Elk Island National Park (EINP) is celebrating the Year of the Bison.
On Monday (June 12) the park was invited to take part in the kick-off event for Alberta Open Farm Days (AOFD) at Metis Crossing.
"Alberta Open Farm Days is essentially shining a spotlight on one of Alberta's keystone species being Bison," said Dale Kirkland, park superintendent for EINP.
"It's pretty exciting to see Alberta Open Farm Days be the Year of the Bison, obviously something that is very near and dear to our hearts here and the history of Elk Island National Park."
The event was held at Metis Crossing near the Smoky Lake Bridge and was a huge success.
"It was a wonderful event, a strong success, and a nice collaboration with a number of partners who care about bison," said Kirkland.
"Overall, it was a very nice event to be a part of."
AOFD will be held later in the summer in August, while Elk Island has actually already gotten started with the festivities with BisonFest taking place earlier this month at the park.
Kirkland adds that there will be plenty of opportunities for visitors to celebrate the Year of the Bison at the park this summer.
"Throughout the summer here at Elk Island there will be a number of opportunities for visitors to engage with our staff on our bison conservation program and provide opportunities for all of our visitors to discover and enjoy them."
Attendance at the park has been strong this season, but a tiny bit under last year's numbers. The cause for this dip could be a few different reasons.
"Obviously with the amount of smoke in the area and people staying indoors," said Kirkland. "We believe having the fire ban in place for a period, people decided not to come to the park."
"Overall, our numbers throughout April and May have been really strong."
Some dates to keep an eye on at the park include July 1 when they will be hosting their Canada Day celebration as well as July 15 which is when they plan on celebrating Parks Day.
More info on both those events is expected to appear on their website in the coming weeks.