On Thursday, October 27th and Friday, October 28th, ninety-seven registered participants representing twenty-seven municipalities from across Alberta gathered at the historic Prince of Wales Armouries in Edmonton for our 5th annual Municipal Heritage Forum. From the Town of Pincher Creek in the south, to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in the north, and all places in between, each Forum attendee contributed a unique element to our “Roadmap to Success.”
We were very pleased to have with us Berdine Jonker, Senior Heritage Planner for the Government of British Columbia, as our keynote speaker. Berdine’s presentation on heritage context planning, “The Other Side of the Rockies,” opened up a lively conversation between all attendees, which continued over the two days of the Forum. In addition, it was a privilege to have with us the Honourable Heather Klimchuk, the new Minister of Culture & Community Services, who brought us some important concluding messages.
A good time was had by all who were able to attend the Thursday evening reception at Rutherford House, Provincial Historic Site & Provincial Historic Resource.
All of the presentations given at the Forum will be soon posted on RETROactive and also on the Municipal Heritage Partnership Program website, for your benefit. Stay tuned for updates!
Having been involved in organizing each Forum since 2007, I can say personally that this year’s gathering was a dramatic leap forward. Each community “showing and telling” about its work – at all different stages – demonstrated strong ownership and first-hand experience and knowledge of heritage conservation planning. It is truly amazing to see how much has been learned and put into practice!
On behalf of the staff of MHPP, I would like to thank each of you for attending the Forum, and also for filling out your evaluation forms. We received 38 evaluation forms filled with useful comments! Your suggestions are greatly appreciated and will go towards making Forum 2012 an even more practical and helpful event. It’s great to work with each of you as we create a future for Alberta’s historic places.
Written by: Matthew Francis, Manager of Municipal Historic Services
RETROactive 
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