Spotlight On Our Communities - Champion and Evergreen

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Champion
Champion, located 147 kilometres south of Calgary, is the largest village in Vulcan County. British, American and Canadian homesteaders began arriving in the Champion area in 1904, as the vast prairie grasslands, cut through by the Little Bow River, provided ideal country for farming and ranching.

Champion is now home to a variety of locally owned businesses and two schools, the Champion Community School (115 students in grades 1-9, plus a parent-run kindergarten), and the Hope Christian School (grades K-12). Recreational and cultural services in the village include the Champion Public Library, the Community Pool (outdoors), the Pioneer Club Seniors' Drop-In Centre, two baseball fields, the Champion Community Park and Campground, the Rodeo arena, and in the winter, a skating arena with natural ice. The village also serves as a gateway to Little Bow Provincial Park, which is located 20 kilometres east of the village and provides camping and many other outdoor recreational activities.

Since its founding, the Village of Champion has celebrated its anniversary every five years, traditionally on the July 1st long weekend. In 2011 the town will celebrate its 100th anniversary, an important celebration for which planning has been underway for some years.

Evergreen
Evergreen is a suburban residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. It is located south of the lovely Fish Creek Provincial Park, and southeast from the Tsuu T'ina First Nation reserve.

Residents enjoy an enviable position somewhere between urban and rural, with quick access to city conveniences, and easy escape routes to outdoor wonderlands like Kananaskis Country. An overwhelming number of homes in the neighbourhood are single-family detached houses and over fifty percent of the residents are in the age bracket from 24 to 55 years.

Fish Creek Provincial Park is a rare gem for a city the size of Calgary: a vast area of protected natural space with kilometres of trails for hiking, biking and running. For Evergreen residents, it's their backyard.