78th Highlanders in Banff
On February 9-11, 2012, the 78th Highlanders made their debut in Banff National Park to perform a series of showcase demonstrations for the annual Snow Days celebration. The demonstrations also served as a pilot project for a system-wide showcase of national historic site programming that will be offered at Cave and Basin, Canada's oldest national historic site. Founded in 1883 on the site of a system of natural hot springs, Cave and Basin was once the destination for thousands of pilgrims seeking to "take the waters" in order to improve their health. The facility is currently undergoing a complete reconstruction, a project that will include a "Story Hall" with the capacity to broadcast live video from any national historic site in the country.
The fifteen member travel group from the 78th included personnel from both the HCS and Parks Canada, and fielded an infantry squad, pipes and drums, and a small officer corps. It was a busy three days, with the group performing a variety of demonstrations in a variety of locations, including mini concerts, bayonet and rifle firing demonstrations, a Victorian Tea party, meet and greet sessions with local business and tourism personnel, and children's programming with the Stoney Mountain First Nations Cadet Corps. Performances took place at Banff National Parks headquarters, the Banff Parks Museum National Historic Site, and on the ice at Lake Louise. Perhaps the highlights of the schedule were two exhibitions of Victorian hockey, one played on Lake Louise and the other in downtown Banff.
Rounding out the program was a formal Scotch Whisky Tasting at the historic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
On February 12, the Highlanders travelled north from Banff to Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site for another day of showcase programming, this time as part of the site's annual winter Family Festival. In between two drill demonstrations and two mini concerts, the Highlanders once again took to the ice to play a rousing game of "ricket," or Victorian hockey, this time against the Sunchild O'Chiese First Nations Cadet Corps, a children's group sponsored by the Red Deer detachment of the RCMP. The final event was a second Scotch Tasting at the new Rocky Mountain House events facility, a cabin on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. A somewhat less formal evening than the previous tasting at the Banff Springs, the event was no less successful.
Though free time was hard to find and uniform changes were many, the remarkable ability of the Highlanders to conduct a complex series of differentiated program elements did not go unnoticed by the event organizers. The response to all of the performances, from both visitors and Parks staff, was overwhelmingly positive, and it is likely that the unit will visit Canada's oldest national park again in the near future.
