August 2024 Mayor's Column

It’s almost time for Whoop-Up Days!

With a direct tie-in to Lethbridge’s biggest festival, I’m happy to announce the return of the Mayor’s Community Barbecue for a third year. It will take place on Tuesday, August 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. outside Lethbridge City Hall on 4 Avenue, following the Whoop-Up Days parade.

 

The first 1,000 people can enjoy a free burger or hot dog, chips and pop, as well as face painting for the kids. My good friend Trevor Panczak will again be performing a full concert on the steps of City Hall during the event.

Thank you to VisitLethbridge.com for sponsoring Trevor’s performance and to South Country Co-op for sponsoring the barbecue.

This event has been such a huge success in its first two years that I had to bring it back again. The feedback I have received has really lined up with my goal of making the barbecue and concert a real community celebration to focus on all the great positives we have going on in Lethbridge. I encourage you to avoid the post-parade traffic and come down to enjoy live entertainment and a free lunch.

If you’re looking for information on other pancake breakfasts and barbecues going on in the city, the Lethbridge & District Exhibition website has a list of community events here.

Whoop-Up Days is truly one of my favourite weeks of the year in our city. I look forward to seeing our community come out in large numbers for the parade on Tuesday morning, then for the rest of the week at the midway, rodeo and concerts.

I encourage everyone to come check out all the fun activities, as well as to explore the fantastic Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre.

An advance kudos to all the staff and organizers at Lethbridge & District Exhibition for putting together the 2024 edition of Whoop-Up Days. More information on all the events and times can be found here.

Last month, Lethbridge City Council voted to provide $1.25 million and a letter of support to the Sport Tourism Advisory Committee in their bid to host the 2026 Memorial Cup. The event would be held across a 10-day period in late May and early June 2026 at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

With the continued community focus and partnership between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the City of Lethbridge at the forefront, Canada’s top hockey tournament is now closer to being hosted in Lethbridge for the first time. The Memorial Cup is the Canadian Hockey League’s top prize, with the four-team tournament featuring league champions from the WHL, QMJHL, OHL as well as a host team – which would be the hometown Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes bring a huge value to our community and having the Memorial Cup come to Lethbridge would be an absolute landmark event for the city and region. Most people know that I love the sport of hockey and am I proud Hurricanes fan, so this is an exciting opportunity.

Just to remind our residents: there is no bidding fee paid to the CHL, therefore if the bid is unsuccessful – there is no financial impact for the City. If successful, it is estimated that the 2026 Memorial Cup would provide a projected total economic impact of more than $12 million in Alberta, including a projected $9.25 million of direct and indirect economic output in Lethbridge.

More information on Council’s support is here.

Speaking of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, they are set to open their training camp on August 28 and will have their regular season home opener at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena on September 20.

In case you missed it, the City recently announced the Lethbridge Lodging Association (LLA) as the new naming rights sponsor for the facility that opened in 1974 as the Canada Games Sportsplex and has been mostly known as the ENMAX Centre since 2000. The City and the LLA (an association of Lethbridge hotel properties and operators of the marketing brand VisitLethbridge.com) have entered a five-year, $750,000 sponsorship agreement.

To be clear, the naming sponsorship of the VisitLethbridge.com Arena came from marketing dollars from the association, not from taxpayer dollars. Sponsorships help support the operations of the facility, reducing the need for property tax funding from residents. 

On behalf of Council, I want to thank everyone at LLA for this new sponsorship agreement. We are so proud and grateful that this local organization stepped up to be involved our community in such a tremendous way. We also want to take the opportunity to thank ENMAX for their sponsorship of the facility for the past 20-plus years. The full background can be found here.

The sponsorship for Spitz Stadium ballpark was also recently renewed. The new five-year, $250,000 deal will see the ballpark keep its moniker through the 2029 season. The funding is coming from the founder of Spitz International, Thomas Droog. The full background can be found here.

Recruitment for Lethbridge City Council’s Boards, Commissions and Committees is set to begin on September 6.

Our BCCs provide City Council with information, advice and recommendations regarding important community issues and topics. Whether advisory, decision-making, quasi-judicial or governing, all provide members of the community an opportunity to participate and bring out the best in our city. Each public role provides an opportunity to participate in the present and future direction.

Please refer to list of Boards, Commissions and Committees for more information on eligibility, length of term, meetings times etc. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Office of the City Clerk through 311 or email: committee@lethbridge.ca.

Congratulations this month to:

• All our local and regional Olympic connections: Micheal Barwegen, Kacie Bosch, Paige Crozon, Christa Deguchi, Kelly Deguchi, Mike Hawkins, Apollo Hess, Sarah Orban, Ryan Sommer, Lawrence Steinke, Mike Tamura and Keyara Wardley
• Everyone who contributed to the recent visit of our guests from Quebec as part of the 2024 Lethbridge/Saint-Laurent Exchange. Earlier this week, the Lethbridge delegation returned from Saint-Laurent
• The Lethbridge Bulls for an exciting season
• All players and those involved with hosting the recent Canadian Junior Little League championships in Lethbridge

I hope everyone in our community has a great last few weeks of summer. And, as always, please be safe and kind to one another.