Traveling Cowboys: Small Plates and Big Flavour at the Grande Brunch of Uncorked 2018 in Canmore, Alberta

Nine in a Row

For a town of fourteen thousand people, Canmore has so many restaurant choices that even if we eat at a different one every day, for a month, we still won't be able to try them all.

That is why we love our annual appointment with Andrew Nickerson and his team at Canmore's Uncorked Food Festival. The festival makes it easier to discover and enjoy the best Canmore's dining scene offers - restaurants we didn't know existed and dishes we haven't tried before. When we say the best, we don't only mean the food. We also suggest the people committed to promoting this great destination for culinary's sake. We applaud their effort.

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It is our third year of involvement in the event. Spring is always a great time in the mountains. The Uncorked food festival seals the deal for a visit and an appointment with this lovely destination.

Canmore Uncorked is a multiple award-winning food festival that returns each May for eleven days of remarkable dining experiences. It is the opportunity for restaurants of the town to showcase what they have to offer and to entice diners to try something new. For patrons, it is a flavour gauntlet that stretches the imagination and the waistlines. It is a must-do!

One way we make the most of the experience is to attend the Grande Brunch. Nine restaurants come together in one location to offer delicious taster morsels. The newly opened Grande Kitchen and Bar hosted the event this year which took place the first Sunday of the festival.

We tried everything, which proved to be an overly ambitious task. The portions were just enough to entice us to do another visit at participating restaurants. Together, it made for an amazingly delicious and very fulfilling meal.

Observations

Food festivals are for patrons. Patrons come with friends to celebrate, eat, explore, experience, meet and have fun with plates of food, mugs of beer, and glasses of wine. It is a familiar promotional drawcard used by destinations to entice new customers to visit and discover more about local businesses partaking in the celebrations.

Vendors are given an opportunity to reach new customers, fill their restaurants and move their products. It is a great marketing opportunity - when done right. The organizers of food festivals have the delicate balancing act of assuring there is enough variety, volume and value for attendees to make it worthwhile attending, and for participating businesses and the destination to see a return in the short and longer term.

Here in lies the crux of a successful food festival. Participating businesses and the destination, as a whole, must go all-out or risk being relegated to just another irrelevant mee-too food event of which there are far too many already. Businesses should make the most of the chance and strive to out-do each another. Not just each other in town, but other festivals, elsewhere.

We all know that with the demise of Canmore's destination marketing organization the Canmore Uncorked festival was left on shaky ground. Cudos to Andrew and his team for seeing it through and keeping the festival going. Unfortunately, herein lies the problem. We are of the opinion that Canmore's establishments overall are still not getting that this is their opportunity. It should not be just an event that continues. It should be the pinnacle food event in the Rocky Mountains!

In 2018, a few die-hard businesses and some newcomers remain committed to the festival's success, and they are reaping some of the potential rewards. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Canmore's food scene remains missing in action, and as a result, the town risks losing the opportunity.

It is no longer the "great" festival it once was. A celebration is not, and should not be for immediate profit or gain. If it was, it would be called a market. A longer perspective and commitment should prevail. The festival is there for the purpose of building marketing and promotional momentum for the times of the year when there isn't a festival. Profit follows from this momentum, and the awareness, excitement and the discovery drawcard it lit in customers. Participating businesses should commit their resources to building momentum like they would have done through any other marketing or promotional effort.

Canmore should be lucky to still have Uncorked. We hope to see it grow again to the grand festival it was once before. Andrew has our commitment and our vote to make it work. Now, all we need is for more of Canmore's food establishments to realize that this is their opportunity and get behind it. We are hopeful that it will happen before it is too late.

Hendrik van Wyk

Uncorked Cowboy

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Yum, Yum!

Benedict

Andrew

Cupcakes

Two Cowboys: Cracking Claws at the Inaugural Lobsterfest at Big Sky BBQ in Okotoks, AB

Lobsters Beware

There is a time of the year when every Atlantic Lobster should run for cover. It is Fall in Alberta, and Rob Bolton launched the inaugural Big Sky BBQ Lobsterfest.

No one told the lobsters. Before they knew it, almost 1,000 of them made the airplane trip to the Prairie town of Okotoks. It is the beginning of what is to become one of the largest events of its kind. You can mark our words. Rob is not going to hold back this time. He already has plans to double its size next year.

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He served the lobsters boiled, with lemon butter and bacon wrapped smoked corn on the cob to 420 hungry local folks. It was the second of two jam-packed entertaining evenings. Many of the guests made sure they got their tickets almost a month in advance. The ones that didn', lost out, or had to bootleg it from a local Okotokian on the Lobsterfest black market.

Observations

If you know the quality of BBQ at Big Sky, you will also know that Rob is a perfectionist. He will not relent until he's done it all perfectly and until every guest is thrilled with their experience. We were just excited to have an invite from Rob and to show you how it gets done at Big Sky BBQ.

By the way, the Lobster was delicious! You should have been there.

Hendrik van Wyk

Atlantic Cowboy

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In the Sun

In the Smoke

Lobster Grooming

Introductions

Machines

My Precious!

Two Cowboys: Fiesta with Casa Hogar Los Angelitos Dancing Away with Ballet Folklorico in Okotoks, Alberta

The Rhythm

Music and dance have a way to transcend culture, time and place. Even more so on a Monday evening in Okotoks Alberta, as a school theatre is packed with spectators witnessing and clapping to the pumping Latin rhythms from Mexico's Ballet Folklorico.

The spectacle was courtesy of the touring dancers of Casa Hogar Los Angelitos of Manzanillo, Mexico, on their tour through the Canadian Prairie towns. The Two Cowboys was lucky to get an invite to the Okotoks performance.

We cannot stay away from people that create things - music and dance in this case - and people that care for each other.

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Baile folklórico, literally "folkloric dance" in Spanish, also known as ballet folklórico is a collective term for traditional Mexican dances. It puts the emphasis on local folk culture with ballet characteristics like pointed toes and exaggerated movements, that are highly choreographed.

You will find folk dances in the villages during fiestas and not on stage. Each region in Mexico, the Southwestern United States and Central American countries is known for a handful of locally characteristic dances. On Monday 18 September, we were treated to the Mexican folkloric journey by Casa Hogar Los Angelitos students (CHLA).

CHLA is an orphanage that is providing for the needs of the homeless and forgotten children of Manzanillo. The facilities and the not-for-profit organization that supports it was founded by Nancy Nystrom and her husband, David. Their clear mission is to help develop the young people of the city that would otherwise have been destitute.

The focus is on education. Children that would otherwise not have had opportunities are given a chance and is supported to develop into skilled individuals, ready to contribute to society in Mexico once they become young adults. Since inception, CHLA has succeeded in helping several young men and women go to universities and technical schools. All activities are funded through individual sponsorships and donations by generous patrons.

What sets CHLA's approach apart is the Ballet Folklorico. Nancy Nystrom had the idea that expressive arts may help some of the children deal with their sometimes complicated pasts. It worked. Her idea has gradually progressed to where many of the children in CHLA and even some from surrounding communities have joined the Ballet Folklorico Casa Hogar Los Angelitos.

The next step was to share it with the world by taking the show on the road. This is how people in Alberta and other communities across North America are getting to see the rhythmic enthusiasm of these outstanding performers. At the same time, we all learned a little bit more of Mexico and of ourselves as we too contributed as spectators to the opportunities for these children.

Observations

The dancing was world-class. The stamina of the performers was exceptional considering they perform almost daily while on tour. The costumes were breathtaking and the rhythms contagious.

For a short while, we were all in a Mexican plaza during fiesta. Vibrant colors were everywhere. Mariachis and their songs were thumping away in a tranced tapestry of familiarity as they sing of love and heartbreak, happiness and success. People danced. Viva Mexico!

For a moment we forgot about our pasts, and we shared in the music and dance present of the students of Casa Hogar Los Angelitos. What a present it was!

Hendrik van Wyk

Fiesta Cowboy

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Ready?

Yes, He Came

Love

Celebrity

Fiesta!

Traveling Cowboys: It is All In the Community and the Lube at the Annual Soap Box Derby 2017 in Okotoks, Alberta

Unbelievable

We checked in at the annual Okotoks Soap Box Derby to see how a community came together to build something, compete, race downhill, fall off, crash, repair, get back up, win (or lose) and have fun doing it all on a Saturday in early Summer 2017, and doing it for a good cause. 

I know what you are thinking. "You must be joking!" There are so many contradictions in the sentence above that it is unbelievable how an organization can still pull it off in today's world, let alone get away with it for almost three decades in a small Alberta town going by the name of Okotoks.

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Where do kids still build things with Dad, Grandpa, Uncle or Aunty? Surely, they can buy one at Walmart or a super duper one at Costco? 

Why on earth are kids encouraged to compete? In today's world, there should be no need to compete. Resources should be shared and redistributed equally, so everyone gets a chance. Doing something as dangerous as racing down a street at 35+ km/h is totally irresponsible. Doing it with sneakers, costumes or short pants, and only a helmet for protection is negligence on the parents' part. 

Someone should do something! Is there no bylaw or regulation that can stop it? And then there is the "uber-evil" of declaring somebody a winner. How dare they! Think of the emotional trauma of all the losers and the future medical expenditure for dealing with ongoing depression and the resulting low self-esteem.

Soap Box Racing

We are so glad that there is a Soap Box Derby in Okotoks. This is the world in which we want to live.

We want to be in a world where people are encouraged to make things. Where kids work with family and friends and innovate to compete, learn, adjust and win. The world, where calculated risk-taking is encouraged, and winners are celebrated. We love being part of a community where people come together to build things, compete, win (or lose), learn, celebrate and support each other.

The event is open to youth ages 8-14. A part of the entry fees is donated to a charitable cause in the town. Local businesses like Carstar Okotoks stepped in with matching donations. According to Mark Kharfan, the organizer, soap box car kits are available for purchase to keep the baseline fair between competitor. 

The package typically consists of the standard soap box derby cart and all the instructions that come with it. There are wheels, the mechanisms, the steering, and a four by four sheet of plywood. Cars are made with a lot of creativity and ingenuity to get them faster down the hill. The trick is in aerodynamics, weight reduction, and lubrication. For others, it is all about the style of arriving at the finishing line. Usually, there are between 85 to 120 participants. This year didn't disappoint.

Observations

We were lucky with the amazing weather for the event. No one was seriously injured, and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. The organization and orchestration of the races ran like a well-oiled machine.

Okotoks is an amazing community. We are glad we could share the day with them. We are pleased that old-school values are still part of their world, and ours.

Hendrik van Wyk

Fast Cowboy

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Style

Perspective

Celebration

Innovation

The Team

The Replay

Traveling Cowboys: Meeting Our Brewers and Distillers at Calgary International Beerfest Courtesy of ABF, Alberta, Canada

Our Beer

We wanted to know where our beer comes from. That is why we attended the 2017 Calgary International Beerfest courtesy of Bill Robinson from Alberta Beer Festivals.

This is not another blog post to get wax lyrical about the explosion of craft and micro brewing in Alberta. We are not going to contemplate the ever prevailing evils of big corporations or the AGLC's manipulation of the industry. We are also going to leave the hophead potshots for another time (only this time).

In this post, the Traveling Cowboys went searching for the makers. The people who brew our beer and distil our Whisky in Alberta - Our people.

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A convention and festival is an ideal opportunity for a business to exhibit its wares. It is a chance to get close to prospective and loyal customers. When we get an invitation to attend a fest we cannot contain our enthusiasm to see what's new. It is even better when a beer is involved.

Who doesn't like a road trip? We love traveling to see and meet the Brewers and Distillers of our Province. As a bonus, an event like this gives us a chance to "speed date" the newer producers and "speed taste" unique new beverage creations. We get to introduce ourselves, catch up with old friends and meet the "new babies" (With "new babies" we imply original beverage creations and concoctions from inspirational experimentations. There is no place for children in a beer hall.).

Observations

We discovered at the Calgary International Beerfest that it was crowded.

Yes, we know it is a very popular and an ever-growing event with more than forty thousand attendees over two half-days. What we mean with crowded is that we proudly saw how well represented our own Alberta producers were against the imports from other Provinces. Alberta producers are starting to carry their own weight when placed alongside the big names. We are slowly and gloriously starting to crowd out the corporations.

There was another very obvious distinction between the breweries in attendance. We like to distinguish between the "dress-ups" and the "show-ups." The "dress-ups" put effort into portraying the lifestyle. The "show-ups" are living it.

The dress-up booths have the band, the brand, the packaging and the script that hits the caramel notes, chocolate, sea breeze aromas and IBUs. The customary V-Dub bus is parked in front with the smiling Beertarts pouring drinks from its side, to complete the perfect portrayal of fake friendships, market segmented tastes, brand associations, and consumer preferences.

The show-ups brought their kegs on a wheelbarrow. The taps are in a toolbox. In the back, a bag of ice in a tin bath is chilling the beer. The brewer is the business. His personality is the brand. He pours your pint from a brew he mashed last week. To become his customer is to be counted as one of his friends. No one can recall the names of his beers, and it doesn't really matter. His passion for consistent perfection is what is important. He never disappoints. Hops grow in his beard. Everything he does and that comes with him is real and authentic.

This is how we know where our beer comes from. It comes from a brewer. Our people.

What truly sets some apart from others is the passion that comes from the maker. The authenticity of the people, their community involvement and the quality of the beer.

According to Bill Robinson, "People want to know who is responsible for what they are eating and drinking." We completely agree. It is good to know who they are.

Hendrik van Wyk

Beer Cowboy

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Here for the Beer

Where is this?

The V-Dub Bus

Coolbox Brigade

Our People

Wrong Glasses

Education is Important

Just Beautiful

Traveling Cowboys: Getting Ready for 12 Days of Food, Drink and Community at Canmore Uncorked 2017, Alberta, Canada

Canmore Uncorked Food Festival in the Mountains 2017

This is the second year that we collaborate with Canmore Uncorked (http://www.canmoreuncorked.com).

We do it because it is an excellent award winning event that kicks off Spring in the Rocky Mountains every year. It is our opportunity to showcase the fantastic food establishments and producers in the Bow Valley. We celebrate their businesses, and we give you an inside glimpse into what makes Canmore a great place to visit. It is also a food festival, which means we need no further justification for the Two Cowboys & A Camera to show up.

Many of the businesses we showcase during the festival are supporters of our campaign. They are producers, and they help us to encourage more people to make something, establish local businesses, employ locally, build community and shop with each other. All of them are serving the town's folk and collaborate with fellow producers to bring great products to market. For us, it is a success story when a community comes together for a celebration and to mutually support each other. That is why we are at the festival and why we will be bringing you the highlights of the festival.

Because many of the business in Canmore support us as sponsors and patrons, we support them in return: http://www.travelingcowboys.com. If you want to see more about them, be a supporter of our cause or follow our travels, then please become a friend on Patreon. Subscribe to our channel on YouTube and read our Blog.

Hendrik van Wyk

Travelling Cowboy

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Here they are:

Gaucho Brazilian BBQ - Canmore

Canmore Brewing Company

An Edible Life

Murrieta's Bar and Grill

Rave Coffee Canada

RAW Distillery

Valbella Gourmet Foods

Wild Life Distillery

o-CNN: Chucking Scallops at the Whitianga Scallop Festival in Coromandel, New Zealand

Raw is Better

Or, is it? 

One of New Zealand's most popular seafood events, the Whitianga Scallop Festival took place this past Saturday the 10th of September 2016. 

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Sixty cuisine stands came together to cater for an estimated 4,000 - 5,000 attendees by turning out mouth watering dishes, and serving crisp chilled local wines (from the Waikato of all places!). 

If the food wasn't enough to get you there, then the entertainment did the rest. The festival included performances from iconic New Zealand performers (none of whom we knew), seafood cooking demonstrations from celebrity NZ chefs (Ray McVinnie we knew and were also fortunate to interview). The stars of the occasion were undoubted: Fresh Coromandel Scallops, Oysters, and Kina (Sea Urchin).

And this is exactly where the rubber hit the road. All three of these star attractions needed no special attention if you listened to the locals. Once chucked: "You should eat them raw!".

We can now proudly proclaim that we've lost our seafood virginity. We ate our scallops raw. All of them. Whitianga Scallop Festival introduced us to heavenly combinations of Scallops and Champagne, Kina and Port, and Oyster Shots (something to do with Tomato, Tabasco, and Vodka). 

I can honestly testify that once alcohol got involved, it was hard to know the difference between cooked or raw. In the end, the texture was all that gave it away - rubbery or juicy. All of them stayed down with our breakfast.

The Coromandel put its best foot forward in all manner of ways. The Spring weather was perfect. The roads were as twisty as usual (making sure that only the best Scallops stayed behind). The scenery was breathtaking, and the people friendly. 

Anyone that contemplates a trip to New Zealand, should aim for the Coromandel this time of year. It is surprising to see how well the Kiwi's are keeping this thirteen-year-old event, a secret from the outside world (of New Zealand). 

I think we were probably the only foreigners there, except for a few lost Canadian Geese on a pond.

Enjoy the video. We had fun making it

Hendrik van Wyk

Sea Cowboy (not really).

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Sun and Surf

Adrenalin and Wine

Cowboy!

o-CNN: Authentic Rodizio and Caipirinha at Gaucho Brazilian Restaurant in Canmore and Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The Real One

(Learn: * Inspire: ** Amaze: * Live: ****)
(The Two Cowboys Subjective Rate-o-Meter.   )

This is not the "Mexican all inclusive" beach variety. It is the real Caipirinha that requires a designated driver. Marry it with Alberta's finest beef and great Brazilian friends, and you've found a new home away from home. It is an amazing dining experience, guaranteed. I didn't know how much I love Brazil until I met Ede and his team.

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If you would ask my boys where they want to go for a family celebration, there is only one place they come back to time and again: Ede and Rosina's Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue in Canmore (with a location in Calgary as well). Henry and Jan invents occasions that take us to Gaucho! This is where Ede introduced us to the "Rodízio" and my other lovely girlfriend Caipirinha (please don't tell Margarita).

Rodízio

Rodízio is an all-you-can-eat style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants. In most areas of the world outside of Brazil, a rodízio restaurant refers to a Brazilian style steakhouse restaurant. Customers pay a fixed price (preço fixo) and the waiters bring samples of food to each customer at several times throughout the meal, until the customers signal that they have had enough. Pace yourself. Come early. It is a huge meal. 

In churrascarias or the traditional Brazilian-style steakhouse restaurants, servers come to the table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of quality cuts of meat, most commonly local cuts of beef, pork, chicken and sometimes exotic meats. At Gaucho, rodízio courses are served right off the cooking spit, and are sliced or plated right at the table. Sometimes they are accompanied with fried potatoes, fried bananas, collard greens, black beans, and rice (served buffet style). Salad is not what you come for at Gaucho, but my wife assures me they are awesome companions to the other vegetables that are also served, like the chicken. 

At Gaucho, as is traditional in many restaurants, the diner is provided with a coloured card, red on one side and green on the other. The servers will only bring more meat if the card is flipped to the green side. Our card usually gets lost somewhere during the meal courtesy of my eldest. He is a big fan.

Caipirinha

Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça, also known as Pinga or Caninha, is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Although both rum and cachaça are made from sugarcane-derived products, in cachaça the alcohol results from the fermentation of fresh sugarcane juice (that wasn't burned, and in most cases is hand cut) that is then distilled, while rum is usually made from refinery by-products such as molasses. The drink is prepared by muddling the fruit and the sugar together, and adding the liquor. 

Although the real origins of caipirinha, as it is known today, are unknown, according to one account it began around 1918 in the state of São Paulo with a popular recipe made with lime, garlic and honey, indicated for patients with the Spanish flu. Today it is still being used as a remedy for the common cold. As it was quite common to add some distilled spirits to home remedies, in order to expedite the therapeutic effect, rum was commonly used. "Until one day someone decided to remove the garlic and honey (good decision, maybe?). Then added a few tablespoons sugar to reduce the acidity of lime. The ice came next, to ward off the heat," explains Carlos Lima, executive director of IBRAC (Brazilian Institute of Cachaça).

If you are keen on an authentic Caipirinha experience, you don't have many choices in Alberta. Cachaça is nearly impossible to get here, which is hard to believe considering it is the second most consumed spirit in the world next to Bourbon (...according to experts). Ede's restaurants is where you can get your fix, else you have to get a smuggler from Brazil to bring it in for you. There is also one Liqueur store in Calgary that stocks it. It has a Brazilian owner, and that is as much as I am going to say, because it is nearly almost sold out when I get there.

Enjoy our video about Ede and Rosina's Gaucho Brazilian Barbeque. It is a favourite place for us, and we hope it will become yours too.

Hendrik van Wyk

... and the lovely Caipirinha.

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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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o-CNN: Young Entrepreneurs Doing Lemonade Day in Okotoks, Alberta

Parents Learn the Value of Business

The Two Cowboys had the privilege of attending Okotoks' second annual Lemonade Day on Saturday 10 June, 2016. At the outset we were blown away by the enthusiasm of this growing community for encouraging entrepreneurship in their children. Why do they do it?

Let's face it, Alberta Province is hurting financially and socially at the moment. The economic downturn is leaving deep financial and emotional scars in our communities. Folks are out of work, and many are without hope. 

The question that is on everybody's mind is: "Do we leave for a job elsewhere, or do we see it through, waiting for the good old days to come back?" The answer is simple. This time the prosperity of the oil industry in Alberta is unlikely, to return to previous levels soon, if ever. Maybe, now is the time that we take ownership of our destiny, and reinvent ourselves and our community once and for all. Maybe it is time to say goodbye to the concept of someone else having a "job" waiting for me, and hello to the concept of taking charge of my own destiny: of being a Producer, and an Entrepreneur.

Production Over Jobs

For too long, Alberta's been a "one trick" pony relying heavily on its energy assets and income from the oil industry. I am sure you are tired of hearing this tune, but it needs to be played loudly and clearly again.

Many people locally and nationally became complacent with the good fortune of the availability of well paying jobs, and not enough people to do them. When you travelled the oilfields you found people from all professions and locations across Canada, stepping out of their chosen industries, and into easy oil money. This is no longer the case.

Also, our Governments, Locally, Provincially and National followed suit by growing public services and bureaucratic overhead out of proportion on the easy energy revenue, taxes and royalties that could be milked from oil profits. People either worked for an oil company, a business servicing an oil company, or a public service made possible thanks to revenue from oil. Jobs are still around while these institutions are in denial, and banking on borrowed money. This cannot continue. Someone eventually will have to pay for it.

There is a positive story in all of this. We, the Two Cowboys traverse the business and community landscape in this beautiful Province, and we see hope and realization flickering. You can see some of the inspiration in the Producer Profiles we produce and the community events we feature. 

If Alberta is to turn itself around and prosper again, it has to recognize that it is not going to be the oil industry, or the Government that is going to hand us jobs, grants, or subsidies. Rather it is time for the people of Alberta to recognize the value of its Producers, and exalt these people that will do it: The Entrepreneurs. The Business owners. They will reinvent Alberta. The rest just need to get out of the way.

That is why we encourage and celebrate our Producers and Entrepreneurs. That is why we involve ourselves with communities and people that focus on making it possible for people to make something of value, earn from it, and share some of it. That is why it is good to encourage our children to choose entrepreneurship over employment. That is why we are ecstatic about Lemonade day in Okotoks, Black Diamond and Turner Valley. It's been long overdue!

Making Lemonade

Lemonade day is an initiative that ensures that youngsters are set on a path early to value what it means to be in business. It celebrates the personal value, the financial value, and the community value that comes from entrepreneurship and production. The concept was first introduced in Houston, Texas in 2007 to provide children and young adults with a collection of entrepreneurial skills not taught anywhere in the education system. 

Since 2007, almost 750,000 kids have participated in cities across North America. This year it is expected that over 150,000 students in over 50 cities will be participating in this tremendous program. Okotoks' business community is right up there with the best of them, taking the lead in teaching young Albertan's the value of entrepreneurship. The program is in its second year in Okotoks and has exploded in popularity amongst the children, and also amongst the supporting businesses of the area.

Successful societies were, and still are built on the back of small business. Entrepreneurs take risks believing they can realize their dreams if they work hard, take responsibility and act as good stewards of their resources. Everyone benefits as a result. Today’s youth share that optimism, but lack the life skills, mentorship and real-world experience necessary to be successful.

In 2007, founder Michael Holthouse had a vision to empower today’s youth to become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs through helping them start, own and operate their very own business: A simple lemonade stand. Through this journey, children are encouraged and coached in preparation for the important role they will one day play in the success of their community.

By attending Lemonade Day in Okotoks we found people celebrating the opportunity of business, learning the values and skills that comes from being in business, and ultimately the hope that comes from taking charge of ones own destiny. The community is better off as a result. Everyone is.

The people of Alberta is taking charge of its own destiny in the realization that we ourselves are responsible for our prosperity. Our future Producers will make it possible. We need to make more lemonade.

Hendrik van Wyk

Lemonade Fan

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Photos

Drink Your Lemonade

Fashionade

We Were There

Happiness!

Hanging Loose