Town of Taber planning 120th anniversary celebration

Times Photo by Trevor Busch. ANNIVERSARY: Mayor Andrew Prokop, Economic Development Manager Amy Allred, and Communications Manager Meghan Brennan pose among some images of Taber’s past at the Administration Building as part of an announcement of upcoming June 30 - July 1 Town of Taber 120th anniversary celebrations this summer.

• Concert line-up released Friday on new website

By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
editor@tabertimes.com

The Town of Taber is celebrating 120 years in 2025, and the municipality plans to make it an event to remember for citizens and visitors alike.

For June 30-July 1, the town is planning a two-day celebration featuring music, food, entertainment and festivities for all ages.

“On June 30, we’ll be hosting a concert at Confederation Park in partnership with Spider Entertainment,” said economic development manager Amy Allred. “We’re grateful to our two presenting sponsors, Power Fuelz and FortisAlberta for making this happen, we have a lot of other sponsors as well that will be announced in the coming days. But we will be having a large concert in the park. We’ll be hosting a free family barbecue with chips donated by PepsiCo, and we’ll have some food trucks there as well with drink options. And it’s a free concert.”

“There’s a whole variety of things going on there for those two days,” said Mayor Andrew Prokop. “Overall, June 30 and July 1 to celebrate Taber’s 120th anniversary. So it’s a milestone year for sure, way back to 1905.”

The three headliners for the free concert are expected to be released Friday afternoon on a new website, http://www.celebratetaber.ca, which launches March 14.

“We are very, very thankful to say that because of the support of both Council and our sponsors, that it will be completely free for the public of all ages,” said communications manager Meghan Brennan.

Big things are planned for the celebration, reports Prokop.

“So June 30th is a free concert. Barbecues, also, that same date, all in the park. And for Canada Day, the pancake breakfast kicks it off, the flag raising ceremony, of course, as per the norm, the food trucks are going to be there, and the Domesticated Divas market. That’s new, haven’t had that before. There will also be a Big Truck Petting Zoo.”

“There’s been a lot of interest in a Big Truck Petting Zoo,” said Allred. “Actually the first time in Taber that we’re doing that.”

“The main stage entertainment consists of live bands, and cultural performances as well along with a live Family Feud, it’s going to be fun,” continued Prokop. “Face painting, bouncy castles, also the free swim at the Aquafun Centre, fire department water fight, laser tag, and, of course, the fireworks to culminate the end of the evening.”

While Taber always stages an annual celebration for July 1, with the community hosting the Southern Alberta Summer Games in 2025 from July 2-5, Brennan and Allred are hoping residents make it a week-long celebration.

“We want people to come for the concert and stay for Canada Day, stay for the Summer Games,” said Brennan. “Later that week, we’re going to have more camping options. We want them to come and be part of the whole week of activity. So we’re trying to make ways for that to happen – 120 years, we better have a full birthday week, not just one day.”

“It’s just enhanced. I guess that’s probably the best way to put it – celebrate into two days instead of just the morning, basically,” said Allred. “July 1 is kind of the bigger part. Things going on all day long previous, but this is more involved for sure.”

Taber’s story began in the 1890s when homesteaders settled here, though Indigenous Peoples called this land home for thousands of years. Originally known as “Tank 77,” the community grew into a coal-mining settlement and was officially incorporated as the Village of Taber on March 15, 1905—the same year Alberta became a province. Just two years later, on July 1, 1907, it became the Town of Taber. From a humble coal-mining settlement to becoming Canada’s Corn Capital, the community has always been about resilience, innovation, and growth. Taber has since transformed from that small coal-mining village into a thriving agricultural and economic hub, built on the hard work and ingenuity of its people. Through every challenge and triumph, Taberites have stood strong, proving time and time again that Taber is a great place to grow.

“As far as celebrating milestones, I think that that’s kind of no brainer,” said Prokop. “It’s to showcase Taber, the community, the area and 120 years is quite a milestone, obviously. And a lot of history over the years that made Taber the great place it is today. So I think that’s important to show the roots and what started it all, and very important to pass that message on and help celebrate that message as well for the future.”

Referencing the new website, http://www.celebratetaber.ca, Brennan hopes citizens consider it a new hub for community events throughout the year.

“In the coming weeks, we’ll have more events that we want to join in as part of our birthday festivities. The 120th site will have a number of big events across the community. So we’ll have Cornfest highlighted, Cornstock is highlighted, pheasant festival. They’ll all have a page on there, all the different things happening this year. There will eventually be stories highlighting our community and the things that make it so great. We also can say that there will be a celebratory video coming that won’t be released until the summer, of course, but we’re in the process of that.”

“The public is not going to want to miss our concert,” said Allred. “We’re kind of capitalizing on the amazing events we have throughout the year to showcase it as our 120th year. So while it might not be operated by the municipality or planned by the municipality, we want to highlight those events because they’re huge economic drivers, and it just celebrates our community, our people, and really what makes us such a great place to grow.”

Allred reports the town is also launching a ‘mystery’ event that week.

“This week of June 30 we’re going to be having a ‘clue solvers’ mystery. So it is about a 90 minute, 20 clue game that’ll lead people through downtown, and we’ll have 300 free vouchers to give out for that to celebrate the 120th and also to drive more business to our downtown.”

Allred had a ready answer when asked why the Town of Taber chose to celebrate 120 years in 2025 as opposed to a more traditional milestone like 125.

“Good question. I can’t speak for council, but I would say from an administrative side, 120 just seemed kind of like a cool year. (It) just seemed like a kind of a nice thing to do after COVID and bring our community back for a party. And that’s not to say we won’t celebrate 125, 130 or 135 – it’s a good time to have a party.”

“The police did that last year for their 120th,” said Prokop. “So I think that’s part of that, as far as how that came to the discussion phase, and thought it was very timely to do it now instead of waiting for the 125 necessarily.”

Anyone interested in helping out with the upcoming celebrations are asked to get in touch with the town.

“We definitely do need volunteers. We’re grateful that FortisAlberta has already committed to bringing their volunteers to run the barbecue, but we definitely need help from the community,” said Allred. “I have a form online, under recreation you can volunteer for events, or they can just email town@tabor.ca, or give us a call, and we’ll be happy to take their name and contact information. However is easiest for them, and any amount of time is greatly appreciated. Whether it’s an hour a week, doesn’t matter, and whether it’s for Taber 120th, Canada Day or the Southern Alberta Summer Games, that week is going to be very busy, and it won’t happen without the support of our community, both attending and volunteering.”

With tongue firmly in cheek and capitalizing on “corny” themes, the town is billing 2025 as the “Most A-maize-ing Year.”

“We’re looking forward to this,” said Brennan. “It’s a very exciting time for Taber, and looking forward to this special event and having our community residents enjoying that.”

“This is more than just an anniversary—it’s a celebration of our people, our stories, and the community we’ve built together,” said Prokop. “For more than 120 years, Taber has been a place of opportunity, family, and resilience. We can’t wait to celebrate our past, cherish our present, and embrace the future together.”