Traveling Cowboys: Old School Values and Fun at the Only Great Canadian Barn Dance, Alberta, Canada

Dance More

The Saturday Night Dance used to be an essential town event that brought the community together. Young and old came to share a meal, dance, meet new people, catch up on local news, and have some good old-fashioned fun and laughter. It was good exercise too.

Unfortunately, like the Drive-in and the Roadhouse Diner, the Saturday Night Dance also disappeared from our towns. 

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One cannot precisely pinpoint when and why this happened. It just stopped, and somehow no one seems to be missing it. Maybe it ended because people became distracted by other forms of entertainment like Television, the Internet and Social Media.

If you ask Trevor Kunkel from one of the last Saturday Night Dance hold-outs, The Great Canadain Barn Dance, he blames the introduction of alcohol to these events. "Everybody had a good time and families participated until alcohol was introduced. People started to misbehave. Before you knew it, parents stopped coming. Older folks stayed away, and people found other ways to be entertained", says Trevor.

He may have a point, because the Great Canadian Barn Dance is in a dry county in Southwestern Alberta and he is now the second generation of hosts that still caters to dancers from, and visitors to the area. Saturday evenings is dance night and has been for several decades now. Friday evenings are for dinner shows, and the rest of the Summer calendar is filled with events and workshops for teaching old fashion dancing and music.

The Great Canadian Barn Dance is, quite possibly, the only campground you'll find where the whole family can camp, dance, enjoy recreational activities, and take in live entertainment all in one scenic location. It caters to music for all ages. You can join in complimentary dance lessons, and with no liquor allowed at the dance, it's an event the whole family can enjoy, the way it used to be.

Observations

We stumbled upon this gem in desperation for a Southwestern Alberta camping spot in 2017. Waterton Lakes National Park's campground was full. We needed a place to park in the area, and Google pointed the way to the Barn.

Apparently, it all started with a barn. Instead of the Kunkels taking to the road every Summer, playing for audiences across the Province, they sought a way to draw the patrons to them. It all started with hosting a dance at the Barn. That was 25 years ago. Since then, every Spring to Fall music rung out over the Prairie, and the people continued to come.

Now we have an annual appointment with the Barn too. The first time we arrived we were immediately welcomed to the Barn Dance family with roast beef, corn and mashed potatoes. Before we knew it, we were doing the two-step, the waltz, the line dance and the polka.

I am not sure what exactly draws us to make our annual pilgrimage to the Great Canadian Barn Dance. It could be the location, the food, the music, the dancing, or it could merely be the old-school values that draw everyone in to have fun together, young and old, like we used to.

People should dance more.  Start at the Barn and keep dancing. We did!

Hendrik van Wyk 

Dancing Cowboy

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Photos

Mustering

Dance Place

Old West

The Barn

Roast Beef!

Two Cowboys: A Tiny Saloon and Watering Hole in the Wall, Where the Buffalo Roam in Canmore, Alberta

Big Thirsty

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"Descartes walked into a bar, and the barman said to him: 'Are you thirsty?' Descartes replied: 'I don't think I am'. He then disappeared."

If you were given a chance to design and build your perfect bar, what will it look like? Here are a few simple guidelines to help you set it apart.

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It should be a place with the best there is to drink. Fresh beer, great wine, wicked spirits and amazing one-of-kind cocktails. It should be made with the very best locally produced ingredients, served by the most talented mixologists.

Secondly, the food should be outstanding. Prepared by talented chefs sophisticated enough to entice you with unfamiliar ingredients and exotic tastes, yet hearty enough to be familiar. It should draw from the best Alberta has to offer in beef and pork, and not shy away from the bounty of the rest of Canada.

Thirdly, the atmosphere should be cosy. Not cramped. The music should complement the drumming of laughter of people having fun. The decor natural and the seating comfortable. It should have ample counselling chairs at the bar for easy access to bartender instruction and wisdom. There should be tight-squeeze booths for new lovers and a spot in the sun for lazy late summer afternoons.

Lastly, the perfect bar should be filled with familiar faces. Friends. The people with whom you want to be.

This is exactly what Oona Davis and her business partner Shelley managed to create with the place they named "Where the Buffalo Roam", (also known as Canmore's Saloon). A place where they are comfortable. The kind of place they wanted, but couldn't find anywhere else in Canmore, Alberta.

Observations

For almost 4,000 years buffalo grazed on the Bow Valley's rich pasture and drank from the water of the Bow River. In 2015 the doors of a tiny little Saloon opened on Main Street, Canmore. It took its queue and borrowed its name from these gracious animals. Today it serves up pretty much the same concept. It takes care of the hungry and the thirsty. It is their place to meet, drink, date, socialise or to just to get away after a long working day.

We were welcomed with open arms when we filmed Oona and her team before Christmas 2016.

What appeared at first glance as a tiny, unassuming watering hole surprised us with a variety to drink that shows a real commitment to featuring local brewers, distillers and nearby wine producers. The food is inspirational. We recommend the slow braised beef rib with Christmas colour garnishing (see photo below). However, nothing comes close to the creativity that goes into the cocktails. A cocktail is something we usually pass over because of cost. At this Saloon, it is the feature attraction. Make it count.

I am told it is just the way it is done "Where the Buffalo Roam".

Hendrik van Wyk
Buffalo Cowboy

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Photos

Three Deadly Sins

Christmas Rib

Apothecary

Brave Soldiers

Local Crowd

o-CNN: Canada Day 2016, Eh! - Canmore, Alberta

Its Your Birthday!

Canada Day is the national day of Canada. As a federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867). Canada existed prior to 1867 within both the French and British empires.

Canada Day is frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday". This is a misnomer, as Canada Day is the anniversary of only one important national milestone on the way to the country's full independence, namely the joining on July 1, 1867, of the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a wider federation of four provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec). Originally called Dominion Day, the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed.

Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world, attended by Canadians living abroad.

Alberta joined the Federation much later.

On May 2, 1670, King Charles II of England issued a charter granting trading rights in the Alberta region to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). The area, Rupert's Land, was named after Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the first Governor of HBC. Inn the Rupert's Land Act 1868, HBC ceded Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to the Dominion of Canada, abolishing the monopoly held by HBC. In 1872, the Dominion Lands Act passed, encouraging settlement of the Prairie Provinces by granting land rights to farmers.

In 1882, the Alberta region became the District of Alberta, established as part of the Northwest Territories. The land was named after Queen Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta. With the closing of the American frontier around 1890, and the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883, Alberta's population grew by hundreds of thousands of new settlers.

Alberta formally came into being on September 1, 1905, at the same time as Saskatchewan. The Autonomy Acts, which gave the two provinces their places in Confederation, were matters of considerable controversy in Ottawa in the months preceding their passage. Haultain, premier of the Territories, had proposed the establishment of one large province, but Ottawa rejected this plan.

The rest, as they say is history. No matter which day is really Canada's Day, we are proud to be part of this great place in the North, everyday!

Enjoy our video of this year's celebration in Canmore, Alberta.

Hendrik van Wyk
Canadian Cowboy

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Photos

Candian

Real Canadian!

Making Something

Fan!

Big Fans

All the Bears

o-CNN: Cowboy News Network - Farmers Market, Calgary

Calgary Farmers Market - This is a Food Town

Located just off of Blackfoot Trail and Heritage Drive, the Calgary Farmers’ Market was built to be a family friendly, dynamic place for community engagement. Big words for a lot of good food and fun!

Over eighty vendors supply fresh local produce, art, meat, poultry, international food, organic goods, jewelry and more. Yes, they are local. We've checked.

Vancouver has its Granville Island, and Cowtown has its Farmers' Market. Granted, the name is not as fancy, neither is the setting, but at this market you get a solid dose of Alberta production and produce. It appears simple and underwhelming at first until you start talking to some of the vendors. You quickly realize that this market is local market. It is Alberta Producers and their products are on sale.

The market has an amazing array of food vendors. It also caters for the budding entrepreneur and aspiring chef through events such as "Cooking with Your Kids", "Meet the Markers", and "Vino Value Tasting". Sign me up!

Calgary, you have a gem. It is called the Calgary Farmers Market. This town is not only about oil. It is a food town. It is our town.

You should be at the market!

Hendrik van Wyk
Cowboy News Network and Market Enthusiast

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Photos

Our Market

Hand Crafted Chocolate

The Wall

Them Too

Two Cowboys on a Journey: Grizzly Paw, Canmore

Grizzly Paw Brewing Company

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Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the fifth millennium BC. Where there was civilization, there was beer. Where there is a community, there usually is a craft brewer. The community of Canmore is no exception, it has its very own brewery, the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company.

The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company is a brewery, and a brewpub located on Canmore’s Main Street, in the Canadian Rockies. While Grizzly Paw owner Niall Fraser was living in Sydney, Australia he got the idea of opening a brewing company during his frequent visits to “The Rocks” in Sydney for a pint of beer.

When Niall arrived home in 1992 he started looking for a suitable place to build his own brewpub. During a mini vacation to the Bow Valley Niall found the place where his brewery was to be located: Canmore. On April 29th, 1996, The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company opened its doors to the Bow Valley’s beer drinkers. It was one of the first craft breweries allowed in Alberta, and Canmore was privileged to have it.

The Grizzly Paw brews the community's beer.

Impressions

The first thing that makes an impression when you visit the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company's brewery, is its awesome building. It is located right next to the Transcanada motorway. You cannot miss it. The building's impressive peaks mimic the iconic mountain peaks of the Bow Valley's Three Sisters.

Kristina (Sales and Marketing) greeted us at the door on a cold winters morning with a team of enthusiastic colleagues that were ready to show us around.

The founder, Niall wasn't available to tell us how it all began. Instead, Robert (CEO) and Fred (Operations) enthusiastically showed us what they do while they shared their own personal journey of getting involved with beer, and how they came to join the Grizzly Paw's operations. 

What makes the Grizzly Paw unique is its following in the community of Canmore, and also in Alberta at large. The doors are open at the brewery for anyone to see how it is done. Locals work in the business. Everyone is involved in making something. We even found a lost Kiwi, Willy (Our Tour Guide) telling us how he managed to smuggle in some New Zealand hops that they used in a special edition brew. You can taste some of these special brews every Friday evening at the Grizzly Paw Pub.

The pub on Main Street is where all the festivities take place. It is a famous meeting place and easy to spot as you enter the downtown area. "Meet you at the Grizzly", is a saying that easily rolls off the tongue of anyone that is a little familiar with the town and the area. After a hard day of skiing or mountain biking (or producing), the Grizzly's beer is all you need to recover (or fake recovery).

While we "scouted" the location the day before (we had to have a few cold ones to oil the wheels for production), I looked up at the ceiling and saw something intriguing. There were mugs hanging from the ceiling, each with a unique number. 

We asked the barman what the story is, and he introduced us the the mug club. It is a neat idea. It ensures you have your own numbered mug for your beverages when at the pub. The mug stays at the pub, and only you get to use it. It truly speaks of the role the pub and brewery plays in the community by encouraging people to return regularly to have a Grizzly in their own mug. 

It was only when we interviewed Doug (GM of the Pub) that it really hit home for us, when he explained that mug club members buy beers for others, and leave surprise tokens in mugs. They pay it forward. This is a really neat idea. It gives me yet another excuse to visit the pub. I have to go and check if someone bought me a beer!

The Grizzly Paw is a business and brand that became part of the community of Canmore over two decades. It is encouraging to see how a producer's vision (Niall, the Founder) grew into something that ended up defining a large part of the identity of the community of Canmore. 

Craft breweries play an important role in defining community. It brings people together. It is after all a happy place for the people that live and work in the town. Sadly, large corporations are realizing the value of these craft breweries and are quickly gobbling up the businesses, and destroying the community loyalty to the brand. Hopefully, that won't happen with the Grizzly Paw. 

If it does, Canmore will lose a little part of its soul. Luckily, it never takes long for the next crafty entrepreneur to step up and make something delicious. Beer is the foundation of civilization, a large part of the identity of a community, and it will continue to be for as long as you have hard working producers making things.

Thank you to the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company's team for showing us just how beer is made in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Cheers!

Hendrik van Wyk

Producer and Committed Beer Lover

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Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. 
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Photos

Many people have passed through this watering hole in the mountains.

Join the pint club. Somewhere in there is a beer for me.

Introspection.

Heaven can't wait...

The four sisters of temptation.

Lake Louise, Alberta, on a Summer's Day 2015

Lake Louise Summers Day

I had a lot of fun recording some of the action at Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta Canada. See the crowds, some of the selfie slaves, the blue waters, and the beautiful flowers around the lake.