DIDSBURY - The smoke from the 12-pound mountain howitzer hadn’t even cleared from firing in Rosebud Park on the last afternoon of Days of Yore and the event’s organizing chair already knew this one was for the record books.
“Attendance up this year,” said Kathleen Windsor, chair of the August long weekend event put on by the Mountain View Arts Society.
A record 2,092 tickets were sold, she said, adding that unsurprisingly, the majority of attendees were from out of town.
“It was fascinating. As of Friday at midnight when online sales were cut off there was like three tickets sold in Didsbury, three to Olds, zero from Carstairs. Everyone was coming from outside Mountain View County area,” she said. “I think generally locals leave town for the long weekend.”
The two-day event held on private property in the Rosebud Park in Didsbury is a living history festival featuring historical re-enactment groups that entertain and educate the public on cultural traditions, lifestyles, and activities of bygone eras through authentic representation of those times.
“For any event like Days of Yore, it is attractive to out-of-towners looking for something inexpensive that their kids would enjoy. We’re an hour out of Calgary, Red Deer – it’s close and entertaining for the whole family,” she said.
Living history demonstration included the firing of the howitzer, Viking battles, music and storytelling as well as games and cultural life of different periods of time.
A first for the two-day historical re-enactment festival was the flyover of a Harvard Mk. IV.
“That won’t happen again. It was a special flight,” said Windsor.
The 700 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force coordinated the daily flyover to celebrate the RCAF’s centennial and had an area at Days of Yore staffed with volunteers to answer questions and talk about the force’s history.
They were joined by groups including the Ulfraendi Vikings, Dragons Own Combat, Alberta 18th Century, Edmonton House Brigade, Yankee Valley Yankees, Victorian Society of Alberta, 10th Battalion CEF Commemorative Association, Prairie Motor Brigade and First Special Service Force.
Days of Yore is now in its eighth year. Most of the groups have been featured at the event in years past.
This year, Windsor said most of the groups brought something new to the festival and expanded their encampments.
“They really enjoy it. One of the fellows from the Yankees or the Victorians said Days of Yore is like Christmas for us,” said Windsor.
For many of the members of the groups, relaying their history is a passion. Groups like the Dragons Own Combat practise weekly, she said.
The Victorian Society of Alberta coordinated with the Didsbury Museum this year on a demonstration of a working telegraph. The society loaned the museum a telegraph for the weekend so people at the museum could connect with everyone on the MTC LINE during Days of Yore down in park.
And a fitting artisans alley featured everything from clothes and knives and swords to artwork.
