Local trails, Canada celebrated with first-time event
Though Canada’s 150th birthday has come and gone, there are still groups locally, and nationally celebrating the country they live in.
Locally, Tourism Medicine Hat and the city teamed up to celebrate Canada’s Great Big Trail Saturday afternoon by holding a small festival at Strathcona Island Park.
“Today was a day for the community to get together and celebrate the TransCanada Trail, or the Great Trail, that runs from one side of this beautiful country to the other,” said Tourism Medicine Hat’s executive director Jace Anderson. “The Heritage Trail System, and what we offer in Medicine Hat is just great for both visitors and residents. People here really do have it pretty good when it comes to local trails.”
Anderson says celebrating Canada’s 150th is important, and any opportunity to celebrate the county we live in should be taken.
“This is the first time we’ve done this, and it’s been perfect with Canada’s 150th birthday,” he said. “The sesquicentennial celebration is an important one for the country, and this is our way of celebrating a part of it.”
With roughly 115 kilometres of trails in the city, Hatters have a lot of options, but Anderson says he does not think people take them for granted.
“I wouldn’t say our trails are underutilized or under-appreciated,” he said. “What I would say is that is that there are many of opportunities for people to enjoy the trails. There’s so many different groups and ways to enjoy or trails, anyone who wants to get involved will have something offered that would interest them.”
Despite an economy that may not be at its best, Anderson says he thinks this year has been a good tourism year for the city.
“Medicine Hat is doing good right now,” he said. “We won’t have numbers to read and nerd out on until later in the year, but we’ve been talking to a lot of people and keeping touch with the visitor centres and our numbers are looking good for the year. This has been a good year for Medicine Hat, tourism-wise.”
When asked if the groups would team up for a Great Big Trail celebration next year, Anderson said, “We’d absolutely love to see if it made sense to do it again.”