LAC LA BICHE – On June 1, the Venice Picnic will once again be taking place at the Venice Heritage Park – a long-standing event dating back to the 1940s.
Zach Bourassa, secretary of the Venice-Hylo Heritage, Historical and Preservation Society (HHP), said the 2025 edition of the Venice Picnic will feature homemade pasta, along with a variety of outdoor activities for folks to enjoy, including a petting zoo, games, and a youth ball tournament.
This will be the last year that ball teams will be playing on the old, deteriorating ball diamond located on the grounds of Venice Heritage Park. Following this year’s picnic, construction of a new ball diamond will get underway.
The project is being supported by Lac La Biche County.
According to information from Lac La Biche County, $100,000 was set aside in the 2025 budget for the new Venice ball diamond.
“The current ball diamond is in very rough shape and is about to collapse and is becoming unsafe . . . This new ball diamond will last for decades and will allow us to continue the long tradition of baseball in our community,” Bourassa said.
The new ball diamond will be the same size as the current one. The work that will be done as part of this project includes installing new bleachers, a backstop, as well as a fence and dugout.
“We hope for the diamond to be used as much as possible,” said Bourassa.
Les Biollo, president of the Venice-Hylo Heritage, Historical and Preservation Society, said the current ball diamond dates back to 1963, when the Venice picnic grounds were moved to their current location.
“It’ll be a good facility . . . and not only for the picnics . . . there could be other events that’ll happen,” he said. “We’ll try to make more use out of it.”
Biollo went on to thank Lac La Biche County and members of council for their support of the project. He extended a special thanks to Kevin Pare, who represents Ward 2 for Lac La Biche County.
“He’s really been involved here . . . He’s been going to bat for us,” Biollo said.
At last year's picnic, Pare was sitting in the stands. He looked at the backstop and asked if it was the original backstop.
“I immediately moved away from the backstop afraid that it was going to fall on me. I thought it was my duty as the councillor in the area to see what I could do to upgrade the facilities, so they are safer to use,” Pare said.
After the 2024 Venice Picnic, Pare met with members of the board of the historical society and the pieces were set in motion to get the upgrades done.
Once the design was agreed upon an estimate was determined, the project was added to the County’s budget.
“This facility will be used for generations to come, for kids in the community to play ball and for Venice to showcase their picnic for years to come,” said Pare.
The annual Venice Picnic continues to be a much-loved event with local historical significance.
“Many grandparents and parents remember attending a Venice Picnic when they were kids and now bring their kids and grandkids. It has become tradition for many families to take a trip to Venice on every first Sunday of June to enjoy homemade pasta and outdoor summer activities. This event also helps showcase our community and historical society by promoting and highlighting our Italian roots,” Bourassa said.
