Veterans Memorial Gardens looking to add program building

Representatives of the Veterans Memorial Gardens project are looking for funding to move a building at Horizon North to the Garden’s site, which would be used as a program deliver building.

The Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association asked the County of Grande Prairie for $9,600 at last Monday’s council meeting to move a 24’ X 60’ modular office. It has been purchased by the CMTA for the purposes of providing an education program, known as Operation Soldier, which will be offered for area youth groups and field trips with the intent of giving a realistic account of what it was like for soldiers in previous wars.

“There are three different stages of that program that the kids can go through and learn about what it was like to be a soldier in World War I, World War II,” said Executive Director of the CMTA, Renee Charbonneau. “How did they communicate? How did they have fun? What did they eat? How did they stay in touch with loved ones? All of those questions that kids have are going to answered inside that program delivery building.”

The Gardens project, which is located next to ANAVETS Hall (Army & Navy Air Force Veterans club), has been taken over entirely by the CMTA. Charbonneau explains they are hoping to raise about $275,000 in funds to help with the continued development of the project. Items they are looking to add to the gardens include memory panels, as well as creating eight separate gardens within the garden area, for groups such as Indigenous and Metis peoples, the Royal Canadian Legion, and RCMP to name a few.