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Celebrating Mount Royal’s 100th birthday
It’s our party and we want to celebrate with you — our community.
On Dec. 16 Mount Royal officially turns 100 years old.
As Calgary’s first post-secondary institution, Mount Royal has always been proud to be a member of the community. So it made sense that we would celebrate this milestone by welcoming our community to join us for a day of family-friendly festivities.
Lara Unsworth, centennial strategist, says on Dec. 16 the campus is open to the Calgary community and she encourages people to stop by and help us celebrate.
“We want to create the opportunity for people to get together and celebrate, which goes back to the roots of what we are all about,” says Unsworth. The birthday bash will include, street hockey, ice sculpting, pond skating, hot chocolate, fireworks and a donation drive to help 10 nonprofit organizations across the city.
Here are some of the ways you can come party with us:
Birthday ceremony
2 to 3 p.m.
Ross Hall, Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning
Let them eat cake — of course the official ceremony includes cake and refreshments, but it also includes some special presentations including Mayor Naheed Nenshi and well-know futurist Ruben Nelson.
Though Nelson is famous for looking forward, when we caught up with him during a work trip to San Francisco, he was in the mood to reflect.
Life in 1910 |
| So when Dr. George W. Kerby was busy founding Mount Royal in 1910 what else was going on in the world? |
Populations (approximates):
And according the Chinese zodiac 1910 was the year of the Dog Check out our photo gallery of "then and now" images. |
In the 1940s, the Calgary-born Nelson was a student in the Mount Royal Conservatory. In the ’50s he took his high school courses at Mount Royal. And in the ’60s he contributed to the think tank that was planning the new campus.
“It was small … you knew everybody,” reminisces Nelson of his days as a Mount Royal student. “The overwhelming thing I remember is it was very student-friendly … they saw students as people and not just as numbers or minds.”
Nelson, who has provided strategic advice to CEOs and Prime Ministers, is also proud to be a Mount Royal alumnus because of its founding in 1910.
“It’s like Canmore saying we have to build a junior college and conservatory,” says Nelson, pointing out the small size and isolation of Calgary in 1910.
“It was so ballsy and forward-thinking it blows me away.”
And because the future is Nelson’s business, he also has some advice for Mount Royal as we look forward to the next 100 years.
“The deepest wish I would have for the next generation of Mount Royal leadership is that they will be as creative and courageous as the folks in 1910 who created Mount Royal,” says Nelson.
He believes that Canada doesn’t need “just another university. What we need is a university that is born in the 21st century.
“They (MRU’s new leadership) need to ask what does the world need in the 21st century and how do we give it to them.”
Street hockey
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
East Gate
Good old-fashioned street hockey games will be played throughout the day, including a VIP game at 3 p.m.
All are invited to play and several Mount Royal departments have already stepped up to the plate … er … centre ice … and registered teams.
The Physical Education & Recreation Studies department team includes Professor David Legg, who is also the 2011 president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
When asked why he is playing he doesn’t hesitate: “It is the quintessential Canadian way to celebrate a milestone.”
His faculty colleague Steve Price agrees: “I’m doing it to show my Canadian and Mount Royal University spirit.”
Sign up via e-mail for street hockey.
Pond skating
Mount Royal pond
all winter, conditions permitting
Beginning Dec. 16 the pond will be prepped for ice skating. As an added bonus the carillon will play music 5 to 7 p.m. nightly, Dec. 16 to 31.
Unsworth is excited about this event: “We’re bringing back an old tradition. People might not know that the pond used to be used for skating.”
There hasn’t been regular skating on the pond for approximately 20 years.
Ice sculpture demonstrations
Noon to 5 p.m.
East Gate Plaza
Professional ice artists will demonstrate the best way to turn ice into sculpture. Then, people are invited to step up to a station and try creating their own work of art.
Fireworks
5 p.m.
Convocation Lawn (by the pond)
Ending the celebrations with a bang will be an approximate seven-minute fireworks show.
“It is going to be a big show with lots of blue and white,” says Unsworth.
Donation drive
Dec. 13 to 16
Drop off at Main Street or Recreation Entrance
Mount Royal is hosting a centennial donation drive to benefit 10 different nonprofit organizations — representing 10 decades in the community.
“We have been community responsive since the beginning so it makes sense to do this donation drive,” says Unsworth. “We have chosen organizations representing many demographics so we’d have something that would appeal to everyone.”
The donation drive is not looking for food or cash but gently-used or new items — check out the list of items.
“Everyone has to have some of these things stuffed in their garage,” says Unsworth.
— Anika Van Wyk, Dec. 9, 2010