The Lac La Biche's new library grand opening took place this past weekend on Oct. 15 at the BOLD Centre. The new library has been a long time in the making and it looks like the hard work paid off.
The new facility is 12,000 square feet, which is three times the size of the original library in the basement of McArthur Place.
The day’s festivities included an afternoon full of exploration and excitement for the children. A LEGO building competition showcased architects of all ages and a family storytelling concert by Kathy Jessup had all the children listening with both their ears and imaginations.
Later in the evening, the adult fun began with the official opening ceremonies taking place at 7 p.m. With speeches from Ted Langford, the evening’s MC and member of the Friends of the Library Fundraising Committee, as well as special guest Mayor
Peter Kirylchuk the evening began with great pride for the community and new facility alike.
The ceremonies were catered by the J.A. Williams High School culinary program which served hors d'oeuvres. The drinks for the evening were donated by The Liquor Stop which consisted of red and white wine for the evening.
To help cut the ribbon, Lac La Biche-St.Paul MLA Ray Danyluk made his way out to Lac La Biche. Danyluk has been a big supporter of libraries for a long time.
"Libraries are an integral part of community. To look how each individual community has taken their attributes and put it towards the needs of their communities," said Danyluk. "What a great facility we have here in the BOLD Center."
MLA Danyluk believes that it’s not about government funding or donations but rather about the people who make up the community that help to keep libraries going.
“This is just the start, the beginning because this library will evolve and will take on the community and take on the passions of the communities around it,” said Danyluk. “Once you enter a library you can’t leave.”
In addition to special guest speakers and the evening ceremonies, a special announcement was maid by a representative from Statoil. A donation of $100,000 over the course of two years towards the new library for the purchase of materials was made.
A large cheque for the initial installment of $50,000 was handed over to the Lac La Biche County Library Board chairperson Loraine Anderton, and co-chair Cecilia Quist.
To close the evening’s festivities, the Lac La Biche Players had a ‘murder mystery’ event for all in attendance where they had to solve the murder of Library director, Maureen Penn, in a real life version of CLUE.