Three funding grants from the provincial government have been approved for Lac La Biche and area organizations helping to plan Culture Day events for September of this year.
Last week, officials with Alberta Culture and Tourism unveiled the 83 recipient communities across Alberta who will share $200,000 in funding for the September 28-30 celebration. Three Lac La Biche and area applicants are included in the funding.
The Metis Nation of Alberta Region 1 office, along with the Metis Nation of Alberta Lac La Biche Local 2097 and the Lac La Biche Regional Museum and Discovery Centre received funding for planned events in the community. Although government officials couldn’t break-down the dollar values individually, it’s believed the three groups will split approximately $7,000.
“We are extremely pleased that our application for an Alberta Culture Days grant has been successful,” said Jennifer Mueller with the Lac La Biche Regional Museum. “This event has been a focal point of autumn activities in Lac La Biche County and this year marks the first that the Lakeland Interpretive Society has had a larger role in helping to plan the event."
In recent year, the community has been selected as a featured site of Culture Days activities where increased funding and increased events were slated to take place to highlight the area’s cultural diversity and history. This year, there are five feature sites across the province offering three days of programming. This year’s feature sites are in Bonnyville, Edmonton, Calgary, Wetaskiwin and Brooks. The Lac La Biche events will take place over two days, joining 12 other communities in northern Alberta as host and pop-up sites.
While the three local groups have received funding, the planning for the Culture Days events has included other groups, including municipal support. In previous years, funding from Lac La Biche County has also gone towards regional event planning.
“We are fortunate to be supported by many local partnerships, and we are working together to make this a wonderful event where we can celebrate the cultural diversity of the area,” said Mueller.
At the Metis Nation regional office, current region president Diane Scoville says there is still a lot of planning to do, explaining that the funding is appreciated. She said joining forces with other groups will enhance the ideas and the funding for local events.
“If we all have a little bit, we can pool it together,” she said, explaining that her office had applied for a $10,000 grant. “We’ll see where our funds can fit."
There have been several lead-up meetings of interested groups in the community for this year’s Culture Days events. Mueller and Scoville are looking forward to the next organizational meeting.
“We’ll be meeting again sooner rather than later to see what money is available and what the plans will be,” said Scoville.
The POST did not reach representatives with the Lac La Biche Metis Local for comment. Scoville said she wasn’t aware of any specific plans the Local had for the event.
Alberta Culture Days is in its 11th year and is a government-lead, community driven campaign to raise awareness for the province’s diverse mosaic of culture. The theme of this year’s event is On Beat With Culture.
