Vanier alumni to unite for one giant 40th anniversary reunion

Georges P. Vanier school alumni pose for a photo. The group are organizing a 40th anniversary reunion to take place June 19 to 21. – Stephen Dafoe Photo

by Stephen Dafoe

Former students of Georges P. Vanier School are being invited to attend a weekend-long reunion during this year’s St. Jean Baptiste (SJB) Festival. The event runs June 19 to 21.

Organizer Gerry Gaetz said there had been a reunion every 10 years since he graduated in 1975. Forty years later, the reunion will expand to anyone who ever attended the school, whether they graduated there or not.

“With all of us getting older… we decided to get more people involved,” Gaetz said. “Some of these grades in between us have never had one of these. It boils down to pretty much anyone who went to high school in the Vanier school in Morinville.”

Organizers are planning a weekend worth of activities during this year’s festival with a number of 70s themed activities. The reunion’s two major events include an icebreaker at the curling club on Friday night and a banquet in conjunction with the SJB Rock Concert on Saturday night. Attendees will be encouraged to take part in other SJB events happening throughout town over the weekend.

“They’ll remember that St. Jean Baptiste Days are a lot like the old Frontier Days when they were going to school,” Gaetz said.

Co-organizer Ron Cust said the reunion group had been working with the SJB Committee and will be entering a float in the parade. Additionally, the festival will display blue and white pennants across the parade route to show off the old Vanier school colours.

Tickets for the reunion banquet/rock concert have already topped 200 units sold. They are hoping to open the number of seats up to 250 but with tickets selling fast, they are encouraging people to buy their tickets as soon as possible. Tickets for the reunion event are $79.25 plus a $5.75 processing fee.

Tickets for the concert portion of the evening are $30. This admission price would allow non-Vanier alumni to come to the event after 8:30 to join the party and dance. Cust said 100 tickets to the concert will be available to the general public who want to attend the show.

For more information on the event visit eventbrite.ca/e/morinville-gp-vanier-40th-reunion-tickets-15678844847.

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