Meeting Places Alberta 2018

2018 | ALBERTA BOUND

MEETINGPLACESAB RAM READIES FOR OPENING 11,000 YEARS IN THE MAKING GREY CUP 2018

TOUCH DOWN IN EDMONTON MEET AMONG THE MASTERS GET UP CLOSE WITH WILDLIFE

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RENOVATED. REVITALIZED. MOUNTAINSIDE MEETINGS.

Only an hour from Calgary, in the heart of the Kananaskis Valley, The Lodge is the perfect place to book your next meeting. With over 24,000 Sq. Ft. of meeting space, 317 guest rooms, ďŹ ve restaurants, and access to a range of outdoor activities, our fully renovated property can host any event, big or small.

Book a Mountain Side meeting by connecting with one of our meeting specialists: 403.591.6248 or email sales@lodgeatkananaskis.com

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CONTENTS MEET AMONG THE MASTERS

FEATURES Grey Cup 2018 Meet among the masters Stampede city Close encounters (of the wildlife kind) Lessons learned

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ASSOCIATION MESSAGES

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MEETING PLACES AT A GLANCE

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PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS FOR MEETING AND EVENT PLANNERS

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STAMPEDE CITY

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2018 | ALBERTA BOUND

MEETINGPLACESAB RAM READIES FOR OPENING 11,000 YEARS IN THE MAKING GREY CUP 2018

TOUCH DOWN IN EDMONTON MEET AMONG THE MASTERS GET UP CLOSE WITH WILDLIFE

PUBLISHER: Sue Belisle EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER; VICE-PRESIDENT, GLACIER MEDIA: Kirk LaPointe EDITOR: Frank O’Brien INTEGRATED SALES MANAGERS:

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Pia Huynh, Laura Torrance, Chris Wilson

DESIGN: Randy Pearsall PRODUCTION: Rob Benac CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Alexander,

GREY CUP 2018

Andrea Cox, Darryl Greer, Pat Johnson, Geoff Kirbyson, Baila Lazarus, Anh Nguyen, Tyler Nyquvest PROOFREADER: Meg Yamamoto ADVERTISING SALES: Dean Hargrave, Blair Johnston, Joan McGrogan, Corinne Tkachuk SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER:

Michelle Myers

CALGARY & AREA

ALBERTA BY THE REGION OVERVIEW AND LISTINGS

CALGARY & AREA EDMONTON & AREA ALBERTA ROCKIES CENTRAL ALBERTA SOUTHERN ALBERTA NORTHERN ALBERTA

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ADMINISTRATORS: Katherine Butler,

Marie Pearsall

RESEARCH: Anna Liczmanska,

Carrie Schmidt

Meeting Places AB 2018 is published

by BIV Magazines, a division of BIV Media Group, 303 Fifth Avenue West, Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1J6, 604-688-2398, fax 604-688-1963, www.biv.com.

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EDMONTON & AREA 29 ALBERTA ROCKIES

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Cover: Royal Alberta Museum opens this year in Edmonton. For exact date of opening and detailed intormation, visit www.royalalbertamuseum.ca.

NORTHERN ALBERTA

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Association messages

ILEA | ONE-STOP SHOP FOR THE EVENTS INDUSTRY The International Live Events Association (ILEA) is the principal association representing the creative events professional globally. And as such, ILEA members are regarded as some of the most professional and knowledgeable people in the industry.

Our goal is connecting the best event professionals in the

world to their industry and all of its opportunities.

From galas to conferences, weddings and other private events, ILEA members and professionals are working together to attract and execute some of the best events in Canada right here in beautiful Alberta.

The events industry in Edmonton is continually growing each year and is now providing more than 18,000 full-year

jobs and more than $1.8 billion to the local economy annually.

Internationally, the events industry generates over $200 billion to the global economy and provides four million jobs.

If you’re looking to host an event, conference, meeting or wedding in Alberta, start by connecting with top industry professionals through the ILEA Edmonton chapter. We can help connect businesses to planners, entertainers, venues

and suppliers to help make your event experience stressfree and a success for you and its attendees.

For more information on ILEA Edmonton, visit www. ileaedmonton.com or follow us on social media at @ILEAedmonton.

Jody Paulson, president, International Live Events Association, Edmonton chapter

MPI EDMONTON | WE NEED TO TALK If you’re in the events industry in Edmonton, we need to talk.

That’s the motto of the Greater Edmonton chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

There are over 18,000 people who work, in some capacity, in the events industry in Edmonton. MPI Greater Edmonton chapter is a community of

event professionals who are dedicated to engaging, educating and elevating one another.

Our board of directors has put together an incredible calendar of events for the 2017-18 year.

So, whether you are interested in educational events or networking opportunities, MPI Greater Edmonton can help you achieve your personal and business goals: this is where you need to be. (Not to mention

the perks of VIP invites, comp passes and the wine draws.)

More exciting news this fall from MPI Global, which has launched a new website (www. mpiweb.org) making it easier than ever for our members to tap into world-class educational on-demand webinars and resources. Scholarships are available to members to assist with expenses, as well as access to MPI’s World Education

Congress taking place this June in Indianapolis, Indiana.

So what are you waiting for?

Reach out and connect with us.

Visit www.mpiedmonton.org, find us on social media @mpiedmonton or call me direct at 780-444-3773. We need to talk.

Arlene Schilke, president, Meeting Professionals International, Greater Edmonton chapter

PCMA | INSPIRING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The meetings and events industry is in a very exciting and strategic position. We have witnessed the roles and responsibilities of our profession gain respect and impact within our organizations, industry, tourism and government.

Congresses with thousands of international delegates are recognized for the financial impact these events bring to

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the host cities, often for years to come. No longer are corporate annual conferences planned off the side of a staff member’s desk. Instead, they are planned by meeting professionals. Meetings can take many shapes, from face-toface to virtual or hybrid.

This increasing respect is in large part due to the high standards the meetings industry has implemented for education and accreditation. The

Convention Industry Councilestablished certified meeting professional (CMP) designation has become the industry standard for securing employment positions. Requirements are in place to recertify every five years, so there is an emphasis on continued education.

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) prides itself on delivering inspiring professional development. PCMA

Canada West attempts to innovate and experiment, offering educational events with cutting-edge event design and technology. Join us at an upcoming PCMA event. For more details visit us at www. canadawest.pcma.org or follow us on social media @pcmacw.

Jo-Anne Rockwood, president, PCMA Canada West chapter

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

GREY CUP2018

Edmonton set to host epic four-day football festival expected to draw 500,000

Jim Lawson, chairman of the CFL Board of Governors, announces the 106th Grey Cup will be held at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium | COOPER & O’HARA PHOTOGRAPHY/CFL

TYLER NYQUVEST

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ore than seven years have passed since the City of Edmonton hosted the Grey Cup championship game, and the time has come again. The mighty Eskimos have proved a dominant force in the CFL, and all eyes are looking toward Alberta’s capital holding one uproarious hurrah that fans who bleed green and gold will never forget.

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Edmonton Eskimos cheerleaders will highlight pre-game festivities at the Shaw Conference Centre between the Grey Cup parade and the Grey Cup game | SUBMITTED Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly led his team to victory in Grey Cup 103 and was named the Grey Cup’s most valuable player. Edmonton fans are hoping for a repeat at Grey Cup 106 | JOHANY JUTRAS

This year is the fifth time Edmonton has hosted the Grey Cup match, and this time the gridiron festival comes amidst some major celebratory anniversaries.

The Edmonton Eskimos are entering into their 70th year as a CFL team. The team has an impressive track record, with five consecutive Grey Cup wins from 1978 to 1982 and 34 consecutive years in the playoffs from 1972 until 2005.

The last time Edmonton hosted the Grey Cup was in 2010, and that event sold out 173 days before the game.

“It was electric,” Duane Vienneau, executive director of the Grey Cup 2018 committee, recalls. “We had 500,000 people over four days attend our festival; our economic impact was $80 million. It is estimated that we had roughly 30,000 out-of-town visitors and the average stay was two and a half days per person.”

Vienneau served on the committee in 2010 and he admits his team vastly underestimated the popularity of the festival.

“We started off with a festival plan of one city block and it turned out to be four and half blocks.”

The city will be a whirl of activity and all of downtown will be abuzz with various venues catering to the event.

The official opening of the Grey Cup Festival is slated for Thursday, November 22, with the CFL awards scheduled that night at the grandiose Winspear Centre.

The Winspear Centre holds over 1,900 people and served as the venue for the 2010 awards as well.

The Spirit of Edmonton room opens the same day, hosting a number of tailgate roundup parties in various spots scattered about the city, with event details still under scrutiny as the committee evaluates all options.

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“I have been to multiple Grey Cups in multiple cities and I can say from first-hand experience that the Spirit of Edmonton room has a vibe like no other,” says Kylee Quinn, marketing specialist at Edmonton Events. “With it happening here in Edmonton, we expect it will be off-the-wall.”

Friday, November 23, the festival will be off to a running start, additional CFL team rooms will open at various locations around the city and the Grey Cup gala dinner will be held that night.

The following day, the festival will be brimming as the Grey Cup parade winds its way through downtown Edmonton. Additionally, with a cheerleader “extravaganza” and a concert at the Shaw Conference Centre, Saturday will be a jam-packed climax before the big game day.

“The last time we hosted a Grey Cup in 2010, our parade was estimated to have 125,000 spectators,” says Vienneau.

Sunday – it’s game day. Building up to the game there will be parties throughout the city, but the real reveal will take place at the epicentre of it all, Commonwealth Stadium.

A massive milestone for the city of Edmonton is the anniversary of the Commonwealth Stadium’s 40th year.

A source of pride for Albertans, the open-air, multipurpose stadium boasts the largest seating capacity in Canada with over 56,000 seats.

The economic impact of this event is palpable, says Vienneau, and the culmination of the anniversaries as well as the atmosphere felt in the city will bring throngs of rowdy, revved-up football fans ready to spend and enjoy themselves. É

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

MEET AMONG

THE MASTERS

World-class art galleries and performance spaces provide a cosmopolitan canvas for inspiring corporate and private events

ANDREA COX

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he Spanish artist Pablo Picasso once said that the purpose of art is to wash the daily dust of life off our souls. Great thinkers have always known that when the arts intersect with science, business and everyday life, brilliance is born. Perhaps that’s why more corporations are choosing to host corporate meetings and retreats in inspired spaces – ones that brim with visual art. And Alberta is leading the way with some over-the-top inspirational and collaborative spaces and initiatives that are drawing conference-goers from around the world.

At the forefront of this growing movement, the worldrenowned Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity located in the charming mountain town of Banff catalyzes creativity through experimentation and innovation in the arts. “Brilliance truly happens here every day,” says Jodi Burke, sales manager, conference sales at the Banff Centre.

The 42-acre campus hums with life, spurred on by artists, leaders and thinkers from around the country and the world, who come to unleash their creative potential.

Nestled in a stunning mountainscape in the heart of the Rockies, the Banff Centre offers over 60 meeting facilities, lecture theatres and auditoriums that can accommodate groups of from five to 1,000 in several

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venues – the Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation alone houses 19 fully equipped meeting rooms of varying sizes and flexibility – three of which double as dance studios. The expansive windows offer stunning views of the Bourgeau range. The nearby Walter Phillips Gallery showcases an exciting contemporary art collection. In addition to strolling through the galleries, conference-goers can attend a classical music recital or a dance performance, or simply mingle with artists during open studio events and artist talks.

“By drawing on our innovative artist facilities and arts programming, conferences held at the Banff Centre enable guests to achieve results and realize their unique contributions,” says Burke.

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ABOVE: The Art Gallery of Alberta’s Manning Hall is among the stunning architectural meeting places for gatherings big and small | HOLLY BALL LEFT, BELOW: Edmonton’s Art Galley of Alberta, designed by architect Randall Stout, is an 85,000-square-foot gallery with three floors of exhibition and facility rental spaces | SUBMITTED

Another exciting and architecturally and artistically significant venue is the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton. Designed by architect Randall Stout, the 85,000square-foot gallery features three floors of exhibition and facility rental spaces, including the floating Borealis Room and the outdoor City of Edmonton Terrace.

The building’s compelling architecture draws inspiration from the city’s unique northern environment and urban grid. The structure personifies movement with undulations, angularity and curves cocooning the interior spaces. Angular windows are juxtaposed against a winding 190-metre steel ribbon that references the forms of the North Saskatchewan River and the aurora borealis.

Inside the art gallery, a three-storey atrium offers an excellent space to host cocktail parties of up to 200.

Peppered throughout the building are a variety of architecturally stunning rooms to host gatherings both small and large. The Ledcor Theatre offers theatre-style seating and works well for movie screenings and lectures.

Guests can dine on sumptuous fare by Zinc, the gallery’s on-site restaurant and caterer.

In Calgary, the recently launched and wildly successful social enterprise arts project cSpace offers a collection of artistically inspired meeting spaces in the heart of the funky South Calgary neighbourhood.

“We are a bit of a unique beast. We serve both the needs of professional artists and non-profit organizations, but at the same time we are inspirational gathering places that create a new experience – an intersection between arts and everyday life,” explains Reid Henry, who spent

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several years working with Toronto’s Artscape and Wychwood Barns projects before moving to Calgary to spearhead cSpace.

A collaboration between the Calgary Foundation and the Calgary Arts Development Authority, cSpace is all about the three c’s – creativity, community and collaboration – hence the name: cSpace. Here visual artists, dancers, graphic artists, writers and free-thinking entrepreneurs work alongside university students and professors from the Alberta College of Art and Design.

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Meet among the masters

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The 42-

acre Banff Centre for the Arts offers more than 60 meeting facilities, lecture theatres and auditoriums that can accommodate groups of from five to 1,000 in several breathtaking venues | PAUL ZIZKA The Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation at the Banff Centre houses 19 fully equipped meeting rooms of varying sizes and flexibility in the inspiring heart of the Canadian Rockies | SUBMITTED Calgary’s recently launched and wildly successful arts project cSpace offers a collection of artistically inspired meeting spaces reborn from a historical school. From a theatre to 200seat spaces to an intimate rooftop venue, cSpace is a pulsing gathering place in South Calgary | SUBMITTED

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Designed by Nyhoff Architecture, cSpace revolves around a reworked 42,000-square-foot sandstone schoolhouse built in 1912. Extending from the original structure is a newly constructed, light-filled, modernist west wing filled with state-of-the-art meeting and theatre spaces, from an intimate 125-seat theatre space to a 200-seat event space and a cozy top-floor alcove with an outdoor deck that will seat 60. Among the most interesting event spaces in the facility are the historical school’s 16-foot-wide hallways, set up with an art gallery infrastructure, paintings and art installations lining the walls – a perfect place for cocktail parties.

The facility spreads along a full city block in a vibrant inner-city community. “We really wanted to look at what good urbanism would look like anchored by an arts organization,” says Henry.

The designers put as much energy into the exterior spaces, with a new public park wired for festival power and capacity for outdoor tents. “We have lots of combinations of indoor and outdoor space that make it one of the more unique spaces in the country,” says Henry. An onsite café manages meeting-room-level requirements, while award-winning Calgary restaurant the Nash is the preferred caterer.

Henry notes that they took the best from the best, including Toronto’s Artscape projects, and added a sprinkling of forward-thinking conceptualization like building to a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standard and adding some cool extras like festival capability and an entrepreneurial component.

“Our goal was to really be a self-sustaining mini-Banff Centre,” says Henry. É

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One thing’s for sure — if you’re looking for a memorable, original, meeting or conference experience, you’ll get it here. Because in Edmonton you’ll find more than a meeting space, you’ll discover the ally you need to make your next gathering succeed. Let’s talk.

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Chuckwagon races have been a thundering highlight of the Calgary Stampede for more than 50 years | CHRIS BOLIN/CALGARY STAMPEDE

STAMPEDE CITY Calgary Stampede grounds the launch pad for $500Â million Tier 1 conference and event facility proposal

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GEOFF KIRBYSON

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he largest convention centre in Alberta is set to double in size if expansion plans at the Calgary Stampede come to fruition. There seems to be widespread consensus that the BMO Centre needs to be larger in order to accommodate both current and future demand for conferences and events, but an agreement needs to be reached with all three levels of government before the megaproject – with an expected capital cost of $500 million – can go into the ground.

“We’re shovel-ready,” says Larry Lalonde, group manager of communications and community engagement for the Calgary Stampede.

“We are currently turning away business. We are at a fairly large capacity utilization but with our current size, we are considered a Tier 2 convention and meeting space. If we expand, it would put us into Tier 1 space.”

The plan is to build the expansion over four years without having to close down the Stampede during construction.

While the 10-day event that bears its name and runs each July is the highest-profile event run by the Calgary Stampede, it is far from a one-trick pony. The Calgary Stampede, in fact, is a not-for-profit community organization running events all year long with 1,200 full-time employees.

The BMO Centre, formerly known as the Roundup Centre, opened in 1981 and underwent a provincially funded $50 million expansion in 2007. It operates at a 73 per cent utilization rate, which is considerably higher than the Canadian average of approximately 58 per cent.

With convention space of about 265,000 square feet and a total footprint of roughly 500,000 square feet, the blueprints call for expanding the entire facility to one million square feet. Such a move would put Calgary in the same event-hosting stratosphere as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, Lalonde says.

Stampede Park attracts about two million people for more than 1,000 events throughout the year, including graduations, Christmas parties, weddings and comic expos.

Lalonde says there’s no question the Stampede has been negatively impacted by the ongoing economic downturn but if the summer of 2017 was any indication, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There were 1.2 million visitors at the most recent version in July 2017, up about 20 per cent from the previous year’s edition. Some studies he has seen found spending at hotels, restaurants and bars was up on a year-over-year basis, too.

What would likely make the expansion plans more palatable is a prolonged spike in oil prices. Carolyn

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Watson, manager of marketing and communications with Meetings + Conventions Calgary, the marketing organization charged with bringing meetings and conventions to town, says there is no question the slumping energy sector has dragged down many others over the last few years.

“Most of the local business comes from oil,” she says.

“We’re focused on bringing in [non-oil-related] corporations and organizations that haven’t been affected by the economy and are mandated to meet annually.”

That includes the likes of the International Live Events Association, a global group of event planners, and the International Play Association, which promotes a child’s right to play as a fundamental human right.

But not everyone got the memo about the economic downturn. The hotel industry has added 3,000 rooms in the city since 2014 with several more large hotels scheduled to open their doors within the next two years.

Chief among the current construction projects are

Sometimes the bulls win at the annual Calgary Stampede rodeo | BILL MARSH/ CALGARY STAMPEDE

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Stampede city

Giant crowds pack Stampede grounds for nightly music festivals during the 10day “greatest outdoor show on Earth” | SHAUN ROBINSON/CALGARY STAMPEDE

The BMO Centre on the Stampede site is ground zero for a massive redevelopment that would create one million square feet of conference and meeting space | SUBMITTED

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a 360-room Residence Inn by Mariott and the Westin Calgary Airport, which will have 247 rooms.

“We’ve had a hotel boom in Calgary. We’ve had a bottleneck. When large events come to Calgary, we’re looking for more space to fill them,” Watson says.

Another hotel next to the BMO Centre is part of the Calgary Stampede expansion plans.

“We’re about 600 metres from the nearest hotel,” Lalonde explains.

Assuming the expansion is given the green light, the project is expected to generate $402 million in economic impact in Alberta, including supporting nearly 1,900 full-time jobs, $155 million in wages and salaries and $70 million in tax revenue to all three levels of government.

But amidst all of the construction would be some demolition, too. The Calgary Corral, once the focal point of hockey and rock shows in the city, is slated to be torn down. The former home to the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames and the old World Hockey Association’s Calgary Cowboys, which opened in 1950 and seats about 7,400, has taken second place since the Scotiabank Saddledome opened in 1983. É

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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

(OF THE WILDLIFE KIND) Getting up close to the wild adds universal appeal to any event – and Alberta zoos and the badlands make it happen in style

DARRYL GREER

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hen it comes to the needs of business, there is one need that all companies have in common: space, space to work, space to grow, space to meet and debate and strategize, whether to hash out expansion plans or celebrate a success.

Meet with bison, deer, moose and, of course, elk in Elk Island National Park, Canada’s largest completely enclosed national park, which also hosts more than 250 species of birds | TRAVEL ALBERTA

While the internet has opened up vast virtual and digital spaces, it’s no substitute for face-to-face interactions where many minds can meet and not have to worry about a shaky Wi-Fi connection derailing the whole exercise.

Sometimes a stuffy boardroom just won’t cut it, and there are plenty of places throughout Alberta that can bring to life the concept opined by Henry David Thoreau: “It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination.”

One such place is the Discovery Wildlife Park in the town of Innisfail between Red Deer and Calgary. For nearly three decades, owner Doug Bos and his staff have hosted innumerable international visitors who show up for the lion, tiger, bear and wolf shows free of the dangers of the wild while still maintaining the animals’ majesty.

“People come here from all over the world,” Bos says.

“A regular walk-in customer to the park, a visitor, usually stays four to five hours. So corporations like to come here, hold their family picnics or hold their family camp-outs, and they know all they have to do is bring the people here and we basically entertain them all. They don’t have to plan any games for them or anything for the kids to do.

They can just basically let them come in to the zoo and everybody has a good time and it’s a fun time.”

The park is about one hour from either Calgary or

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Close encounters (of the wildlife kind)

Located just minutes from downtown, the zoo is easily accessible by the city’s CTrain with a station that goes right into the facility, which features 700 animals from 130 species.

“We’re really trying to diversify what we do here from an event standpoint,” Martiniello says. “We d id see t he need i n t he m a rket pl ace ju st to offer something that’s a little diverse and different and still give people the opportunity to network.”

Just outside Calgary, about an hour and a half away, is Drumheller and Canada’s badlands. For the last six years, the Badlands Community Facility

A tiger is a crowd-pleaser at Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail, where even large corporate groups can have a fun day getting (safely) close to wildlife | DISCOVERY WILDLIFE PARK

March of the Penquins a daily highlight at the Calgary Zoo | CALGARY ZOO

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Edmonton and minutes off Highway 2, and can accommodate groups small and large with group rates as low as $15 a person, depending on a group’s needs.

“We have such a variety of packages. We basically try to accommodate them for what they want, as long as it fits in with being safe with the animals and stuff like that,” Bos says.

Elk Island National Park, a 35-minute drive east of Edmonton, is not only an important refuge for bison, elk and more than 250 bird species, but also an oasis of calm for day picnickers and overnight campers alike. The park hosts hikes into the reserve.

The Calgary Zoo also offers meeting spaces, with four different venues including the Enmax Conservatory, the Safari Lodge, the Eurasian Gateway and its seasonal restaurant, Grazers, with a patio that abuts the zoo’s alpaca and rhea habitat.

According to event sales manager Maria Martiniello, the Calgary Zoo has offerings for companies of all sizes for team-building exercises such as “Zookeeper for a Day,” “Zoovivor,” and the “Zoomazing Race.”

Even extinct wildlife welcome visitors to Alberta, as evidenced by the life-sized, lifelike dinosaurs that define Drumheller and the Alberta badlands | TRAVEL ALBERTA

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Enmax Conservatory Calgary can accomodate from 25 to 500 guests at the Calgary Zoo.

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CALGARY ZOO

The Safari Lodge dining venues at the Calgary Zoo, which includes the seasonal restaurant Grazers with a patio that abuts the zoo’s alpaca habitat | CALGARY ZOO Curious bears and giraffes among 700 animals from 130 species at the Calgary Zoo | CALGARY ZOO

has been building itself into a destination for major conferences and other events, boasting a 7,500-squarefoot banquet hall with enough space for 600 people, and easily partitioned off to accommodate smaller groups.

“There’s so much more to Drumheller than just the dinosaurs, though that is a big thing. It’s the dinosaur capital of the world so it’s a pretty big deal, but we’ve got amazing history,” says Erica Crocker with the Badlands Community Facility. “We’re nestled right on the Red Deer River, we’ve got a terrace facing the topography of the Canadian badlands, and we’ve got a wonderful green space right behind which is great for ceremonies or corporate barbecues or anything like that.”

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While the town is known for its dinosaurs and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Crocker notes that visitors can also enjoy guided kayaking tours or learn about the town’s industrial history of coal mining and Wild West past.

“As for meeting spaces, by no means are we stuffy,” Crocker says. “We are a very modern facility.”

While any company or organization can hold an event in a conventional or traditional space, when the choice is between a boardroom or a zoo or a field upon Alberta’s famed wild lands, it’s pretty clear which would be better for business and bonding. É

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

LESSONS LEARNED Level-headed teams keep their sanity even during event mayhem

BAILA LAZARUS

W

hen it comes to event planning, production meetings are key, says Jennifer James, who has spent 14 years in Calgary managing events for up to 700 people.

“Get together with all key players in the venue.

Don’t leave anything out, like the loading dock availability. Troubleshooting happens at the table.

That’s also where you figure out who might be stepping on someone else’s toes.”

Event manager Jennifer James: try to work with the decision-maker at the client company | SUBMITTED

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But at the same time, you have to be flexible enough to run with changes in location or changes in number.

“You might expect 400 out of 500 to show up, but you have to be ready with things like extra food and even extra chair covers in case more attend,” says James. And you have to be able to roll with the event punches when all the planning in the world doesn’t prevent things from falling apart.

One of her most stressful events was actually out of town at the Bay building in Toronto, where she had to use unfamiliar suppliers. The sound setup was so late that the doors were opened while the sound check was still going on.

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Leeann Froese, owner, Town Hall Brands: “spit buckets” took on a whole new meaning when a llama was brought in for a Chilean wine tasting | SUBMITTED Maintain great relationships with your clients and they’ll still hire you even after major snafus, says Shannon Berry, owner of the Promo Syndicate | SUBMITTED

“I probably had grey hairs at the end of the day, but others didn’t know there was a problem.”

One of the key points of advice she has for working with a corporate client is to find someone who’s a team player, who won’t micromanage and who can make key decisions.

And when working with suppliers, “it’s really important to surround yourself with a team of great people and treat them like partners,” James says. “If you’re treating your team well and letting them come to the table with their ideas, I find time and time again, things come together even better than I can imagine.”

Leeann Froese, founder of Vancouver’s Town Hall Brands, is an event planner in the wine industry who says 85 per cent of her business comes from out of town.

She keeps her sanity by knowing where to draw the line.

“We’ll accommodate the client as much as possible,” she says. “But we might say ‘We can’t’ or ‘It’s not appropriate.’ And with unreasonable people, you have to say ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’”

That line seems to have a lot of play, considering at one point a client asked her team to polish the spit buckets, and another time a live llama became part of the decor at a Chilean wine tasting.

“Llamas spit like professional wine tasters,” Froese says, laughing. A fenced-off area and plenty of straw kept the animal happy and avoided scatological misfortune.

Froese advises being aware of difficult venues that might have loading docks far from the event space.

The difficulties at one event led to a late opening with attendees sitting down to their tables while Froese’s team was still running around to local hotels getting ice.

What keeps her head on straight?

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From the experts: event planner emergency kits Scissors Tape Staplers Pens Band-Aids Club soda and Tide pens (for stains) Corkscrews Change of clothes

“I have a solid team,” says Froese. “You need people who are level-headed, flexible and work well under pressure.”

Shannon Berry, who owns the Promo Syndicate, is used to doing promotional events for groups of up to 20,000, from corporate branding to celebrity wrap parties. Based in Edmonton, she manages events in Alberta and B.C. Her specialty is finding unique spaces that can be tailored to a special theme, such as 1930s gangster era.

Her mantra is to always have a great relationship with clients. It will go a long way if things go wrong.

At one Casino Royale-themed event, 100 patrons filled a four-bedroom house in Edmonton. The chef quit three days before the event; her Plan B caterer was on holidays so they had to scramble for a caterer. When a friend offered (saying he had done events before), Berry unwittingly said OK. He came in the day of the event with chicken drumsticks he was going to barbecue for the whole party, though the theme was supposed to be Asian. Also, having gone over budget, he decided to charge for the drinks, which was a violation of the liquor licence and surprised guests who thought it was a hosted bar.

“We laugh about it now and I still get ribbed about it,” says Berry. “That’s the joy of building relationships with your clients.”

Like James and Froese, Berry credits her team for her success.

“I’m great at planning and the vision,” she says, “but my team has the expertise and mindset to deal with challenges. You have to get the right people in the right place. Have them walk through with you and know everything they need to back you up. I don’t even have to worry about them during the event.” É

2017-10-11 10:19 AM

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK

ANH NGUYEN |

Five simple steps to make your next event more environmentally aware

T The next time you’re buying a delegate bag item or an attendee gift, evaluate whether attendees really need another USB phone charger or fidget spinner.

Most of these items end up in the garbage and are a large and costly line item in your budget

h roug hout 2017, cl i mate cha nge ag reements, ca rbon taxes, pending pipeline deals, emissions, natural disasters, melting ice caps and unpredictable weather patterns have dominated our headlines. As meeting and event leaders, a big part of our job is to engage and participate in conversations about how our events are impacting the environment.

Don’t freak out just yet. This does not mean you must give up eating meat or stop using plastic, and it does not mean you have to spend a bunch of money “greening” your event. Being sustainably responsible and being fiscally responsible are not mutually exclusive. As event professionals, all this means is that we must be more deliberate and focused in our efforts, as an industry, to try to use energy more efficiently while limiting our impact on the earth.

It is crucial that we are having these conversations with our clients, making these requests of our vendors and keeping the topic top of mind. T he more demand we place on venues, hotels, audiovisual companies and our suppliers to make sustainability a priority, the more we will start to see the industry shift.

As an event professional, how can you do your part? It’s not as difficult as it seems, and below are five examples of amazingly small things you can put into sustainable action right away.

DO YOU EVEN COMPOST? Q

When negotiating contracts with venu e s, a sk t hem a b out t hei r composting procedu res. Ma ny venues claim that they compost their food waste, but typically, this applies only to food prep waste, not the food that is left on plates or left at the buffet. Ask them to compost all the food that is left over from the actual meal service and you’ll save

00_MPAB 2018_1.indd 20

hundreds of pounds of waste from going into landfills.

Companies like Green Event Services (greeneventservices.ca) can even provide equipment and consulting services to help you integrate this into your event.

BULK IS BETTER Q Request that your venue do away with individual packets of sugar, salt, pepper and condiments. These items can be purchased in bulk and set out in larger shakers or containers. This is the same for hotel notepads and pens. Request that venues make these available in a small stack at the back of the room instead of placing these out on tables where most of them are waste. For an event or conference of 400 to 500 people, something this small will add up quickly.

CAN YOU SHOW ME THE WAY? Q When printing signage,

print signs that do not have the dates on them so you can reuse them from year to year. Print signs that are blank where you can adhere new information on it throughout your event on an as-needed basis.

Printing and throwing out signs that we need only once is one of the highest waste activities that event planners are guilty of. Even better, invest in some sign stands like the Quartet adjustable sign stand and do away with foam core. Most event signs are printed and then mounted on Styrofoam, which is rarely recycled and will end up in our landfills long after your event is over.

and costly line item in your budget.

A great alternative is to donate to a local charity or, better yet, check out a concept like Forest Farmer (createyourforest.ca), where you can give each of your attendees a virtual “tree” that they can plant in a real forest. It’s creative and it’s unique – unlike another generic water bottle or ball-cap that your attendees do not really need.

SHARING IS CARING Q Attendees travelling from all over the city or country to take part in your event create a large environmental impact.

Providing discounts for attendees who choose to ca rpool or ta ke public transportation, using your registration process to encourage ride sha ri ng or ca r pool i ng, or locating your event near a major p ubl ic t ra n sit l i ne a re t h i n gs you can do to make it easier for attendees to get to your event while reducing their ecological footprint.

W henever we ta l k about t he environment, or having “green events,” most planners immediately think about how costly it will be to implement green practices into their process. In reality, all we must do is keep having conversations about it, keep it top of mind for our clients and keep taking small steps. If five more planners ask a venue about their light bulbs this year, that’s five more times a venue is reminded that those things are important to their customers.

This stuff doesn’t happen overnight, but a few small steps will certainly make a difference.

Anh Nguyen is a principal of Spark Event Management Inc. based in Calgary, Alberta. Visit www. eventsbyspark.com

SWAG SUCKS! Q This opinion

may not be popular with everyone, but nex t ti me you’re buy i ng a delegate bag item or an attendee gift, evaluate whether attendees really need another USB phone charger or fidget spinner. Most of these items end up in the garbage and are a large

K&K PHOTOGRAPHY

2017-10-11 10:19 AM

| 21

How to use Meeting Places’ region-by-region directories of venues and services MEETING PLACES AT A GLANCE Q If you’re looking for details of specific venues, start with “Meeting places at a glance,” below.

First check the Alberta map on page 24 to confirm which region your event is in, then browse the listings under that region.

Welcome to the meeting planners’ resource section of Meeting Places, including directories of all the resources you’ll need for planning meetings, conferences, conventions and trade shows throughout Alberta.

Start by using the colour-coded map of Alberta on page 24 to identify the region of your intended event.

Then use the two main sections of the Meeting Places resource guide: “Meeting places at a glance,” which offers details of meeting venues in each region; and regional directories, which guide you to all the services you’ll need wherever you are holding your event.

CALGARY & AREA EDMONTON & AREA ALBERTA ROCKIES CENTRAL ALBERTA SOUTHERN ALBERTA NORTHERN ALBERTA

REGIONAL DIRECTORIES Q Refer to the Alberta map on page 24 for the page numbers of individual regional directories. The introductory pages will update you on the latest news: new conference or convention facilities that have come online in the past year or significant meeting-venue renovations. The directories that follow list the services available in each of the region’s towns and cities.

25 29 34 38 42 45

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

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ALBERTA ROCKIES Banff >ย vvร iย ร ร iร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร ร ยฃร ร Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel & Conference Centre/ {รคร ย ร ร รคย ร ร ร xร >ย ร ย ย ย ร ร >ย vvร -ยซร ย ย }ร ร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร ร ยฃยฃร iย ย >ย `ร ร >ย vvร ,iVร i>ร ย ย ย ร iย ร ร i]ร /ย iร {รคร ย ย nxย ย รคยฃ{ร ,ย ย ร ย Vย ร ,iร ย ร ร ร ย ร iย ร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร ร xร ร Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies/ {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร ร ย ยฃร Canmore Coast Canmore Hotel & Conference Centre/ {รคร ย ร รคย ย x{ร ร ร ย ย ย `>ร ร ย ย ร >ย ย ย ร iร {รคร ย ร รคย ย {{ร ร ร Hinton ย ย ย `>ร ร ย ย ร ร ยซร iร ร ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ย ย ร ย ย ร ร nรคย nร xย ร รค{nร >ย iร ย iร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ย ย ร ย ย ร ร nรคย nร xย ร xร xร "ร iร ย >ย `iร ร ย ร ย ร >ย ย ร ย `}iร nร ร ย nร ร ย ร ร ร รคร Jasper

ย >ร i>ร ร >ร ยซiร ร ร nรคย ย ย ยฃย ย ย {ยฃร

ร ย ย ร ย ย ร >ร ยซiร ]ร /ย iร ร nรคย ย ย ยฃย ย ย {ยฃร >ย ร ย ย ย ร ร >ร ยซiร ร *>ร ย ร ย `}iร ร nรคย nxร ย ร ร รคยฃร ย Lร ร ย Vย ร ย `}iร ร nรคย ย ย ยฃย ย ย {ยฃร >ร ย ย ร ร ย `}iร ร nรคย ย ย ยฃย ย ย {ยฃร Pyramid Lake Resort (Mountain Park Lodges)/ ร nรคย ย ย ยฃย ย ย {ยฃร Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Jasper/ ร nรคย nxร ย ร xย ร ร Kananaskis ย ร ย `>ร ร ร ,>ย Vย ร {รคร ย xย ยฃย ร ยฃร ยฃร

iย ร >ร ย `}iร >ร ร >ย >ย >ร ย ย ร ร {รคร ย xย ยฃย ร ร ยฃยฃร -ร ย ย iร ร >ย ย `>ร ,iร ย ร ร ร Eร >ร ย ย ย ร {รคร ย nnยฃย ร nร รคร Lake Louise >ย iร ร ร iiย ร ย ร ย ร >ย ย ร ,iร ย ร ร ร {รคร ย xร ร ย ร ร ร ยฃร

iiร ร ย `}iร {รคร ย ร nยฃย nยฃร ยฃร >ย ร ย ย ย ร ร ย >ร i>ร ร >ย iร ย ร ย ร iร {รคร ย xร ร ย ร xยฃยฃร >ย iร ย ร ย ร iร ย ย ร {รคร ย xร ร ย ร ร ย ยฃร *ย ร ร ร ย ร iย ร Eร -ยซ>ร {รคร ย xร ร ย ร ย nย ร

CENTRAL ALBERTA Bonnyville Bonnyville & District Centennial Centre/ ร nรคย nยฃร ย ร {รครคร

ย ย vย ร ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ร nรคย nร ร ย ร รคร รคร ย ย ย `>ร ร ย ย ร ร ยซร iร ร ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ร nรคย ร nร ย nnnnร

00_MPAB 2018_1.indd 22

ร ร ยฃร ร ร

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Meeting places at a glance

Camrose Best Western Plus Camrose Resort Casino/ ร nรคย ร ร ย ย {ย xร ร Camrose Regional Exhibition/780-672-3640 ย ร ร iย iย ร ย ย ร ร nรคย ร ร ร ย ย ยฃร ยฃร Fox Creek

ย ย vย ร ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ร nรคย ร ร ร ย ร ร ยฃยฃร Kitscoty Kitscoty Hall/780-872-9465 Lacombe Best Western Plus Lacombe Inn & Suites/ {รคร ย ร nร ย ร xร xร >Vย ย Liร ย ย vร Eร ย ร ย ร ร ร ร ย ร Lร {รคร ย ร nร ย ร ย xร ร Lacombe Memorial Centre/403-782-6668 Lloydminster Best Western Plus Meridian Lloydminster/ ร nรคย nร xย nnn{ร Lloydminster Exhibition Association/306-825-5571 ,ย ร >ย ร ย ร iย ร ย ย ร `ย ย ย ร ร iร ร ร nรคย nร xย ร ยฃยฃร ร /ร ย ยซย V>ย ร ย ย ร ร nรคย nร xย ร รครครคร Olds "ย `ร ร ย ย ย i}iร {รคร ย xxร ย {ร ร ร ร Olds Regional Exhibition/403-556-3770 *ย ย iร ย ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร >ร ร "ย `ร ร ย ย ย i}iร {รคร ย xxร ย nnยฃxร Red Deer >ร ย ย ย ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ,i`ร iiร ร nรครคย ร ร ยฃย ยฃร xร ร iร ร ร 7iร ร iร ย ร *ย ร ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร {รคร ย ร {ร ย ร xxxร ย >Vย ร ย ย }ย ร ร ย ย ร {รคร ย ร {ร ย ร ร ร ร ร

ย ย ย ย Vร ร ร ร iย ร ร iร {รคร ย ร xnย ร xร {ร

ย ย vย ร ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ,i`ร iiร ร {รคร ย ร {nย รครคร xร

>ร ร ร ย ย ร ,i`ร iiร ร {รคร ย ร {รคย ร ร ย ร ร Festival Hall/403-346-0055 Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Red Deer/ {รคร ย ย ร ร ย ยฃรครคร ร Quality Inn & Conference Centre Red Deer/ {รคร ย ร {ร ย nnรครคร ,>`ย ร ร ย ย ร ,i`ร iiร ร {รคร ย ร xร ย ยฃยฃรคnร ,i`ร iiร ร ย ย ย i}iร ย ย viร iย Viร -iร ร ย Viร ร {รคร ย ร xร ย {ย รครคร ->ย `ย >ย ร ย ร iย ร ,i`ร iiร ร {รคร ย ร {ร ย ร {รครคร -ย iร >ร ย ย ร ,i`ร iiร ร ย ร iย ร {รคร ย ร xxย ยฃยฃxรคร /ย ร ย i*ย >Viร -ร ย ร iร ร Lร ร >ร ร ย ย ร ร ร {รคร ย ร {ยฃย ร xnย ร Rocky Mountain House 7>ย ย ย ย }ร >}ย iร ย ย ร Eร ย `}iร {รคร ย n{xย ร nรค{ร Sundre ,ร ร ร ย iร ร ร ย `}iร {รคร ย ร ร nย {ร nย ร Sylvan Lake iร ร ร 7iร ร iร ย ร *ย ร ร ร ย >ร i>ร ร ย ย ร {รคร ย nnร ย ร ร nnร -ร ย ร >ย ร >ย iร ย ย vร Eร ย ร ย ร ร ร ร ย ร Lร {รคร ย nnร ย ร ร ย xร Three Hills -ร ยซiร ร nร /ย ร iiร ย ย ย ร ร {รคร ย {{ร ย nnnnร Vermilion 6iร ย ย ย ย ย ย ร ,i}ย ย ย >ย ร iย ร ร iร ร nรคย xnยฃย ร {ยฃร ร Westlock 7iร ร ย ย Vย ร ย ย ร >ย `ร ย ย viร iย Viร iย ร ร iร ร nรคย ร {ย ย {{nร ร Wetaskiwin ,iร ย ย ย `ร ย ย Liร ร >ร ร ร iร ย ร ร nรคย ร ยฃร ย ร รคร xร

{ร 9 xร

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SOUTHERN ALBERTA Brooks

>ร ร ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ร ย ย ย ร ร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร {{รคร Vย ย ย ร ย `}iร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร {รคร ร iร ย ร >}iร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย nร nnร Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre/ {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร ร ร ร ร ,>ย >`>ร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร {รคร ย ร ร ร ย ร {{รคร Drumheller >`ย >ย `ร ร ย ย ย ร ย ย ร ร ร >Vย ย ย ร ร ร {รคร ย nร ร ย ยฃร ร nร Canalta Jurassic Inn & Cretaceous Conference

iย ร ร iร {รคร ย nร ร ย ร ร รครคร Vย ย ย ร ย `}iร ย ย ร Eร -ร ย ร iร ร ร ร ย ย iย ย iร ร {รคร ย nร ร ย ร ร ร ร ร Lethbridge Best Western Plus Service Inn & Suites/ {รคร ย ร ร ย ย ร n{{ร

2017-10-11 10:19 AM

Casa Arts Centre/403‑327‑2272

2

200

•

Galt Museum & Archives/403‑320‑4247

4

200

•

Henderson Lake Golf Club/403‑327‑3652

1

150

•

•

•

•

•

•

119

Taber Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre/ 403‑223‑4424

Holiday Inn Lethbridge/403‑359‑5612

5

180

Lethbridge Exhibition Park/403‑317‑3213

6

34,000

Lethbridge Lodge Hotel & Conference Centre/ 403‑328‑1123

10 300 190

Paradise Canyon Golf Resort/403‑381‑6400

2

150

•

•

Ramada Lethbridge/403‑329‑0555

2

30

66

•

Sandman Hotel Lethbridge/403‑331‑6928

8

300

139

•

Southern Alberta Art Gallery/403‑327‑8770

3

200

•

Medicine Hat Comfort Inn & Suites Medicine Hat/403‑504‑1700

1

40

•

Connaught Golf Course/403‑526‑0737

1

180

Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre/403‑502‑8787

6

240

•

Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Medicine Hat/ 403‑548‑7818

2

138

125

•

•

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Medicine Hat/ 403‑504‑5151

3

100

93

•

•

Medalta - Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District/403‑529‑1070

2 200

Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede/403‑527‑1234

9

2,508

Medicine Hat Lodge Resort/403‑502‑8190

9

500

Southside Events Centre/403‑528‑9997

2

Travelodge Hotel Medicine Hat /403‑527‑2275

1

•

100

222

•

•

•

•

360

•

•

160

•

•

90

• •

Pincher Creek Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre/ 403‑627‑5000

2

190

Lebel Mansion/403‑627‑5272

1

32

Pincher Creek Golf Club/403‑627‑2126

2

100

Ramada Pincher Creek/403‑627‑3777

1

80

Rosebud Rosebud Centre of the Arts/403‑677‑3000

3

200

Strathmore Days Inn & Suites Strathmore/403‑934‑1134

1

60

102

•

•

Travelodge Strathmore/403‑901‑0000

3

350

121

•

•

77

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

78 •

•

•

Num

Num

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f me etin g ro o L arg ms est m ro o m e et i capa ng cit y (p er Num sons b er o ) f sle epin g ro o Res t ms aura nt on p rem Walk is e s to sh ops / re s t Pool aura /s p a nts /g y m Air p or t s hut t le

| 23

•

4

275

74

•

•

1 13 3

45 151 • 720 • 150 68 •

• • •

7

500

153

•

•

6

180

134

•

•

2

248

4 2 11 2

160 133 • 100 2,000 • • 225 •

•

7

800

145

•

•

•

•

6 2 2

400 120 350

102 • 137 • 124

• • •

• • •

•

4

500

92

•

•

3 2

150 32 • 120 •

5

580

1

20

98

2

180

90

•

5

250

131

•

Northern Alberta Fort McMurray Best Western Plus Sawridge Suites/780‑799‑4552 MacDonald Island Park/780‑791‑0070 Merit Hotel & Suites/780‑714‑9444 Quality Hotel & Conference Centre Fort McMurray/ 780‑713‑3340 Radisson Hotel & Suites Fort McMurray/ 780‑743‑2400 Grande Prairie Bear Creek Golf Club/780‑538‑3393 Best Western Grande Prairie Hotel & Suites/ 780‑402‑2378 Centre 2000 Tourism & Trade/780‑513‑0240 Evergreen Park/780‑357‑2849 Grande Prairie Curling Club/780‑532‑7221 Holiday Inn & Suites Grande Prairie - Conference Centre/780‑357‑2624 Paradise Inn & Conference Centre Grande Prairie Airport/780‑539‑6000 Sandman Hotel Grande Prairie/780‑513‑5555 Stonebridge Hotel Grande Prairie/780‑539‑5561 High Level Best Western Plus Mirage Hotel & Resort/ 780‑821‑1000 Executive House Suites Hotel & Conference Centre/ 780‑926‑3311 Quality Inn & Suites/780‑926‑4222 Peace River Belle Petroleum Centre/780‑624‑8318 Best Western Plus Peace River Hotel & Suites/ 780‑617‑7600 Peace Valley Inns Hotel and Conference Centre/ 780-624-2020 Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre Peace River/ 780‑624‑3621

•

•

•

•

Professional associations for meeting and event planners Professional associations provide a means of pooling resources and giving a unified voice to working professionals who share common interests. They may represent broad national and international interests or cover specialty niches within the event-planning industry. In addition to providing forums for like-minded meeting and event-planning professionals, associations offer a wealth of resources, including newsletters, magazines and other reference materials.

Association of Destination Management Executives adme.org Canadian Association of Exposition Management aem.ca Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) canadianspeakers.org Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners canspep.ca Canadian University and College Conference Organizers Association cuccoa.org Center for Exhibition Industry Research ceir.org Connected International Meeting Professionals Association cimpa.org Convention Centres Canada conventioncentrescanada.com Corporate Event Marketing Association cemaonline.com Destination Marketing Association of the West dmawest.org Destinations International destinationsinternational.org Event Service Professionals Association espaonline.org Events Industry Council eventscouncil.org

Exhibition Services & Contractors Association esca.org Experiential Designers and Producers Association edpa.com Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals ficpnet.com Global Business Travel Association - Canada gbta.org/canada Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association hcea.org Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International hsmai.org Incentive Marketing Association incentivemarketing.org International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) iacconline.org International Association of Convention Centres aipc.org International Association of Exhibitions and Events iaee.com International Association of Fairs and Expositions fairsandexpos.com International Association of Professional Congress Organisers iapco.org International Association of Speakers Bureaus iasbweb.org

• •

International Association of Venue Managers iavm.org International Congress and Convention Association iccaworld.org International Festivals & Events Association ifea.com International Hotel & Restaurant Association ih-ra.com International Live Events Association ileahub.com Meeting Professionals International mpiweb.org Meetings Mean Business (MMB) Canada meetingsmeanbusiness.ca National Association of Consumer Shows nacslive.com Professional Convention Management Association pcma.org Religious Conference Management Association rcmaweb.org Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) - Canada sitecanada.org Society of Independent Show Organizers siso.org The Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association (EACA) eaca.com

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24 |

MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Regional map of Alberta N.W.T .

CALGARY & AREA—25 Airdrie—27 Calgary—27 Cochrane — 28 High River—28 Okotoks—28

EDMONTON & AREA—29 Beaumont—32 Edmonton—32 Gibbons—33 Leduc—33 Nisku—33 Parkland—33 Sherwood Park—33 St Albert—33

High Level

Northern Alberta—P45

ALBERTA ROCKIES—34 Banff—37 Canmore—37 Hinton—37 Jasper—37 Kananaskis—37 Lake Louise—37

Fort McMurray

CENTRAL ALBERTA—38 Bonnyville—40 Camrose—40 Darwell—40 Fox Creek—40 Kitscoty—40 Lacombe—40 Lloydminster—40 Olds—40 Red Deer—41 Rocky Mountain House—41 Sundre—41 Sylvan Lake—41 Three Hills—41 Vermilion—41 Westlock—41 Wetaskiwin—41

SOUTHERN ALBERTA—42 Brooks—44 Drumheller—44 Lethbridge—44 Medicine Hat—44 Pincher Creek—44 Rosebud—44 Strathmore—44 Taber—44

Peace River

S AS K A T C H E W A N

High Prairie

Clairmont

Slave Lake Grande Prairie Lac La Biche Edmonton Cold Lake & area—P29

Athabasca Fox Creek

Bonnyville Westlock

Whitecourt

St. Paul Bruderheim Heinsburg Lamont Gibbons Darwell Fort Saskatchewan St. Albert Evansburg Edmonton Fallis Acheson Sherwood Park Spruce Grove Vermillion Kitscoty Stony Plain Enoch Beaumont Devon Nisku Lloydminster Drayton Valley Leduc Camrose Westerose Wetaskiwin New Norway Wainwright

Grande Cache Edson Hinton

Jasper

NORTHERN ALBERTA—45 Fort McMurray—47 Grande Prairie—47 High Level—47 Peace River—47

Central Alberta—P38

Rocky Mountain House

Rimbey Sylvan Lake

Sundre Lake Louise

Provost

Stettler

Innisfail

Nordegg

Alberta Rockies—P34

Lacombe Blackfalds Red Deer

Olds

Three Hills

Carstairs

Drumheller

Airdrie Rosebud Banff Morley Cochrane Strathmore Canmore Dead Man’s Flats Kananaskis Calgary Rocky View Langdon Bragg Creek De Winton Priddis Patricia Okotoks Turner Valley Brooks High River

Southern Alberta—P42

Calgary & area—P25

Parkland Claresholm

BRITISH C OL U MB I A

Medicine Hat Picture Butte

Fort Macleod Coleman

Taber

Bow Island

Lethbridge

Pincher Creek

Waterton Park

WASHINGTON

00_MPAB 2018_1.indd 24

I DAH O

MONT ANA

2017-10-11 10:19 AM

| 25

Calgary & area

CAN-DO CALGARY

Young, strong and creative, Alberta’s biggest city offers an energetic conference environment

ANDREA COX

C

algary’s dynamic can-do entrepreneurial spirit, big-city energy, hopping culinary scene and energetic vibrancy make it a destination like no other.

Here you can eat, drink, shop, visit galleries, take in public art installations, enjoy a ballet performance or stroll the RiverWalk, a two-kilometre stretch of paved walkway along the Bow River backdropped by the city’s iconic downtown skyline.

“Calgary is a young city – it is just coming into itself and it is growing up. You can see that energy manifest in many ways, through the architecture and the art and through local innovation,” says Susan Veres, vicepresident of strategy and business development for the Calgary Municipal Land Corp. (CMLC), the visionary developer behind Calgary’s East Village.

Calgary is Alberta’s biggest city, and despite the economic downtown linked to lower oil prices, people keep coming – it’s population crested 1.4 million in 2017. In 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Livability Report ranked it as the fifth most livable city in the world – a spot it shares with the Australian city of Adelaide – out of 140 global contenders.

But Calgary is more than a great place to live; it is also a great place to meet and do business. Of the six major Canadian cities, Calgary has the second-highest number of small-business and head offices per capita, just behind Toronto.

“There is so much local innovation through the university and elsewhere with respect to non-oil and gas related companies. Calgary has figured out that it can’t be just a one-trick pony; it needs to diversify,” says Veres.

With initiatives like Beakerhead – a fall festival where engineering and art collide – a booming film industry, medical, engineering and technological innovations and cottage industries like local food and craft breweries, the city is accelerating with forward motion.

Calgary’s east end is an excellent example. It’s an area charged with arts and culture, outdoor beauty, public art, funky coffee shops, stellar restaurants and walkable access to Calgary’s financial and business district in the downtown core. Spearheaded by CMLC, the transformation of the East Village includes restoration of historical buildings and the natural surroundings, including St. Patrick’s Island, a destination natural preserve with mature trees, waterways and pathways, activating the river area with bike and walking paths, and generous public art installations and cool programming like a

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Wild creations from the collision of art and engineering make Beakerhead a must-visit venue in Calgary | DAVID KOTSIBIE The ultra-modern, 11-storey Alt Hotel by Germain Hotels will offer Bow River views and contemporary, ecofriendly meeting venues when it opens its doors this spring | SUBMITTED

seasonal pop-up market and opera in the park.

Imagined as a mixed-use, amenity-rich masterplanned neighbourhood in the downtown core, East Village will be home to more than 11,000 residents upon completion within a decade.

“What was 50 acres of vacant land is now 50 acres coming alive. It’s been wildly successful,” says Veres.

“One of the things that we wanted to be is a destination for visitors coming to Calgary.”

Certainly staying in style in the East Village is already easy – a new 320-room, 14-storey Hilton hotel recently

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Calgary & area

The architecturally stunning new Calgary Central Public Library opens this fall with venues for intelligent meeting spaces | SUBMITTED

opened, offering a rooftop terrace and a convenient location just steps from the action on 7th Avenue and 4th Street SE. And one block over on 6th Avenue and Confluence Way SE, the ultra-modern, 11-storey Alt Hotel

by Germain Hotels will offer lovely views of the Bow River, modern design and eco-friendly, chic meeting venues when it deftly open its doors in the spring of 2018.

And with the architecturally stunning new Central Public Library opening in the fall of 2018, another venue for great meeting spaces will emerge, joining the nearby National Music Centre and Fort Calgary amenity spaces.

And immediately south of the East Village, plans are in the works to refresh the Calgary Stampede entertainment district with residential densification, exciting shopping, expanded conference facilities and maybe, just maybe, a new sports arena. É

HISTORIC EVENTS HAPPEN HERE Let Heritage Park be your picturesque backdrop for entertaining 12 to 3,000 guests. Our diverse and distinctive venues offer the perfect setting for any event, year round.

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2017-10-11 10:19 AM

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Calgary & area

Airdrie Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Nose Creek Valley Museum 1701 Main St SW, Airdrie T4B 1C5 Laurie Harvey ................................ p: 403-948-6685 e: ncvm@telus.net nosecreekvalleymuseum.com

Calgary Airlines Jazz Aviation Charters 8050 22 St NE, Calgary T2E 7H6 Reuben Anderson ......................... p: 403-974-2345 flyjazz.ca Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres MPI - Greater Calgary Chapter Box 61203 Kensington RPO, Calgary T2N 3P9 .................................................................... e: info@mpi-gcc.org mpi-gcc.org Banquet Facilities Bank and Baron Pub, The 125 8 Ave SW, Calgary T2P 1B4 Tigist Sleeman .............................. p: 587-293-9688 e: info@bankandbaronpub.com bankandbaronpub.com Century Casino Calgary 1010 42 Ave SE, Calgary T2G 1Z4 .............. p: 403-287-1183 f: 403-243-3166 e: info.calgary@cnty.com calgary.cnty.com

Hy’s Steakhouse 751 3 St SW, Calgary T2P 4K8............... p: 403-663-3363 f: 403-663-5963 e: calgary@hyssteakhouse.com hyssteakhouse.com/calgary Bus Services MC Limousine Chauffeured Transportation Calgary Cory Goodman ................. p: 403-269-5466 f: 403-601-6358 e: info@mclimo.com mclimo.com Caterers Distinctive Catering 2828 18 St NE Suite 1, Calgary T2E 7B1 Angela Menjivar ........................... p: 403-256-4380 e: info@distinctivecatering.ca distinctivecatering.ca Conference Organizers/Planners/ Trade Show Consultants POP Kollaborative Inc 237 8 Ave SE Suite 250, Calgary T2G 5C3 Kenneth Kristoffersen....................p: 403-264-9801 e: info@pophasemail.com pophasawebsite.com Destination Management/Marketing Meetings + Conventions Calgary 120 9 Ave SE, Calgary T2G 0P3 ......................................... p: 403-261-8500 e: info@meetingscalgary.com meetingscalgary.com

CO R P O R AT E WHERE PATHS CROSS

BBW International Inc Calgary ..........................................p: 866-984-0352 e: sales@bbwinternational.com bbwinternational.com Local Calgary and Edmonton event staff for conference registration, cashiers, booth hostesses and experiential marketing brand ambassadors.

Event Planners ConnLinn Meetings & Events Management 19 Coachway Green SW, Calgary T3H 1V9 Cynthia Lamont ............................. p: 403-606-5503 e: connlinn@gmail.com e=mc2 events 1207 11 Ave SW Suite 620, Calgary T2C 0M5 Jocelyn Flanagan .......................... p: 403-770-1383 e: jocelyn@emc2events.com emc2events.com

R E T R E AT S

AT

Event Group, The 2424 4 St SW Suite 900, Calgary T2S 2T4 David Howard .... p: 403-543-1509 f: 403-543-1516 e: dave@eventgroup.ca eventgroup.ca Simply Elegant 3600 19 St NE Unit 7, Calgary T2E 6V2 Sharon Barwick.. p: 403-242-0598 f: 403-291-0568 e: contact@secorp.ca simplyelegantcorp.com Unique Parties Calgary ...............p: 403-259-3383 f: 403-252-8347 e: uniqueparties@shaw.ca uniqueparties.ca Hotels and Motels Acclaim Hotel Calgary Airport 123 Freeport Blvd NE, Calgary T3N 0A3.............. p: 403-291-8000 f: 403-532-9400 e: catering@acclaimhotel.ca acclaimhotel.ca Best Western Plus Port O’ Call Hotel 1935 McKnight Blvd NE, Calgary T2E 6V4 Lisa Marthaller ...p: 403-291-4600 f: 403-250-6827 e: info@bwportocallhotel.com bwportocallhotel.com Best Western Premier Freeport Inn & Suites 86 Freeport Blvd NE, Calgary T3J 5J9 Bonnie Chang......p: 403-264-9650 f: 403-264-9651 e: info@bestwesterncalgary.com bestwesterncalgary.com Best Western Village Park Inn 1804 Crowchild Trail NW, Calgary T2M 3Y7 ..............p: 403-289-0241 f: 403-289-4645 e: catering@villageparkinn.com villageparkinn.com

T H E

C R O S S I N G

GR EAT THINK ING HAPPENS IN GR EAT SPACES

Just an hour from downtown Calgary, The Crossing at Ghost River has the natural, inspirational spaces your team needs to really connect and engage.

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Display Designers & Builders Nexus Exhibits Ltd 2424 2 Ave SE, Calgary T2E 6J9 Milena Radakovic ...................... p: 403-262-8030 f: 403-266-3414 e: marketing@nexusexhibits.com nexusexhibits.com Employment Agencies/Event Staffing

Call our event planners and book your customized corporate retreat today.

(403) 932-3392 | 62129 Hwy 40, Cochrane, AB crossingexperience.ca/corporate

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Calgary & area

Coast Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre 1316 33 St NE, Calgary T2A 6B6 .............. p: 403-248-8888 f: 403-248-0749 e: info@calgaryplaza.com calgaryplaza.com Courtyard Calgary Airport 2500 48 Ave, Calgary T3J 4V8................p: 403-238-1000 f: 403-238-1077 courtyardcalgaryairport.com Deerfoot Inn & Casino 11500 35 St SE Suite 1000, Calgary T2Z 3W4 Michael Seguin...p: 403-723-4025 f: 403-252-4767 e: mseguin@dfic.ca deerfootinn.com Delta Calgary South 135 Southland Dr SE, Calgary T2J 5X5............... p: 403-225-8631 f: 403-225-5813 marriott.com/hotels/travel/yycdc-delta-hotelscalgary-south Delta Hotel Calgary Downtown 209 4 Ave SE, Calgary T2G 0C6 .............. p: 403-205-5490 f: 403-205-5460 marriott.com/hotels/travel/yycbv-delta-hotelscalgary-downtown Delta Hotels Calgary Airport-in-Terminal 2001 Airport Rd NE, Calgary T2E 6Z8 Lisa Kiehl ............p: 403-250-6031 f: 403-250-8722 e: dca.sales.sm@deltahotels.com marriott.com/hotels/travel/yycca-delta-calgaryairport Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Calgary University 2231 Banff Trail NW, Calgary T2M 4L2 Rupesh Mulakkal p: 403-289-9800 f: 403-289-9200 e: sales@hamptoncalgarynw.com hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/alberta/ hampton-inn-and-suites-by-hilton-calgaryuniversity-northwest-YYCHSHX/index.html Hotel Arts 119 12 Ave SW, Calgary T2R 0G8 Fraser Abbott ..... p: 403-266-4611 f: 403-237-0978 e: events@hotelarts.ca hotelarts.ca Hotel Blackfoot 5940 Blackfoot Trail SE, Calgary T2H 2B5 Jennifer Johnston ......................... p: 403-252-2253 f: 403-252-3574 e: sales@hotelblackfoot.com hotelblackfoot.com Hyatt Regency Calgary 700 Centre St SE, Calgary T2G 5P6 ..............p: 403-717-1234 f: 403-537-4487 e: salescalrc@hyatt.com calgary.regency.hyatt.com Kensington Riverside Inn 1126 Memorial Dr NW, Calgary T2N 3E3 Fraser Abbott ..... p: 403-228-4442 f: 403-228-9608 e: info@kensingtonriversideinn.com kensingtonriversideinn.com Ramada Plaza Calgary Downtown 708 8 Ave SW, Calgary T2P 1H2 Kayla Anderson...p: 403-218-3030 f: 403-237-6127 e: cateringmgr@ramadacalgary.com ramadacalgary.com Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Hotel 2620 32 Ave NE, Calgary T1Y 6B8 Grant Erickson.... p: 403-250-6300 f: 403-250-6349 e: sales@sheratoncalgary.ca sheratoncavaliercalgary.com Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire 255 Barclay Parade SW, Calgary T2P 5C2............... p: 403-517-6612 f: 403-266-1300 e: eau.salesleads@sheratonsuites.com sheratonsuites.com Westin Calgary 320 4 Ave SW, Calgary T2P 2S6 Andrea Fernando p: 403-508-5206 f: 403-265-7908 e: andrea.fernando@westin.com westincalgary.com

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Meeting Planners Capitol Conferences Inc PO Box 75008 Cambrian, Calgary T2K 6J8 Amanda Barber ............................. p: 403-210-0596 e: capitol@shaw.ca capitolconferences.com Impact Events Ltd 2033 46 Ave SW, Calgary T2T 2S1 Laurel Deplaedt . p: 403-243-3220 f: 403-243-3273 e: laureld@impacteventsltd.ca Photography - Event/Videography Accent Photography 1842 31 Ave SW, Calgary T2T 1S7 Lawrence De Pape ........................ p: 403-271-4120 e: lawrencedepape@gmail.com calgaryphotographer.com Regional Convention Spaces Calgary Telus Convention Centre 120 9 Ave SE, Calgary T2G OP3 .............. p: 403-261-8500 f: 403-261-8510 e: sales@calgary-convention.com calgary-convention.com Carriage House Inn 9030 Macleod Trail S, Calgary T2H 0M4 Brenda A Davidson ....................... p: 800-661-9566 f: 403-640-7526 e: sales@carriagehouse.net carriagehouse.net Restaurants Charbar 618 Confluence Way SE, Calgary T2G 0G1 ......................................... p: 403-452-3115 e: events@charbar.ca charbar.ca Palomino Smokehouse & Social Club 109 7 Ave SW, Calgary T2S 0A1 ...............p: 403-532-1911 f: 403-234-7195 e: info@thepalomino.ca thepalomino.ca Speakers/Facilitators Ballyhoo Concepts Inc 159 Woodfield Rd SW, Calgary T2W 5K5 Andrea Davis.......p: 403-281-0140 f: 403-281-0102 e: speakerandreadavis@ballyhooconcepts.com ballyhooconcepts.com Taxi/Limo Airport Shuttle Express - Calgary 2359 78 Ave NE, Calgary T2E 7L2 Kristin Laverty ............................... p: 403-475-5555 e: info@ampmlimo.ca airportshuttleexpress.com Carey Elite Limousine Service Ltd 4080 23 St NE Suite 203, Calgary T2E 6W9 ..............p: 403-291-2566 f: 403-250-3725 e: info@careylimo.com careylimo.com Delta Cab Ltd 4655 54 Ave NE Suite 304, Calgary T3J 3Z4 ............... p: 403-278-9999 f: 403-293-7249 e: info@deltacab.ca deltacab.ca Tourist Attractions - Major Calgary Zoo 1300 Zoo Rd NE, Calgary T2E 7V6................p: 403-232-7770 f: 403-232-7582 e: salesinfo@calgaryzoo.com calgaryzoo.com Universities and Colleges Mount Royal University Event and Theatre Services 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW, Calgary T3E 6K6 Andrea Hennel ... p: 403-440-8890 f: 403-440-5650 e: mrevents@mtroyal.ca mtroyal.ca/mrevents Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Arts Commons 205 8 Ave SE, Calgary T2G 0K9 Amy Lin ...............p: 403-294-7455 f: 403-294-7457 e: booking@artscommons.ca artscommons.ca

Glenmore Inn & Convention Centre, The 2720 Glenmore Trail SE, Calgary T2C 2E6 Rick Dickison.......p: 403-279-8611 f: 403-236-8035 e: reservations@glenmoreinn.com glenmoreinn.com Green Bean Restaurant & Catering 550 6 Ave SW Suite 102, Calgary T2P 0S2 Jackie Tyler ........ p: 403-232-1122 f: 403-266-3719 e: orders@greenbeancatering.com greenbeancatering.com

Heritage Park Historical Village 1900 Heritage Dr SW, Calgary T2V 2X3 Julie Copland-Stene...................... p: 403-268-8500 f: 403-268-8501 e: jcopland-stene@heritagepark.ab.ca heritagepark.ca Kahanoff Conference Centre 105 12 Ave SE Suite 200, Calgary T2G 1A1 Shea Rankin ........p: 403-262-1224 f: 403-263-7101 e: meetings@tkcca.org kahanoffconference.com Scotiabank Saddledome 555 Saddledome Rise SE, Calgary T2G 2W1 Julie Mirdoch ......p: 403-777-3687 f: 403-777-2171 e: saddledome@calgaryflames.com scotiabanksaddledome.com WinSport 88 Canada Olympic Rd SW, Calgary T3B 5R5 ......................................... p: 403-202-6578 e: jmccandie@winsport.ca winsport.ca Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Calgary Stampede 1410 Olympic Way SE, Calgary T2G 2W1 Greg Newton ......p: 403-261-0282 f: 403-261-0421 e: gnewton@calgarystampede.com www.calgarystampede.com/venues Fort Calgary 750 9 Ave SE, Calgary T2P 2M5 ............. p: 403-290-1875 f: 403-265-6534 e: info@fortcalgary.com fortcalgary.com Glenbow Museum 130 9 Ave SE, Calgary T2G 0P3 Devon LeClair..... p: 403-268-4132 f: 403-265-9769 e: dleclair@glenbow.org glenbow.org

Cochrane Entertainment Services NRG Music Productions Cochrane Ken Nielsen .................................. p: 403-760-1930 e: info@nrgmusicproductions.com nrgmusicproductions.com Resorts/Retreats

Crossing at Ghost River, The PO Box 879 Stn Main, Cochrane T4C 1A9 Jori Guetg............p: 403-932-3392 f: 403-932-2582 e: info@crossingexperience.ca crossingexperience.ca Speakers/Facilitators Kevin Burns - Safety Speaker/Mgmt Consultant Box 1734 Stn Main, Cochrane T4C 1B6 Kevin Burns ................................... p: 403-770-2928 e: kevin@kevburns.com kevburns.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Crossing at Ghost River, The PO Box 879 Stn Main, Cochrane T4C 1A9 Jori Guetg............p: 403-932-3392 f: 403-932-2582 e: info@crossingexperience.ca crossingexperience.ca

High River Hotels and Motels Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre 1104 11 Ave SE, High River T1V 1M4 Rick Bart..............p: 403-652-3834 f: 403-652-4432 e: catering.highriver@heritageinn.net heritageinn.net/locations/high-river-ab

Okotoks Golf Courses & Country Clubs D’Arcy Ranch Golf Club PO Box 279, Okotoks T1S 1A5 Barb Binkley ........p: 403-938-5522 f: 403-938-6352 e: bbinkley@darcyranchgolf.com darcyranchgolf.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Lynnwood Ranch Event Venue Box 328 Stn Main, Okotoks T1S 1A6 Wendy Keller LeDuc ..................... p: 403-938-2203 e: info@lynnwoodranch.com lynnwoodranch.com

Heritage Park Historical Village 1900 Heritage Dr SW, Calgary T2V 2X3 Julie Copland-Stene...................... p: 403-268-8500 f: 403-268-8501 e: jcopland-stene@heritagepark.ab.ca heritagepark.ca

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Edmonton & area

CAPITAL IDEAS Edmonton is buzzing this year with Grey Cup fever and the opening of the new Royal Alberta Museum

ROB ALEXANDER

The JW Marriott Edmonton opens late this year as Edmonton’s first luxury hotel in the downtown ICE District. The 54-storey hotel will feature 356 rooms and suites and more than 25,000 square feet of state-of-theart meeting and conference space and a 10,000-squarefoot ballroom | SUBMITTED

W

ith its progressive attitude, a wide range of four-season activities and an impressive list of venues, Alberta’s capital city, along with its surrounding area, has much to offer meeting, conference and convention organizers and their guests.

Edmonton Tourism lists over 87 attractions that provide opportunities ranging from the serene to the exciting and the weird to the wonderful. Some of these include cross-country skiing along the North Saskatchewan River, hiking with bison at Elk Island National Park, taking in a food or art tour, watching or participating in sporting events and activities and even axe throwing and ghost tours of Old Strathcona, Edmonton’s historical district.

At the top of the list for 2018 has to be the 2018 Canadian Football League Grey Cup and the reopening of the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) in its new location in Edmonton’s arts district. At 419,000 square feet (double its current size), the RAM will be the largest museum in Western Canada and is destined to become an outstanding Alberta attraction.

Along with its many attractions, Edmonton also loves festivals, which are on offer throughout the year celebrating music, food and drink, history, dance, sports, theatre, books and writing, and art. While many take place in summer, enough festivals are spread across all seasons, with Edmonton’s famous winter festival as the notable highlight.

The Ice on Whyte festival, which is held in late January and early February, offers ice carving, ice slides and a magical ice maze lit at night by the glow of thousands of coloured lights.

While having a selection of great activities can make or break an event, getting down to business is equally important, and that is where Edmonton’s diverse and numerous venues shine.

Event space is available at many of Edmonton’s attractions, including the Telus World of Science and the Muttart Conservatory, at numerous stand-alone venues such as Situation Brewing Co. and Urban Timber, or at the larger dedicated-event venues Rogers Arena and the ICE District, West Edmonton Mall and the remarkable

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Alberta’s capital is known for its year-round music and arts festivals from the summer concert series to the winter Ice on Whyte festival that transforms a downtown avenue into a magical ice maze | ANTHONY REDPATH / TRAVEL ALBERTA

Shaw Conference Centre.

Accommodation is also one of Edmonton’s strengths with an extensive collection of hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts available that can meet any need or expectation.

The Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Edmonton South, for example, offers everything necessary for

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Edmonton & area

Interior rendering shows the entrance to the Royal Alberta Museum. Not open as of press time, it will welcome the public in 2018.

For details on the opening and facility rentals, visit www.royalalbertamuseum.ca

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a smooth meeting only 20 minutes from the airport.

Groups of up to 200 can be accommodated in the 136 petfriendly guest rooms and 9,000 square feet of meeting space extending over eight rooms.

Also, Edmonton will see the JW Marriott, the first luxury hotel to be built in the ICE District, open in late 2018 with 356 rooms and suites, expansive meeting and conference rooms and a 10,000-square-foot ballroom.

Host IT Here

Farther afield beyond Edmonton, Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm can host groups of from 120 to 500 seated or up to 5,000 in a festival-style atmosphere, in a Klondike-style ghost town 30 minutes north of Edmonton in Bon Accord, Canada’s first International Dark-Sky Community.

The St. Albert Inn & Suites, minutes from many of Edmonton’s major attractions but located in the city of St. Albert northwest of Edmonton, offers accommodation and conference facilities for groups of from 10 to 400 people. St. Albert sits along the banks of the Sturgeon River and is home to the Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival and the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park, an open-air museum featuring two reconstructed grain elevators.

The 170,000-square-foot Dow Centennial Centre in Fort Saskatchewan includes both sports and cultural facilities, along with a 538-seat theatre and meeting space for up to 350 people or groups as small as eight.

Fort Saskatchewan also has historically themed locations available for small meetings in the North West Mounted Police Fort at the Fort Saskatchewan Museum & Historic Site and two boardrooms in the Canadian National Railway station, built in 1905. This city of roughly 25,000 northeast of Edmonton can also offer more traditional venues such as the Hampton Inn by Hilton Fort Saskatchewan, which has 660 square feet of meeting space. É

WHETHER YOU’RE HOLDING AN INTIMATE PRIVATE EVENT OR A LARGE CONFERENCE, HOST IT AT FORT EDMONTON PARK FOR THE GREATEST TIME IN HISTORY! • 10 unique venues ranging from 700 to 9,000 sq. ft. including an Airfield Hangar and 4-D theatre • Numerous outdoor spaces including a trading fort and midway

• Full service boutique hotel • Historically-themed entertainment or transportation options • Award-winning culinary team

For more information or to book your next event, contact sales@fortedmontonpark.ca

FortEdmontonPark.ca

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2017-10-12 12:36 PM

See Edmonton through our eyes!

Edmonton’s Premier Meeting and Event Destination With over 150,000 square feet of space and North America’s largest back yard, the iconic Shaw Conference Centre is ready to host your next event. From hosting the world’s top conventions to the best in entertainment, meetings, banquets and galas, there’s nothing that can’t happen here.

Our beautiful spaces of any size combine with Canada’s top chefs and a staff that’s dedicated to your every need — all to create unparallelled experiences.

Contact us today and start working with our team of event experts to make your vision a reality.

780.969.0409 sccsales@edmonton.com ShawConferenceCentre.com

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Destination Management/Marketing

Beaumont Team Building Powerful Play Experiences, Creating Engaged Teams 4103 46 St, Beaumont T4X 1G1 Robert Manolson .......................... p: 780-929-5949 e: robert@powerfulplay.ca powerfulplay.ca

Edmonton Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres

Edmonton Tourism 9990 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton T5J 1P7 Terri Nielsen...................................p: 780-901-8957 e: tnielsen@exploreedmonton.com exploreedmonton.com/meetings MPI - Greater Edmonton Chapter 11007 Jasper Ave NW Unit 93, Edmonton T5K 0L5 Arlene Schilke ............................... p: 780-444-3773 e: mpiedmonton@gmail.com mpiedmonton.org Audiovisual Services Event Technology Solutions 18112 105 Ave Suite 101, Edmonton T5S 2T4 Brent Taylor................................... p: 780-444-6776 e: av@eventtech.ca eventtech.ca Banquet Facilities Meridian Banquet and Conference Centre 4820 76 Ave, Edmonton T6B 0A3 Rocky Dhanju ..... p: 780-993-3107 f: 780-468-7139 e: info@meridianbanquets.ca meridianbanquets.ca Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre 4520 76 Ave NW, Edmonton T6B 0A5 ...............p: 780-468-5400 f: 780-466-0451 e: catering@hiccedmonton.com radisson.com

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Shaw Conference Centre 9797 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton T5J 1N9 ......................................... p: 780-969-0409 e: sccsales@edmonton.com shawconferencecentre.com Union Bank Inn 10053 Jasper Ave, Edmonton T5J 1S5 .............. p: 780-401-2214 f: 780-401-2213 e: sales@unionbankinn.com unionbankinn.com Bus Services Sky Shuttle 10135 31 Ave, Edmonton T6N 1C2 Marjorie Julseth p: 780-465-8515 f: 780-439-2840 edmontonskyshuttle.com Caterers Fort Edmonton Park Edmonton ....................................edmontonpark.ca Zinc Catering at the Art Gallery of Alberta 2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq, Edmonton T5J 2C1 Elisa De Fazio......p: 780-392-2505 f: 780-392-2485 e: elisa.defazio@compass-canada.com zincrestaurant.ca Conference Organizers/Planners/Trade Show Consultants Buksa Strategic Conference Services 10328 81 Ave NW Suite 307, Edmonton T6E 1X2 Jewel Buksa ....... p: 780-436-0983 f: 780-437-5984 e: info@buksa.com buksa.com Timewise Event Management Inc 18112 105 Ave NW Suite 101, Edmonton T5S 2T4 Arlene Schilke ............................... p: 780-444-3773 e: info@timewise.biz timewise.biz

Edmonton Tourism 9990 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton T5J 1P7 Terri Nielsen...................................p: 780-901-8957 e: tnielsen@exploreedmonton.com exploreedmonton.com/meetings Entertainment Services Advanced DJ Services 4204 40 Ave, Edmonton T6L 5T4 Tarcy Schindelka ........................... p: 780-235-3866 e: booking@advanceddj.ca advanceddj.ca Equipment and Supply Rentals River City Events 10560 107 St NW, Edmonton T5H 2Y6 .............. p: 780-424-6001 f: 780-416-6043 rivercityevents.ca Event Planners ComLinks Events & Marketing 10924 107 Ave Suite 300, Edmonton T5H 0X5 Lisa Pasin ........... p: 780-448-5917 f: 780-428-1030 e: info@comlinks.ca comlinks.ca Hotels and Motels Best Western Cedar Park Inn 5116 Gateway Blvd, Edmonton T6H 2H4 .............. p: 780-434-7411 f: 780-437-4836 e: sales@cedarparkinn.com bestwestern.com Best Western Plus Westwood Inn 18035 Stony Plain Rd, Edmonton T5S 1B2 .............. p: 780-483-7770 f: 780-486-1769 e: sales@bestwesternwestwood.com bestwestern.com Chateau Lacombe Hotel 10111 Bellamy Hill NW, Edmonton T5J 1N7 .............. p: 780-428-6611 f: 780-425-6564 e: cledmcatering@chateaulacombe.com chateaulacombe.com Courtyard by Marriott Edmonton West 10011 184 St NW, Edmonton T5S 1B6 Kyle Chrumka ..... p: 780-638-6070 f: 780-638-6299 e: kyle.chrumka@pltinv.com marriott.com/yegew Four Points by Sheraton Edmonton South 7230 Argyll Rd, Edmonton T6C 4A6 ...............p: 780-465-7931 f: 780-485-0611 e: info@fourpointseds.com fourpointsedmontonsouth.com

Holiday Inn Express Edmonton Downtown 10010 104 St NW, Edmonton T5J 0Z1 Melissa Del Rosario ..................... p: 780-701-3314 f: 780-425-1783 e: sales@hiexedmonton.com hiexdowntown.com Hyatt Place Edmonton Downtown 9576 Jasper Ave, Edmonton T5H 4H7 .............. p: 587-525-1234 f: 587-525-6464 e: yegze-rfp@hyatt.com edmontondowntown.place.hyatt.com Metterra Hotel on Whyte 10454 82 Ave, Edmonton T6E 4Z7 Rishi Raghuwanshi ........................p: 780-431-5302 f: 780-431-5336 e: rraghuwanshi@hotelsonwhyte.com metterra.com Quality Inn West Edmonton 17803 Stony Plain Rd, Edmonton T5S 1B4 Vivian Basaraba . p: 780-484-8000 f: 780-486-6060 e: sales.qie@royalhotelgroup.ca qualityinnwestedmonton.com Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel 4236 36 St E, Edmonton T9E 0V4................p: 780-488-7159 f: 780-488-6372 e: rhi.yegbr.sales@marriott.com marriott.com/hotels/travel/yegbr-renaissanceedmonton-airport-hotel Sandman Signature Hotel & Suites Edmonton South 10111 Ellerslie Rd SW, Edmonton T6X 0J3 Heidi-Ann Butler p: 780-430-7263 f: 780-463-7236 e: sales_edmsouth@sandman.ca sandmansignature.com Sutton Place Hotel Edmonton 10235 101 St, Edmonton T5J 3E9 ............... p: 780-428-7111 f: 780-441-3099 e: sales_edmonton@suttonplace.com suttonplace.com

Union Bank Inn 10053 Jasper Ave, Edmonton T5J 1S5 .............. p: 780-401-2214 f: 780-401-2213 e: sales@unionbankinn.com unionbankinn.com Westin Edmonton, The 10135 100 St, Edmonton T5J 0N7 ..............p: 780-426-3636 f: 780-424-1525 e: sales@thewestinedmonton.com thewestinedmonton.com

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Edmonton & area

Meeting Planners MS Productions Inc 13103 124 St NW, Edmonton T5L 0P9 Milena Santoro ............................. p: 780-999-5799 e: milena@milenasantoro.com milenasantoro.com Production Companies/Live/Staging Allstar Show Industries Inc 10331 176 St, Edmonton T5S 2E4 Rodger Boyce ..... p: 780-486-4000 f: 780-414-5724 e: info@allstar-show.com allstar-show.com Regional Convention Spaces

Shaw Conference Centre 9797 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton T5J 1N9 ......................................... p: 780-969-0409 e: sccsales@edmonton.com shawconferencecentre.com Tourist Attractions - Major West Edmonton Mall 8882 170 St Suite 1755, Edmonton T5T 4M2 Shannon McEwen......................... p: 780-444-5205 f: 780-444-5331 e: groups@wem.ca wem.ca Universities and Colleges Timms Centre for the Arts 3-146 Fine Arts Building University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2C9 David Prestley .... p: 780-492-2273 f: 780-492-9156 e: david.prestley@ualberta.ca timmscentre.ca Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities

Parkland Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Devonian Botanic Garden 51227 Hwy 60, Parkland T7Y 1C5 ...............p: 780-987-3054 f: 780-987-4141 e: dbg.info@ualberta.ca devonian.ualberta.ca

Sherwood Park Shaw Conference Centre 9797 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton T5J 1N9 ......................................... p: 780-969-0409 e: sccsales@edmonton.com shawconferencecentre.com Telus World of Science - Edmonton 11211 142 St NW, Edmonton T5M 4A1 ..............p: 780-451-3344 f: 780-455-5882 e: bookings@twose.ca telusworldofscienceedmonton.ca Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor

Fort Edmonton Park Edmonton ....................................edmontonpark.ca Polish Veterans Hall and Country Lodge 9203 144 Ave NW, Edmonton T5E 2H7 Elizabeth Olfert ...p: 780-475-9366 f: 780-473-8251 e: manager.pvs@shaw.ca countrylodge.ca

Hotels and Motels Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sherwood Park 11 Portage Ln, Sherwood Park T8H 2R7 .............. p: 780-417-3388 f: 780-417-3183 e: janice@hiesherwoodpark.ca hiesherwoodpark.ca Park Centre & Hotel 2016 Sherwood Dr, Sherwood Park T8A 3X3 ...............p: 780-467-1234 f: 780-467-3907 e: info@parkcentrehotel.com parkcentrehotel.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Millennium Place 2000 Premier Way, Sherwood Park T8H 2G4 Sharon Tomaszeski ....................... p: 780-464-8244 f: 780-416-7200 e: millenniumplace@strathcona.ca strathcona.ca Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Strathcona Wilderness Centre 2001 Sherwood Dr, Sherwood Park T8A 0W7 Bjorn Taylor .........p: 780-922-3939 f: 780-922-6415 e: swcinfo@strathcona.ca strathcona.ca/wildernesscentre

St Albert Associations/Chambers of Commerce/Tourist Info Centres St Albert & District Chamber of Commerce 71 St Albert Trail, St Albert T8N 6L5 ...............p: 780-458-2833 f: 780-458-6515 e: events@stalbertchamber.com stalbertchamber.com Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus The Inn at St Albert 460 St Albert Trail, St Albert T8N 5J9 .............. p: 780-470-3800 f: 780-470-0038 e: gm@bestwesternstalbert.com bestwestern.com St Albert Inn & Suites 156 St Albert Rd, St Albert T8N 0P5 ...............p: 780-459-5551 f: 780-460-7687 e: info@stalbertinn.com stalbertinn.com Resorts/Retreats Star of the North Retreat Centre 3A St Vital Ave, St Albert T8N 1K1 Nancy Vaculchik .p: 780-459-5511 f: 780-458-8877 e: admin@starofthenorth.ca starofthenorth.ca

Gibbons Golf Courses & Country Clubs Goose Hummock Golf Resort 22310 Township Road 564 Box 1260, Gibbons T0A 1N0 Greg Suess......... p: 780-921-2444 f: 780-921-3119 e: info@goosehummock.com goosehummock.com

Leduc

Chateau Louis Hotel & Conference Centre 11727 Kingsway NW, Edmonton T5G 3A1 Nigel Swarbrooke ......................... p: 780-452-7770 f: 780-454-3436 e: nigel@chateaulouis.com chateaulouis.com Citadel Theatre 9828 101A Ave, Edmonton T5J 3C6 Virginia Potkins .. p: 780-428-2137 f: 780-428-7194 e: citadel@citadeltheatre.com citadeltheatre.com City of Edmonton 10111 104 Ave Suite 1900 Edmonton Tower, Edmonton T5J 0J4 Marlene Walsh ............................. p: 780-442-0688 e: marlene.walsh@edmonton.ca edmonton.ca/facilityrentals Lodge at Snow Valley, The 119 St off the Whitemud PO Box 21100, Edmonton T6R 2V4 Gina Mitchell ..... p: 780-809-2374 f: 780-436-5479 e: gina@snowvalley.ca thelodgeatsnowvalley.ca Oasis Centre - Conferences, Weddings & Events, The 10930 177 St NW, Edmonton T5S 2X7 Christine Dimler . p: 780-451-9227 f: 780-486-7870 e: events@oasiscentre.com oasiscentre.com

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Hotels and Motels Best Western Premier Denham Inn & Suites 5207 50 Ave, Leduc T9E 6V3................p: 780-986-2241 f: 780-986-1511 e: info@bestwesterndenham.com bestwesterndenham.com Executive Royal Hotel Leduc-Nisku Edmonton Airport 8450 Sparrow Dr, Leduc T9E 7G4 Paul Gabrielson.. p: 780-980-6736 f: 780-986-1864 e: catering.erl@royalhotelgroup.ca executivehotels.net/leduc Recognition Awards/Trophies In Any Event... Inc 90 49547 RR 243, Leduc T9E 2X2 Lauryann Tessier ............................p: 780-986-7197 e: ltessier@inanyevent.ca inanyevent.ca

Nisku Hotels and Motels Nisku Inn & Conference Centre Edmonton Airport 1101 4 St, Nisku T9E 7N1 .............. p: 780-955-7744 f: 780-955-7743 e: sales@niskuinn.com niskuinn.com

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Alberta Rockies

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ‘HI’

A destination unlike any other is popular for corporate retreats. Say ‘hi’ to the Alberta Rockies

ABOVE: The $37 million Malcolm

Hotel in Canmore opens this spring with 6,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space and 124 luxury- style rooms | SUBMITTED RIGHT: The Fairmont Chateau

Lake Louise is among the world-class meeting venues backdropped by the Rockies | CANADIAN TOURISM COMMISSION

00_MPAB 2018_1.indd 34

ANDREA COX

T

he evening air is crisp and still. A peace descends, the kind that sinks into your soul, making the world right. It’s dark, but the night sky sparkles with jewelled prisms of light. In the distance a wolf howls against the backdrop of rugged mountains peaks. Welcome to Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, a destination unlike any other and one that is becoming a popular choice for corporate retreats.

“It’s really very special here,” says Frank Kernick, local resident in the town of Canmore and developer of Spring Creek. His latest project, and one that has been highly anticipated, is the 124-room luxury, boutique-style Malcolm Hotel, slated to open in February 2018.

Alberta resorts continue to perform well, bolstered by both international and domestic overnight travel, says a recent report from the Alberta government.

The 2017 Alberta Conference Outlook Report notes that occupancy of resort hotels in Alberta rose by two per cent in 2016, while the average room rate jumped by nearly nine per cent, to $253, from the previous year. National parks attendance was up 6.6 per cent in Banff and 3.8 per cent in Jasper in 2016 from the previous year, and 2018 numbers are slated to be even greater.

“I’ve been developing in Canmore for 25 years and it has always seen strong growth – there is a limited supply of land and the Rocky Mountain resort towns are tied to the American dollar and to tourism, not to the price of oil,” explains Kernick.

Certainly the mountain towns of Canmore, Banff and Jasper draw both an international and local crowd, looking for stunning scenery, untouched nature and outdoor adventure from world-class ski hills to extraordinary

mountain biking. Add to that a growing culinary scene and craft beer industry, along with local shops and friendly, outgoing people, and it’s no wonder that Travel Alberta’s marketing tag line is Remember to Breathe.

And with economic and political uncertainty looming, a getaway to reconnect and reboot while immersed in nature is often just the ticket for a corporate retreat. The scenery is jaw-dropping and the natural beauty is pristine. Sound and light pollution are at a minimum. In fact, Jasper and Jasper National Park have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and are home to the world’s largest accessible Dark-Sky Preserve.

But the demand for the mountain experience is creating a scarcity in hotel rooms, says Kernick. “For six months of the year, it is almost impossible to get one.”

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Alberta Rockies

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE:

Lake Louise has many fine and casual restaurants to share time with friends, new and old | NOEL HENDRICKSON Paddlers take a break on Herbert Lake in the majestic Alberta Rockies | NOEL HENDRICKSON The world famous Banff Springs hotel is perhaps the pinnacle conference venue in the Alberta Rockies | PAUL ZIZKA

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Alberta Rockies

A skier challenges a black diamond run at Sunshine Village ski resort, located within Banff National Park | REUBEN KRABBE Don’t be surprised if you have a wildlife encounter: you are in or close to one of Canada’s largest national parks | SUBMITTED

A place for you and your event

That said, the timing on the unveiling of the Malcolm Hotel couldn’t be better. It joins the crème of luxury destination conference-style resorts in the Rockies – one that includes the Rimrock Resort Hotel, the Banff Springs, the Chateau Lake Louise, the Post Hotel and the Jasper Park Lodge.

The Malcolm is part of Spring Creek’s master plan, which at final build-out will include close to 1,000 condominium units and three hotels. Designed by Calgarybased Marshall Tittemore Architects and managed by the Clique Hotel Group, the Malcolm Hotel features mountain modern architecture and is located just steps from Canmore’s charming main street. The hotel offers beautiful views of the Three Sisters mountain range and is surrounded by two meandering creeks. “The goal was to create a four-star hotel and have that quality level with the structure and services for conferences, weddings and tourists that doesn’t exist in the Canmore area,� says Kernick.

The Malcolm Hotel offers 6,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space and features 124 luxury-style rooms with a contemporary feel. It will eventually tie into two future hotels via a timber-frame bridge. É

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Located within walking distance to the downtown core Ample free parking 8S WR VT IW RI WUDGH VKRZ ĘœRRU VSDFH LQ WKH RĘž VHDVRQ 10,000 sq. ft. of beautiful and bright meeting space Complimentary wireless Internet Stunning interior design Natural light in all our spacious event space

Contact us today to book space for your event. Call 403.985.9014 or email UHQWDOV#EDQĘž FD. Visit EDQĘž FD IHQODQGV to learn more.

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00_MPAB 2018_1.indd 36

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Alberta Rockies Banff Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres Banff Lake Louise Hospitality Association PO Box 5817, Banff T1L 1G7 ...........................................p: 403-762-5909 e: info@bllha.ca bllha.ca Banquet Facilities Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre, The 100 Mt Norquay Rd PO Box 1260, Banff T1L 1A1 Marie-Eve Jackson.........................p: 403-985-9014 f: 403-762-1264 e: rentals@banff.ca banff.ca/thefenlands Bus Services Banff Airporter 141 Eagle Cres Box 2524, Banff T1L 1C3 Mark Yawney ......p: 403-762-3330 f: 403-763-1677 e: aaron@banffairporter.com banffairporter.com Destination Management/Marketing Banff DMC Inc Box 2217, Banff T1L 1B9 Danielle Powell ..............................p: 403-760-1904 e: imagination@banffdmc.com banffdmc.com Discover Group 147 Eagle Cres PO Box 1566, Banff T1L 1B5 Mark Zanetti........p: 800-496-9958 f: 403-760-7651 e: groups@discoverdm.com banfftours.com Hotels and Motels Rimrock Resort Hotel 300 Mountain Ave PO Box 1110, Banff T1L 1J2 Jim Leavens ........p: 403-762-3356 f: 403-762-1842 e: sales@rimrockresort.com rimrockresort.com Resorts/Retreats Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel & Conference Centre 222 Lynx St Box 2200, Banff T1L 1K5 ...............p: 403-760-3265 f: 403-762-4740 e: sales@banffparklodge.com banffparklodge.com Fairmont Banff Springs 405 Spray Ave Box 960, Banff T1L 1J4 ................p: 403-762-2211 f: 403-762-5755 e: banffsprings@fairmont.com fairmont.com/banffsprings Taxi/Limo Alpine Limousine & Tours PO Box 2235, Banff T1L 1B9 Andreas Lindner ..p: 403-762-5558 f: 888-370-5238 e: info@alpinelimo.ca alpinelimo.ca Banff Sedan 141 Eagle Cres Box 2524, Banff T1L 1C3 Mark Yawney .................................p: 800-587-9958 e: info@banffsedan.com banffsedan.com Team Building

Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Banff Centre 107 Tunnel Mountain Dr Box 1020, Banff T1L 1H5 ................p: 403-763-6712 f: 403-762-6202 e: conferences@banffcentre.ca banffcentre.ca/conferences

Resorts/Retreats Overlander Mountain Lodge 27010 Hwy 16 Box 6118, Hinton T7V 1X5 ...............p: 877-866-2330 f: 780-866-2332 e: events@overlandermountainlodge.com overlandermountainlodge.com

Jasper

Town of Banff 110 Bear St PO Box 1260, Banff T1L 1A1 Marie-Eve Jackson.........................p: 587-222-4377 e: marie-eve.jackson@banff.ca banff.ca Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies 111 Bear St Box 160, Banff T1L 1A3 Monte Greenshields.......................p: 403-762-2291 e: mgreenshields@whyte.org whyte.org Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies 111 Bear St Box 160, Banff T1L 1A3 Monte Greenshields.......................p: 403-762-2291 e: mgreenshields@whyte.org whyte.org

Canmore Caterers Bow Valley Gourmet PO Box 8703, Canmore T1W 0B9 Michael Anderson ..........................p: 403-679-8470 f: 403-678-0085 e: chef@bowvalleygourmet.ca bowvalleygourmet.ca Hotels and Motels Coast Canmore Hotel & Conference Centre 511 Bow Valley Trail, Canmore T1W 1N7 Aida Murias Alcaide ......................p: 403-609-5432 f: 403-678-5534 e: a.muriasalcaide@coasthotels.com coastcanmore.com Holiday Inn Canmore 1 Silvertip Trail, Canmore T1W 2Z7 Allen So ...............p: 403-609-4422 f: 403-609-0008 e: sales@hicanmore.com hicanmore.com Photography - Event/Videography Richard Brown Photography 125B Dyrgas Ln Unit 303, Canmore T1W 0A9 .........................................p: 403-678-3237 e: jolimon@telusplanet.net richardbrownphoto.ca Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Coast Canmore Hotel & Conference Centre 511 Bow Valley Trail, Canmore T1W 1N7 Aida Murias Alcaide ......................p: 403-609-5432 f: 403-678-5534 e: a.muriasalcaide@coasthotels.com coastcanmore.com

Hotels and Motels Chateau Jasper 96 Geikie St PO Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Crimson Jasper, The 200 Connaught Dr Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Lobstick Lodge 94 Geikie St Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Marmot Lodge 86 Connaught Dr Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Jasper 76 Connaught Dr PO Box 2080, Jasper T0E 1E0 Pat McLeod .........p: 780-852-6593 f: 780-852-6594 e: pmcleod@sawridge.com sawridge.com Resorts/Retreats Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge 1 Lodge Rd Box 40, Jasper T0E 1E0 ................p: 780-852-3301 f: 780-852-5107 e: jasperparklodge@fairmont.com fairmont.com/jasper Pyramid Lake Resort (Mountain Park Lodges) PO Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Crimson Jasper, The 200 Connaught Dr Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Lobstick Lodge 94 Geikie St Box 1200, Jasper T0E 1E0 Christine Merrick p: 780-991-9941 f: 888-864-2737 e: christine.merrick@mpljasper.com mpljasper.com Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Jasper Planetarium 86 Connaught Dr, Jasper T0E 1E0 ...........................................p: 780-852-4056 e: info@jasperplanetarium.com jasperplanetarium.com

Kananaskis Resorts/Retreats

Hinton

Town of Banff 110 Bear St PO Box 1260, Banff T1L 1A1 Marie-Eve Jackson.........................p: 587-222-4377 e: marie-eve.jackson@banff.ca banff.ca Tourist Attractions - Major Banff Gondola 1 Mountain Ave PO Box 1258, Banff T1L 1B2 ................p: 403-762-2523 f: 403-762-7493 brewster.ca/attractions-sightseeing/banff-gondola Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies 111 Bear St Box 160, Banff T1L 1A3 Monte Greenshields.......................p: 403-762-2291 e: mgreenshields@whyte.org whyte.org

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Hotels and Motels Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hinton 462 Smith St, Hinton T7V 2A1 ..............p: 780-865-2048 f: 780-865-2049 e: apoiron@zsholdings.com ihg.com Lakeview Inn & Suites Hinton 500 Smith St, Hinton T7V 2A1 ..............p: 780-865-2575 f: 780-865-2976 e: hinton@lakeviewhotels.com lakeviewhotels.com Super 8 Hinton 284 Smith St, Hinton T7V 2A1 Aasim Mohd ........p: 780-817-2228 f: 780-817-2880 e: hintonsuper8@gmail.com super8hinton.com

Delta Lodge at Kananaskis 1 Centennial Dr, Kananaskis T0L 2H0 ................p: 403-591-7711 f: 403-591-7770 e: glenni@lodgeatkananaskis.com deltalodgeatkananaskis.com The Delta Kananaskis Lodge has undergone a $34M renovation including guest rooms, restaurants, lobby and meeting spaces. A Nordic Spa is a new addition to the lodge.

Stoney Nakoda Resort & Casino 888 Nakoda Way, Kananaskis T0L 1N0 Chris Grimes ........p: 403-881-2830 f: 403-881-2831 e: events@stoneynakodaresort.com stoneynakodaresort.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities

Delta Lodge at Kananaskis 1 Centennial Dr, Kananaskis T0L 2H0 ................p: 403-591-7711 f: 403-591-7770 e: glenni@lodgeatkananaskis.com deltalodgeatkananaskis.com The Delta Kananaskis Lodge has undergone a $34M renovation including guest rooms, restaurants, lobby and meeting spaces. A Nordic Spa is a new addition to the lodge.

Stoney Nakoda Resort & Casino 888 Nakoda Way, Kananaskis T0L 1N0 Chris Grimes ........p: 403-881-2830 f: 403-881-2831 e: events@stoneynakodaresort.com stoneynakodaresort.com Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Boundary Ranch 2 Guinn’s Rd Hwy 40 Box 44, Kananaskis T0L 2H0 Haylie Guinn ........p: 403-591-7171 f: 403-591-7326 e: haylie@boundaryranch.com boundaryranch.com

Lake Louise Hotels and Motels Lake Louise Inn 210 Village Rd Box 209, Lake Louise T0L 1E0 ................p: 403-522-3791 f: 403-522-2950 e: events@lakelouiseinn.com lakelouiseinn.com Post Hotel & Spa 200 Pipestone Rd PO Box 69, Lake Louise T0L1E0 ................p: 403-522-3989 f: 403-522-3966 e: sales@posthotel.com posthotel.com Resorts/Retreats Baker Creek Mountain Resort Bow Valley Parkway Box 66, Lake Louise T0L 1E0 ................p: 403-522-3761 f: 403-522-2270 e: bakerinfo@bakercreek.com bakercreek.com Deer Lodge 109 Lake Louise Dr Box 100, Lake Louise T0L 1E0 ................p: 403-781-8131 f: 403-410-7406 e: dlmanager@crmr.com crmr.com/deer Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise 111 Lake Louise Dr, Lake Louise T0L1E0 ................p: 403-522-3511 f: 403-522-3834 e: chateaulakelouise@fairmont.com fairmont.com/lakelouise Tourist Attractions - Major Lake Louise Gondola & Interpretive Centre PO Box 5, Lake Louise T0L 1E0 ...........................................p: 403-522-1341 e: groups@skilouise.com lakelouisegondola.com

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Central Alberta

GET CENTRED

Central Alberta is built for business with some of the best conference facilities in the province

Westerner Park in Red Deer is Central Alberta’s largest convention, trade show, agriculture, entertainment and sport facility. Located on 320 acres, it features meeting rooms, entertainment and convention facilities and a 99-unit full-service RV park | SUBMITTED

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GEOFF KIRBYSON

W

elcome to Alberta, you’re entering agriculture country.

That slogan hasn’t made it onto a T-shirt yet but if the agriculture sector keeps on growing, it may be only a matter of time.

With oil prices slumping, the province’s economy has become increasingly dependent on secondary industries to cover for crude. Hello, agriculture.

Kerry Moynihan is particularly grateful. The director of guest experience at Olds College, a more than centuryold agricultural college and conference facility located 45 minutes north of Calgary, says business has started to pick up after a prolonged downturn.

“We’ve had good crops the last few years. We get a lot of business from the agriculture sector. We’ve also had some business from governments, not-for-profit associations and trade associations. We get a lot of weddings, too,” Moynihan explains.

Olds College boasts a student residence with 450 single dorm rooms with their own washrooms, showers and double beds. When not used by students, guests can rent the rooms. There is also a new 85-room hotel on the property, the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, a $10 million area for wetlands research and a 100-year-old red barn.

If it sounds unique, that’s because it is. Where else could you have your meeting or conference among 450 cattle, 150 horses and more than 150 sheep on a fully functioning farm?

The college was hoping to get $7 million in public funding for improvements but that turned into $70 million when it was decided to build a community learning campus that’s now home to 1,500 college students and another 700 high school students.

“The college, the high school and the community all share it. It’s the only one of its kind in the whole world. It has greatly enhanced our conference capacity,” he says.

Moynihan estimates Olds College can offer meeting and conference facilities at a 25 per cent discount to competitors in Edmonton or Calgary.

“We convinced Husky Oil to host a conference here.

They wanted to take their people out of Calgary so they would be focused on the conference,” he says.

One of the biggest attractions at Olds College is its beer-making course that includes a fully operational brewery.

“We give guests a tour and they can go test different types of beer. We have six to eight different types of beer that the students make, some unique offerings that you can’t get in the city. We have retail, too, so you can taste the beer before you buy it,” he says, adding, “We sell a lot of beer.”

Red Deer boasts Westerner Park, Central Alberta’s largest convention, trade show, agriculture, entertainment and sport facility. Located on 320 acres equidistant between Calgary and Edmonton’s airports, it features meeting rooms, entertainment and convention facilities, 4,200 parking stalls and a 99-unit full-service RV park.

Sue Fisher would like a piece of that action. The manager of the 72-room Best Western Plus Chateau Inn in Sylvan Lake, located about 10 kilometres west of Red Deer, says the light at the end of the tunnel has been a freight train since the economic downturn.

“We’ve had a brutal last three years,” she says.

Occupancy for the five-year-old property sits around seven per cent, and Fisher would like to increase that significantly. A prolonged spike in the price of oil would do the trick, she says.

“We need [oil] crews who book 20 rooms for four months for exploration. We haven’t seen crews since the economy took a dive and it’s hurting many of us,” she says.

The Chateau Inn features a banquet room that seats 90 people for a sit-down meal or 120 with theatre-style seating, and a small boardroom with capacity for 15 people.

Sometimes good can come from bad, and Fisher is hoping that’s the case with the community’s newly built arena, which opened last spring. Complete with an indoor running track, the arena should be able to attract some hockey tournaments, she says, which would give tourism a shot in the arm. É

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Central Alberta

Olds College, a more than century-old agricultural college and conference facility 45 minutes north of Calgary, offers meeting and conference facilities at a 25 per cent discount to competitors in Alberta’s biggest cities. The site includes the new 85-room Pomeroy Inn & Suites hotel, all framed by a fully functioning farm | OLDS COLLEGE

The Best Western Plus Chateau Inn Sylvan Lake features a large swimming pool, and a banquet room that seats 90 people for a sit-down meal or 120 with theatre-style seating, plus a boardroom for breakout sessions | SUBMITTED

Book your events with Olds College today!

Event Planning Accommodations Facilities Catering Services

Conference & Event Services Ph: 403.556.8330 E: conferenceservices@oldscollege.ca

experience more: oldscollege.ca/conferenceservices

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Central Alberta Bonnyville Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres Bonnyville & District Chamber of Commerce Box 6054 Hwy 28 West Vezeau Beach Park, Bonnyville T9N 2G7 Megan Naylor .....p: 780-826-3252 f: 780-826-4525 e: info@bonnyvillechamber.com bonnyvillechamber.com Equipment and Supply Rentals Signature Events 5012A 51 Ave Box 7548, Bonnyville T9N 2H8 Toy Brand ...................................... p: 780-687-3373 e: signatureeventsonline@gmail.com facebook.com/signatureeventsonline Hotels and Motels Comfort Inn & Suites 5404 Lakeland Rd, Bonnyville T9N 0B2 .............. p: 780-826-2020 f: 780-826-2063 e: comfortinn.bonnyville@yahoo.com choicehotels.com Holiday Inn Express & Suites 4404 52 Ave, Bonnyville T9N 0C3 .............. p: 780-687-8888 f: 780-687-8889 e: sales@hibonnyville.com hibonnyville.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Bonnyville & District Centennial Centre 4313 50 Ave Unit 1003, Bonnyville T9N 0B4 Sue Phillips ........ p: 780-812-3400 f: 780-826-7816 e: events@centennialcentre.ca centennialcentre.ca

Camrose Event Planners Premiere Event Management 5407 52 St, Camrose T4V 3C7 Ashley Meadahl .............................p: 780-781-7272 e: info@premiereeventmanagement.ca premiereeventmanagement.ca

Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Camrose Resort Casino 3201 48 Ave, Camrose T4V 0K9 Dawn Anderson ..p: 780-679-4956 f: 780-679-0992 e: danderson@bestwesterncamrose.com camroseresortcasino.com Norsemen Inn 6505 48 Ave, Camrose T4V 3K3 .............. p: 780-672-9171 f: 780-608-1789 e: catering@norsemeninn.com norsemeninn.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Camrose Regional Exhibition 4250 Exhibition Dr, Camrose T4V 4Z8............... p: 780-672-3640 f: 780-672-8140 e: cre@cre.ab.ca cre.ab.ca

Lacombe Golf Courses & Country Clubs Lacombe Golf & Country Club 6000 50 Ave Suite 1, Lacombe T4L 1K7 Kevin Broderson. p: 403-782-3956 f: 403-782-6009 e: kevinbroderson@golflacombe.com golflacombe.com Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Lacombe Inn & Suites 4751 63 St, Lacombe T4L 1K7 Jacquie Corkery.. p: 403-782-3535 f: 403-786-2270 e: gm@bestwesternlacombe.com bestwesternlacombe.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities

Darwell Lighting Hollywood Lights 5213 Hwy 633, Darwell T0E 0L0 Donna Merkel ............................... p: 780-930-1959 e: donna@hollywoodlights.ca hollywoodlights.ca

Fox Creek Hotels and Motels Comfort Inn & Suites 317 1st Ave, Fox Creek T0H 1P0 .............. p: 780-622-3311 f: 780-622-3313 choicehotels.com

Kitscoty Community Halls Kitscoty Hall 5202 51 St, Kitscoty T0B 2P0.......................................... p: 780-872-9465 e: kitscotycommunityhall@hotmail.com kitscotyhall.com

Lacombe Memorial Centre 5214 50 Ave, Lacombe T4L 0B6 ................p: 403-782-6668 f: 403-782-6711 e: mfiveland@lacombe.ca lacombe.ca/lmc

Lloydminster Equipment and Supply Rentals Tent Guys, The PO Box 10087, Lloydminster T9V 3A2 Pamela Becotte............................. p: 780-205-7368 e: office@thetentguys.net thetentguys.net

Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Meridian Lloydminster 1402 50 Ave, Lloydminster T9V 2K5 Marlene Neumann........................ p: 780-875-8884 f: 780-875-3719 e: info.bwm@royalhotelgroup.ca bestwesternplusmeridian.com Meridian Inn & Suites 8150 45 St, Lloydminster T9V 3R8 ...............p: 780-875-3030 f: 780-875-3001 e: info@meridianinn.ca meridianinn.ca Royal Hotel Lloydminster 5620 44 St, Lloydminster T9V 0B6 Marlene Neumann........................ p: 780-875-6113 f: 780-875-2265 e: info.rhl@royalhotelgroup.ca royalhotellloyd.ca Tropical Inn 5621 44 St, Lloydminster T9V 0B2 .............. p: 780-875-7000 f: 780-875-7828 e: tropinn@shaw.ca tropicalinns.com/lloydminster Regional Convention Spaces Lloydminster Exhibition Association 5521 49 Ave Box 690, Lloydminster S9V 0Y7 Michelle Myers...p: 306-825-5571 f: 306-825-7017 e: lloydexh@lloydexh.com lloydexh.com

Olds Hotels and Motels Pomeroy Inn & Suites at Olds College 4601 46 Ave, Olds T4H 1R5 ......................................... p: 403-556-8815 e: catering@pomeroyolds.com pomeroyinnandsuites.com Regional Convention Spaces Olds Regional Exhibition 5116 54 St PO Box 3751, Olds T4H 1P5 Tracy Gardner ..... p: 403-556-3770 f: 403-556-3333 e: office@oldsregionalexhibition.com oldsregionalexhibition.com

banquets.meetings.conferences

Book your event at www.lacombe.ca/lmc or call 403.782.6668

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Universities and Colleges Olds College 4500 50 St, Olds T4H 1R6 Kerry Moynihan . p: 403-556-4762 f: 403-559-4710 e: kmoynihan@oldscollege.ca oldscollege.ca

Red Deer Audiovisual Services Vold Audio Group Inc 4819C 48 Ave Suite 106, Red Deer T4N 3T2 John Vold ...................................... p: 403-348-5800 e: info@voldaudio.com voldaudio.com Community Halls Festival Hall 4214 58 St, Red Deer T4N 2L6 .............. p: 403-346-0055 f: 403-347-8759 e: rdchs@telus.net rdchs.com Hotels and Motels Baymont Inn & Suites Red Deer 4311 49 Ave, Red Deer T4N 5Y7 ............. p: 800-661-1657 f: 403-341-3220 e: mcanal@baymont.ca baymontinns.com Best Western Plus Inn & Suites 6839 66 St, Red Deer T4P 3T5 .......................................... p: 403-346-3555 e: sales@bestwesternreddeer.com bestwesternreddeer.com Black Knight Inn 2929 50 Ave, Red Deer T4R 1H1 ......................................... p: 403-343-6666 e: sales@blackknightinn.ca blackknightinn.ca Comfort Inn & Suites Red Deer 6846 66 St, Red Deer T4P 3T5 .............. p: 403-348-0025 f: 403-348-0026 e: sales@comfortinnreddeer.com comfortinnreddeer.com

Days Inn Red Deer 5001 19 St Suite 1000, Red Deer T4R 3R1 Stephanie Morlidge .......................p: 403-340-3297 f: 403-340-3274 e: smorlidge@d3h.ca daysinnreddeer.ca Econo Lodge Inn & Suites 23 Gasoline Alley E, Red Deer T4E 1B3................p: 403-346-4188 f: 403-346-8225 choicehotels.com Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Red Deer 128 Leva Ave, Red Deer T4E 1B9 Lisa Klein ........... p: 403-967-1002 f: 403-341-9996 e: lisa.klein@hilton.com reddeersuites.hamptoninnbyhilton.com Quality Inn & Conference Centre Red Deer 7150 50 Ave, Red Deer T4N 6A5 Silvia Park .......... p: 403-343-8800 f: 403-346-8690 e: silvia@qualityinnreddeer.com qualityinnreddeer.com Radisson Red Deer 6500 67 St, Red Deer T4P 1A2 ............. p: 403-357-1108 f: 403-343-3600 e: rhi_rdal@radisson.com radisson.coml Sandman Hotel Red Deer 2818 50 Ave, Red Deer T4R 1M4 ..............p: 403-343-7400 f: 403-343-7411 e: gm_reddeer@sandman.ca sandmanhotels.com Sheraton Red Deer Hotel 3310 50 Ave, Red Deer T4N 3X9 Lisa Francoeur.... p: 403-755-1150 f: 403-346-4790 e: sales@sheratonreddeer.com sheratonhotelreddeer.com TownePlace Suites by Marriott 6822 66 St, Red Deer T4P 3T5 .......................................... p: 403-341-3589 e: lhunter@tpsreddeer.com towneplacesuitesreddeer.com

Restaurants Glenn’s Family Restaurant 125 Leva Ave Westside Gasoline Alley, Red Deer T4E 1B2 Glenn/Jessie Simon ..................... p: 403-346-5448 f: 403-340-2199 e: glenrest@telus.net glenns-restaurant.com Universities and Colleges Red Deer College Conference Services 100 College Blvd PO Box 5005, Red Deer T4N 5H5 Corry McGregor . p: 403-356-4900 f: 403-342-3459 e: continuingeducation@rdc.ab.ca rdc.ab.ca Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Collicutt Centre 3031 30 Ave, Red Deer T4N 3T4 Chris Martyn ...... p: 403-358-7524 f: 403-314-4900 e: facility.bookings@reddeer.ca reddeer.ca/collicuttcentre

Sylvan Lake Golf Courses & Country Clubs Sylvan Lake Golf & Country Club 5331 Lakeshore Dr, Sylvan Lake T4S 1E8................p: 403-887-6695 f: 403-887-2561 e: info@sylvanlakegolf.ca sylvanlakegolf.ca Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Chateau Inn 5027 Lakeshore Dr, Sylvan Lake T4S 1R3 .............. p: 403-887-7788 f: 403-887-2598 e: suef@beca.ca bestwestern.com

Three Hills

Rocky Mountain House

Hotels and Motels Super 8 Three Hills 208 18 Ave N Box 1810, Three Hills T0M 2A0 Louise Alberts .... p: 403-443-8888 f: 403-443-8889 e: lfalbert2@gmail.com super8threehills.com

Hotels and Motels Walking Eagle Inn & Lodge 4819 45 St Hwy 11 PO Box 1317, Rocky Mountain House T4T 1A9 Colleen Dwyer ....p: 403-845-2804 f: 403-845-3685 e: info@walkingeagle.net walkingeagle.net

Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Vermilion Regional Centre 5702 College Dr, Vermilion T9X 1K5 Carol Coleman ... p: 780-581-2413 f: 780-853-4910 e: vrc@vermilion.ca vermilion.ca

Sundre Resorts/Retreats Rustlers Lodge Site 114 Box 14 RR3 32578 Range Road 52, Sundre T0M 1X0 Kelly Brink ..................................... p: 403-638-4389 e: rustlerslodge@telus.net rustlers-lodge.com

Vermilion

Westlock Hotels and Motels Westlock Inn and Conference Centre 10411 100 St, Westlock T7P 2G7 Noemi Celis ....... p: 780-349-4483 f: 780-349-6503 e: innfo@westlockinn.com westlockinn.com

Wetaskiwin Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Reynolds-Alberta Museum 6426 40 Ave PO Box 6360, Wetaskiwin T9A 2G1 Melissa Daoust.. p: 780-312-2065 f: 780-361-1239 e: reynoldsalbertamuseum@gov.ab.ca reynoldsalbertamuseum.com

A Retreat Close to Home...

A meeting or conference held in the unique atmosphere of the Badlands Community Facility, in the scenic views of the Canadian Badlands along the Red Dear River, is sure to motivate your team! r TRVBSF GFFU PG NPEFSO BOE WFSTBUJMF DPOGFSFODF BOE CBORVFU GBDJMJUJFT BDDPNNPEBUJOH HSPVQT PG UP r TRVBSF GFFU PG ñFME IPVTF TQBDF JEFBM GPS FYIJCJUJPOT BOE UFBN CVJMEJOH r 4UBUF PG UIF BSU BVEJP WJTVBM TZTUFN r &YUFOTJWF ñUOFTT GBDJMJUJFT MJCSBSZ BSU HBMMFSZ BOE PVUEPPS UFSSBDF PWFSMPPLJOH %SVNIFMMFS T CSFBUIUBLJOH MBOETDBQFT r 8PSME DMBTT BUUSBDUJPOT JODMVEJOH UIF 3PZBM 5ZSSFMM .VTFVN PG 1BMFPOUPMPHZ "UMBT $PBM .JOF UIF 8PSME T -BSHFTU %JOPTBVS BOE NPSF r $FOUSBMMZ MPDBUFE UP %SVNIFMMFS T ñOFTU BDDPNNPEBUJPOT 0VS FYDFQUJPOBM TUBí JT SFBEZ UP BTTJTU ZPV UP NBLF ZPVS WJTJU FOKPZBCMF professional and successful.

We invite you to experience the Badlands Community Facility.

Drumheller, Alberta Phone: (403) 823-1370 Email: mflater@dinosaurvalley.com www.dinosaurvalley.com

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5% Discount, Promo Code: Badlands2

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MEETING PLACES ALBERTA 2018 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Southern Alberta

SOUTHBOUND

Southern Alberta is bright, brash, big and beautiful – and the perfect environment to experience your next great event

Dinosaur Provincial Park in the Alberta badlands provides a breathtaking introduction to Southern Alberta | SEAN THONSON / TRAVEL ALBERTA

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PAT JOHNSON

F

rom the Rocky Mountains in the west to oceans of Prairie fields in the east, Southern Alberta is a place of sharp contrasts and dramatic natural attractions. For those planning meetings and events, the facilities offered in the region almost parallel the variety of the topography.

Outside Calgary, Lethbridge is the biggest city in Southern Alberta. It’s also one of the brightest places in Canada, with 320 days of sunshine a year.

“We really promote Lethbridge as a bright choice for meetings and events,” says Erin Crane, director of investment attraction at Economic Development Lethbridge.

“Bright, to us, means intelligent,” she continues, noting

the two post-secondary institutions and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s largest research facility. Lethbridge also has Canada’s highest per capita number of PhDs for a place of its size.

“Bright also means sunny because we have the sunshine and we have tons of trails and that eco-adventure spirit,” she says. “Bright also means savvy, because we are very cost-effective.”

Lethbridge has one of the lowest average hotel rates in the province, and that extends through to meeting facility rentals and catering, Crane says.

“When you look at Lethbridge, we are anywhere from 10 per cent to 15 per cent lower than the other larger cities,” she says.

Lethbridge Lodge Hotel and Conference Centre, a Sandman property, and the Coast Lethbridge Hotel &

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Southern Alberta

Conference Centre have 14,000 square feet of meeting space each. Lethbridge Lodge can accommodate 850 in its combined three largest ballrooms, theatre-style, or 650 for a banquet. The Coast’s two largest ballrooms combined can accommodate 850 people or 550 banquetstyle. Each facility has a complement of hotel rooms to allow the full range of on-site accommodations.

The Holiday Inn Lethbridge has 6,000 square feet of meeting space, and there are at least a dozen other hospitality venues with smaller meeting rooms.

For the kinds of wide-open spaces associated with Alberta, Exhibition Park Lethbridge offers venues ranging from substantial to sprawling, including a nearly 29,000-square-foot pavilion. The site may not be as citified as some conventioneers are used to, but it will accommodate the largest event with a genuine Alberta ambience.

The Rocky Mountain Turf Club, right nearby, offers another taste of Alberta. Alongside horse racing is a range of spacious event or meeting rooms, from about 1,500 to more than 10,000 square feet.

Lethbridge, about two hours from Calgary, has some unique attributes, including historical attractions like Fort Whoop-Up and Indian Battle Park, cultural destinations like the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, something of an engineering wonder in the century-old Lethbridge Viaduct (better known as the High Level Bridge) and bountiful parks and recreation spaces.

Eastward, toward the Saskatchewan boundary, is Medicine Hat, named for the English approximation of the Blackfoot word referring to the eagle-tail-feathered headdress worn by traditional medicine men of local legend. The South Saskatchewan River and its valley, which cuts quite a swath through this part of the country, dominate the scenery in the area.

For a city with a modest 60,000-plus residents, there is no lack of event spaces. The Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede facility is the granddaddy of them all, with a total of 75,000 square feet of meeting space.

Several local golf courses – like much of Southern Alberta, Medicine Hat boasts an enviable number of sunny days year-round – offer more intimate spaces for small and medium-sized groups.

For planners looking for all-in-one places – meeting spaces with hotel or resort amenities – there is Medicine Hat Lodge, which includes a resort, casino, health spa and indoor water park, and also offers a convention centre of 6,500 square feet.

Adjacent to one of the area’s best outdoor attractions is the Clarion Medicine Hat, which can accommodate up to 300 people banquet-style. General manager Praveen Joshi recommends the adjacent walking trail to Echo Dale Regional Park, where conventioneers can take a break to go swimming, boating or hiking or participate in a range of other outdoor activities.

Smaller groups can be accommodated at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Medicine Hat, Comfort Inn & Suites, and Super 8.

For breaks between meetings, the city is home to the Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District, a working museum that includes the Medalta Potteries and Hycroft China factories. Selfie-posting with the world’s

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The Rocky Mountain Turf Club features horse racing and a range of spacious meeting rooms of up to more than 10,000 square feet | ROCKY MOUNTAIN TURF CLUB

Writing-on-Stone Rodeo, in Milk River, Alberta, is among the annual events that ensure a visit to Southern Alberta will be anything but boring | SABRINA HILL/ TRAVEL ALBERTA

A meeting in Medicine Hat can include a tour of the Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District, a working museum that includes the Medalta Potteries and Hycroft China factories | CANADIAN BADLANDS

largest teepee, a souvenir of the 1988 Winter Olympics, is a nearby option. The Esplanade, a 700-seat theatre with adjacent art gallery, museum, archives, gift shop and café, is downtown.

The third-largest city in the region is Brooks, and commensurate to its smaller size is a more limited range of options. Even so, the Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre can accommodate 600 in its unified ballroom.

Getting the gang out of the city might invite clear-headed brainstorming or otherwise fresh thinking inspired by big skies and broad horizons. Getting there should be part of the fun – and, on arrival, there is almost every permutation of meeting venue a group of any size could need. É

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Southern Alberta Brooks Hotels and Motels Days Inn & Suites Brooks 1307 2 St W, Brooks T1R 1P7................p: 403-362-7440 f: 403-362-7477 e: daysinnbrooks@shaw.ca wyndhamhotels.com Econo Lodge 1119 2 St W, Brooks T1R 0N9 ...............p: 403-362-3407 f: 403-770-0872 choicehotels.ca Heritage Inn & Suites 1239 2 St W, Brooks T1R 1P7............... p: 403-362-8688 f: 403-362-8579 e: info.brookssuites@heritageinn.net heritageinn.net/locations/brooks-ab-suites Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre 1217 2 St W, Brooks T1R 1P7 Eric Deringer ...... p: 403-362-6666 f: 403-362-7319 e: catering.brooks@heritageinn.net heritageinn.net/locations/brooks-ab Ramada Inn & Suites 1319 2 St W, Brooks T1R 1P7............... p: 403-362-6440 f: 403-362-6480 e: gm@ramadabrooks.com wyndhamhotels.com

Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities

Badlands Community Facility 224 Centre St, Drumheller T0J 0Y4 Erica Crocker ................................. p: 403-823-1338 e: ecrocker@dinosaurvalley.com dinosaurvalley.com

Lethbridge Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres

Drumheller Banquet Facilities

Badlands Community Facility 224 Centre St, Drumheller T0J 0Y4 Erica Crocker ................................. p: 403-823-1338 e: ecrocker@dinosaurvalley.com dinosaurvalley.com Hotels and Motels Canalta Jurassic Inn & Cretaceous Conference Centre 1103 Highway 9 S Box 3009, Drumheller T0J 0Y0 ...............p: 403-823-7700 f: 403-823-5002 e: conferences@canalta.com canaltahotels.com Econo Lodge Inn & Suites Drumheller 392 Centre St, Drumheller T0J 0Y0............... p: 403-823-3322 f: 403-856-4864 e: drumheller.econolodge@gmail.com econolodgedrumheller.ca Super 8 Drumheller 600-680 2 St SE, Drumheller T0J 0Y0.......................................... p: 403-879-1719 e: gm@super8drumheller.com wyndhamhotels.com

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Economic Development Lethbridge 308 Stafford Dr S, Lethbridge T1J 2L1 Erin Crane ......................................p: 403-331-0022 e: erin@chooselethbridge.ca chooselethbridge.ca Conference Organizers/Planners/Trade Show Consultants CANHOST Group 210A 12A St N Suite 361, Lethbridge T1H 2J1 Robin Gemer ................................. p: 403-942-5363 e: robin@canhostgroup.ca canhostgroup.ca Golf Courses & Country Clubs Henderson Lake Golf Club 2727 Parkside Dr S, Lethbridge T1K 0C6 Michael Plouffe . p: 403-327-3652 f: 403-327-7233 e: hlgcgolf@gmail.com hendersonlakegolf.com Paradise Canyon Golf Resort 185 Canyon Blvd W, Lethbridge T1K 6V1 .............. p: 403-381-6400 f: 403-381-4300 e: events@playinparadise.com playinparadise.com Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Service Inn & Suites 209 41 St S, Lethbridge T1J 1Z3 Bruce Primeau............................... p: 403-329-6844 e: gm@bestwesternlethbridge.ca bestwesternlethbridge.ca Comfort Inn 3226 Fairway Plaza Rd S, Lethbridge T1K 7T5............... p: 403-320-8874 f: 403-320-8824 e: gm.cn424@choicehotels.com choicehotels.com Econo Lodge Inn & Suites 1124 Mayor Magrath Dr S, Lethbridge T1K 2P8 Shannon Brezina ............................p: 403-328-5591 e: econolodge.gmlethbridge@shaw.ca econolodgelethbridge.com Holiday Inn Lethbridge 2375 Mayor Magrath Dr S, Lethbridge T1K 7M1 .........................................p: 403-359-5612 ihg.com

Lethbridge Lodge Hotel & Conference Centre 320 Scenic Dr S, Lethbridge T1J 4B4 Nils Breuker .................................. p: 403-328-1123 e: gm_lethbridgelodge@northland.ca sandmansignature.com Ramada Lethbridge 1303 Mayor Magrath Dr S, Lethbridge T1K 2R1 ......................................... p: 403-329-0555 e: gm@lethbridgeramada.com wyndhamhotels.com Sandman Hotel Lethbridge 421 Mayor Magrath Dr, Lethbridge T1J 3L8 Sharon Hauff................................. p: 403-331-6928 e: sls_ethbridge@sandman.ca sandmanhotels.ca/hotels/lethbridge Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Casa Arts Centre 230 8 St S, Lethbridge T1J 5H2 ..........................................p: 403-327-2272 e: casa@artslethbridge.org casalethbridge.ca Lethbridge Exhibition Park 3401 Parkside Dr S, Lethbridge T1J 4R3 Doug Kryzanowski ........................ p: 403-317-3213 f: 403-320-8139 e: doug@exhibitionpark.ca exhibitionpark.ca Southern Alberta Art Gallery 601 3 Ave S, Lethbridge T1J 0H4 .............. p: 403-327-8770 f: 403-328-3913 e: facilityrental@saag.ca saag.ca Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Galt Museum & Archives 502 1 St S, Lethbridge T1J 0P6 Lea-Ann Owsley p: 403-320-4247 f: 403-329-4958 e: facilityrentals@galtmuseum.com galtmuseum.com

Medicine Hat Golf Courses & Country Clubs Connaught Golf Course 2802 13 Ave SE, Medicine Hat T1A 3P9 ..........................................p: 403-526-0737 e: admin@connaughtgolf.com connaughtgolf.com Hotels and Motels Comfort Inn & Suites Medicine Hat 2317 Trans-Canada Way SE, Medicine Hat T1B 4E9............... p: 403-504-1700 f: 403-527-1579 e: info@comfortinnmedicinehat.com choicehotels.com Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Medicine Hat 2510 Boxsprings Blvd, Medicine Hat T1C 0C8 .............. p: 403-548-7818 f: 403-548-2979 e: gm@hamptonmedhat.com hamptoninn3.hilton.com Holiday Inn Express & Suites Medicine Hat 9 Strachan Bay SE, Medicine Hat T1B 4Y2 ...............p: 403-504-5151 f: 403-504-0055 e: merridel.rae@whg.com hiexpress.com/medhat Medicine Hat Lodge Resort 1051 Ross Glen Dr SE, Medicine Hat T1B 3T8 ...............p: 403-502-8190 f: 403-528-4075 e: sales@medhatlodge.com medhatlodge.com Travelodge Hotel Medicine Hat 1100 Redcliff Dr SW, Medicine Hat T1A 5E5 Sales Dept ..........p: 403-527-2275 f: 403-526-7842 e: salesmedicinehattravelodge@hotmail.com travelodge.ca Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede 2055 21 Ave SE Box 1298, Medicine Hat T1A 7N1 Natalie Weir ...... p: 403-527-1234 f: 403-529-6553 e: nweir@mhstampede.com mhstampede.com

Southside Events Centre 4 Strachan Crt SE, Medicine Hat T1B 4R7 .............. p: 403-528-9997 f: 403-527-9804 e: admin@southsideeventscentre.com southsideeventscentre.com Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre 401 1 St SE, Medicine Hat T1A 8W2 Trampas Brown .. p: 403-502-8787 f: 403-502-8589 e: esplanadeevents@medicinehat.ca esplanade.ca Medalta - Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District 713 Medalta Ave SE, Medicine Hat T1A 3K9 ......................................... p: 403-529-1070 e: events@medalta.com medalta.org

Pincher Creek Golf Courses & Country Clubs Pincher Creek Golf Club 942 Hyde St Box 2397, Pincher Creek T0K 1W0 Gord Culham .......p: 403-627-2126 f: 403-627-2162 e: proshop@pinchercreekgolf.com Hotels and Motels Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre 919 Waterton Ave, Pincher Creek T0K 1W0 Claire Layton ...... p: 403-627-5000 f: 403-627-3936 e: gm.pinchercreek@heritageinn.net heritageinn.net/locations/pincher-creek-ab Ramada Pincher Creek 1132 Table Mountain St, Pincher Creek T0K 1W0 ............. p: 403-627-3777 f: 403-627-3780 e: gm@ramadapinchercreek.com wyndhamhotels.com Venues - Historical or Themed or Outdoor Lebel Mansion 696 Kettles St, Pincher Creek T0K1W0 ............. p: 403-627-5272 f: 403-627-1559 e: lebelpc@gmail.com thelebel.ca

Rosebud Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Rosebud Centre of the Arts 116 Main St PO Box 654, Rosebud T0J 2T0 Renee Hall ......... p: 403-677-3000 f: 403-677-2390 e: reneeh@rosebudtheatre.com rosebudtheatre.com

Strathmore Hotels and Motels Days Inn & Suites Strathmore 400 Ranch Market, Strathmore T1P 0B2............... p: 403-934-1134 f: 403-943-3314 e: contactus@daysinnstrathmore.com wyndhamhotels.com Travelodge Strathmore 350 Ridge Rd, Strathmore TIP 1B5................ p: 403-901-0000 f: 403-901-0016 e: info@travelodgestrathmore.com travelodgestrathmore.com

Taber Hotels and Motels Econo Lodge Taber 5302 46 Ave, Taber T1G 2A8 ...............p: 403-223-8911 f: 403-223-3217 choicehotels.com Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre 4830 46 Ave, Taber T1G 2A4 Darrel Sims ........ p: 403-223-4424 f: 403-223-1733 e: gm.taber@heritageinn.net heritageinn.net/locations/taber-ab

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Northern Alberta

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

Fort McMurray is open for business and – like all of Alberta’s north – eager to welcome the world ROB ALEXANDER

T

ucked away in the 2017 Fort McMurray Tourism Visitors Guide, an ad for Fort McMurray Tourism proclaims “Fort McMurray and the Wood Buffalo Region is Back in Business!”

It’s been two years since the fire known as The Beast consumed 2,400 buildings in Fort McMurray along with nearly 600,000 hectares of the boreal forest, and as the Fort McMurray Tourism ad says – even though the 2016 fire is still recognized as the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history – life is returning to normal.

The city is rebuilding, the fire-adapted forest is regenerating, and Fort McMurray, and the rest of Northern Alberta remain excellent options when it comes to finding a locale for a meeting, conference or convention.

While many of Fort McMurray’s hotels offer meeting and conference space, the centrepiece of this northern city is MacDonald Island Park. Billed as “Canada’s largest community recreation, leisure and social centre,” with its 450,000-square-foot Suncor Community Leisure Centre, Miskanaw Golf Club and Shell Place, MacDonald Place features conference and event space alongside two stadiums.

Where MacDonald Island Park is suitable for large groups, an intimate venue for smaller groups of up to 40 people can be found at the refurbished Fort McMurray Heritage Village. And while a heritage village might appear rustic, it is thoroughly modern with audiovisual equipment and Wi-Fi available.

Along with many suitable venues for meetings and conferences, Fort McMurray also offers numerous fourseason outdoor and indoor activities, including the newly opened Aerial Adventure Park. It’s the perfect summertime team-building or stress-relieving activity on what is a cross between a jungle gym and a high-ropes cross at heights of up to 40 metres.

And consider as an option planning a meeting or conference in Fort McMurray in the depth of winter. The long dark nights are ideal for watching the northern lights or enjoying a long list of winter activities that includes dogsledding, ice fishing, skating, snowmobiling, the WinterPLAY winter festival and driving the winter road to Fort Chipewyan, the doorway to Wood Buffalo National Park. Founded in 1788 by the North West Company as a fur-trading post, Fort Chipewyan is home to the Fort

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MacDonald Island Park in Fort McMurray is home to the 450,000-square-foot Suncor Community Leisure Centre and MacDonald Place, which features conference and event space alongside two stadiums | WOOD BUFFALO REGION

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46 | Meeting Places Alberta 2018 published by Business in VAncouver

Northern Alberta

Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo Region welcome visitors back to the largest city in Northern Alberta as it rebuilds from a disastrous 2016 fire | Submitted Lesser Slave Lake, near the town of Slave Lake, attracts summer visitors for paddling or to enjoy its long sandy beaches, a rarity in Alberta | Lee Simmons/Travel Alberta

PREMIER

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Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum along with the greatest outdoors anyone could imagine.

Beyond Fort McMurray, unique venues and landscapes can be found throughout Northern Alberta including in Grande Prairie, Athabasca and Slave Lake.

Grande Prairie, in the Peace country, is the largest city between Edmonton and Fairbanks, Alaska. It is home to the Nitehawk Adventure Park, Revolution Place, a 3,288seat arena that includes 18,000 square feet of meeting space, the Eastlink Centre and its two pools, a lazy river and waterslides. West of Grande Prairie, in the town of Wembley, the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum also features event space.

Athabasca, meanwhile, sits along the banks of the Athabasca River and is home to Athabasca University.

Historically, the Athabasca River served as an important staging ground between Edmonton to the south and Fort McMurray and the rest of Northern Alberta. Today, this town still serves as a gateway, welcoming visitors to Northern Alberta and the Lesser Slave Lake region.

The Days Inn Athabasca, which offers Wi-Fi, a 24-hour business centre and a 900-square-foot conference centre, is minutes from the Athabasca Golf and Country Club and Athabasca University. The Fox Den Restaurant, located at the Athabasca Golf and Country Club, is also available for events.

Slave Lake, in an enviable location at the southeastern tip of Lesser Slave Lake, has something many communities in Alberta only wish they could offer: long stretches of white sandy beaches. It is also host to what is billed as the “largest banquet facilities in North Central Alberta” with a ballroom that can seat 720 or a smaller banquet room with capacity for 125 guests. 

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Northern Alberta Fort McMurray Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Sawridge Suites 410 Taiganova Cres, Fort McMurray T9K 0T4 ������������������������������������������p: 780‑799‑4552 e: bwpreservations@sawridge.com sawridge.com Merit Hotel & Suites 8200 Franklin Ave, Fort McMurray T9H 2H9 �������������� p: 780‑714‑9444 f: 780‑714‑9440 e: guestservices@meritfortmcmurray.com meritfortmcmurray.com Quality Hotel & Conference Centre Fort McMurray 424 Gregoire Dr, Fort McMurray T9H 3R2 �������������� p: 780‑713‑3340 f: 780‑790‑1658 e: sales.qualityfortmcmurray@silverbirchhotels.com qualityhotelfortmcmurray.com Radisson Hotel & Suites Fort McMurray 435 Gregoire Dr, Fort McMurray T9H 4K7 �������������� p: 780‑743‑2400 f: 780‑743‑2448 e: gm@radissonfortmcmurray.com radissonfortmcmurray.com Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities

MacDonald Island Park 1 CA Knight Way, Fort McMurray T9H 5C5 p: 780‑792‑5156 f: 780‑791‑2898 e: salesevents@rrcwb.ca macdonaldisland.ca

Grande Prairie Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce 11330 106 St Unit 127 Centre 2000, Grande Prairie T8V 7X9 Dan Pearcy ��������� p: 780‑532‑5340 f: 780‑532‑2926 e: info@gpchamber.com grandeprairiechamber.com Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association 11330 106 St Suite 114, Grande Prairie T8V 7X9 Louise O Cote �����p: 780‑539‑7688 f: 780‑539‑0905 e: info@gptourism.ca gptourism.ca Golf Courses & Country Clubs Bear Creek Golf Club 11220 132 Ave PO Box 21098, Grande Prairie T8V 6W7 ������������� p: 780‑538‑3393 f: 780‑513‑5566 e: proshop@bearcreekgolfclub.ca bearcreekgolfclub.ca Hotels and Motels Best Western Grande Prairie Hotel & Suites 10745 117 Ave, Grande Prairie T8V 7N6 �������������� p: 780‑402‑2378 f: 780‑402‑8026 e: res@bestwesterngrandeprairie.com bwgrandeprairie.com Encore Suites by Service Plus Inns 10639 110 St, Grande Prairie T8V 7A9 ���������������p: 587‑259‑0425 f: 587‑259‑0472 e: grandeprairie@encoresuites.ca encoresuites.ca Holiday Inn & Suites Grande Prairie Conference Centre 9816 107 St, Grande Prairie T8V 8E7 ���������������p: 780‑357‑2624 f: 780‑402‑6835 e: catering@higrandeprairie.com higrandeprairie.com

Paradise Inn & Conference Centre Grande Prairie Airport 11201 100 Ave, Grande Prairie T8V 5M6 ��������������p: 780‑539‑6000 f: 780‑532‑1961 e: dgamble@paradiseinnandsuites.ca paradiseinngrandeprairie.com Sandman Hotel Grande Prairie 9805 100 St, Grande Prairie T8V 6X3 ���������������p: 780‑513‑5555 f: 780‑513‑5131 e: grandeprairiecatering@sandman.ca sandmanhotels.ca Stonebridge Hotel Grande Prairie 12102 100 St, Grande Prairie T8V 5P1 �������������� p: 780‑539‑5561 f: 780‑538‑4636 e: banquetsales@stonebridgegp.com stonebridgegrandeprairie.com Regional Convention Spaces Evergreen Park PO Box 370, Grande Prairie T8V 3A5 Crystal Lawrence p: 780‑357‑2849 f: 780‑539‑0373 e: crystal@evergreenpark.ca evergreenpark.ca Venues - Event or Meeting Facilities Centre 2000 Tourism & Trade 11330 106 St, Grande Prairie T8V 7X9 Janice Chomik ���� p: 780‑513‑0240 f: 780‑532‑2926 e: info@centre2000.ca centre2000.ca Grande Prairie Curling Club 10127 99 Ave Box 157, Grande Prairie T8V 0S1 ������������� p: 780‑532‑7221 f: 780‑532‑7029 e: gpcc@telusplanet.net grandeprairiecurlingclub.com

High Level Associations/Chambers of Commerce/ Tourist Info Centres High Level & District Chamber of Commerce 10803 96 St, High Level T0H 1Z0 ��������������p: 780‑926‑2470 f: 780‑926‑4017 e: info@highlevelchamber.com highlevelchamber.com

Hotels and Motels Executive House Suites Hotel & Conference Centre 9815 101 St, High Level T0H 1Z0 ���������������p: 780‑926‑3311 f: 780‑926‑4745 e: info@executivehousesuites.com executivehousesuites.com Quality Inn & Suites 9704 97 St, High Level T0H 1Z0 ������������������������������������������p: 780‑926‑4222 e: info@qualityinnhighlevel.com qualityinnhighlevel.com Regional Convention Spaces Best Western Plus Mirage Hotel & Resort 9616 Hwy 58, High Level T0H 1Z0 �������������� p: 780‑821‑1000 f: 780‑821‑8300 e: info@bestwesternhighlevel.com bestwesternhighlevel.com

Peace River Banquet Facilities Belle Petroleum Centre 9403 94 St, Peace River T8S 1J2 �������������� p: 780‑624‑8318 f: 780‑624‑8300 e: events@bpcentre.ca bpcentre.ca Hotels and Motels Best Western Plus Peace River Hotel & Suites 8016 99 Ave, Peace River T8S 1R2 �������������� p: 780‑617‑7600 f: 780‑624‑5066 e: reservations@bestwesternpeaceriver.ca bestwesternpeaceriver.ca Peace Valley Inns Hotel and Conference Centre 9609 101 St PO Box 6388, Peace River T8S 1S3 �������������� p: 780‑624‑2020 f: 780‑624‑2099 e: info@peacevalleyinns.com peacevalleyinns.com Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre Peace River 9510 100 St, Peace River T8S 1S9 ���������������p: 780‑624‑3621 f: 780‑624‑4855 e: cateringpr@sawridge.com sawridgepeaceriver.com The Nitehawk Adventure Park is among the highlights for visitors to Grande Prairie, where large events are welcomed at Revolution Place, a 3,288-seat arena that includes 18,000 square feet of meeting space | Hubert King/Travel Alberta

THIS IS LETHBRIDGE. for meetings and events

• 250,000 square feet of meeting space • 1,600+ hotel rooms • 320 days of sunshine each year • 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (within a 90-minute drive) • Meeting space for up to 500 delegates THE CHOICE IS YOURS visit chooselethbridge.ca to learn more.

A BRIGHT CHOICE

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