MNP is sending in the clowns. The established accounting, consulting and tax firm has signed on for the presenting sponsorship of Downtown Red Deer’s Centrefest, “MNP is extremely proud to sponsor Centrefest 2012. Red Deer is a great city, and we are fortunate to host such a premier event for families and residents to attend,” said Dustin Sundby, Regional Managing Partner Central Alberta, “We look forward to working closely with the organizing committee, and our volunteers to make this very special for everyone who attends. The weekend of July 27-29th is going to be amazing, and we can hardly wait to share it with you.”

Centrefest is the largest outdoor festival in the central region of Alberta, boasting almost thirty thousand visitors last year alone. Eye-popping and show-stopping contortionists, jugglers, musicians, and entertainers will come together and thrill crowds outside on the streets for this tenth anniversary celebration July 28 and 29, 2012.

MNP sets a precedent for community-building by providing affordable entertainment, fostering local talent and bringing visitors into the area’s economy through sponsorship. Centrefest will present their tenth anniversary celebration to Red Deer’s downtown and continues to grow with the support of their local partners.

by Crystal Rhyno, Red Deer Advocate

Some of the best in the cycling world will race to Red Deer as part of the inaugural Tour of Alberta Pro Cycling Event in September.

The host communities for Alberta’s first international professional cycling event were revealed in Red Deer on Tuesday. The five-stage race begins on Sept. 3 in Edmonton and wraps up on Sept. 8 in Calgary.

Red Deer will host the Stage 2 finish on Sept. 5, when cyclists will ride in from Devon, 185 kilometres north of Red Deer.

The Red Deer route will be finalized in the next few days. The route will be announced officially in April.

Mayor Morris Flewwelling said the city is absolutely delighted that Red Deer was chosen as one of the stops on the tour.

“As an active bike community, we have just initiated a bike lane pilot,” Flewwelling said at the press conference. “We are in the thrones of adapting our community to commuter cycling. We have always been in recreation cycling. Now we’re in commuter cycling. This couldn’t come at a better time. Another part that makes it absolutely perfect for us is that this is the year we are celebrating our 100th anniversary as a city . . . We will always be able to remember the first annual Tour of Alberta happened in our centennial year.”

Flewwelling added the city is a seasoned host at putting on huge events like the Brier, Memorial Cup and Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“We have a wonderful volunteer community here,” said Flewwelling. “We are delighted to showcase our community to the entire world in this whole new venture for us. It will have a huge economic but also cultural spinoff for our community.”

Over the next day or so, the 11 host communities will participate in a symposium in Red Deer to learn more about their responsibilities and logistics of the race. The city has committed to $77,000 help with the logistics.

George Berry, local organizing chairman for the Red Deer stage, said the biggest thing about this is race is that it is going to be a cultural event. Berry said it would be relatively easy to bring a bike race to Alberta but the committee will be working with the city, Red Deer County, local school boards and various groups to make it a true cultural event highlighting what Central Alberta has to offer.

“There’s going to be a huge call for volunteers here,” said Berry. “We will be looking at needing a couple hundred volunteers just in the Red Deer area alone.”

Each host community will put on a festival with activities related to fitness, food and education displays. There will also be a chance to mingle with the athletes.

An estimated 15 professional cycling teams with eight riders per team, from more than 20 countries, are expected to compete. Teams will be announced in the coming months.

The festivals will be unique in each community, reflecting the local character and attractions.

Brian Jolly, chairman of the Alberta Peloton Association, organizers of the event, said they hope to have the race in Alberta for several years in the future. Jolly said they chose a route and communities with strong reputation for hosting cultural and community events. Jolly said there was a long list of communities to choose from and there will be opportunities for communities that were not selected this year.

The race kicks off in Edmonton on Sept. 3 with a prologue, a short time trial to determine who wears the leading jersey on the first stage. Stage 1 of the five-staged race will begin in Strathcona Country and finish in Camrose. On the third day, Stage 2 begins in Devon and ends in Red Deer. Stage 3 begins in Strathmore and finishes in Drumheller. The fourth stage begins in Black Diamond and ends in Canmore. The final stage begins in Okotoks and ends in Calgary.

crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com

Ten Thousand Villages is excited to announce that they are moving! The store is relocating from Southpointe Common to the historical Bawtinheimer building on Alexander Way (48 Street). The store will be opening its doors Saturday, March 3rdat its new location at 4925 – 48 Street (across the street from the Millenium Centre Parkade). The new store will have a great fresh new look with more space to accommodate a greater selection of fair trade products. New stock has been arriving and you will want to check it out. The store carries jewellery, scarves, bags, fair trade coffee, teas, spices, chocolate and many other unique items including rugs and musical instruments.
Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade, nonprofit retail outlet that markets products that are handmade by artisans in developing countries. With 47 stores across Canada and online shopping available (www.tenthousandvillages.ca) Ten Thousand Villages is not only Canada’s oldest Fair Trade organization, but also its largest.
The Grand Opening Week starts Saturday, March 3rd. You are invited to come on down and visit Leslie, Store Manager and volunteers at their new location. Store hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
On Saturday, March 3rd you are invited to join them for cake and coffee and hear featured guest soloist, Kim Thiessen from MCC. She raises funds for various projects for the MCC Relief and Development organization. Thursday, March 8th the official ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. with Mayor Morris Flewwelling and other dignitaries joining them. Stop in for coffee and browse the spring product line. Draw prizes will be held throughout the week. Stop by for a visit at the new Ten Thousand Villages in our revitalized downtown.