Historic Calgary Week celebrates its 33rd year of educating Calgarians about the city’s past

The 33^rd annual Historic Calgary Week kicked off last week at the Central Library with many interesting facts about the city such as the story of the first major traffic accident in 1912 or the Calgary author who contributed to many films in early Hollywood, including Phantom of the Opera in 1925. With many events filling the first few days of the 11-day historic festival, Calgarians have learned about historic Calgary figures, the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the truth of Chinese Canadian history, and more. The festival continues until Aug. 7 with numerous events taking place every day in and around the city. See the full event list here. We caught up with Walt DeBoni, co-chair of Historic Calgary Week, to learn more about the festival and what Calgarians can expect.

What is Historic Calgary Week and how long have you been hosting it?

Historic Calgary Week (HCW) is an 11-day festival highlighting the history of Alberta and Canada. It is a program of the Chinook Country Historical Society, one of five chapters of the Historical Society of Alberta. HCW 2023 is the 33^rd annual presentation, growing from a few events held one day in 1993 to 82 events this year in 11 days. All our programs are open to the public and the vast majority are free of charge. This year is the 140^th year since the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway into Calgary as well as the Calgary Herald. Our theme is “Making Tracks: Travelling Through Time” as we highlight the importance of transportation throughout our history..

What types of events are taking place and who helps run them?

The program includes walking tours which this year will go to Nose Hill, Collingwood, and Mt. Royal. Downtown is represented by tours of Olympic Plaza, Reinach Avenue, and Jewish Mewata. City Parks always participates, and this year will show Ft. Calgary both from an archeological and a First Nations perspective. Metis history will be highlighted at Lougheed House. Archivists from the Glenbow Western Research Centre, the city, and YouthLink will relate research that supports our transportation theme. Heritage Park and the National Music Centre have supported us by giving presentations for years and this year is no exception. But individuals who have interests in history also come forward and give presentations – most of these are held at either Central Library or Central United Church.

What are you personally looking forward to during Historic Week?

I find the people stories during HCW the most compelling and interesting. Much of our history comprises the lives and endeavours of many individuals who are not sufficiently prominent enough to make the history books but whose lives and contributions to the development of our country were important.

Why is it an important event for Calgarians to participate in?

As Winston Churchill said in 1948, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” It is important to learn from our past mistakes, so we don’t repeat them. However, we must also celebrate our successes as they too can help us understand how we can all work together to achieve the potential of our country.