By RENEE FRANCOEUR
Advocate staff
For more and more Albertans, the May long weekend isn’t just about kicking off the official start of camping season, it’s also about celebrating the availability of fresh, local food once again.
The public market in Red Deer starts on Saturday, as well as surrounding farmers’ markets in Blackfalds, Ponoka, Lacombe, Sylvan Lake, Bentley and Innisfail.
“There are more approved and public farmers’ markets in Alberta now then there have ever been before,” said Eileen Kotowich, a farmers’ market specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.
“And I’m still getting about two to three calls a week from communities interested in starting up their own farmers’ markets.”
Alberta now has more than 125 approved farmers’ markets, including 22 year-round markets, reports Alberta Agriculture.
Kotowich credits their popularity to the recent explosion of the local food movement across Canada.
With a few food scares over the years, people are more concerned about putting a face to their food now more than ever, she said.
“At the markets, trust is established. . . . Customers can talk to farmers about how they raised their animals, what kinds of things they did to get their crop yields and such.
Many of us here in Alberta were raised on farms and this allows us also to get back to our roots.”
The Red Deer Public Market is open every Saturday with new hours this year — 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It runs until Oct. 6 at the corner of 43rd Street and 48th Avenue.
Everything from honey to meat to cakes and crafts are available at the market. No pets are allowed.
Many other seasonal centres traditionally open on the May long weekend.
Those hoping to snap photos of the striking mountain bluebird can head to the Ellis Bird Farm, which opens for the season on Monday at 11 a.m.
There will also be a formal welcome Monday to the new Tea House operators at the farm, Meagan Dillabough and chef Michael Ubbing. Dillabough is a nature interpreter and recent teacher graduate while Ubbing is a Red Seal chef who has worked in many restaurants around Red Deer for the past 15 years.
The Tea House will be ushering in a new season full of locally sourced and organic food with these two at the helm.
Check out the new menu at ellisbirdfarm.ca or call 403-885-4477.
Other highlights of the day include a gift sale shop, building chickadee and bumblee boxes as well as the launch of the farm’s newest publication: Charlie, Winnie and the Bluebirds.
There will also be the opportunity to take a guided walk on opening day to see the beavers at the farm, where webcams monitor their daily routines.
There is also a webcam on a nesting mallard duck.
The Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site opens on Saturday at 10 a.m.
New this year is a “heritage camping” experience where visitors can book their stay along the North Saskatchewan River, spending the night in a teepee, trappers’ tent or voyageurs’ wedge tent.
The site has also redesigned its popular David Thompson puppet show.
For more information, call 403-845-2412 or visit www.pc.gc.ca/rockymountainhouse.
The Dickson Store Museum launches into its 2012 season on Saturday at 10 a.m. Live entertainment starts at 2 p.m. Baked goods and refreshments are available. The museum’s 2011 exhibit, Electricity Comes to Dickson, continues this season with two new smaller exhibits on the upcoming Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II and the Ruby Jubilee for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who officially opened the museum in 1991.
The museum is located in the town of Dickson, the oldest Danish settlement in Western Canada, just 60 km south of Red Deer. For more information, call 403-728-3355 or visit dicksonstoremuseum.com.
The Innisfail Historical Village kicks off on Saturday as well with a new exhibit titled a Tribute to our First Nations Community. Located at 52nd Avenue and 42nd Street in Innisfail, the village is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.innisfailhistory.ca or call 403-227-2906.
Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site, the home of renowned Icelandic poet Stephan G. Stephansson, opened on Wednesday. The site is on Township Road 371, just half an hour west of Red Deer and seven km north of Markerville. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, call 403-728-3929.
Red Deer Tourism also suggests checking out Alberta Downs on Sunday when the racetrack is hosting a fan appreciation day. There will be a petting zoo and mini pony races. Admission and parking is free.
For a complete list of events opening this weekend, visit travelalberta.com or tourismreddeer.net.
rfrancoeur@www.reddeeradvocate.com