Mayor’s office cancels New Year’s levee
By Collin Gallant on December 21, 2017.
Medicine Hat News The annual New Year’s Day mayor’s levee in Medicine Hat is no more. Mayor Ted Clugston’s office announced Wednesday it was planning “a new tradition” to allow Hatters to interact with top government officials on Jan. 1, but it would replace the usual event set to take place in about 10 days. “The holiday season is a busy time of year, and for most families represents a time to be together, including travelling or hosting relatives from out of town,” reads the statement by Clugston. “And even in Medicine Hat, sometimes weather can prove challenging for venturing out on New Year’s Day.” Details of what might replace the event could be announced by Clugston at a planned state of the city address on Jan. 30. Levees have been held for more than 400 years in Western cultures, though the practice is generally only observed in Canada now. At one time, colonial governors would receive visitors on Jan. 1 and open the doors of government buildings to the general public. The modern practice in Medicine Hat began 13 years ago as an opening day kickoff to Alberta’s centennial year celebrations in 2005. That event harkened back to a similar move by Alberta Lt.-Gov. H.A. “Bud” Olson, who held the provincial levee in the city in 1997. Olson, a Medicine Hat native, created some controversy by moving the event out of Edmonton during his tenure, first to Medicine Hat, then to other locations from year to year. This year’s Alberta levee will be hosted at Government House in Edmonton by Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell and His Honour Doug Mitchell on New Year’s Day. According to Wikipedia, about 50 municipalities in Canada host levees, with most located in Ontario, Quebec or the Maritimes. The move leaves the Town of Redwater, near Edmonton, as the only local government in the province to observe the practice. 13-12
