The Honorable Lois Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and Commonwealth Secretary General Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland QC will unveil the Banff Commonwealth Walkway Sunday (Sept. 17) in a festive ceremony in Banff.
The Banff Commonwealth Walkway, a Canada 150 project, was gifted to Queen Elizabeth II by the Lieutenant Governor on behalf of the Province of Alberta to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday. The unveiling takes place outside of the Banff Park Museum, at the corner of Banff Avenue and Buffalo Street, at noon.
Bronze markers bearing the Queen’s royal cipher have been installed along numerous existing trails within the townsite and surrounding national park, starting from a commemorative plaque at the Banff Park Museum. The walkway, meant to encourage active exploration in the national park, tells the story of Banff and its tie to the Commonwealth through anecdotes, reminiscences, poems and photographs.
Commonwealth walkways are being created in 71 member countries and territories of the Commonwealth, spearheaded by the Outdoor Trust, a non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom. The Banff-Canmore Community Foundation, Parks Canada, Town of Banff, Banff Centre, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Banff & Lake Louise Tourism partnered on the project.
Trail guides for each of the four routes are available at the visitor information centre, or can be downloaded from banff.ca/commonwealthwalkway. A free app is also being developed, and will be available from the app store.