“Mosaic of History” to celebrate Canada’s 150th

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

The Strathmore Canada 150 Planning Committee met on Aug. 25 and Sept. 6 to brainstorm ideas to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Some ideas discussed included fundraisers, community celebrations and legacy projects.
After brainstorming, the committee decided to create a “Mosaic of History” as a community arts and culture legacy project. The committee will be placing this project forth when it applies for a grant for funding from the federal Canada 150 Fund.
Canadian Heritage stipulated that project ideas and applications had a deadline of Sept. 30 in order to be considered for possible grant monies for Canada 150 celebrations in Strathmore.
Tracy Simpson, Town of Strathmore recreation coordinator, is heading up the Canada 150 committee and said the committee will be able to apply for various funding opportunities, but was recently focused on coming up with a project to meet the application deadline for the Canada 150 Fund.
“Because of the short time line for this specific fund, our focus did go directly to this one application,” she said. “We haven’t even looked at other funding options because of the needed timeline around this one.”
The proposed project consists of a mosaic design of the Canadian flag to be installed in a local park. The committee identified Kinsmen Park as an option.
However, at the Town council meeting on Sept. 21, it was determined the town will provide a place to install the project, but this may not necessarily be at Kinsmen Park.
A timeline of historical Canadian and Strathmore events will be listed by number on the mosaic, with corresponding numbers on smaller plaques placed along a pathway, including detailed information and pictures for each historical event. Historical events will be placed directly at the site where the event took place within Strathmore.
The project is designed to be inclusive to everyone and to allow Canadians to come together in one place through a self-guided walking tour providing insight into the past and present. The project also allows the community to add to these historical events in future years.
At the Sept. 21 council meeting, Coun. Denise Peterson said she is in favour of a legacy project, and also introduced the idea of QR codes to possibly accompany the physical mosaic landmarks.
In terms of the mosaic of history, users could install an app on their phones and then scan a QR code that would show pictures and tell a story of a certain event in history. These QR codes could even be placed where the actual historical event occurred.
“It’s a simplistic but highly visual, captivating way to demonstrate history,” said Peterson.
Simpson said the committee will consider the use of QR codes along with physical historic landmarks.
“I think we are leaning toward a hybrid of a fixed structure as well as QR codes to be more encompassing and inclusive of everybody,” she said. “We want to make sure that people who don’t have cell phones or smart phones or know how to use them can also enjoy the project.”
Other Canada 150 funding opportunities will be available through Canadian Badlands and Alberta Culture, but these opportunities have yet to be explored by the Canada 150 committee.
The committee is looking for active participation in this project from all members of the community and invites community members, schools, indigenous groups and organizations to research and develop pieces of the project and to assist in other ways.
The Canada 150 committee held another meeting on Sept. 28 to discuss celebration ideas for Canada’s 150th anniversary in Strathmore.
For all inquiries and for those interested in volunteering with Canada’s 150th anniversary planning, contact Tracy Simpson at the Town of Strathmore office.