Excitement is building for the new ‘Winter Sports in Lacombe’ exhibit, presented by Reds Source for Sports and the Lacombe Museum.
“We are really happy to announce that we have a sponsor for this exhibit - Reds Source for Sports,” said Martin Bierens of the Lacombe & District Historical Society.
“It’s a perfect fit for both of our organizations so they hopped on board - they are helping us out with some of the costs and helping to also promote the exhibit.
“We are super happy to be working with them,” he said.
“We are very grateful for their support. And through their support we are able to go a bit bigger than we ever had before with exhibits,” he said.
“It’s probably the most colourful and most engaging exhibit that we have had in the Flatiron since we started running out of there in 2021,” he said.
“We will have lots of interesting stories, both from the past with all of the arenas over the years as well as the present time with some local athletes around here who have graciously supplied their stories to us and have allowed us to share some very personal and powerful stories,” he said.
“We were also happy to sit down for an interview with Jason Lunn of the Team Jigger Foundation, who talked about their sledge hockey program, so that is one of the stories that will also be featured,” said Bierens.
The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame has also lent several artifacts for the exhibit as well including an Olympic torch from the Calgary games and a complete set of medals from the Calgary games as well.
Bierens said the community’s passion for sports stretches back to its beginnings.
“We were very, very active from the beginning, and even before the rink was established people were curling and skating out on Barnett Lake - there was lots of activity out there, too,” he said.
“So pretty much once the community was established and started to grow a bit, sports really came naturally to Lacombe. There has always been a huge passion for it - especially for winter sports.”
In tandem with the exhibit’s opening is a snowshoeing event taking place on Jan. 14 at the J.J. Collett Natural Area.
“The Library actually has a snowshoe rental program - you can just rent them out with your library card completely free of charge,” he said. “So we partnered with them - we asked that they reserve their snowshoes for us, and they have about 20 pairs. They are based on weight, so we have some for kids all the way up to the larger sizes.
“If people want to reserve snowshoes, they have to register via Eventbrite. If they just look up ‘Snowshoeing at J.J. Collett’, they can register and reserve a pair. If they have their own snowshoes, they are welcome to meet us there at 2 p.m.”
In the meantime, Bierens said the Museum is working on confirming other community sporting events that would tie into the exhibit as well over the coming weeks and months.
Folks are encouraged to keep an eye on social media for any announcements pertaining to that, he said.
“Hopefully, we will be announcing some more events coming up pretty shortly.”
Meanwhile, Bierens is eager to showcase the latest exhibit with all of its unique features and aspects.
“I’m really excited for people to see the more recent stories of some of our local community members and their love for sport. And also how they have used sports to overcome some personal difficulties.
“I’ve definitely been thinking of Team Jigger with their sledge hockey program, and also the Bell Sisters who are ringette stars from Lacombe,” he said.
”I was in contact with them and they shared a very, very moving story which is included in the exhibit. And so I am very interested to see how people digest that story - it’s very impactful.”
For more, check out www.lacombemuseum.com or find them on Facebook for the latest updates as well.