Christmas bazaar
The annual Christmas Bazaar at Westerner Park is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The craft show and sale, being held in the Prairie Pavilion, will include over 200 exhibits such as baked goods, jewelry, home decor, pet products, clothing and more. Admission is a nonperishable food item or cash donation to the Red Deer Food Bank and/or the Red Deer Christmas Bureau.
Money for Red Cross
Travellers can get a great rate on a room and help out a charity at the same time. The Red Deer Lodge is offering its annual discount rate from Dec. 20 to 27. Their Friends in Need program offers rooms at the hotel for only $69. Ten dollars from each room will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross. People can call 403-346-8841 or toll free 1-800-661-1657 to make a reservation.
Memory Project
Second World War veterans in Central Alberta who want to share their stories for a digital archive website are invited to Red Deer on Dec. 10. Staff with the Dominion Institute’s Memory Project Digital Archive will be at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, 30 Riverview Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War will capture and save veterans’ stories through a state-of-the-art, interactive archive website that will be accessible to teachers, students and the general public. Erin Whittaker, communications officer, said there are only about 180,000 Second World War veterans still alive and the average age is 87. “We’re trying to collect first-hand information from the war before we don’t have that opportunity anymore,” Whittaker said on Tuesday. “It’s very important for us to have as many people participate as possible.”
So far, about 400 audio interviews have been done either at events or by phone for people who couldn’t attend events. Photos of artifacts and memorabilia are also taken at events. Veterans who want to sign up to participate can call toll free 1-866-701-1867 or go to www.thememoryproject.com
Legion donation
The Royal Canadian Legion is donating $18,000 from its Poppy Fund towards new ambulance equipment.
Members of the Red Deer branch were scheduled to present a cheque on Tuesday to Red Deer Emergency Services. The money will go towards two transport ventilators, which help patients to breathe on their own.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Adair said the donation comes at a good time.
“I’m not so sure we would have been able to buy this equipment this year, without this donation,” he said on Tuesday.
The department doesn’t have such equipment now.
“It aids in life-saving,” Adair said.
The equipment arrived this week and soon training will get underway.
