The weekend ahead in community events

By Étienne Thevou

If you are a candidate for elected office, your Saturday is probably tied up ringing doorbells and talking to voters. But if you are not on the campaign trail, there is plenty of opportunities to take in a little culture and fun this weekend.

Freedom of the Town ceremony

Gibbons Mayor Bill Nimmo presents Lieutenant-Colonel Edward M. Izatt, CD with the proclamation granting Freedom of the Town to 1 Combat Engineer Regiment June 20, 2009. The town will be granting the same honour to Lord Strathcona’s Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) this Saturday. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
Gibbons is the place to be this Saturday morning (Oct. 2) for those who support our military and for those who would like to see a centuries old custom continuing in the modern era. Lord Strathcona’s Horse Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Canada’s only Tank Regiment, will take part in a Freedom of the Town ceremony.

Although the ceremony dates back to the days of the Roman Empire when the law forbade armies from entering a town without permission to prevent a military coup against the Roman senate, it became quite common in the medieval era for similar purposes.

However, today the ceremony is a civic honour bestowed upon the armed forces by a town or city to show their affection and respect for Canada’s service men and women.

The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. with Lord Strathcona’s Horse marching through the streets of gibbons with flags flying, tanks rolling, drums beating and bayonets fixed.

There will be a ceremonial mounted troop ride and military display at the Jack Hogg Sports Grounds (located behind Gibbons School) at 11:30 a.m.

A bounty of good eats and good fun

Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm on Lily Lake Road is a prime location this Saturday for those who want to experience a taste of what Sturgeon county has to offer in the way of regional cuisine.

Sturgeon County is teaming up with Travel Alberta and Prairie Gardens for the Sturgeon County Bounty, a one-day festival where participants will get to sample a wide selection of seasonal flavours from the best local cuisine Sturgeon County has available.

A dozen vendors have been lined up for the four-hour event, each providing a variety of their special dishes. Admission to the event is $15 and includes six sample food tickets. Additional tickets can be purchased at a cost of $1 each. Dishes run between one and four tickets each, depending on the dish.

And not everything on the menu is something everyone has likely to have experienced. Grilled lamb souvlaki, curried carrot soup, wheat grass juice and Italian meatloaf with Alpaca are all on the various participants’ menus.

The event runs from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Oct. 2 at Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm and coincides with the first weekend of the adventure farm’s annual Haunted Pumpkin Festival.

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