Delacour Agricultural Society & Community Club
If you have ever driven east from Calgary on Highway 564, you have probably bounced over the railroad tracks and sped across the canal and never even noticed Delacour! A busy community hall, a general store, an historic Girl Guide hall and a couple of houses in the hamlet are the heart of the place, but most residents within a couple mile radius of the railroad crossing consider themselves “Delacourians”.
As the railway moved west, Delacour was built around one of many prairie grain elevators connecting the agricultural community to the railroad. Delacour was incorporated as a hamlet in 1914 and named after a Mr DeLacour who was a foreman with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Sadly, our grain elevator has long since been demolished, but there is an active community centred around the Delacour Hall. The Community Club was incorporated by early residents in 1928 and the Agricultural Society followed fifty or so years later.
The community-owned hall is located on 10 acres of property, bordering the canal. The hall is the hub of many community activities and is available to rent for private functions such as weddings and other celebrations. Facilities include a large commercial kitchen, gymnasium with stage and a pleasant lounge area on the upper floor. An eighteen hole golf course borders the south edge of the hamlet.
Current activities include basketball, Girl Guides, a parents and tots activities group, monthly card nights, a fitness group, a social ladies group who support a local women’s shelter, and many equine related activities. We host an annual pancake breakfast in July to celebrate the Calgary Stampede and a fall turkey supper. Both events are always well attended and supported by our community.
Two branches of the Canadian Pony Club – Delacour and Pegasus, ride on separate evenings weekly during the summer. Riders and horses make good use of the fenced sand rings and schooling-fences on the short cross-country course. The two clubs hold a collaborative annual week of camp in the early summer with guest instructors. It’s amazing to see the progress made by both riders and equines in that week of concentrated horsemanship!
Horse driving clinics have been part of the Agricultural Society programs over the last two years and more are planned for spring 2014. For anyone who has in interest in this fun activity, whether you already drive or would like to learn – watch for information on our website as dates are confirmed.
A 24 stall covered barn built by community volunteers during the summer of 2013 now enhances the equestrian use of the facility. We have plans for further improvements starting in 2014, which include upgrade of cross-country jumps and an additional washroom building close to the riding rings.
Delacour is a dynamic and growing community and we invite you to stop by to check out our facilities and events.
Cathy Summerscales, 2 January 2014