Blairmore Bandstand to be designated Provincial Historic Resource
By Lethbridge Herald on August 3, 2023.
A plaque designating the Blairmore Bandstand as a Provincial Historic Resource will be unveiled on Sunday, August 6th, 2023, at 1 p.m. in Gazebo Park (13019-20th Ave) in downtown Blairmore.The designation will be part of the 18th annual Crowsnest Pass Doors Open and Heritage Festival,
Platform guests will include John Barlow, MP for Foothills, Crowsnest Pass Deputy Mayor Vicki Kubik, and a representative from Alberta Arts, Culture and the Status of Women.
The plaque unveiling will be followed by a concert featuring the Crowsnest Pass Symphony Orchestra and a performance by Hazy Groves.
The over 100-year-old Blairmore Bandstand has heritage value as an excellent example of a once common structure in many Alberta communities. It is also significant due to its close and symbolic association with the Crowsnest Pass labour movement.
The Blairmore Bandstand was commissioned by the Blairmore Town Council in June 1921 and was completed by mid July of that year. It is located within Blairmore’s main commercial district, in a small park between 20th Avenue (historically known as Victoria Street / Tim Buck Boulevard) and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.
Like bandstands in other communities, the Blairmore bandstand played a prominent role in the town, being used as the site of musical performances, rallies and as either the muster point or the end point for parades and races. However, the significance of the Blairmore bandstand transcends this common function.
The coal mines of the Crowsnest Pass were notoriously dangerous and the region was a site of significant labour unrest and union activity. The bandstand was used as a site for speeches by strike leaders, union organizers and communists as well as the rallying point for demonstrations and marches. Notably, a strike rally at the bandstand in May 1932 culminated in a significant clash between striking miners and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Due to these momentous events, the Blairmore bandstand has become an iconic symbol of the Crowsnest Pass labour movement and the unrest of the 1930s
The full schedule of events for the 18th Annual Crowsnest Pass Doors Open and Heritage Festival are posted at http://www.cnphwritagefest.ca”www.cnphwritagefest.ca 2
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