ROB MURRAY: I’m speaking with Lauren Thomas from Town of Canmore Arts & Events. Some good news! I know there’s been a lot of back and forth, will they or won’t they, when it comes to New Year’s Eve fireworks in Canmore. What’s the latest?

LAUREN THOMAS: The latest is that we get to put on just a little bit of sparkle and dazzle for the residents of Canmore on New Year’s Eve. I am so excited to announce that we will indeed be able to provide a fireworks display on December 31st!

RM: This is going to be a little different than the normal fireworks we have come to expect where people would gather in Millennium Park or with the Party on the Pond for the mini fireworks show. We’re not doing any of that stuff, are we?

LT: No, unfortunately, this year we will not have two separate displays. Please do not go to the pond and please do not go to Millennium Park. We will have a single display that will be shot from a secret location. We’re not inviting anybody to join us because we want to make sure that we can host the event. We need to follow AHS guidelines which means we can’t have any gatherings at the site, so we’re not telling anybody where we’re firing from. We’re just asking everybody to look up in the sky.

RM: Is there a good spot to watch?

LT: It’s focused on central Canmore. I have been working with our fireworks crew to design the display so we’re shooting much higher than we usually do. Instead of the 200 to 300 ft range that the display usually has, we’re going up towards a 500 ft mark with these, so that everybody in Canmore has the opportunity to see it. We need to make sure that we’re all physically distancing and we’re all staying in our families or in our cohorts while viewing.

RM: That’s why AHS has allowed you to go forward, because it’s going to be a cohort only thing?

LT: Exactly. We’re asking that everybody stay within their family unit or their cohort bubbles to view, preferably from your property or within your car, in order to make sure that we can continue to provide fun activities with the very short leash that we’ve been given. We need to make sure that we have Canmore’s help to abide by these rules.

RM: Speaking of car viewing, I guess we can let this cat out of the bag. We’ve been working with you for a little while on this. On Mountain FM, we’re going to be providing the soundtrack to the firework show. That’s going to be pretty exciting.

LT: Yeah, I’m super excited. We’ve programmed the entire fireworks show to a soundtrack and it will be aired on Mountain FM. Fireworks will start at 9:00 and that’s when you’re going to hear the music start. It’s going to be a fantastic New Year’s despite the fact that we’ve had such a crazy, unusual year. It’ll be nice to create a little sparkle in dazzle as we close the door on 2020.

RM: There are a couple of other things on the go, including something that was quite popular on Canada Day. What’s going on with the LEGO Challenge?

LT: We are rebooting with a new theme for this activity. We had a lot of people tell us how much they enjoyed it on Canada Day and that they would love to participate again. For New Year’s Eve we’re going to do a challenge based on the theme of ‘Spirit of Canmore.’ I think we’ve all really learned a lot about ourselves and we’ve all really pitched in around the community. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a parade float this time, but build me something that shows me what you think the Spirit of Canmore is, and maybe something that you’ve experienced over the last 8 to 10 months.

RM: This is for a variety of age ranges?

LT: We have five different categories, 5-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13+, and of course the all-important Family category.

RM: All the rules and the submission deadlines and details are available online?

LT: Head to our website. Registration deadline is December 27th.

RM: What can you tell us about the Time Capsule event you have going on?

LT: It’s more of a self-directed activity. I don’t know if you’ve had a year like I’ve had a year, Rob. It’s definitely one for the memory books. There are all kinds of things that I had to do this year that I didn’t think I would ever have to do in a million years, and I really think that it’s worth documenting in a way. I’ve had a lot of people help me out in ways that I would never have experienced if it hadn’t been a COVID year, and I want to make sure that I remember these types of things, so why not build a time capsule around it?

RM: If you think about it, we’re essentially living history. People will look back a hundred years from now and talk about that time when we dealt with that COVID pandemic. Having a time capsule of that time might be cool down the road, even though this year was not so awesome.

LT: It helps explain things for kids too. I think they don’t always necessarily understand what it is that we’ve gone through this year. Why not work with them and create like a memory sheet? Or put together little items like coins or pictures or hand prints and footprints so that 10 years down the road, when they do have the opportunity to understand, they can look back on another New Year’s Eve and be like, holy crow, that’s what that was all about. I just think it would be a fun activity for families and cohorts.

RM: Is this a challenge that the Town of Canmore is putting on?

LT: It’s an activity that I’m facilitating so that it can be self-directed within a family bubble, and I would totally invite you to share all of your activities with us on our Facebook page. The more we know about each other, the more we can grow our time capsule too.

Filed under: Canmore, New Year's Eve