinventing the entire event," he said, describing it as a "flux" year and not a blueprint for the future.
Timm will continue to speak with municipal officials and the partner organizations that are part of the Summer Days board. Admitting he wasn't "100 per cent confident " in the downtown parking area for the midway, he said it was currently the "best that we have."
Council likes Bold move
Councillors thanked Timm for his update and afer he left, they voted to bring back more information on creating a midway rides space in a Bold Center parking area. Council also voted to bring back some administrative ideas for a new parade route. Both reports are expected to be shared with council at the May 9 public council meeting.
Lac La Biche County Mayor said council's support and the plans of the Summer Days organizers all have a similar goal.
"I encourage everyone to work together .. this is not 'us' against 'them'. We all want to make this happen," he said.
