Centennial year in review

2013 marked an important milestone in the life of the city of North Battleford.

It was the 100th anniversary of North Battleford's incorporation as a city in 1913. It was in that year the rapidly growing community hit the magic number of 5,000 people to attain city status in Saskatchewan.

To celebrate that anniversary, a number of events and festivities marked the year, starting with a New Year's Eve gala.

The bash, entitled Let's Get This Party Started, was held at the Civic Centre where over 800 revelers gathered.

MC Jay Crockett helped the audience count down the seconds until the scoreboard clock hit midnight. Immediately, green and blue balloons were released from the rafters and the King Street Station Jazz Band started playing Auld Lang Syne to welcome in 2013.

"It was like no other - it was the perfect storm," centennial chair Tammy Donahue-Buziak would later say of the event.

The next major event on the schedule was the Centennial Winter Carnival Feb. 3, a family friendly event at the Civic Centre and Centennial Park area attended by about 300 people.

March 10 saw a Centennial Seniors' Tea where the community's senior citizens were honoured.

May 1 saw the most extensive of the centennial celebrations, as the city marked the 100th year to the day of the city's incorporation.

Among those attending the public ceremonies in Central Park was Lt.-Gov. Vaughn Schofield.

According to the News-Optimist account of the day's festivities, "Mayor Ian Hamilton read out the original royal proclamation from 1913 of North Battleford's city declaration, the same one that was read by then Mayor D.S. Walker 100 years ago.

"Hamilton then added the familiar slogan of the City's Centennial festivities in 2013: 'The past is told. Let the future unfold.'"

The event included performances by the Battlefords Children's Choir and also by North Battleford Comprehensive High School, who presented a centennial play looking back at the events that transpired 100 years ago.

Also on hand was local musician Kurtis Kopp who performed the official centennial song he had written and recorded, Centennial Begins.

The most exciting part of the afternoon's festivities was the opening of a 25-year-old time capsule. Among the items retrieved from that capsule were a letter from Pope John Paul II, copies of the North Battleford Telegraph and Battlefords News-Optimist; a light bulb from the water tower; a 1988 loonie; the official seal of the City; and a message of congratulations from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

The festivities then shifted in the evening to the Dekker Centre for a dinner and theatre performance commemorating the anniversary.

July 1 marked another major event in the city as North Battleford celebrated its centennial year alongside Canada Day festivities at the Ag Society grounds.

The festivities attracted 1,500 people to the grounds, culminating in fireworks later that night.

Included in the festivities was the highly-ambitious North Battleford version of the Amazing Race, featuring a $20,000 grand prize to the winning team. A total of 15 teams competed for that grand prize.

Perhaps the undertaking was too ambitious, though. The race was plagued with glitches and as a result, organizers made the decision to refund all the teams' entrance fees.

Sept. 28 saw another major event take place as part of the centennial year celebration. Local residents gathered at the four corners of 11th Avenue and 101st Street to recreate the famous 1938 four corners photo from that location. Local photographer Paul Sayers was on hand to take the photo.

The centennial year as a whole saw a number of projects. A digital and photo presentation called Exploring North Battleford at 100 was presented at the July 1 event and later in a display at the Chapel Gallery.

Commemorative publications through the year included the picture book Reflections of North Battleford. Compiled by the City of North Battleford Historic Archives, the book has been well received in the community.

October saw the release of the highly anticipated Pictorial Story of North Battleford by the late former North Battleford mayor Julian Sadlowski. The book features hundreds of drawings by Sadlowski focusing on the history, buildings and important people who made up the city over the past 100 years.

The final major event of the 2013 Centennial year was Dec. 31 at the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts, where local residents gathered to deposit items into a time capsule that will not be opened for another 100 years.

All in all, there was never a dull moment for North Battleford residents celebrating the centennial year of 2013. The story of the centennial year is told; let the future unfold.