Summer is officially just around the corner, and with it a busy summer festival season. This year, Lac La Biche is looking at a summer jam-packed with fun-filled community celebrations and it kicks off this weekend with local events showcasing the rich and varied history of the region.
OUR LAND OUR LIFE
On Saturday, canoeing enthusiasts are invited to follow the path of the voyageurs before them—canoeing from the Plamondon White Sands resort to the Lac La Biche Mission. These canoes can seat 20-plus and they fly through the water, but most modern day canoeists might still find the trip daunting at three and a half hours—a trip that would have seemed short to a wiry voyageur two centuries ago.
Organized by Lac La Biche County, Community Futures Lac La Biche and various other community groups, the day starts at the Plamondon White Sands resort with a free pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. before the canoeists set out, and ends at the Lac La Biche Mission a few hours later with lunch and entertainment. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.
“This event has some legs for developing a product for the region,” said Karen Gingras, general manager of Community Futures in Lac La Biche. “If Travel Alberta is going to invest money in the area, we have to have a product. This is a unique experience and with the whole historical aspect, it’s such a neat thing. This is part of the deep-rooted history of Lac La Biche. This is our history, this is our lake.”
PLAMONDON HERITAGE DAY
Capping off this weekend, that also includes National Aboriginal Day on Friday, the celebration of local history is complete with Plamondon’s annual Heritage Day, an event that promises to be bigger and better than ever as eight Plamondon community groups, like the Historical Chapelle Society and Pioneer Club, to name just two, decided to pool their efforts this year.
Starting at 11 a.m. with Sunday mass, the entirely free event will have all kinds of activities and games for kids, as well as a free barbecue lunch and a live jam session that everyone is invited to participate in.
The highlight of the day however will be the unveiling of the “mini-buildings”—replicas of buildings that existed in Plamondon between the 1900s and the 1920s. The buildings will be, on average, five feet wide and six feet high, and depict such historic sites as founding father Joseph Plamondon’s home and the town’s first hotel.
“We have a rich history,” said Aline L’Heureux-Cote, one of the research and information coordinators for the event. “We want to preserve our history, and make it known to our children and our grandchildren, and the community at large. And it’s all free, thanks to our community organizations and local business sponsors.”
