If you either live in the Midland neighbourhood or have driven by this week, there’s a good chance you saw a large group of people checking things out around the Drumheller Valley.
The Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall on 17th Street NW has been a hub of activity as part of an international gathering for the Jehovah Witness in Calgary this weekend. Brad Pramberg, Regional Spokesman for JW Canada shares more about what event is taking place this weekend in Calgary. “Starting on (July) 31st and going through until August 2nd, we have an international convention with the theme ‘Eternal Happiness’. This is going to take place at the BMO Centre in downtown Calgary, and we are expecting to draw approximately 23,000 attendees.”
How Drumheller became involved has to do with showcasing destinations in Southern Alberta for the delegates attending from around the world according to Pramberg. “Every summer, Jehovah Witness host conventions. There are 50 of them taking place across the country this summer. What makes this one a little different was Calgary, along with St. John’s, were actually chosen to host an international convention. Included in that 23,000 is actually 3,500 international delegates that we’ve invited from around the world. When that was chosen, we started planning on how can we show some hospitality to these international delegates. We began planning around the area for a good ‘Alberta Experience’. So, Drumheller, the Horseshoe Canyon, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, they were naturally ones that we wanted to make sure that everyone could come and see.”
As part of their trip to Drumheller, bus loads of attendees were at the Kingdom Hall in Midland nearly every day in the past week. Pramberg explains some of what attendees got to enjoy as part of their “Drumheller” experience. “The (Royal) Tyrrell Museum is so world famous, and so big, we wanted to make sure that they got all of the highlights in a short period of time. Afterwards, we invited them back to our Kingdom Hall, served lunch, put on a show inside, and welcoming them all. We just all want to get to know each other. These are our fellow, what we call, our brothers, sisters, and friends. This is a great way to get to know them and show a united brotherhood here.”
The event here as well as another event that took place over the week out at Mount Norquay in Banff were the prelude to the convention that will take place this weekend in Calgary. Pramberg notes that much of the outside activities are done but he has heard that many of the international delegates loved their time here so much that they may venture out once again before the end of the weekend.
The conference in Calgary starts on Friday, July 31st and goes until August 2nd, and is free for anyone to attend.
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