SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
BATTLE LAKE Campgrounds and HEADWATERS BATTLE RIVER: Her Honour, Lt. Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani and His Honour, Dr. Zaheer Lakhani join Battle River Arts Working Group Sunday, September 20, 2020. Please see Events page for details.
COMING UP:
Wisdom Talks - stay posted for details.
Lt. Governor of Alberta Arts Awards 2021 will be hosted by Lac LaBiche on June 12, 2021. For details, visit https://www.portagecollege.ca/LGAAA
SPECIAL THANKS:
To Gibson Energy Services for supporting Project Bring Back the Grouse.
Stay posted for exciting news in October!
To Service Canada New Horizons for Seniors Program support to ALL for Project Bring Back the Grouse 2019.
Wainwright Wildlife Society for all they have done to protect grouse and provide ongoing education and interpretation experiences.
To Everyone who has and is working hard in support of Grouse protection and revival. We look forward to the day when all species of grouse indigenous to Battle River region are thriving once again.
MAY - AUGUST, 2020
Wishing Everyone well during Covid Times. Please stay tuned for notices about new programs resuming.
April 1, 2020
Dr. Petr Mirejovsky reports that the grouse are already gearing up for their Spring dancing rituals, but alas:
The 2nd Grouse Symposium is postponed until after the Covid pandemic.
The Grouse, however, will continue with their plans as usual.
Individuals and groups are continuing apace with plans in support of the grouse. For example:
sample plots demonstrating linkages between grassland conservation and grouse wellbeing are underway at Meeting Creek,
a By-distance Gathering is in planning for interested people to meet, update, and listen to special Grouse Music. Did you know that French composer and ornithologist, Olivier Messiaen, has composed outstanding music based on birdsong, including a section about grouse! During your down time, you might want to listen to this lovely program by Peter Hill and the London Philharmonic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgLXeaf3zc
Stay well and stay tuned for further information.
March 1, 2020
Battle River Group is hard at work, planning for the 2nd Grouse Symposium to be held in Wainwright, Saturday, April 18, 2020. It will be a grand event with workshops, music, updates and other presentations, working together to bring back the grouse.
Bring Back the Grouse stickers have been ordered.
For information and or questions, please call Sheldon Frissell (Symposium Lead) at 780/806-3668, Janet Enns (Grouse Point Person at 780/672-8177), or Jack Ross at 780/672-9315.
February 1, 2020
Welcome to Winter in Battle River!
There’s plenty of clean air and lots of snow this year so take time to enjoy it.
Being outdoors in a peaceful environment is good for the body, mind and soul; good also for inspiration and the creative spirit. Dress up warm like prairie people used to do – wear layers and you’ll be comfortable.
Many places across the region have wonderful marked winter trails, and some have itineraries packed full with activities to enjoy. Time to explore; you might be surprised at the good times available for little or no cost.
BATTLE RIVER ARTS is active in winter, spring, summer, and fall. Check out the EVENTS page to learn what’s going on and how you might want to participate.
Check https://www.artsawards.ca/ for Lt. Governor of Alberta Emerging Arts Awards 2020.
JANUARY 1, 2020
Welcome to another new year!
2020 promises to be every bit as eventful and wonderful in Battle River as last year was – Wait and See! Or, better yet, contact us with things you would like to contribute.
Several good things are already listed in the EVENTS page, so do pay a visit there.
If you have questions, please send an email by way of the web page, or directly to source21@telus.net
You can also call 780-672-9315
November 1, 2019
The days are shorter and the nights are growing colder, so bundle up and browse our Events page where you will find exciting things to do in the beautiful wintertime of Battle River Region.
Concerts - Parties - Grouse watching - Writing - Readings.
OCTOBER 1, 2019
The 2019 Lt. Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards on September 21 were successful beyond our fondest hopes.
You can read more here: http://www.artsawards.ca/
Here’s how the Lt. Governor of Alberta Arts Foundation describes the event:
The 2019 Distinguished Artist Awards hosted by the Battle River Region at Maskwacis was a glorious collaboration celebrating culture, creativity and place. The awards event started off with Maskwacis drummers singing their Honour Song and a parade of dancers from the Samson Cree Nation.
Three original compositions showcased artists from the region: the world premier of Percussion Fusion, a collaboration of percussion artists Roger Admiral, Darren Simon, Shining Eagle, Mark Segger, Jacob Kryger and Maskwacis drummers; the Battle River Ensemble’s beautiful and heartfelt tribute Battle River Love Song composed by Jack Ross, Camrose; and A Prayer – Meeting of the Cultures composed and presented by violinist Maya Rathnavalu with flautist Kevin Buffalo.
The 2019 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artists – poet and writer Marilyn Dumont, printmaker Walter Jule and abstract metal sculptor Katie Ohe – received their awards from Her Honour Lois E. Mitchell. The day ended with a fitting Wahkohtowin Feast, the launch of Poems from Life as it Happens (an anthology by Battle River Writers) and conferring of the Alberta Schools Writing Award.
It was a touching, genuine, and respectful celebration of Alberta’s wonderful artists, graciously hosted by engaged and supportive communities across the Battle River Region. Hai! Hai!
CULTURE, CREATIVITY and ARTS activities in Battle River Region continue. Please refer to the EVENTS page for announcements.
Project BRING BACK THE GROUSE now has a firm foundation from which to grow. Stay posted for project updates.
Inviting you to participate in a year-long celebration of the arts across Battle River Region
JANUARy 1, 2019
Please visit our website often for updates. Work your way through the menu and provide your suggestions for ideas and events that should appear within these pages.
THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ALBERTA DISTINGUISHED ARTS AWARDS
September 21, 2019
Information for this amazing day and events at Maskwacis will be posted from time to time as details emerge; click on the Events menu bar.
A month-long celebration
September 1-30, 2019
A month-long celebration bringing Indigenous,Settler and New people together in extraordinary events from Battle Lake to Battleford: arts that flow as stories from our landscape.
Bring Back the Grouse
![Ruffed Grouse Myrna Pearman[2].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b2a92fac3c16aefbed4564a/1558447693223-NX8O6WWSSCTLO4WQMC1T/Ruffed+Grouse+Myrna+Pearman%5B2%5D.jpg)
Grouse numbers are significantly lower across Battle River Region than they once were. Authorities at the Wainwright Wildlife Society saw only 4 grouse in Spring 2018 in areas where they had previously been able to observe dozens. Join friends across Battle River Region in 2019 to learn more about Grouse, its habitat, habits and ways by which ordinary citizens can join together in its conservation.
Places that Matter
Battle River Region - Battle River Country is blessed abundantly with places that matter: documented archaeological sites (prehistorical and historical; land sites such as buttes, coulees, rivers and streams; human heritage sites like early communal sites, churches, schools, homes, etc. Although many efforts have been made by individual, organizations and communities, the business of identification, restoration and preservation is really just beginning. See PLACES in the menu bar above for more information and how to share information..
Indigenous Arts Awards
These awards recognize indigenous artists and arts across the creative spectrum: traditional craft, dance, cuisine, music, visual, literary arts and other categories. Special attention is made for emerging indigenous artists of Battle River Region. Value is also being given for cross-cultural and intercultural fusion art forms. Through wahkohtowin (working together) it is possible to raise regional arts and artists to levels they deserve.
Headwaters and River Matters
From Battle Lake to Battleford . . . If you don’t know the headwaters of Battle River, it is time to learn about them! And it is never too late to learn more, much more, about our very own river and its unique place amongst the rivers of the world. In addition to the waters and safeguarding them, there are countless discoveries to be made about the socio-cultural aspects; how it has given rise to settlement patterns, functioned in trade, the stories it has generated and much more. Think about it in aesthetic terms too: the art forms it inspires . . .
Showcase your community and its creative gifts! We will work with you to identify possibilities for your club or area.
Contact us for conversation or a presentation.
Members of the Battle River Working Group are available for presentations in your community or organization. To get in touch, call any of these numbers:
780-672-9315 | 780-585-3921 | 780-335-1947
About the Awards
Battle River Group was honoured to receive
indigenous protocol from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation in acknowledgement of partnership to host
The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards 2019.
This event will be the culmination of the month-long exploration and celebration of the arts, environment and communities throughout the Battle River Region. Three of Alberta's most important and accomplished artists ─ as determined by a national jury of arts professionals ─ will be recognized by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta at Maskwacis on September 21, 2019.
The Battle River events are a creative gift from the people of Battle River to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and the people of Alberta.
The awards are formed in the spirit of Wahkohtowin ─ Cree for Kinship, Good Relationship and Neighbourliness. Emerging as arts that flow as stories from our landscape, the Battle River Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards are part of a long history and countless interactions between the First People, Settler People and New People of Battle River Region.
The Battle River Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards are rooted in a rich heritage which, in recent years, includes: Treaty Six Re-enactment (1977) with more than 5,000 participants at Dried Meat Hill; The Battle River Water Ceremony (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) at River Bend, Maskwacis; Culture, Creativity and Place Conference at Red Deer Lake and developments following (since 2012); Spirit of the Land (2012-2018); the World Indigenous Games at Maskwacis (2017) and many more.
In September 2019, the Battle River Group and associated Working Group are coordinating a month-long calendar of activities that interpret and celebrate the cultures, peoples and places of the region. Please follow the EVENTS page for the events that are scheduled across the region.
