Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/80542
up front Night Sky AT THE MOVIES Wheelchair racing against Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc at Canada's Sports. WRITE YOUR OWN Legend NEW CONTENDER FOR the best way to work up a sweat in Calgary: a fi ve-minute session on the rowing machine at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Only this machine isn't like the ones at the gym — it emulates real rowing by wobbling from side to side. Lean too far to the left or right and you'll tip right over. Think of the hall as the place to fi nd out whether you have what it takes to be an athletic superstar. You can step into a ring with a projection of Lennox Lewis — undisputed world heavyweight champ and Olympic gold medallist — for a 30-second bout of shadow boxing. Or test your upper-body strength in a virtual wheelchair race against Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc. In all, 50 interactive displays and around 1,000 artifacts, covering more than 80 sports, colourfully promote Canada's athletic achievements. One exhibit sure to stop visitors in their tracks: the Adidas running shoe worn by Terry Fox on his Marathon of Hope run across Canada. –T.H. Trippy Facts of Life MANY OF US would rather forget the family vacations we endured as children, squabbling with siblings in the backseats of station wagons. Yet as Edmonton author and three-time National Maga- zine Award winner Curtis Gillespie argues in his latest book, Almost There: The Family Vacation Then and Now (Thomas Allen, 2012), these trips are a formative part of our childhoods. Family vacations create a "shared roster of stories", he writes, that, by helping us understand our past, help us "understand and successfully negotiate our present." Hear Gillespie read from the book and share tales of his own family vacations October 20 at the Spruce Grove Public Library, during LitFest. —T.H. 12 WESTWORLD >> SEPTEMBER 2012 A STARRY SKY, a silver screen and the soft scent of baled hay in the air. If that package appeals, head to the Millarville Racing and Agricultural Society grounds September 29 for Movie Under the Stars, a family fi lm on an outdoor screen. Arrive in the hamlet early and spend the morning foraging at the Millarville Farmer's Market, Alberta's oldest, which runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the grounds. Then wander over to the racetrack for the main event – just look for the fi ve- metre-tall screen on the infi eld, in front of the grandstand. Three-legged races, wagon rides, raffl es, a petting zoo, a pie-eating contest and other family activities run until showtime, at sundown. Admission is by donation; proceeds benefi t Millarville Community School. The Millarville Farmer's Market runs until October 6. If you miss your chance to visit this fall, never fear: the Millarville Christmas Market takes over the grounds November 9 to 11, with handmade decorations, holiday treats and more. millarvilleracetrack.com SMACK DAB WHERE'S THE CENTRE of Alberta? If you ask an oil-and-gas man, it's Calgary. A politician would probably say Edmonton. But geographically, it's a statue of a grizzly cub, 30 kilometres outside the village of Swan Hills. The spot represents the intersection of the north-south and east-west halfway points between the province's borders. For GPS-ophiles, that's north 54° 30.000 and west 115° 00.000. A 5-km marked trail through boggy terrain leads to the clearing where the statue resides. –C.M. (hall) Don Molyneaux/Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, (statue) Marty Yanishewski