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Every day in Jasper we walk the footsteps of late, great explorers, writers and poets.
One of those is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who came to our little mountain town a century ago and was inspired to write a poem, The Athabasca Trail.
This month, Jasper honours the Sherlock Holmes writer with verses of artistic activities.
Habitat for the Arts has organised a photographic scavenger hunt, two film screenings, a poetry slam and a pottery exhibition.
Marianne Garrah, director of Habitat, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big deal our connection to Sherlock and nobody really knows it.
鈥淲hen Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was here he left a mark - it鈥檚 one of the clues in the hunt.鈥�
The photographic scavenger hunt has 12 clues, available from the art centre, for competitors to solve and then photograph what they believe represents the answer.
On April 10, local judges will decide the winners and award prizes of a pottery party, movie passes and pizza.
鈥淚 am hoping people get out and play with their cameras,鈥� Garrah said.
April is Poetry Month, and the annual Mayor鈥檚 Poetry Challenge will see local poets compete to perform in front of council.
There will be an open mic night at Snowdome on April 10 for competitors to read their poems. One will be chosen to read in council and will be awarded a gift from council.
Three days later, on April 13 a new Sherlock film made in British Columbia last year, The Doctor鈥檚 Case, screens at the Chaba Theatre at 2 p.m.
Garrah said: 鈥淚 am most looking forward to seeing The Doctor鈥檚 Case.
鈥淭he filmmakers are from Barkerville, BC, a heritage town that was a gold rush village.
"When you have passed the entrance to the town you are back in 1880. People are stuck there, buildings are stuck there.
鈥淲hen I heard about the movie I got in touch and have been riding the wave with them ever since.鈥�
Garrah said she hopes people will wear their best Sherlock hats and jackets to the movie.
She said: 鈥淪ir Arthur Conan Doyle will be at the movie.
鈥淲e have created a local character who will replicate the beautiful man with his big moustache and read The Athabasca Trail.鈥�
And on April 17, Film Day, another Canadian Sherlock Holmes film, Murder By Decree, is being screened free at Habitat.
There will be a pottery show every Wednesday in April from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Habitat, because pottery is 鈥淓lementary, my dear鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 showcasing earth of clay,鈥� Garrah said.
For more information about any of these upcoming events, email [email protected].
Sir Arthur's trip to Jasper
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first arrived in Jasper on June 11, 1914.
He and his wife, Jean, travelled here on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and were the guests of an old friend, Colonel Rogers, who was the park鈥檚 superintendent.
The Jasper trip lasted eight days and Conan Doyle noted: 鈥淔or a week we lived the life of simplicity and nature.鈥�
He said: 鈥淛asper Park is one of the great national playgrounds and health resorts which the Canadian Government with great wisdom has laid out for the benefit of the citizens.
鈥淲hen Canada has filled up and carries a large population, she will bless the foresight of the administrators who took possession of broad tracts of the most picturesque land and put them forever out of the power of the speculative dealer.鈥�
Conan Doyle and his wife visited many local spots including Pyramid Lake, Lake Edith, and the Maligne River and Canyon.
He wrote of Jasper: 鈥淟ife in Jasper interested me as an experience of the first stage of a raw Canadian town.
"It will certainly grow into a considerable place, but at that time, bar Colonel Rogers鈥� house and the station, there were only log-huts and small wooden dwellings.鈥�
Conan Doyle wrote The Athabasca Trail June 18, 1914. It was first published in The Gazette in Montreal July 2, 1914, and collected in The Guards Came Through and Other Poems December 16, 1919.
