Cypress Hills celebrating Parks Day

By Jeremy Appel on July 21, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park has a slew of festivities today celebrating national Parks Day, along with about 30 other parks across Alberta.

The Alberta government invested $37 million in capital upgrades for the province’s parks this year, including funding for trail redevelopment at Cypress Hills, according to a news release from Environment and Parks.

Special events for the day begin at 11 a.m. and include an Elkwater Fire Department Demo at Learning Centre Field and Bike Rodeo at the Amphitheatre Parking Lot, which both go until 1 p.m.

A Slip & Slide at Learning Centre Field and YMCA High Ropes Course, which costs $35 per person, at the YMCA Camp go from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The official Parks Day cake-cutting takes place at noon.

All regularly scheduled interpretive programming at the park is free.

From 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., there is geocaching for ages six and up. Participants can register at the Visitor Centre.

From 2-3:30 p.m. is a field game, also for ages six and up, with registry at the Visitor Centre.

And from 8 p.m. onwards is the astronomy program for all ages, which is a drop-in event at the Learning Centre.

There are also two full-day events — Agents of Discovery, where participants solve geo-triggered augmented reality challenges, and Kids Bingo Cards, where children collect stamps at various Park Day Events throughout the day to win a prize.

Elkwater Community Hall hosts a craft market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $5 barbecue from 4:45-6 p.m. and bingo starting at 7 p.m.

The day concludes with fireworks along the south shore of Elkwater Lake at 10:15 p.m.