Terrific performances featured on the Ross Street Patio

Kick off Family Day weekend with a show by Red Deer’s own Ten02

Music fans won’t want to miss out on a range of terrific performances coming up on the Ross Street Patio.

‘Music on the Ross Street Patio’ continues Feb. 18 with popular Red Deer-based band Ten02. “The performance is a kick-off to the Family Day weekend,
so we will also have the hot chocolate out again, and the photo booth. It will be a really great evening of family fun,” explained Chelsey Ward, special events coordinator for the Downtown Business Association.

The Patio’s music season was officially launched on Feb. 11 with a special Valentine’s Day event featuring tunes from Simon Donovan and Amanda Mitchell, free Valentine’s hot chocolate, a ‘Date Night’ giveaway valued at $100 and a themed-photo booth.

Visitors could cozy up by one of the fire tables under a canopy of sparkling lights while listening to superb local talent.

Folks could also check out the ‘Locks of Love’ installation and add one of their own to celebrate the occasion with their significant other.

“It was great!” said Ward of the Feb. 11 event. “The Ross Street Patio really provides such a romantic ambience to begin with under that canopy of light and the fire tables. It’s really beautiful. We also had the trees decorated with hearts, and of course the Locks of Love was decorated. “The weather was also just right – cold enough to be cozy! The businesses’ patios also filled up with attendees and spectators, too. So, the words to describe it would be ‘vibrant’ and ‘thriving’ – there was a lot of excitement on the patio that evening,” she added.

Music on the patio has been an exciting feature for several years through the warmer months with performances running Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. This year marks the first time performances have been scheduled in the winter season, which falls in line with the current ‘year-round’ nature of the Ross Street Patio.

And there is no doubt that residents are loving it.

“Feedback from last Friday’s performance showed a great deal of appreciation from both residents and businesses,” explained Ward. “The Ross Street Patio is such a loved feature of the downtown, so it’s very exciting to be able to celebrate it year-round. There’s a lot of excitement, and people are happy to be there.” Another goal is to just generally increase traffic and overall awareness about all that downtown Red Deer has to offer, she said.

“The downtown is just such a great place to take a walk, explore and come across really unique small businesses, and to enjoy the roots and the culture of our historic downtown, too. Then you can stop by the Ross Street Patio for a live musical performance – there is just so much to see and do. “Right now is also a great time to visit the downtown – we have our ‘ShopDowntown2Win’ promotion going on,” she said.

ShopDowntown2Win is an exciting promotion involving a weekly $1,000 draw – $500 to keep and $500 to share with a local business, Ward explained. “All shoppers need to do is submit a picture of any receipts of $25 or more from any business in the downtown or Capstone area to www.shopdowntown2win.com.” Draws take place every Tuesday until March 8th when there will be a draw for a $1,500 grand prize!

“If shoppers can’t make it downtown every week, they can also participate by writing glowing google reviews about downtown and Capstone businesses,” she added. “It’s a great time to check things out and then enter to potentially win a great prize!”

As to the ongoing music series, folks can check out The Red Hot Hayseeds on March 17. Additional shows feature Jaydin Vonkeman on April 1, Jeremy Doody and Dom Benzer on April 7, and Stephen Scott and guests on April 14.

More exciting performances down the road include Kayla Williams on April 21, Jay Bowcott and Syd Zadravec on April 28 and heading into May don’t miss The Rebecca Raabis Family Band on May 5, James Adams (May 12) and Dean Ray on May 19.

‘Music on the Ross Street Patio’ is a free event and is open to all ages. All performances run from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. on show nights.

Also, according to the DBA, dates that fall on or near holidays will also feature giveaways, themed-décor, photo booths as well as free hot chocolate and/or activity booths along with the regular performances.

For more about the Downtown Business Association and all that is planned for the Ross Street Patio, find them on Facebook or visit www.downtownreddeer.com.

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Mark Weber

Born and raised in Red Deer, Mark Weber is an award-winning freelance writer who is committed to the community. He worked as a reporter for the Red Deer Express for 18 years including six years as co-editor. During that time, he mainly covered arts and entertainment plus a spectrum of areas from city news and health stories to business profiles and human interest features. Mark also spent a year working for the regional publication Town and Country in northern Alberta, along with stints at the Ponoka News and the Stettler Independent. He’s thrilled to be a Todayville contributor, as it allows him many more opportunities to continue to focus on the city and community he not only has a passion for, but calls home as well.

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Natural gas pipeline ownership spreads across 36 First Nations in B.C.

Published on June 14, 2025

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Chief David Jimmie is president of Stonlasec8 and Chief of Squiala First Nation in B.C. He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group. Photo courtesy Western Indigenous Pipeline Group

From the Canadian Energy Centre

Stonlasec8 agreement is Canada’s first federal Indigenous loan guarantee

The first federally backed Indigenous loan guarantee paves the way for increased prosperity for 36 First Nations communities in British Columbia.

In May, Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV) announced a $400 million backstop for the consortium to jointly purchase 12.5 per cent ownership of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system for $712 million.

In the works for two years, the deal redefines long-standing relationships around a pipeline that has been in operation for generations.

“For 65 years, there’s never been an opportunity or a conversation about participating in an asset that’s come through the territory,” said Chief David Jimmie of the Squiala First Nation near Vancouver, B.C.

“We now have an opportunity to have our Nation’s voices heard directly when we have concerns and our partners are willing to listen.”

Jimmie chairs the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance, which represents the communities buying into the Enbridge system.

The name Stonlasec8 reflects the different regions represented in the agreement, he said.

The Westcoast pipeline stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from northeast B.C. near the Alberta border to the Canada-U.S. border near Bellingham, Wash., running through the middle of the province.

It delivers up to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas throughout B.C. and the Lower Mainland, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

“While we see the benefits back to communities, we are still reminded of our responsibility to the land, air and water so it is important to think of reinvestment opportunities in alternative energy sources and how we can offset the carbon footprint,” Jimmie said.

He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG), a coalition of First Nations communities working in partnership with Pembina Pipeline to secure an ownership stake in the newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system.

There is overlap between the communities in the two groups, he said.

CDEV vice-president Sébastien Labelle said provincial models such as the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) and Ontario’s Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program helped bring the federal government’s version of the loan guarantee to life.

“It’s not a new idea. Alberta started it before us, and Ontario,” Labelle said.

“We hired some of the same advisors AIOC hired because we want to make sure we are aligned with the market. We didn’t want to start something completely new.”

Broadly, Jimmie said the Stonlasec8 agreement will provide sustained funding for investments like housing, infrastructure, environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. But it’s up to the individual communities how to spend the ongoing proceeds.

The long-term cash injections from owning equity stakes of major projects can provide benefits that traditional funding agreements with the federal government do not, he said.

Labelle said the goal is to ensure Indigenous communities benefit from projects on their traditional territories.

“There’s a lot of intangible, indirect things that I think are hugely important from an economic perspective,” he said.

“You are improving the relationship with pipeline companies, you are improving social license to do projects like this.”

Jimmie stressed the impact the collaborative atmosphere of the negotiations had on the success of the Stonlasec8 agreement.

“It takes true collaboration to reach a successful partnership, which doesn’t always happen. And from the Nation representation, the sophistication of the group was one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”

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Trump: ‘Changes are coming’ to aggressive immigration policy after business complaints

Published on June 12, 2025

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From The Center Square

By Brett Rowland

“So we’re going to have an order on that pretty soon – we can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels, we’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”

President Donald Trump said Thursday that changes are coming to his aggressive immigration policies after complaints from farmers and business owners.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote in a social media post Thursday morning. “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

Later Thursday, Trump made it clear that businesses need workers.

“Our farmers are being hurt badly. They have very good workers – they’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be great. And we’re going to have to do something about that,” the president said.

He added: “We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’t have, maybe, what they’re supposed to have.”

Just how Trump may change his approach to immigration enforcement remains unclear, but he said he wants to help farmers and business owners.

“You go into a farm and you look and people, they’ve been there for 20 or 25 years and they work great and the owner of the farm loves them and you’re supposed to throw them out. You know what happens? They end up hiring the criminals that have come in, the murderers from prisons and everything else,” Trump said.

Trump said changes would be coming soon, but gave little detail on how policies could change.

“So we’re going to have an order on that pretty soon – we can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels, we’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”

In a later post on Truth Social, Trump said illegal immigration had destroyed American institutions.

“Biden let 21 Million Unvetted, Illegal Aliens flood into the Country from some of the most dangerous and dysfunctional Nations on Earth — Many of them Rapists, Murderers, and Terrorists. This tsunami of Illegals has destroyed Americans’ Public Schools, Hospitals, Parks, Community Resources, and Living Conditions,” the president wrote. “They have stolen American Jobs, consumed BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in Free Welfare, and turned once idyllic Communities, like Springfield, Ohio, into Third World Nightmares.”

He added that deportations would continue: “I campaigned on, and received a Historic Mandate for, the largest Mass Deportation Program in American History. Polling shows overwhelming Public Support for getting the Illegals out, and that is exactly what we will do. As Commander-in-Chief, I will always protect and defend the Heroes of ICE and Border Patrol, whose work has already resulted in the Most Secure Border in American History. Anyone who assaults or attacks an ICE or Border Agent will do hard time in jail. Those who are here illegally should either self deport using the CBP Home App or, ICE will find you and remove you. Saving America is not negotiable!”