Cenovus donation of $1.5 million helps create new city park!

Gift to support Calgary Stampede Foundation’s Western Heritage Trail

It does not yet have a name, but the riverfront park that will eventually house the Calgary Stampede’s Indian Village has a well-known corporate supporter. Cenovus Energy on Wednesday donated $1.5 million to the Calgary Stampede Foundation to create a Western Heritage Trail within the park along the Elbow River.
“We’re really approaching this as a partnership. It’s not just going to be a cheque,” said Vicki Reid, director of community affairs for Cenovus.
“We’re going to work very closely with the Stampede Foundation to really ensure that this donation is really leveraged for the community and really make this site a wonderful, vibrant, urban space with educational programs.”
The seven-hectare park is located on the east side of Stampede Park. The 310-metre-long trail will be designed as “an open-air museum” that highlights Calgary’s history and western heritage, Cenovus said. Interpretive signs and six sculptures, including two at the 12th Avenue S.E. entrance, will be part of the design.
“It will be a nice oasis in the centre of Calgary,” said Warren Connell, vice-president of park development for the Calgary Stampede.
Development of the park will move ahead after this month’s Stampede, with completion expected by the 2015 Stampede.
“Ultimately, the park will have a name. We’re working on that right now,” Connell said.
In addition to the Indian Village, the park will also host programs for aboriginal education, Rotary House and public gathering areas.
Already, millions of dollars have been spent to prepare the site. The total cost to develop the park is pegged at $15 million.
“Thanks to Cenovus’s sup-port, Western Heritage Trail will be a focal point of River-front Park,” said Sarah Hayes, executive director of the Calgary Stampede Foundation. “It will tell Calgary’s history in a stunning natural environment that connects to Calgary’s extensive pathway system.
“We want to see this gorgeous green space in the heart of Calgary. We want it to be a place that tells the Stampede’s story and Calgary’s story and the First Nations’ story. And we want it to be this great example of urban ecology.”
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Cenovus+donation+million+helps+create+city+park/6881887/story.html#ixzz1zlnNyTFZ