Happy Centennial, Alberta!

I'm still wondering which clever educrat decided that the first day of public school would coincide with Alberta's official birthday, especially with all the (free!) centennial celebrations being held throughout the province beginning today and running late into the night and through the weekend.

Tom, the kids, and I are taking off to the small town of Wainwright, about an hour south of our farm, to enjoy their festivities (including bison burgers) and fireworks; we're especially looking forward to hearing the Corb Lund Band.

(Psst...Alberta is the province north of Montana. Some famous Albertans: Fay Wray, W.O. Mitchell, W.P. Kinsella, Marshall McLuhan, Joni Mitchell, Arthur Hiller, Ian Tyson, k.d. lang, Jann Arden, Paul Gross, Leslie Nielsen, Kurt Browning, Michael J. Fox, Tommy Chong, and Nickleback)

"Alberta Bound"
by Gordon Lightfoot

Oh the prairie lights are burnin' bright
The Chinook wind is a-movin' in
Tomorrow night I'll be Alberta bound
Though I've done the best I could
My old luck ain't been so good and
Tomorrow night I'll be Alberta bound
No one-eyed man could e'er forget
The Rocky Mountain sunset
It's a pleasure just to be Alberta bound
I long to see my next of kin
To know what kind of shape they're in
Tomorrow night I'll be Alberta bound

Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound

Oh the skyline of Toronto
Is somethin' you'll get onto
But they say you've got to live there for a while
And if you got the money
You can get yourself a honey
A written guarantee ta make you smile
But it's snowin' in the city
And the streets and brown and gritty
And I know there's pretty girls all over town
But they never seem ta find me
And the one I left behind me
Is the reason that I'll be Alberta bound

Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound