A Fire and Ice Centennial Grande Finale is being planned for downtown Red Deer on Friday, Dec. 13.
Barring an unexpectedly warm Chinook wind, the weather will likely stay cold enough to sustain the ‘ice’ part of this event in a year of centennial celebrations that have not all gone off without a hitch.
The grande finale plans, according to Sheila Bannerman, chair of the Red Deer Centennial Committee, are to have free chili and hot chocolate available to the public from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in City Hall Park — along with some 2013 Red Deer Centennial birthday cake.
As well as face-painting for the kids, a half-dozen centennial-themed ice sculptures will be created in various sizes.
“We’ve never had ice sculptures before in City Hall Park,” said Bannerman, who believes viewers will recognize some familiar Red Deer “icons” — such as a recreated water tower or a deer.
The finale will wind down with a parade of 1,000 paper lanterns starting from all four corners of the park, a final “Happy Birthday,” and the official closing of Centennial Year.
“We’ll get everybody to form the parade and wind-up celebrations,” said Bannerman, who recalled an action-packed 12 months of centennial celebrations that did not all go off exactly as planned.
Everything started well on Dec. 31, 2012, when Red Deer’s Centennial kicked off with cake at Bower Ponds. And in February, there was a successful cake-building contest at Parkland Mall along a Red Deer theme.
But the rainy spring weather did not co-operate with an elaborate plan, involving an installation company from the U.K., to send hundreds of lit-up water barrels down the Red Deer River at a Homecoming Festival in June. The event was scuttled by high-river flow advisories and flood warnings.
Instead, some lit-up rain barrels were set up in Fort Normandeau for a few nights. Red Deer’s water tower did host an impressive light show, and the pancake breakfast was a hit.
Local families later got “passports” stamped as they made their way around some local attractions, including ghost statues brought to life by local actors, and heritage buildings. There was also an outdoor concert that was moved to Lindsay Thurber grounds because of high river flow.
But a movie night at the same site had to be cancelled due to a thunderstorm.
September included a fall fair at Sunnybrook farm and in October, there was a cemetery tour.
Bannerman is pleased with the community involvement at these and other events.
Some 25 to 30 volunteers are needed for the Fire and Ice Grand Finale. Anyone interested in helping out can email Bannerman at info@reddeer2013.ca.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com