This past fall, a group in our community installed a new tipi art installation in Centennial Park behind the Badlands Community Facility.
The group, led by Lynn and Mike Fabrick at Dry Canyon Collectables, received recognition by Indigenous Tourism of Alberta as they were nominated for the 2024 Partnership Award. The awards were presented at a ceremony in Calgary in January. Lynn Fabrick was so honoured to just be nominated. “To get nominated by Indigenous Tourism Alberta was a huge acknowledgement of what we’re doing here in the valley, or what we are trying to achieve. That recognition, along with a lot of other really amazing businesses, was very special.”
Unfortunately for Dry Canyon Collectables, they did not win the award. The winning group was Girth Hitch Guiding and Zuc’min Guiding from Nordegg. That being said, just being at the event allowed Fabrick to connect with a number of other Indigenous businesses and groups. “We did a lot of networking, reaching out to not only Alberta, but ITAC, which is Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, promoting what we have in the valley. The tipi sculpture is what we were nominated for, with the partnership between the Rotary Club of Drumheller and Travel Drumheller. Great teamwork and looking forward to doing more.”
With the conversations and networking at the event, Fabrick noted that many see Drumheller as a big destination with Indigenous tourism. “We noticed that a lot of people were looking at Drumheller as a bigger destination, with the Indigenous component attached to that. We’re thrilled because people are actually are wanting to come and explore. The more that we have that is visible for visitors to take in, then we’re right on track.”
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