The Lloydminster Regional Archives will be hosting an exhibit on local curlers in partnership with Synergy Credit Union and the Lloydminster and District Co-Op this upcoming fall.
“We’re going to look at curlers through the ages, the teams that they were on, the route to the brier is one of the main focuses. There were two inter-provincial events that took place every year. One from the 60’s was the inter-provincial Farmer’s Bonspiel and there was also the inter-provincial Oilmen’s Bonspiel and we have local curlers who were involved in that and of course the Oilmen’s is still ongoing. So we want to highlight those two. ” says Lynn Manners, the Chair of the local committee for the curling exhibit.
The timing of the ‘Celebrating Local Curlers’ exhibit coincides with the Pinty’s Grand Slam.
“It just seemed, to me, it was the perfect opportunity to spotlight local curlers. They’re showing the national curlers and it’s wonderful that it’s going to be here, so if we could capture that audience at the same time and bring in local interest and a local display,” says Manners.
Manners adds that curling has helped create a community.
“Curling started when the community started and it was really a community builder because the curling rink was a place where people gathered and had a good time and it was really a social area.”
Synergy Credit Union and the Lloydminster and District Co-Op have each donated $2, 500 towards the Lloydminster Regional Archives to support their long term work.
“It’s really a great help to the Archives. I believe that we were in a bit of a budget deficit position.” says Manners.
“When we look at our organization and the number of third and fourth generation members that we’ve had in our organization as members within our Co-Op, it’s really important that we be able to track that and look back and know how our community was built and what it was built on,” says Lloydminster and District Co-Op CEO Don Stephenson.
“The Regional Archives shows us the long history of curling and other thing in the area and to be able to help support that and give others the knowledge and history of our area is pretty awesome and we’re excited to be a part of it,” says Diane Taylor, a representative from Synergy Credit Union.
The exhibit will run from October 24-28 at the Synergy Credit Union and it is free to attend.