SPECIAL EVENTS

LOOKING BACK

LOOKING BACK

Highlights from 2011 Include:

On Saturday May 14, the Bison Courtyard hosted the Banff Cancer Crushers for a spin-a-thon fundraiser. This event was planned to support the team and raise money for the 2011 Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. For more details, please visit Banff Cancer Crushers

On April 16, Bison Courtyard came alive with Earth Day. A local artist created sculptures made completely out of natural items and earth friendly craft stations were set up for those wanting to show their own artistic side. Rocky Mountain Yoga offered free yoga for kids and the Banff Japanese Language School joined us to raise awareness and give thanks for all of the support for the 2011 Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami.

Past highlights include:

In December of 2010, Bison Courtyard celebrated Christmas in the Courtyard. An ice sculptor was onsite and there were also Little Chippers Ice Carving Stations. Although it was chilly, lots of people came out for this holiday event. And were we ever lucky! We had a long and cold winter so the ice sculptures lasted for a number of months!

As always in August, Bison Courtyard was a favourite stop during Banff's Culture Walk and Doors Open Banff.

June, 2010, Banff Elementary School's Grade Two Class took over the Courtyard for a couple of hours to promote sales of their own environmentally-friendly cleaning products. The students created and sold the cleaning products as a part of a joint math/science project. The Bison Courtyard also hosted Banff Elementary School's Grade Two Class in 2008 for a similar event.

During the 2008 Banff Winter Festival, Bison Courtyard played host to a popular slide show by Chic Scott. "Powder Pioneers" tells the story of some of Banff's earliest skiers.

The late spring in 2008 allowed some people to celebrate Earth Day on skis. Others gathered at the Courtyard with dead electronics for recycling and incandescent lightbulb to exchange. Bow Valley Waste was on hand with info about composting, biodegradables and how to safely get rid of "stuff". For the kids in attendance, Whale Tales was the main event. The concert by Peter Puffin, a family entertainer who uses music to celebrate environmental science, community building and the wonderful world in which we live, was a rousing affair.

Opera was a strong theme for the July 2008 "Concerts in the Courtyard". The weekly plein air events featured performers participating in operas at The Banff Centre: Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell; Phaedra by Benjamin Britten; and A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten. The one non-operatic concert highlighted the skills of the brass band M5.

July also found actors from Pride and Prejudice in the Courtyard, sharing scenes from the play.

October, 2008, Bison Courtyard hosted the beginning and end of a 350 bike ride. The goal of the ride was to bring attention to 350, a significant number in the survival of our planet.

350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the theoretical safe line we must not cross. Right now we are at 387 ppm. Find our more at www.350.org

2007 started off with a fabulous surprise visit by the Getdol Drum & Dance Performance Group. This acclaimed group are pioneers in the peoples' drum movement of Korea, well-known for their work in social and environmental justice theatre. Click here to see a short clip of the group perform in the Courtyard.

Also in 2007, the weekly Regional Cuisine and Cultural Market was a big hit with visitors and locals. Live acoustic music complimented the abundance of organic fruits, vegetables and meats from Blush Lane, local teas and honey from Weeds & Seeds, fabulous cheeses and spreads from The Bison Restaurant, local artwork made available through Botega, and wood-fired artisan breads from teh Wild Flour.

In 2006, Culture in the Courtyard was presented in partnership with The Banff Centre. Some of the featured performance groups:

• Janaki String Trio
• Hara Quintet
• The Roughriders Quintet
• Participants from The Banff Centre's Opera As Theatre Program