In honour of Bragg Creek Days’ 50th anniversary, which coincides with the country’s 150 birthday, this year’s festival will be a mix of heritage and contemporary activities.
“I think it’s going to be a fun year to go and highlight our roots and go back to basics,” said Shawntel Graybill, community outreach manager for the Bragg Creek Community Centre.
Merging the annual half-century old festival with the more recent Heritage Days – introduced in 2015 as a two-day festival featuring a variety of historical activities to educate folks about heritage and “simpler times” – organizers said it made sense to bring the two festivals together.
“It makes it easier on the volunteers,” Shannon Bailey, volunteer co-ordinator with the Bragg Creek Heritage Association said. “I think we’ll make it an annual thing. This pulls all the groups in the community together in a way that’s positive.”
The heritage twist on Bragg Creek days will include an “old tyme” dance on the Friday, featuring local band Highway 66 along with a silent auction to raise funds for the Bragg Creek Seniors’ Housing association. There will also be various heritage activities on the Saturday that were previously featured at Heritage Days including sheep sheering, spinners and weavers, and traditional homemade games.
“It’s just a nice, fun, casual day. It will highlight the community centre as well as local businesses,” Graybill said.
In addition to showcasing Bragg Creek and what the hamlet has to offer, money will also be raised for local organizations through the pancake breakfasts. The Saturday pancake breakfast, starting at 8 a.m., will donate proceeds to the Redwood Meadows Fire Department. Sunday’s pancake breakfast will support the Bragg Creek Bald Eagles Junior Forest Wardens.
Saturday will host a variety of activities for families and youth including pie-eating contests, silent movie viewings at the Bragg Creek Community Centre and a market with 10 vendors.
There will also be a beer gardens over the weekend with doors open at 11 a.m. both days and closed 7 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday. There is no admission but tickets for games with prizes will have to be purchased.
For more info about the weekend festival, go to www.braggcreekca.com.
Bragg Creek Days schedule
Friday, July 217 p.m. – Heritage Dance with Highway 66 band and silent auction.Saturday, July 228 a.m. – 10 a.m. Pancake breakfast9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Market10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Games10:30 a.m. Parade11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Beer gardens and live entertainment12 p.m. Pie eating contestSunday, July 23 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Pancake breakfast8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Bouncy housePoker Rally11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Beer gardens
