HISTORY COMING TO LIFE
Heritage Park has a full slate of activities planned to celebrate the Heritage Day long weekend on Monday, exploring the wild history of Western Canada. Today, Postmedia’s Emma McIntosh shares some fascinating facts about Calgary’s home of Alberta history
Heritage Park is celebrating the wild history of Western Canada on Monday, with everything from a special scavenger hunt through the historical village to music and dancing. The Heritage Day event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can witness history brought to life through costumed interpreters, the antique midway, Calgary’s only paddlewheel boat, a ride on a steam train and more. They can also march with Mounties, train to be a voyageur and try out some traditional Aboriginal games. The first 500 park visitors through the gates before 11 a.m. are invited to a free pancake breakfast in the Gunn’s Dairy Barn. Performances by the Highwood Shedders, Vox ladies a cappella quartet, Prairie Mountain Fiddlers and Chinook Country Line Dancers will also run all day. To help you get in the spirit — and get ready for a family-friendly historical adventure on Monday — here are some crazy facts and figures about Heritage Park and Calgary’s history by Emma McIntosh
DECORATIONS
13,000
— Number of costumes at Heritage Park, ranging from voyageur outfits from the 1860s to suits dating to the 1930s. 50,000
— Number of artifacts in the Heritage Park historical collections, on display throughout the 51-hectare grounds. The park also includes 180 buildings. 404
— Signs hanging in the Gasoline Alley Museum, which also displays 141 antique gas pumps and 55 vehicles. 1878
— The year Sam Livingston’s barn, one of the oldest buildings in Calgary, was built. Livingston was one of Calgary’s first settlers.
FOOD
35,000
— Number of butter tarts made at Heritage Park’s Alberta Bakery per year. It also produces 2,500 pounds of cheese annually. 680
— Kilograms of homemade fudge sold at Heritage Park per year. 1,650
— Number of eggs laid by Heritage Park’s 12 hens over the course of the May to October season. 1912
— The year the Alberta Bakery was originally built in Standard. Back then, it was also a retail store, in addition to the headquarters for the business affairs of its owner, J.P. Hansen.
JOURNEYS
4,473
— Kilometres travelled by the Heritage Park train every summer — the same distance as a trip across Canada travelling south to north. 1,200
— Number of visitors who can go on the Caterpillar ride every hour. It was built in 1928. 1,500
— Number of trips the S.S. Moyie paddle boat took around the Glenmore Reservoir. That adds up to nearly 2,900 kilometres and 87,000 passengers. 50,000
— Schoolchildren who’ve participated in Heritage Park’s educational programs. $26.25
— Park admission is $26.25 for adults, with discounted prices for children and seniors. Tickets can be pre-purchased online at heritagepark.ca, or at the gates on Aug. 1.