Lacombe

The City of Red Deer is advising motorists of road closures, traffic detours, and transit disruptions for the Westerner Days parade tomorrow (July 17).  

Road closures along the parade route will start at 6 a.m., with barriers and no through traffic beginning at 8:30 a.m.  

Coming up this Friday, July 19th is the 5th annual Ringsteken event in Downtown Ponoka.

Annie Muilwijk from the Alberta Friesian Horse Association explains what a Ringsteken is:

"It's an old traditional event from the Netherlands.  The Ringsteken event is you have people that have a handheld device and try to. catch the rings that are put alongside the road on a post. You get four of these so you get four chances in one run and then the people have four times a run. Points are calculated as every ring is a point and then second round two points and so on." 

Red Deer’s Westerner Days is kicking off tomorrow (July 17), with the community-favourite parade, midway, live music, Pony Chuckwagon Championships, and fireworks.   

Here’s everything happening for Westerner Days:   

Westerner Days Parade  

Red Deer motorists are advised of traffic disruptions along Walker Boulevard as crews work to replace catch basins.  

Walker Boulevard will be closed to all motor vehicles, except local traffic, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily starting tomorrow (July 16) through to Friday.  

Detours will be in place along Cronquist Drive and Webster Drive.  

More than 20 years after launching an arcade room in Red Deer’s Gasoline Alley, Jim Roth has decided to “Play Again.” He even came out of retirement to do it. 

  The Boardwalk (on Gaetz) Entertainment Centre combines the nostalgia of 80s-style arcades with modern, interactive gaming – resulting in a sort of Coney Island theme with additional attractions such as laser tag, a 7D Dark Ride, mini bowling and spaces for birthday parties and other events. 

A newly recruited anesthetist is now serving Wetaskiwin and area patients.

Dr. Carol Faid, a general practitioner with anesthesia (GPA), has joined the anesthesia team at Wetaskiwin Hospital and Care Centre in a full-time permanent role.   

For several years, Faid has performed anesthesia and provided family practice and emergency department coverage in western Canada and the U.S.   

Lacombe County has launched a new Mobi-mat and beach accessible wheelchair (Mobi-Chair) at Sandy Point Beach.

These new amenities, started from a county staff innovation initiative, will ensure the beach is accessible for everyone, whether they have a mobility impairment or simply find it challenging to navigate the sandy terrain. The Mobi-mat and Mobi-Chair are in place to help users fully enjoy the beach experience. 

Due to a gap in physician coverage, the Sylvan Lake Advanced Ambulatory Care Service (SLAACS) will be temporarily closed Monday, July 15 from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., reopening Tuesday, July 16 at 7:30 a.m.

Red Deer County is advising residents and motorists that TR350 between RR25 and RR31 will be closed until August 24, 2024 for bridge construction.

This is an Alberta Transportation project being undertaken by Red Deer County. 

Local traffic only will be allowed.

Motorists are asked to use an alternate route and follow all road signs in the area.

The City of Lacombe was bustling over the weekend with Lacombe Days celebrations.   

The weekend-long festivities brought thousands of residents and visitors to Lacombe, for barbeques, markets, live music, kids’ activities, and much more.   

The celebrations began early Friday (July 12) morning with the AFSC Pancake Breakfast, followed by the annual Sunny 94 barbeque.   

On Saturday morning, thousands lined downtown Lacombe to watch the parade, collect candy, and see all the decorated vehicles and floats.