The first Military Tattoo held in Alberta since 1998 took place in Whitecourt this past weekend

 

On Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10, Whitecourt residents took in a sight that hasn’t been seen in the province since 1998. A Military Tattoo is a military performance of music or a display of armed forces on a large scale and for the first time in 20 years, an Alberta squadron rounded up the troops and arranged a show. Put on by the Whitecourt Woodlands Hawks Foundation and hosted by the Whitecourt Air Cadets 721 Hawks, the event brought 16 squadrons and numerous performance groups to the community.

Guests included the RCMP Pipes and Drums, North Stratton Pipe Band, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, Grande Prairie Pipes and Drums, and the Whitecourt Highland Dancers. “This is something we want to make unique to Whitecourt,” said Hawks Captain Ken Westling. “We wanted to give something back to the community, something that we could put on and host. We volunteer at a lot of functions and our kids help at various events and part of our mandate is to be part of the community.”

This year also happens to be the 20th anniversary of the squadron after being reinstated in 1998. “The cadets were active here in the 50s through to the early 70s, but it closed due to lack of sponsors and interest.” August 1, 1998 was when they started up again in Whitecourt and being able to kick off an anniversary year with the first Military Tattoo in the same number of years was perfect timing.

The weekend started with a parade featuring six units: High Level, High Prairie, Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Mayerthorpe, and Whitecourt. Captain Westling explained the process of the Freedom of the City Parade. “The town constable will stop us in front of town hall and will ask us to identify ourselves. I will say who we are, and he will then take me over to the two mayors where I will put in our formal request to be in the community.” From there, the mayors read a proclamation giving the group freedom to march in the town and parade as need be and Captain Westling responded by saying they would do so to the highest standards.

“They will then offer us the town and county flags and we will add those to our coloured party. We will then uncase our squadron banner as we have to keep it covered until that moment.” Captain Westling said they would then conclude the parade at the squad building located at the entrance to Rotary Park. The reason for the elaborate entrance is simple. “We are guests here in the community so in order to do this we have to be invited in and this ceremony is based on that tradition of asking for permission,” he explained.

Both days featured different performers at the Scott Safety Centre with 16 different units taking part in total. The event was also tri-service meaning that squadrons from all three programs, air cadets, sea cadets, and army cadets attended. Captain Westling said they are planning to continue holding the event and received a lot of interest from other squads. “Many units emailed me back when I sent out the invitations in September and said they would love to come, and that it would be awesome, but they were unfortunately already booked that weekend,” as most groups set their schedules a year in advance. Planning for the next event will start more than a year in advance which will give that many more squads the opportunity to book the weekend and attend.

The grand finale of both shows was a showstopper as everyone was brought out together, all performers and bands, to sing Amazing Grace and God Save The Queen. With more than 50 pipers playing, it was a moment not to be missed. “Part of this is also a recruitment tool for us. This is part of what cadets are trained to do. Our band program is not very well known but it is a huge part of our program. We hope everyone enjoyed our first Military Tattoo,” he said.