High Level, Alberta, celebrating 50th anniversary

Alberta's most northerly town is celebrating 50 years with celebrations and events happening all year long.

It's a year of celebration for Alberta's most northerly town, High Level. The town was incorporated in 1965 so this year marks its 50th anniversary.

Bailey Kunz is the community development and tourism co-ordinator for the Town of High Level. According to her, the celebrations already began in January.

"We had our kick-off event on January 3," said Kunz. "We hosted a pancake breakfast and numerous community events that day but our next big event is our Homecoming Event on June 13th. We're trying to get as many ex-residents, or ex-pats, that used to live in High Level to come back and see how the town has transformed over the last 50 years."

High Level is a community of just under 4,000 people, where forestry, agriculture, and oil and gas servicing are the main industries. For the Homecoming Event, there will be family events throughout the day including a town tour led by a local historian.

"We will wrap up the day with a concert in the evening that is free to the public," Kunz said. "We are still booking our headlining acts . . . it should be a great time! Then to wrap up our year of celebrations, we will host a snow and ice carving event on December 5 and do a festival of lights. We encourage all residents and business owners to decorate their houses and store fronts and truly light up the town. We will also show our volunteers our appreciation on this day as well."

Community groups are also invited to host their own events to get into the spirit of the 50th anniversary throughout the year.

Kunz said this year of celebrations will be a lot of fun, especially with the help of the great committee that is working to bring all these events to the community.

"They are really the driving force behind the anniversary," she said. "We really wanted to make this celebration as community-inclusive as possible. This is really our chance to say thank you to the community, all the residents and past residents that have made High Level what it is today."