Nanton's in the news!

Congratulations to Nanton for their amazing ACE Ignite event on December 3rd! Just out of the gate and they have already received coverage in their local paper, the Nanton News. ACE Communities was proud to have been the cover story. Please see these links to follow the coverage of Nanton's activities:

http://www.nantonnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2210310

http://www.nantonnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2210317

http://www.nantonnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2199821

http://www.nantonnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2199824

Active Okotoks

Okotoks is excited to be furthering the "active" component of ACE Communities and was chosen as one of six 'Canada Gets Active' pilot communities.

The Town of Okotoks has been selected by the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) as one of six communities to participatein the "Canada Gets Active" pilot project. As a project participant, the Town has received $15,000 for their implementation of various physical activity programs for local grade 5 students, in addition to providing them with Recreation Centre facility passes. The project is designed to increase physical activity involvement of grade 5 students across Canada by increasing their access to participation in community recreation facilities.

Over the next eight months, the Town will be establishing partnershipswith key organizations in the community to achieve pilot projectoutcomes (ie: school boards and public health officials). As the project lead, Janette Messer, Community Programs Team leader will beproviding reports and evaluations to the CPRA with project updates and successes through the next months.

The CPRA is the national voice for parks and recreation professionals and volunteers across Canada. It is a not-for-profit, registered charitable organization with over 2600 members who are directly or indirectly in the provision of programming for the parks and recreation sector.

ACE Communities Bloom

Blooms, blooms, blooms across rural Alberta!

Whitecourt has received provincial recognition for its participation in Communities in Bloom and won the 2009 title in the 6,001 to 12,000 population category. Whitecourt actually won FIVE blooms- the highest number awarded.

Other ACE Communities that received bloom recognition include: Warburg, Thorsby, Trochu, Wainwright, Sylvan Lake, and Sangudo.

Communities in Bloom is a provincial program hosted by Alberta Recreation and Parks Assocation and is also a national program http://www.cib.arpaonline.ca/.

Communities who enter and participate in the contest focus on more than blooms. "Communities in Bloom promotes involvement and action by citizens of all ages, the municipal government, local organizations, and businesses. The program strives to improve the tidiness, appearance, and visual appeal of Canada's neighbourhoods, parks, open spaces, and streets through the imaginative use of flowers, plants, and trees. A focus on environmental awareness preservation of heritage and culture is also an integral part of its success, resulting in improved quality of life."

When people take more pride in their community and focus on beautification and environmental programs such as this, the outcomes are more than the blooms. The outcomes are about collaboration, decreased crime rates, cultural and heritage awareness, and increased local economic benefits. When people's quality of life is increased community flourish... and bloom!

Keep up the dedication to making ACE Communities and rural Alberta beautiful!

Okotoks' Fall Festival a Hit

Jelly bean dancing, talent, scrabble, baking, charity, and neighbours all rolled into one event during a weekend! Sounds interesting!

Okotoks recently had a Fall Festival that featured a Jelly Bean dance where all ages could participate. Over 150 people danced and jiggled and I would imagine ate jelly beans! What a super way to have a family event. A few children were brave and stood up for the "Okotoks' Got Talent" portion of the event.

The following day a Scrabble tournament was held with around 150 participants facing each other over a friendly competition of word crafting. A food collection was taken for the food bank to help others. Of course, food is always part of festivities so a bake off was held with delicious goodies.

Last but not least, a section of Okotoks was named "the most neighbourly ACE place to live". The ACE steering committee has been working at creating neighbourhood awareness and during the fall festival the winner was announced.

Okotoks residents are saying the loved the festivities and they want more. To me, that shows that people do want to be more neighbourly. When festivals like this are created then opportunities to be neighbourly flourish. Way to go Okotoks!