Skateboarders to put the heat to Canada Day event

By Alex McCuaig

Canada Day celebrations at Kin Coulee. (File photo)

The weather might be cold now but the organizers of the hugely successful Beat the Heat skateboard competition will be seeking to put some warmth in Medicine Hat’s Canada Day celebrations.

The Medicine Hat Skateboard Association was awarded a $40,000 municipal annual contract to run the city’s annual event earlier this year.

The contract will be for up to five years.

Project deliverables include providing, “access to diverse cultural experiences and create opportunities for Canadians to participate in prideful festivities,” according to tender documents.

Events will include a 20-minute fireworks display, citizenship ceremony, various entertainment and activities as well as an Indigenous component.

The city’s skateboard association has been hosting the Beat the Heat competition since 2007 at the Kin Coulee skatepark on Canada Day, attracting a growing number of participants and fans since its inception.

The Medicine Hat’s July 1 celebrations had been run for years by the Canada Day Society until 2020 when the volunteer organization announced it was disbanding.

The group cited irreconcilable issues between it and city hall for it stepping back from the event.

At the time of the society’s disbanding, the city was contributing $26,000 in funding for the event.

The Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede had been hosting Canada Day events since 2021 but did not bid on the latest tender for the July 1 celebration.