Those who enjoyed some homemade bannock at last Friday's (Nov. 25) Lights Up! celebration can thank the local Indigenous Society and Fort Sask Fire Department.
The Indigenous Society of Fort Saskatchewan teamed up with local firefighters to bake bannock on the morning of Lights Up!.
Colleen Dollfusz says the collaboration went as smoothly as can be.
"We showed them what they needed to do, and they all jumped in, and it made our work a lot faster and more productive," said Dollfusz. "We ended up getting 23 bannocks done so that made about 700 units."
It was an all-day venture to make sure everything was ready for that night. Members of the Indigenous Society went to work at 9 a.m. and six firefighters joined them in the kitchen at about 10:30 a.m. before all the baking wrapped up at 2:30 p.m.
Darrick Graff, the president of the Fort Saskatchewan Firefighters Association, heard about the society back in September.
"We saw this opportunity to be able to donate some ingredients, come out and learn about the bannock-making process and our members had a great time," said Graff.
While firefighters might not seem like the perfect baking partner, Dollfusz says they were able to pick it up rather easily.
"None of them had made bannock before, but they were saying how they do bake and cook at home for their kids, which was fantastic," said Dollfusz. "Teaching them how to make it was quite easy, they took directions well."
All that hard work paid off that night at the celebration. The Indigenous society had a wonderful cultural display and gave away every single piece of bannock.
"It was received well, and everyone loved it," said Dollfusz. "We had a few [pieces of bannock] leftover, about 20 pieces left and we just gave them to the staff there and they finished it off."
While this is the first time the firefighters and Indigenous society have teamed up, it might not be the last.
"I think it's important for us, as first responders, to not only give back to the community but to learn of the various cultures that we serve," said Graff. "We're looking forward to partnering with them in the future."
This is just the latest venture the Indigenous Society of Fort Saskatchewan has made to get involved in the community. You can learn more about their work by visiting their Facebook page here.