Day THREE: A Conversation with History
A Song For Seniors
Cantiga began the morning of Day 3 presenting their concert program for an audience of residents at Crestview Lodge in Pincher Creek. We have so many fond memories of singing here from past Cantiga tours!
We always leave time at the end of the performance for the choir to go out into the audience and meet some of the attendees. There are ALWAYS such important stories to hear and emotional moments to exchange with the people who took time out of their day to come hear us sing.
Thank you to Crestview Lodge for hosting us!
Leitch Collieries
After our introduction to coal mining at the Bellevue Mine, it was time to take our knowledge to the next level as we explored the Leitch Collieries Historic Site! Our dear guide Bill walked us through the basics of the coal miner’s life and taught us about all of the different jobs that people needed to fill to get coal from the mountain to its end destination.
The choristers had fun with all of the activities that tested their miners skills throughout the day! ⛏️
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
One KEY VISIT of the SW Tour Route is a guided visit to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site
Our tour began with Part 1: "Living Off The Land", a one-hour "sit-down session" with our Blackfoot Guide. We learned how First Nations people lived in harmony with nature, by harvesting all that they needed, taking advantage of our abundant natural resources, without any lasting impact on the earth. We found out about the tools and technologies that evolved with the buffalo culture in this hands-on program.
Part 2: "Full Building Tour" This 90 min tour of the Interpretive Centre covered the history and mechanics of the buffalo jump. We visited the cliff-top viewpoint and make our way back through the seven levels of building exhibits. We learned more about The Jump and had chance to view their engaging theatre presentations and be guided through the artifact-rich exhibits.
We even got to enjoy a sunbathing yellow-bellied marmot, a common guest in these parts!
A Bit of History: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
“At the place known as Head-Smashed-In in southwestern Alberta, Aboriginal people practiced a form of group hunting for nearly 6,000 years before European contact. The large communal bison traps of the Plains were the single greatest food-getting method ever developed in human history. Hunters, working with their knowledge of the land and of buffalo behaviour, drove their quarry over a cliff and into wooden corrals. The rest of the group butchered the kill in the camp below.”
(Jack W. Brink, archaeology curator at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton introducing “Imagining Head-Smashed-In”)
“The Blackfoot, fiercely independent and very successful warriors, controlled a vast region stretching from the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta to Yellowstone River of Montana, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Cypress Hills on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.
It was not until the coming of the North West Mounted Police in 1874 since Euro–Canadian settlement in the region began. Indeed, until the near extinction of the buffalo in 1881, the Blackfoot pursued their traditional lifeways. Only with the loss of their food supply were they obliged to adapt to the new era.”
Awards Banquet Evening
At the conclusion of our “Last Dinner Together”, our choristers and chaperones were presented with their TOUR AWARDS, individually acknowledging each member of the tour team for their specific, invaluable contributions to the tour experience. It is so important to remember and acknowledge that a great tour experience relies on the contributions of the entire group!
Make sure to ask your Cantiga chorister to show you their Chorister Award!
BONUS: Salute to our Cantare Tour Mentors!
We want to say a hearty congratulations, and an enormous THANK YOU to our six Cantare choristers who took part in this year’s Cantiga Tour! These mentors provided essential leadership, daily morale boosts, and constant guidance to our Cantiga choristers. These Cantare choristers didn’t have the opportunity to participate in their own Cantiga Tours due to COVID-19 pandemic cancelations, so we were THRILLED to be able to bring them to have their own Cantiga Tour memories!
Congratulations Abigail, Clara, Katelyn, Rachel, Tatum, and Zoe!
Follow the Tour on Instagram! @cantarechildrenschoir
