Legislative Assembly Visitor Centre
Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
Free, nonticketed event
1914: war is declared in Europe. Not yet 10 years old, the young province of Alberta sends its sons and daughters overseas while those who remain at home struggle with a challenging new reality.
The new exhibition at the Borealis Gallery, Alberta & the Great War, is an immersive, interactive exhibition that explores the impact of the conflict both abroad and at home. Connect with people and stories, objects and experiences as you learn more about Alberta and the “war to end all wars”.
Alberta & the Great War blends storytelling with hands-on experience and brings visitors inside the story of the First World War.
The Borealis Gallery has been transformed to feature a re-creation of a trench, parlour and a public space from the Great War era. Artifacts and archival photos complement the hands-on experiences.
As visitors journey through the exhibit, they can take with them a re-created ID tag (“dog tag”) of an Albertan who served and learn about that person’s experiences in wartime.
The exhibition was originally curated by the Provincial Archives of Alberta in 2014 to commemorate the centennial of the outbreak of the First World War.
Media inquiries: Danielle Antoniuk, Communications
Legislative Assembly of Alberta | 780.643.2252 |
The Alberta & the Great War experience goes beyond the exhibition with an extensive public programming schedule, including monthly screenings of Great War films, a speaker series by experts on the Great War and military history and a family-friendly remembrance afternoon on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Cost: Free
Pehonan Theatre - Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
A group of young German students enlist during the early stages of war and travel to the front lines. The film, based on the 1929 German novel by Erich Maria Remarque, won Academy Awards for Outstanding Production and Best Director.
Rating: 14A (Violence, Coarse Language, Mature Themes, and Sexually Suggestive Content)
Cost: Free
Pehonan Theatre - Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
An NFB documentary featuring the wartime stories of twelve Canadian women who served in various capacities during the Great War. The film includes a mix of service stories from Canada and overseas, looking at familiar stories through seldom-heard-from perspectives.
Rating: unrated, PG suggested
Cost: Free
Capital View Room - Edmonton Federal Building, entry via Main Floor, 9820-107 Street
It was the first time Canadians had fought as a distinct national army, and in many ways it was a coming of age for the nation. Ted Barris shares a compelling and human picture of what it was like to have stormed and taken Vimy Ridge.
Ted Barris is an accomplished author, journalist and broadcaster. As well as hosting stints on CBC Radio and regular contributions to the Globe and Mail and National Post, Barris has authored 18 non-fiction books and is a full-time professor of journalism at Centennial College in Toronto.
Cost: Free
Pehonan Theatre - Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
The film follows two Australian men enlisting in 1915, and explores the lesser-known Eastern Front of the Great War.
Rating: 14A (Nudity, Violence, Coarse Language, Mature Themes, and Sexually Suggestive Content)
Cost: Free
Pehonan Theatre - Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
The history of war is generally written by military historians who focus on national and international narratives. Join us for a panel discussion about some lesser-known aspects of Alberta's involvement in the war, reflecting on Edmonton’s experiences and the contributions of indigenous Albertans.
Cost: Free
Pehonan Theatre - Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
Based on Vera Brittain’s 1933 memoir about her wartime experiences, this recent adaptation is a powerful coming-of-age story about love, war, loss and remembrance.
Rating: PG-13 (Nudity, Violence, and Mature Themes)
Cost: Free
Pehonan Theatre - Edmonton Federal Building, Main floor, 9820-107 Street
One hundred years later, the only tangible, physical “memory” of the First World War as a lived experience is the Materialschlacht – the material (artifacts) of war.
Anthony Worman is the Curator of Military and Political History at the Royal Alberta Museum
Visitor Centre plaza and pavilion from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Join us on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Learn about victory gardens, life on the home front and what it meant to go “over the top.” Also there will be a special LEGO® sculpture unveiling; all ages welcome.
(LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site.)
Legislative Assembly Visitor Centre