Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery shares local history through theatre this weekend

Kastern says she hopes “folks that attend see a little bit of themselves, or even our community, in one of the stories or in something that comes across their path while they’re here so that they connect with it and identify with even just a tiny bit of one of the pieces”.

She says Red Deer is an interesting community as while some were born and raised in the city, many have moved from across Canada, providing an opportunity for developing “blind spots” of the city’s history.

While the plays only show an entertaining glimpse of Red Deer’s long history, Kastern says she hopes the audience will learn something new.

One example from the show that Red Deerians may find intriguing, she says, is the deeper history of the Buffalo Hotel.

The hotel, located in the downtown area on 5031 50 St., was passed through many hands over the years since its creation in 1892. One owner, the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, bought the hotel in 1920 and renamed it the Buffalo Hotel after their logo.

Kastern explains that the Company was believed to have purchased numerous hotels across the province during this time, around the Prohibition Era, to sell their alcohol to guests in a more hidden place. The Buffalo Hotel, for instance, had a bowling alley and small pub in the basement.

She says one iconic accessory of the building was the large, heavy, and glorious buffalo taxidermy head that hung on one of the indoor walls, soon becoming the mascot for the hotel.

Upon the announcement in December 2022 of the Buffalo Hotel’s demolition, the MAG was invited to scope the location for any preservations. It was then that Kastern discovered on the back of the buffalo head a rare stamp with the name “Luxton Buffalo”.

READ: Collecting Buffalo Hotel and Club Café memories

She explained that due to the stamp and the estimated time when the buffalo head was brought to the hotel, it is believed to be a part of the original Luxton buffalo herd brought from the United States to Banff National Park to reestablish herds in southern Alberta and provincial parks in the early 1900s.

“It’s pretty cool that that buffalo hung in that bar for that many years and it’s that old and has that kind of tie to Canadiana, and it’s just been hanging out on a wall in what became a pretty divey place in our community. But it’s this really neat sort of treasure that I think speaks to not just Canadian history but also Red Deer’s history,” she said.

Kastern says ‘Stories at a Museum’ was scheduled to occur during Alberta Culture Days, from September 1 – 30, and to get people to have a positive experience downtown.

READ: Alberta Culture Days being celebrated across the central region all month long

Other events at the MAG for Culture Days include MAGnificent Saturdays of free drop-in art classes, artists in residence creating live work, and more.

Shows are approximately 90 minutes long, with all funds raised put towards the MAG.

Tickets can be purchased on their website.

(Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery website)

by Alessia Proietti

Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery shares local history through theatre this weekend

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