photos by Stephen Dafoe and Lucie Roy
With a New Year ahead, we thought it would be good to look back at some of our favourite photos and moments from 2023.
JANUARY
The 30th Family Hockey Tournament (FHT) was held from January 20 to 22 at the Riviere Qui Barre Arena. The tournament consisted of eight families from the surrounding community battling for the FHT cup. The teams consisted of Bokenfohr, Kieser, Boddez, Kluthe, McKief, Perrott and Soetaert. The A Final winners were the Bokenfohr team (shown here), B was Soetaert, C was the Kluthe team, and D was Kieser.
FEBRUARY
The 2023 Alberta Stick Curling Championships was hosted by the Spruce Grove Curling Club on Feb. 10-12. The 2023 Alberta Mixed Champions was won by the Morinville team of Sharon Christenson and Dan Shank (shown here). The 2023 AB Women Champions was won by the Morinville team of Doreen Bodinsky and Elaine Meyer, and the 2023 AB Men Champions was the St Albert team of Ed Willson and Tom Steele.
MARCH
Jack Reader received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alberta Fish & Game Association (AFGA). Reader was recognized at the AFGA Conference held in Edmonton from Feb. 23 to 25. The Certificate presentation took place at the Morinville Fish and Game Clubhouse on Mar. 9, with AFGA President Faran Schaber, Past President Victor Benz, AFGA CEO Kelly Carter, and Mayor Simon Boersma in attendance.
APRIL
The Morinville Community High School Wolves took second place in both the All Girls Advanced Division and the Game Day Division competitions during the ASAA Cheer Provincials held in Morinville on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15.
MAY
The Mother’s Day weekend would saw artists from all over displaying their art at Pembina Place in Redwater at the annual Northern Zone Arts Show ran by the Alberta Community Arts Club Association (ACACA) and hosted by the Redwater Art Society. Four artists showcasing their art from May 12 to 14 were Dathon Potts, McKenzie Nolin, Danica Elliot, and Romeo Anthony Courteoreille-Morin, four Indigenous students attending Morinville Community High School (MCHS) selected for sponsorship in the upcoming show. From left: MCHS artists Dathon Potts, McKenzie Nolin, Danica Elliot and art teacher Tara Riccioppo (holding art by Romeo Anthony Courteoreille-Morin).
Several months of effort paid off for Camilla School’s Drama program over two days and three shows of Rock of Ages: Youth Edition. The musical brought classic 1980s rock songs to the stage to tell the story of fame and romance.
JUNE
Students at Four Winds Public School in Morinville had been rehearsing tirelessly for months in preparation for their production of Annie Jr. The show opened on May 31 and ran for three nights at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre.
Morinville Firefighter Joshua Cust drags a 200-pound rescue mannequin. Cust, a multiple-time winner of the event, took first place in the Morinville Fire Department’s Combat Challenge’s masters’ division with an obstacle course time of 1:38:46.
JULY
Sixty-one-year-old Morinville resident Marion Peterson took three national records in powerlifting at the Canadian Powerlifting League (CPL) nationals, held in Cambridge, Ontario, on Sunday, July 30. Peterson was trained by Strong Man Champion Scott Wallace.
Heritage Place Lodge Activities Coordinator Courtney Farmer gives resident Karen Collyer a ride around the Morinville Fish and Game Association pond trail on Wednesday, July 18. The Lodge’s new Duet Tandem Wheelchair Bike will allow getting out and about in the community. The bike was made possible with a donation from Sturgeon Composite High School raised from their sturgeon Strides event.
AUGUST
From left: Morinville Mayor Simon Boersma, Alexander First Nation Chief George Arcand Jr., and Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation Chief Tony Alexis lead the Grand Entry at the Alexander First Nation Traditional Pow wow on Saturday, Aug. 26. The Traditional Pow Wow ran for three days from Aug. 25 to 27.
SEPTEMBER
Khyree Seymour had her photo taken with Constable Cole McCaugherty on Saturday, Sept. 16. The photo opportunity took place during the Morinville RCMP Detachment and Sturgeon Victim Services (SVS) barbecue and open house recognizing the RCMP’s 150th anniversary and SVS’s partnership in assisting them and the community for many years.
Morinville Curling Club Director Steve Hutchings poses in traditional German costume while holding one of the evening’s silent auction items that were up for bid at the club’s Oktoberfest fundraiser held Saturday, Sept. 23.
OCTOBER
Sturgeon Hockey Club Mustang players assisted at the Household Hazardous Waste Round-Up held in Gibbons on Saturday, Oct. 8. The free event hosted by Roseridge Landfill Commission and Alberta Recycling Authority takes place twice a year with a goal of keeping hazardous materials and electronics out of the landfill.
Terrance Majeau feeds one of the Yak at Prairie Yak Farms Ltd. Terrance and his brother Derek are fourth-generation farmers who grew up on the family grain and hog farm in Sturgeon County. Today, the brothers have 106 head of yak at the Majeau homestead farm and another location in Rivière Qui Barre.
NOVEMBER
Three-time World Champion Hoop Dancer Dallas Arcand did two performances at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre on Saturday, Nov. 25 during the Town of Morinville’s Lite Up The Nite Festival.
DECEMBER
Opening night of Morinville Community High School’s production of Matilda concluded on Wednesday, Dec. 6, as the school’s productions often do, with a well-deserved standing ovation. An audience of approximately 350 witnessed the culmination of almost four months of hard work to bring the beloved 1988 Roald Dahl children’s novel to the stage. The show ran for three days and four shows.
