Christmas vendors will be set up in Fensala Hall and the Creamery with a wonderful variety of handmade items to choose from. The annual Cookie Walk is part of the Historic Markerville event, which also includes a Christmas display set up at the Church and lunch available at the Creamery Parlour Café!
Enjoy all the festivities that Christmas in Markerville has to offer, and then stop in at the local businesses along Johnson Avenue for even more Christmas buying choices!
The final concert of the season for Thursday’s Supper and Song event was an enjoyable presentation: The history of Markerville in stories and songs. See the original post on Historic Markerville’s Facebook page.
Larry took the stage at the Creamery courtyard on August 25, 2022. He shared quirky and fun versions of some well-known songs with his own lyrical twist, prefacing them with quick introductions to the local history behind them. And for his last song of the night he invited the audience to join in and help sing a version of “This Land is Our Land” with a tip of the hat to Alberta in the lyrics!
Chantal Riviere
Thank you to Historic Markerville for putting this on, and to Chantal Riviere for organizing all of the performers for Supper and Song this year. She found an amazing variety of musical talent to grace the Creamery stage for eight shows! The Thursday free concerts are over for now, but they’ll return next year in July.
In the meantime, here’s a reminder that the Fensala Hall Concert Series will be starting on September 17, 2022 with the Marcus Trummer Band. Information and tickets are available at the Historic Markerville website. Season tickets can also be purchased for all five concerts in 2022/2023 by calling 403-728-3795.
Please enjoy some videos from Larry’s performance on August 25.
Some fine-tuning to the new pathway along the side of the Medicine River near the Historic Markerville Creamery! Al and John completed work on the stairs by installing a hand railing, and Byron and Dave worked on smoothing out some of the bumps and dips along the path.
Sunday, August 21, 2022 featured the return of Cream Day to Historic Markerville after a 2-year hiatus thanks to the pandemic! Along with the usual activities of BBQ and events for kids, the streets were lined with cars and trucks on display for the Show ‘n Shine, and some of the Artists on the Avenue vendors set up their tents in the Creamery courtyard for an art show and sale.
Other activities included live music with Roberta Fetch and Mary Ann Message; cream car rides for the kids; face painting; ice cream making, butter making, and cream separating demonstrations; balloon toys table; and the Cook Family Scholarship presentation. The last event of the afternoon was a Pie Eating contest broken down into three age categories.
Stephan Stephansson was known as “the poet of the Rocky Mountains.” Immigrating to North America in 1873, he and his family eventually relocated to the Markerville district of Alberta in 1889. He was a hard-working farmer and community leader who provided for his wife and eight children, and still found the time to write over2300 pages of poetry and more than 1700 pages of letters, essays, articles, and short stories.
Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site is a wonderful afternoon adventure that everyone can enjoy. A path from the Interpretive Center leads you through a park-like setting to his home, restored to a snapshot of 1927, including original furnishings.
During the visit I not only received an informative tour from interpreter Emma Belich, but also was greeted by none other than the infamous Jólakötturinn. Also known to the locals as “Kirby”.
The historic site is located at 2230 Twp Rd 371, Red Deer County, Alberta (get directions), with paved roads all the way to the site’s entrance. I hope you enjoy the photos, but this is just a fraction of what you can experience by dropping in for your own visit.
Kirby would love to see you at Stephansson House. He takes his greeting duties seriously!
The August 18, 2022 Supper and Song was another splendid evening of outdoor musical entertainment at the Markerville Creamery courtyard. Al Gamble welcomed Allen Christie and Riley Tubbs to the stage and the duo took it from there; giving the audience a brilliant blend of original songs and old favourites! Visit the Historic Markerville Facebook page for the original post.
Following are more photos from the evening and video of some original tunes and covers.
Thursday was overcast but otherwise perfect for the August 11, 2022 Supper and Song at the Markerville Creamery courtyard. Al Gamble introduced Amber Williams and Riley Tubbs, both from Rocky Mountain House, and the duo took it from there; giving the audience lively performances song after song! Visit the Historic Markerville Facebook page for the original post.
Following are more photos from the evening and video of some of the songs.
Amber and Riley started the Supper and Song evening with Small Town Saturday Night.
Members of the Markerville community have imagined the appeal of a closer view of the Medicine River near the Creamery, and this summer a new walking trail is finally available, dubbed River Walk.
Starting from a gently sloped access point just off Riverside Street near Johnson Avenue, the path has been cleared and extended along the river’s edge towards the Walking Bridge. Stairs down the embankment from the memorial garden located on the east end of the bridge have been completed, for safe and easy access to the trail from the Creamery. A hand rail for the stairs is planned, but for now good balance and sturdy shoes are suggested when exploring the path.
Walking along the River Walk path you will soon come across a bench and chairs that have been donated. It’s a wonderful spot to enjoy the river view, watch and listen for birds, or just take a quiet moment for yourself.
The artist in you may find inspiration here or at other spots along the path for photography, sketching, or En plein air!
Here are photos and video of River Walk path taken at various times this summer, before and after the completion of the stairs by the walking bridge.
Mary Anne Message was ready to go, rain or shine, and everyone who showed up for the August 4th “Supper & Song” were glad they did. The weather may have scared a few people away, but definitely not Jack and Dot who showed up in their rain gear. I’m pretty sure they would have been out there dancing even if the rain hadn’t let up. Here are some more photos and video from the evening event at the Markerville Creamery stage.
Marie Sveinson introduced Frank Durocher, from Rocky Mountain House, at the start of his set and then teased that she didn’t need to say much since he wouldn’t be too shy about telling us about himself. Then he took over the microphone and enthusiastically shared stories, jokes and wonderful songs for the next hour-and-a-half!
Frank opened with “Y’all Come”, “You and Your Sweet Love”, “Mansion Over the Hilltop”, “Kaw-Liga” and “Mansion on the Hill” … songs made popular by Porter Wagnoner, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Hank Williams and Charlie Pride.
After a couple more favourites, Frank had the ladies stand and sing a verse from “Jesus Loves Me” and then had the men stand and do likewise. The impromptu “contest” resulted in a tie, although Frank mentioned that the men seemed a little shy to start with! After some persuading from the audience, Frank continued with a Buck Owens classic, “Act Naturally.”
The encore included “Why Me Lord?”, “I’ll Fly Away”, “How Great Thou Art”, and “I saw the Light.”
Following are some photos and video from the July 28th Supper and Song evening with Frank Durocher. Visit the Historic Markerville Facebook page to see the original post with more photos.
Clip from “Act Naturally” performed by Frank Durocher
Three of the songs performed by Frank Durocher at the July 28th “Supper and Song”
Historic Markerville Supper and Song Thursday Roster Supper 5:00 pm / Songs 6:30 pm
* UPCOMING *
August 04 – Mary Anne Message August 11 – Amber Williams August 18 – Allen Christie August 25 – Larry Kjearsgaard
Here are photos and a few video clips from the event.
Video clips from July 21 “Supper and Song” with Raeleen & Jason McCutcheon
Historic Markerville Supper and Song Thursday Roster Supper 5:00 pm / Songs 6:30 pm
* UPCOMING * July 28 – Frank Durocher August 04 – Mary Anne Message August 11 – Amber Williams August 18 – Allen Christie August 25 – Larry Kjearsgaard
Roberta recently appeared at the July 14, 2022 Supper and Song event in Markerville, Alberta for another splendid evening of wonderful songs. [View the post on the Historic Markerville Facebook page] Following are some photos and video of the evening.
Partial playlist of Roberta Lynn Fetch’s Supper and Song performance.
I love her artist bio I found on the ReverbNation site: Bobby-Lynn was born and raised on a farm in rural Alberta. First sitting at a piano at the age of six, she began life steeped in the appreciation of music. She spent 11 years completing Royal Conservatory. But it was nearly twenty years later when a guitar made her passion come alive. Today she writes songs delivered in raspy tones made to touch the heart, strummed to a gentle acoustic guitar. Having been compared to sounding like Stevie Nicks and Tracy Chapman, she mixes it with a soft acoustic sound.
Historic Markerville Supper and Song Thursday Roster Supper 5:00 pm / Songs 6:30 pm
* UPCOMING * July 21 – Raeleen McCutcheon July 28 – Frank Durocher August 04 – Mary Anne Message August 11 – Amber Williams August 18 – Allen Christie August 25 – Larry Kjearsgaard
July 7 saw the return of Outlaw Music to the Creamery Courtyard stage for the start of Thursday evening Supper & Song. The Markerville Creamery has extended hours for eight free performances during the summer on Thursdays. The staff invite everyone to drop in for supper starting 5 pm, with songs starting at 6:30 pm for an hour’s worth of music to appeal to all ages, with different artists each Thursday. This event is courtesy of Historic Markerville Creamery.
Gerry and JoLynn pulled off an almost flawless performance, including taking requests and ending the evening with an encore of two more songs.
Historic Markerville Supper and Song Thursday Roster Supper 5:00 pm / Songs 6:30 pm
July 07 – Gerry & JoLynn July 14 – Roberta Lynn Fetch July 21 – Raeleen McCutcheon July 28 – Frank Durocher
August 04 – Mary Anne Message August 11 – Amber Williams August 18 – Allen Christie August 25 – Larry Kjearsgaard
Outlaw Music live at Supper and Song in Markerville, Alberta
Gerry and JoLynn of Outlaw Music
Gerry and JoLynn perform one of their favourites, “Long Time Gone”
We’d like to thank all the artists and bidders that participated in the Artists on the Avenue outdoor art show and sale held July 2nd and 3rd in Markerville. New this year was a Silent Auction, which was a great success! Over $1,000 was raised, with all proceeds going to theButtermaker’s House Restoration project.
We appreciate all the donations of items and artwork, including the live painting items that were created during the two-day event.
15 items received bids, and there are four more items donated for a follow-up auction event later this summer. Thank you to everyone for helping us support the Markerville historic society and their ongoing renovation projects.
The weather begrudgingly co-operated for our 3rd Annual Outdoor Art Show and Sale. Once everyone was set up it didn’t take long for artists to begin donating artwork to our Silent Auction table, and several also began live painting their contributions! All proceeds from the Silent Auction are going to support the Buttermaker House renovation efforts, one of the historic buildings located in Markerville.
Larry and Russ joined in and entertained everyone with live music. All in all, a good first day of the show. Join us again on Sunday, July 3 for more glorious artwork! And sunshine!
