10 Assiniboia Times, Assiniboia Saskatchewan -- July 15, 2022
Gateway Festival to bring unforgettable world-class entertainment Dubbed “the little Festival that could” for the past 18 years, the Gateway Festival in Bengough continues to be a family-friendly tourist destination. Through music culture and community, the Gateway Festival brings world-class entertainment and unforgettable memories to a normally quiet prairie town. This year, the Bengough Gateway Festival will be held in Bengough Regional Park on July 22 and 23. The featured headliners will be Chilliwack, Gord Bamford, The Northern Pikes and The Grapes of Wrath. Other entertainment includes Megan Nash, Karissa Hoffart,
Badlands Country, Library Voices and Radioactive Love. For a complete lineup, residents can visit the website at www.gatewayfestival.com. The event layout is well planned with two large stages of continuous music and another sponsored stage at the swimming pool to complement the popular ‘Community and Culture Walk’, which gives festival goers a chance to hop on a local bus to hear historical tales of the community. Places of interest include the museum, a visual arts display at the Drop In Centre, the Last Chance Store, and other local businesses
and restaurants. The festival spills outside of the main festival site to offer music at the outdoor swimming pool and a car show to be held downtown on Saturday, July 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Gateway Festival is noted for an exciting children’s area, where various activities such as face painting, bouncy castles, a children’s performer and the famous Gateway kids train (built by former Bengough resident Les Anderson) is all available. This year the children will be entertained by singer Sylvia Chave and Pat Roth, magician and balloon sculptor.
On the festival grounds there will be amazing local vendors and merchandise tents, along with food trucks and a beer gardens. There are acres and acres of green grass for camping adjacent to the festival grounds, making it very comfortable and convenient for tourists. Camping is split into three zones: family, quiet and party. Every year festival performers also visit residents of the Bengough Long Term Care Home to share music and good conversation. This year the 50/50 raffle will be the highest ever sold at Gateway Festival. It is already nearing $10,000. To
purchase a 50/50 ticket, call 306-268-2002 Financial benefits from the Gateway Festival also go back into the community. The Parks Board realizes a huge profit from the campers and concessions because of this event. They have donated money to the Bengough Playground Fundraising Initiative to build a new playground for the children in the area and all those who visit in July. They were also able to donate towards the purchase of a new fire truck, chairs for the museum, swimming pool deck, Bengough School, the Bengough Agricultural Society, the Day-
care, the dance club, and to bull-riding programs in the community. The Gateway Festival has donated tickets or merchandise to many organizations to help raise money for their cause. The Gateway Festival is made possible due to the hard work of the Bengough Municipal Arts Council, the extraordinary dedication of the valued volunteers in the community and the support of Tourism Saskatchewan, Sask. Arts Board and other businesses and organizations. The Gateway Festival will continue to grow, as plans continue to make this event the place to be on the fourth weekend in July.
Future of helium development in Saskatchewan looks bright Submitted by Wes Bloom Though it’s widely believed that there’s a world-wide shortage of the inert gas known as helium, several modern helium exploration companies believe this not to be true. Helium Evolution Incorporated is one of those companies. They believe strongly that there’s an abundance of helium right here in southern Saskatchewan, just waiting to be extracted, processed, and distributed world-wide. Helium Evolution Incorporated from Calgary, Alta., was conceived and created in March of 2020, incorporated in January of 2021 and went public in March of 2022. Ten company officials from the newly formed Helium Evolution cor-
poration arrived in Mankota on Saturday, June 25, to tell their story. Approximately 100 interested people showed up to hear what they had to say. The afternoon’s activities began at noon with a company sponsored barbeque. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, coffee, tea, juice, and soft drinks were served to the hungry crowd. Shortly after 1 p.m., Greg Robb, president and CEO, began an informative 15-minute presentation, followed by a 20-minute questionand-answer period. John Kanderka, VP of Land and Corporate Development, announced a $5,000 corporate donation for new equipment to the Mankota 4-H Club, along with two $1,500 donations to the Mankota and Glentworth Community halls.
Office and staff workers of Helium Evolution attend an information meeting in Mankota on June 15. John Kanderka, VP of Land and Corporate Development, is at far left; and Greg Robb, company Photo by Wes Bloom president and CEO is third from left. In his presentation, Robb explained that helium gas is used in many high-tech applications — not just for helium balloons. It’s used in the creation of microchips, fibre optics, and as a coolant in medical MRI machines. It’s also the essential agent used to purge spaceship propulsion tanks of all possible explosive materials before astronauts are thrust into outer space. Helium dirigibles are currently being considered as an alternative method of air transportation between Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle, Wash. Early on the morning of their Mankota presentation, Helium Evolution began drilling their first helium gas well near Glentworth. Five more wells are planned before the end of this year. Numerous wells will be drilled again next year, and a helium liquification plant — the only one in Canada — is planned within the next two or three years. According to Robb, it will most likely be built in the Swift Current area. The Saskatchewan Research Council is currently researching and studying its viability. Brad Wall, former Premier of Saskatchewan, sits on Helium Evolu-
tion’s Board of Directors and is a special government advisor to the company. According to Robb, the current Saskatchewan government is actively encouraging his company to accelerate their expansion plans and move forward in a judicious and timely manner. In an interview with this reporter, Robb stated that, besides workers and personnel on the ground, there will be a field office established somewhere in the McCord-Glentworth-Mankota region. Said Robb, “We’re excited [about] what the future holds for this area. There’s a wonderful upside to [our] exploration and expansion plans, not
only for this area, but also for the province of Saskatchewan. It’s our hope to contribute to the economic well-being of the area, by providing jobs and a factory/plant to extract and process helium gas for world-wide distribution. We’re also really excited about the creation of Canada’s first liquification plant here in the province. This [proposed] facility will make Saskatchewan a world-class player on the world stage in the not too distant future.” Robb concluded, “We strongly believe there’s enough helium gas here in southern Saskatchewan to provide jobs and huge economic benefits for the next 15-25 years.”
RCMP Crime Stats
The Assiniboia RCMPGRC responded to 30 calls of service during the week of July 4 to 10. They included: - 9-11 Act - 2 - Assist Other Canadian/ Provincial Agencies - 3 - Assist General Public - 4 - Break and Enter – Business - 1 - Disturbing the peace - 1 - Failure to Comply - 1 - False Alarms - 4 - Family Law Act - 2 - Mental Health Act - 5 - Mischief Under $5,000 - 2 - Traffic Violations - 2
- Suspicious Persons - 1 - Traffic Collision - 1 - Trespass Act - 1 The Assiniboia RCMPGRC responded to 16 calls of service during the week of June 27 to July 3. They included: - 9-11 Act - 2 - Child Welfare Act - 1 - False Alarms - 3 - Family Law Act - 2 - Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle - 1 - Traffic Violations - 4 - Theft Under $5,000 - 1 - Public Mischief - 1 - Wellbeing Check - 1