Enough about politics, well at least for this week.

Most weekends I am out of town working in Calgary. I’m in the middle of a contract that takes me out of town near the end of each week and although I love the city, it can get exhausting. 

The beginning of the week took me to Edmonton to attend the Rural Alberta Municipalities Convention with our Mayor, Blair Painter, Councillor Vicki Kubik, and our CAO Patrick Thomas. 

We met with several government Ministers and we advocated for all issues Crowsnest Pass.

The advantage of being in Edmonton is that I was able to spend a bit of time with my Aiden. I made time every day to meet with him for either lunch or dinner and I was able to meet many of the new friends he has made in university. Aiden is living at a fraterity, and I made a point of seeing his accommodations. All I will say about that is I’m a bit worried he may get dysentery or perhaps scurvy, but he must learn his own lesson on the benefits of cleanliness. 

I came home on the Thursday and, tried to catch up at work to head into a date night with Quinn. I was invited by a friend to attend the Turning Pointe Dance Festival Society’s Gala. Quinn offered to attend with me as he has several friends in the organization.

It was dynamite. I can’t remember having that much fun in a long time. The dance troupe and their instructors put on a top-notch production. The students are simply amazing. We saw well over 50 acts and every one of them was dynamite. I sometimes forget the calibre of programs we produce in this community and how many athletes this dance company has produced as professional dancers.

Both Quinn and I are excited to buy tickets to their year-end show in Lethbridge. We are well and truly hooked.

On the Sunday of the same weekend, I judged, along with fellow councillors Dave Filipuzzi and Glen Girhiny, the Slush Cup at PPK.

Again, I was blown away at the venue. The society was barbecuing burgers and hot dogs, the sun was shining and there was a mote full of water. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a sun burn, a ton of laughing and the time of my life.

There were over 70 participants in the Slush Cup. Basically, the participants skied down the hill as fast or slow as they felt comfortable and tried to skim across the water. 

Some people dressed up, some didn’t but all had a great time. What really stuck out to me is how few people I knew in the crowd.

This hill, although community owned, has a following by many who don’t live in the area. I love it. They see what we have through fresh eyes, and I’ll tell you from the people I talked to, they love it here, almost as much as we do.

We just finished the Music Festival and the musical ‘Let it Be’. This Music Festival holds a special place in my heart as I spent many Aprils of my life in piano competitions and if I had time and could sing I’d try our for the musical. We produce some amazing musicians from this community.

Next, we have the Bunny Bonspiel and the Rodeo. It’s non-stop action here in the Crowsnest Pass. It’s busy, it’s full of people, spring feels around the corner, even when it snows, and there seems to be renewed life in our beautiful Crowsnest Pass. So, my advice is you have time is to get out and enjoy what this community has to offer. Culturally and recreationally, we are the golden ticket in Alberta.