A boost of colour to the already vibrant Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park is coming next month.
Route 22 Collective Artist Collective Gallery creatives will stroke their paint brushes in a Plein Air painting event dubbed Art in the Park May 14 and 15, in support of Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, the gallery, and participating artists.
"What we're doing is we're celebrating art, nature and community," said the foundation's executive director, Sarah Parker.
The event, which will include guided photography walks, a pop-up gallery, family art classes, a live auction, and shuttle service is made possible thanks to a $5,000 Neighbourhood Grant issued by the Cochrane Foundation.
"Their funding is going towards supplies for the art classes, some of the things that we need for volunteer support, as well as for easel and things we need for the pop-up galleries," said Parker.
The event is free thanks to the Cochrane Foundation and Parker says they are currently working with the Town of Cochrane to provide shuttles between Cochrane and the park throughout the weekend.
"We're always grateful that the Cochrane Foundation supports our initiatives at the park," said Parker. "We are Cochrane's local provincial park, and so we feel like a lot of what we do helps to support the community of Cochrane in turn."
The deadline for artists to apply is May 6 and Parker says they're anticipating about 40 artists to participate.
The art they create, along with some other pieces, will be sold at the park and auctioned off at the gallery.
The event begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to wind down around 4 p.m. each day. Other participating partners include Cochrane Tourism and Alberta Parks.
The park foundation also received another $5,000 as part of the Cochrane Foundation's Community Capital Grant, according to Parker. Those funds will be allocated to replacing and repairing interpretive signage throughout the park, some of which has seen some wear and tear over the course of 10 years since the foundation's establishment.
"Glenbow Ranch is very exposed, so years and years of hot sun and rain and winds have made some of [our signs] hard to read and really faded," said Parker.
The content will remain the same as the facts, dates and photos are still relevant to the history of the park, but the signs will get a much-needed face-lift.
"Visitation to the park has increased tenfold in the last couple of years," Parker said. "So there are a lot of people benefiting from the information."
Over the last decade, some advancements have been made to signs to allow for higher protection from UV, so they will also benefit from those upgrades.
Cochrane Foundation board director Tim Harvie says they were more than happy to issue the funds to support the park as part of their 2022 grants award ceremony, both for signage improvements and for the art event.
"[Glenbow] is just a beautiful landscape made up of natural grasslands, ravines and some wildlife, and people love that kind of thing — to get away and get outside," said Harvie, who also happens to sit on the park's board of directors.
In addition to the park, the Cochrane Foundation also awarded grants to the Bike Cochrane Society, Cochrane Cowboys Wrestling Club, Cochrane Public Library, Cochane Humane Society and BGC Cochrane and Area, among several others.
Through both its Community Capital and Neighbourhood Grants, they contributed $92,822 this year. Over $1 million has been invested into the community since the group's inception in 1993.
"We're lucky to live in a community that has all these groups doing such good work," said Harvie. "And that we have a foundation that can support a lot of those groups."
For those who wish to give back, Harvie says he always encourages philanthropists to consider the Cochrane Foundation's endowment fund, whether through a one-time donation, annual, or estate giving.
"If you love Cochrane — what a great way to support the town forever," he said.
