HELLO DIAMOND VALLEY
Happy New Year Diamond Valley! Hopefully everyone had a nice holiday. Light-Up 2022 was a great success, the weather cooperated and there was a ton of people out with the kids and dogs too. Nice to see everyone out and about again.
With the holiday hoopla over and done with, winter really sets in for a while as it always does. The Town property bylaw 12- 1016 prohibits homeowners from letting ice and snow accumulate on residential sidewalks and driveway crossings but for some, particularly seniors and persons with disabilities, shoveling snow can be difficult. Help out a neighbour or if you’re not sure who needs help, you can call the Town and they have a list of people who need their very own snow angel.
Also with winter comes ice sports, and you could think about joining our very popular Oilfields Curling Club. They have all kinds of different leagues to join, and no experience is necessary. Come check out the Ladies Bonspiel from January 6-8 in which Alberta gals compete. For full details and schedules visit occcurling.com or they are also on Facebook, and they are located in the Oilfields Regional Arena in Black Diamond.
The Arena is also home to the High Country Minor Hockey Association and the Foothills Figure Skating Club. The Arena also has ice for youth and adult leagues and practice time. Ice is available to rent from the end of August until the end of March, check out the Town’s website for full scheduling. We also have the Scott Seaman Outdoor Ice RInk, located right beside the Arena, it is covered. Turner Valley also has an outdoor rink next to the Pool and Library. Helmets are mandatory for all rinks.
And of course the Arena has a free skate on Sundays from 2:30-3:30, please check with the Arena online or call them at 403-933-5272. This free skate is sponsored by Pharmasave.
Over in Turner Valley, the Sheep Creek Arts Council is in full swing with many classes, programs, and clubs for you to check out. They are hosting their annual Open House and Registration on January 7 from 1-3. Here you can partake in refreshments and chat with instructors about the various classes, which range from drawing and watercolour, crochet, macrame, quilting, camera, and writing clubs, and much more. The SCAC is located at 133 Sunset Boulevard in Turner Valley, for more information, go to sheepcreekarts.ca. A membership is required to attend programs, but is only $20 per year, or $1.66 a month.
Right next door to the Sheep Creek Arts Council is the Valley Neighbours Club. They offer classes and programs such as floor curling, exercise, TOPS, dance and barre, line dancing, bridge, euchre, canasta, bingos on Fridays at 1:00, garden club, and more. Go to valleyneighboursclub.com or drop by for full details.
Across the bridge in Black Diamond we have the Griffiths Centre which offers such programs as crib, poker, fitness, floor curling, quilting and crafts, a writer’s group, and more. It is also available for rent and has a commercial kitchen and is just a really nice place to come for cookies and coffee and special occasion meals. Check them out at griffithscentre.ca. They are located on Government Road near the bakery.
Music anyone? Beneath the Arch Concert Series is pleased to present BMW – Kevin Belzner, Big Dave McLean and Tim WIlliams on January 25. These guys are well known in these parts and you will enjoy every single tune they play. New this season for the Arch is raffles for their bursaries. The bursaries are up for grabs every year for youth in our community to pursue their artistic dreams, whether it be in music, arts, dance, or other creative endeavours. Raffle tickets are only $5 and you can win a canoe, golf or e-bike adventure, and more. Tickets are available at Bluerock Gallery, Rollick Co, The Market, The Westwood, or Bertie’s General Store, all in Black Diamond, or Tom’s Marine and Sports in Turner Valley or the Turner Valley Golf Course. Tickets for shows can be found at beneaththearch.ca. And the show will be held in the Flare and Derrick.
If you enjoy classical music, symphonies, and orchestras, we have that in our Foothills as well! On the Edge Concert Series is happy to announce Mozart’s birthday with a symphony of his music at the beautiful Red Deer Lake Church on January 27. Then on January 29 they present the Lily String Quartet. Shows are held in the Church, the sound is amazing and the stained glass glows with light. For tickets or more information, visit reddeerlakeuc.com.
If nature and art are your thing, I’ll bet you would love the Leighton Centre and all they have to offer. They are located near Millarville way and is a historical art centre and have acres of walking trails. They also offer exhibits, a museum, a gallery shop, and lots of history. Admission is by donation, for more information, go to leightoncentre.org.
Our Sheep River Library also offers many programs and classes, and special events to keep all ages busy this winter, such as kids, babies, and youth programs, writing, songwriting, and poetry classes, exercise, arts, and much more, go to sheepriverlibrary.ca for full details.
The Turner Valley Legion also has pool and poker nights, trivia and jams, and good home-cooking. Look for their Robbie Burns dinner towards the end of the month. You don’t have to be a Legion to come and enjoy it!
I hope this gives you something to think about to fill the long days of winter, and meet new people and see new things at the same time. If you have any events, news, or ideas for our February issue, please drop me a line at elaine.w@telus.net. The deadline for this issue is January 15.
Stay warm!
Elaine Wansleeben
