The North Battleford centennial committee has Dec. 31 circled on their calendar for the last major event of the celebration year.
That will be the closing ceremonies, which will take place at the CUPlex.
Those plans were revealed as part of Tammy Donahue-Buziak's report to council Aug. 19 on the centennial committee's activities throughout the year to date.
According to Donahue-Buziak, the closing ceremonies will recognize the sponsors and the many volunteers who have helped in the planning to date and donated their time.
The highlight of that event will be the closing of the 2013 time capsule and setting it in its place for the next 100 years, to be opened in 2113.
The committee, however, does not plan to organize a repeat of the successful New Year's Eve party that ushered in the centennial year the previous Dec. 31.
"It was like no other - it was the perfect storm," Donahue-Buziak said of the previous event, held at the Civic Centre. Councillor Don Buglas had asked about it, noting there were a number of inquiries into whether that would happen again.
"If anyone is out there who would like to take it over, that would be a good thing," said Donahue-Buziak.
Another exciting event for the centennial committee is slated to happen early this fall, as plans are to do a modern day re-creation of the famous "Four Corners" historical photograph of North Battleford at the corner of 101st St. and 11th Ave.
That is being done in partnership with the City's downtown business improvement district. It's expected to take place in September and Donahue-Buziak says they are working with photographer Paul Sayers on that project.
The exact date for that photo shoot is not scheduled. The plan is to encourage people to come out and "make sure we are recorded in time for 100 years," said Donahue-Buziak.
Her extensive report to council members also consisted of a rundown of some of the more recent activities of the centennial committee including the July 1 combined centennial/Canada Day activities at the Battlefords Ag Society grounds. They estimated approximately 1,500 people attended the events that day, culminating with fireworks that night.
The event was largely incident-free, though Donahue-Buziak reported there was one instance of an individual from Alberta who had lost his wallet while dancing.
As it turned out, a young lady found the wallet and had returned it, she said. "There are a lot of wonderful people in North Battleford and we can be very proud of our community," Donahue-Buziak noted.
In spite of having to refund fees to several contestants due to issues encountered in running an amazing race held that day, the centennial committee reports they remain on budget.
In their financial report submitted for activities going back to 2012, total revenue is $293,000, exceeding the budget projection by $13,000, and total expenses are so far $268,000, about $12,000 under budget.
The revenues include $185,000 approved from the City of North Battleford and $53,000 in sponsorships. As of Aug. 15, their cash position is approximately $25,000, according to the report.
"We're sitting where we'd like to be at this time," Donahue-Buziak told council.
Donahue-Buziak indicated they do not anticipate any leftover funds following the closing ceremonies Dec. 31, but they do plan to come back to council for recommendations should that occur.
