Parks Canada/O. Robinson photoParks Canada’s expanded interpretive programming was met with success this summer, as visitors flocked to the agency’s new interpretive location in the Jasper townsite.
Parks Canada/O. Robinson photoParks Canada’s expanded interpretive programming was met with success this summer, as visitors flocked to the agency’s new interpretive location in the Jasper townsite.Last April, the municipality handed the keys to the Old Fire Hall over to Parks. For years the Jasper Artists Guild had occupied the space, but since 2012 it had been used as storage space. Beginning in late June, Parks set up shop in the heritage building, offering a range of interpretive programs out of it.According to Parks representative Gloria Keyes-Brady, the idea was to reach out to visitors who come to Jasper but don’t normally have much contact with Parks as an organization.“Often visitors come to town and they don’t get out to the campground programs, or they don’t get to sites such as Athabasca Falls and Maligne Canyon where we have staff situated throughout the summer. So it was a great opportunity to reach people in a market we wanted to reach—who were new to Parks Canada and were not as aware of national parks.”If the numbers are any indication, Parks accomplished that goal. The organization officially opened the doors June 28, and during the approximately two months the centre was open, 30,726 people came through. That is an average of 480 visitors a day.According to Keyes-Brady, the busiest days often saw 600 or more people drop in. Those days were usually Sundays, where the average attendance was 575 people.“We were very happy with the audience we were able to reach,” she said.Keyes-Brady explained that programs like the open jam night on Monday evening with Emma Acorn often drew significant crowds, as did the traditional Métis fiddle music on Thursday nights.“The music really was a draw,” she said. “[Acorn] would have local musicians who would come by and play their original music about Jasper or the mountains.”Kids loved anything to do with Parks’ mascot Parka the Beaver, as well as the puppet show. Many visitors also seemed to enjoy the aboriginal crafts workshop, where they paid to create their own traditional aboriginal craft that they got to take home with them when they were finished.And although the summer programming has now wound down, Keyes-Brady said Parks will still use the Old Fire Hall until the end of October. Every Saturday it will be open from 12 noon–6 p.m., offering many of the same drop-in programs it had over the summer.At night Parks will also offer dark sky programming out of the building, giving visitors a chance to learn about Jasper as a dark sky preserve, and peer at the stars through telescopes.Staffing restrictions means that the Old Fire Hall will stay shuttered through the winter, but when Parks opens the building again next season it will once again offer a range of interpretive programs.Keyes-Brady explained that Parks learned this summer that interactive, drop-in programs work best for the townsite location, so in the future it will gear its programs towards those kinds of activities. She also said that a consistent mid-afternoon lull means the building might close up for a few hours in the afternoon.She said the programming was also valuable because many visitors were eager to share their stories and experiences from their time in Jasper, which will help Parks decide what to offer next year.“We were there to listen to their stories, and hear about what people had done, what they were doing, and what their stories were. And we hope [they felt a] connection to the place, just by having that exchange.”
