Grand opening held for Carmangay Community Centre

https://www.vulcanadvocate.com/news/local-news/grand-opening-held-for-carmangay-community-centre

The Carmangay Community Centre Association (CCCA) held a grand opening April 23 for the village’s new community gathering place.

“There’s just been so much community effort put in to this building — it’s just great,” said Jan Fraser, who’s on CCCA’s board. “And it will continue to thrive because of the community spirit.”

The community centre has been open for a year now and has hosted weddings, funerals, classes and meetings, including a recent SouthGrow Regional Initiative conference with members coming from all over southern Alberta.

With the Grange Hotel having burned down over a year ago, the community centre has become even more important for local residents, said Fraser.

“This has become the meeting place,” she said.

Many future events are being planned, said Fraser.

“The planning is to have card night,” as well as a jam session and food safety course, she said.

The Carmangay Fair will be held at the centre, said Fraser.

The Carmangay Fair and Sports Day is scheduled for Aug. 4-7.

Also at the community centre, residents can come round on a Thursday morning, from 8-10 a.m., to have a coffee and chat.

“There’s been up to 15 people in here just having coffee,” said Fraser.

Thanks to grant funding and community donations, the community centre is all paid for, said Fraser.

The only things left to do are installing air conditioning, and placing lettering to identify the building as the Carmangay Community Centre, said Fraser. Funds are in place to pay for both projects, she said.

“There may be some projects as we go that we want to do,” said Fraser.

Volunteers installed the flooring, and that saved the CCCA “a small fortune,” she said.

Fraser estimated the savings were around $10,000.

The CCCA will do ongoing fundraising to pay for the centre’s operating costs, she said.

Rentals will help pay those costs too, said Fraser, adding there’s also a donation box at the community centre.

“Every little bit helps,” she said.

As a non-profit, there are grants available to help run the community centre, said Fraser.

Carmangay was the last community in Vulcan County to not have its own community hall, noted Laurie Lyckman, a Vulcan County councillor.

“We now all have one,” she said. “And the amount of volunteers and community spirit in this community has always made me so, so proud, so congratulations to the Carmangay Community Centre on behalf of Vulcan County.”

Stephen Tipper