The Camrose Booster
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Velora Market grand opening

Adan Shaikh, Camrose Booster

A wonderful new business has opened its doors in Downtown Camrose. Velora Market is a one-stop shop for all the basic household needs. Owner Chen Kun (Monica) held the official grand opening ceremony on October 22.  Mayor PJ Stasko and Councillor Don Rosland attended the event for the ribbon cutting. The festivities included a tea tasting and musical performance by a local artist. The store is located at 4949-50 Street.
 

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Ghost sightings at the Bailey Theatre


By Adan Shaikh

Camrose has no shortage of tales that can send a shiver down the spine. Stories have long been told of horses heard stampeding down Main Street in the dead of night and the cries of a baby haunting the hallways where the Windsor Hotel once stood. But perhaps no local story has gained quite as much attention as the historic Bailey Theatre.

As Alberta’s oldest theatre, the Bailey has seen thousands of performers cross its stage. According to local historian and genealogy expert Janine Carroll, some may have never left.

“A lot of the theatre people return to where they were the happiest and the Bailey Theatre has always been a magnificent, vital part of Camrose’s social scene,” she said.

Janine, who once led ghost tours through
Camrose, became interested in the City’s history while organizing Founders’ Day events. As her knowledge of local history grew, so did the number of people seeking her out with stories of close encounters they could not quite explain.

One of those stories involves a little girl and a mysterious helping hand, from the early days of when the Bailey Theatre had just reopened in 2011.

On a Friday evening, a theatre employee and a volunteer were preparing the building for another event the following day. The volunteer had brought his two young children with him as they were expecting to be working late that night. “At one point in time, the father told me that the kids were playing hide and go seek and they disappeared for a few minutes,” said Janine.

With the theatre locked for the night, their father was comfortable letting them explore, knowing they could not get outside and would eventually make their way back to the stage.

The boy returned alone, having ditched his younger sister downstairs. Some time later, his little sister, reappeared. Her father asked whether she had become lost wandering through the old theatre.
“No, the nice lady showed me where the stairs were,” she replied.

The adults stopped what they were doing, concerned that someone else was inside the locked building. They searched the theatre, checking its rooms and corners.

They found no one. “They talked to the little girl and asked where did she find the lady. She shared that her brother had left her downstairs and she was just wandering around, looking for a way to get back upstairs, and a lady had said, ‘Here, come with me and I will show you how to get back upstairs’ and took her hand. She said that she could feel her hand in her hand, and they walked up to the stairwell and then the lady told the little girl that she had to go upstairs on her own because she couldn’t go with her,” added Janine.

This story was shared with her by the father of the children.

She mentioned hearing many stories about people meeting the lady. She said a former Bailey Theatre employee often encountered her. Janine also heard from a third party about one occasion when he met the lady face to face.

“One time he was getting off the elevator and, as the door opened in the basement, lights were not on, there were safety lights so he could still see, and what he saw was a lady walking by. The man called out to the lady and as she turned around to look at him, she melted into a fog and disappeared right in front of him. “This happened to him a few times, from what I heard, and he then started pretending that he didn’t see her so she wouldn’t feel that she had to hide from him.”

Another reported sighting shared with Janine was when one of her friends who worked at the theatre invited her to show her something. “She took me to a specific place behind the stage where I could stand and look downstairs into the basement. There was just a little light, like the safety floor lights you see in an airplane so people backstage won’t fall.” As Janine stood in that spot, her friend told her that a person from one of the musicians’ team had been standing right where she was, and when he had looked downstairs as the band was performing, he saw a lady dancing downstairs to the music.

He watched her for a few moments. He watched her throw her hands up to point to the stage and as she did that she turned her gaze to the stage, looked back down and disappeared. The team member noticing her shared that no door had opened for someone to have left the building.
Janine shared that the stories like this are part of what makes the Bailey’s supposed inhabitants more intriguing than frightening.

Being the hub of all art, music and drama in the community, Bailey Theatre wouldn’t be the worst place to spend eternity.
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Camrose Energy donation

Nadine Leming, Camrose Booster

Camrose Energy is committed to giving back to the community. On October 14, Denise Hawkins (left), owner of Camrose Energy, presented a $1,500 donation to David Samm, executive director of the Hospice Society of Camrose.

Dazzled by Darcy


By Nadine Leming

In a world transparent of mystery, there’s nothing quite like the mystique of a Darcy Oake show. He brought his full-scale illusion spectacle to Camrose at the Lougheed Performing Arts Theatre (LPAC) on October 16.

The modern day magician was hooked on magic when his dad showed him a card trick as a child. He tried to figure it out for several days before his dad admitted he had a one in fifty-two chance of getting it correct. That set him on a course that has made him recognized around the world.

It was an evening that the audience experienced together as he disappeared from a glass box to reappear at the back of the auditorium. Throughout the show, Darcy was funny, charming and very personable. It was a great family show.

He even had a magic hat that he said could make whatever was inside double. He put in one ball and pulled two balls out. He asked if anyone in the building had a 50 or 100 dollar bill in their pocket. An audience member came to the stage with a 50 dollar bill, to put it in the hat and received two balls. Darcy did return the money to him later in the show.

The illusions he performed had theatre-goers enthralled all evening. Whether it was a calculator trick that he did with every member of the audience that created the show’s date and time to an illusion that had a duck disappear on stage and reappear in a sealed box held by an audience member, everyone in attendance that night is still trying to figure out.

The Booster’s own Ron Pilger was one of six participants in an illusion. Darcy threw a large beach ball into the audience that went to several random people. Each person was to select a number that meant something to them.

Ron was one of those people that shared a number. The six numbers selected all appeared on a lottery ticket that was in a zippered compartment inside a wallet that was monitored by a gentleman in the first row. Each of the numbers Darcy recorded for everyone to see randomly from around the room appeared on that lottery ticket.
Each illusion was created to challenge people’s perception and question what they were really seeing. His cutting-edge magic placed the focus on what one might think was impossible.

He even created a card trick he did with the entire audience that had everyone shuffle the cards they received at the door randomly, tear them in half, and exchange a piece with another person while sitting on one half of another card. At the end, the last card the audience held magically matched the other half of the card they were sitting on.

Darcy had everyone spellbound from the moment he appeared on stage to the very end. The crowd showed their appreciation with a standing ovation. It was truly a magical evening of entertainment.
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Thriving through uncertainty

Nadine Leming, Camrose Booster

On October 22, the Camrose Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted their second annual Business Symposium. The day included a lineup of speakers giving insight into Thriving Through Uncertainty. From left, Aaron Morris, Chamber executive director; Adam Wilson, Cherry Lane B&B; and Mark Langille, Detention Brewing Co. from Rosalind, sat on a panel talking about business outside of Camrose.

AI Data Centres, big opportunities –
Invest Alberta shares update


By Adan Shaikh
 

Invest Alberta is working on connecting Alberta communities with global investors, and a recent visit to Camrose gave economic leaders from the Battle River Region an opportunity to discuss local opportunities and challenges.

Invest Alberta manager of corporate development Jordan Walker and MLA Jackie Lovely met with regional leaders to discuss how the provincial agency attracts foreign investment, creates jobs and diversifies Alberta’s economy.

“We are the Alberta Government’s investment attraction agency,” Walker said. “We will be six years old in January, so we are just at the tail end of celebrating and making our partners and Alberta stakeholders aware of what we have achieved.”

Since its establishment in 2021, Invest Alberta has attracted more than 76 investments, helped create more than 45,035 jobs and secured 63 active memorandums of understanding with investors worldwide. The agency has offices around the globe, with investment interest coming from countries including Japan, China and India, as well as Europe.

Major projects supported by the agency include Meta’s AI data centres in Sturgeon County and supporting the Alberta Training Centre of Excellence for Aviation and Aerospace in Calgary.
Municipalities can connect with Invest Alberta through a partner portal to share information about their communities, infrastructure needs and potential investment opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, technology, tourism and natural resources.

Walker highlighted the Meta project as an example of the scale of investment Alberta can attract and the trickle effect it can have on economic activity.

“This one you may be aware of already, one of the largest impact investments in Alberta’s history and Canada’s history, the Meta data centre in Sturgeon County,” he commented referring to Meta’s $12 billion investment in Alberta.

The project is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent positions. Walker said the company is bringing its own power generation through the Greenlight Electricity Centre, following a two-year investment process.

Lovely asked about potential health and resource concerns associated with data centres. Walker said the facilities are required to bring in their own power generation and reuse the water needed for operations. He also pointed to growing investment in carbon capture and removal as companies look to reduce their environmental footprint.

Deep Sky in Innisfail is one example of the emerging industry, operating a carbon removal centre that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air.

Walker said more data centre projects are in the pipeline, ranging from large-scale developments to smaller facilities, with opportunities for related industries to grow alongside them.

For the Battle River Region, he identified meat processing, peas and canola as potential areas for investment, drawing on the region’s agricultural strengths.

However, infrastructure remains a consideration for businesses looking to establish or expand operations. Walker noted that while electricity is important to industrial development, water availability is another major factor. Camrose’s lack of a secondary water source could limit its ability to attract some new investments, a project the City of Camrose is currently focused on.

The meeting gave leaders from across the region an opportunity to exchange ideas, raise concerns and discuss how to position their communities for future economic growth.
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Libraries Day

Adan Shaikh, Camrose Booster

Camrose Public Library hosted Alberta Libraries Day on October 1. After each screening, executive director Alyssa Martin answered questions and gave community members a chance to understand the changes coming to the libraries across Alberta with the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2026. Expert speakers from neighbouring libraries; Kim Snyder, director of the film The Librarians; and several other organizations hosted panel discussions throughout the day, to share the importance of libraries.
 
Bonnie

Reflections

By Bonnie Hutchinson
 

Rising to the occasion
 
It’s just a few days before Hallowe’en, but I’m not thinking about that. I’m still thinking about the two-weeks-ago weekend. You know, the Canadian Forces Base Wainwright weekend. The fire. The deaths. The injuries. The responses.

I have family members who live near CFB Wainwright. All during that weekend, news about the fire, deaths and injuries galvanized my attention. I knew my family members would not be harmed directly. However, I wondered about other impacts, not just on them but on the entire community of Wainwright and district.

I decided not to phone them for a day or two, figuring a phone call would just be a distraction if they were directly involved in some way.
 
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From time to time, I’ve had less than positive thoughts about our Canadian Prime Minister, our Alberta Premier, and the Battle River-Crowfoot Member of Parliament. But during that terrible weekend, I thought all three of them responded impeccably.

The Member of Parliament flew to the constituency, as did the Canadian Ministers of National Defence and Emergency Preparedness, and Canadian Armed Forces Major General.

In their statements later during the weekend, I appreciated the comments of the Member of Parliament, who in July had met some of the soldiers who died or were injured. I also appreciated comments of the Prime Minister and the Alberta Premier, as well as other political and military people who made statements.

Meanwhile, support poured in, not just from the local community but from across the province and the country. Much gratitude to first responders, STARS air ambulance and medical people in Wainwright, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary and Saskatoon. They rose to the occasion.
 
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The CFB Wainwright tragedy has made me notice that I hardly ever think about Canada’s military.
Growing up as daughter and niece of two World War II veterans, I sometimes overheard grown-ups talk about how Canadian Armed Forces members “punched above their weight” in Europe. I have faint memories of helping my mom and grandma pack up things to send to “daddy overseas.”

I also have a faint memory of being in my grandma’s kitchen, seeing a tall man in a black leather jacket and hearing someone say, “This is your daddy.” I was about four years old and didn’t remember him from before he left for “overseas” when I was a toddler.

What I also don’t remember is my dad or uncle ever talking much about their time overseas. I think that may be true of many war veterans.

In more recent years, if I thought about Canada’s military, I felt more embarrassed than proud. I was not embarrassed by the military itself, but by our country’s meager contribution to its own defence. I was aware that Canada was not investing as much on defence as NATO expected from its members. I’m glad that in the past year or so, the federal government’s financial commitment to the military has increased.

The tragedy at CFB Wainwright has focussed my attention on our military. I’m taking in the magnitude of what men and women commit to when they join the military. They are agreeing to put their lives in danger, in service to our country.

The CFB Wainwright tragedy did not involve a war. However, it jarred me into thinking about the strength of character it must take to commit to putting your life in danger in service to your country. My respect for the military has increased. That’s a good thing.

I’m grateful that our province and our country have risen to the occasion with their commitments of support to military members during this painful time.

I’m also grateful that federal government and military representatives have committed to reporting the results of the investigation into what factors led to this tragedy. May a similar tragedy never happen again.
 
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I’d love to hear from you. If you have comments about this column or suggestions for future topics, e-mail Bonnie@BonnieHutchinson.com. I’ll happily reply within one business day.