RCMP Celebrate Wood Buffalo Centennial Events

FORT MCMURRAY – Two of the major Wood Buffalo RCMP Centennial events took place on September 21, 2013, and were deemed an overwhelming success!

In the early afternoon many citizens came out to witness the sea of red marching through the downtown core of Fort McMurray for the Freedom of the City Parade. The freedom of the city means the granting of the privilege for all time for a specific military/police unit the right to march through the city bearing arms with colours flying and drums beating. This tradition of granting the right to Freedom of the City, to a military unit is a prized honour that goes back more than three centuries, and was also a first within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The celebration continued into the evening with the 2013 Victim Services Regimental Ball that was held at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre. The Ball is an event that the Fort McMurray Victim Services Unit organizes every two years and is a major fundraiser in support of the unit.

This year’s sold-out Ball was not only in celebration of the Wood Buffalo RCMP Centennial: 100 years of policing and community partnership, but also in recognition of 25 years of Victim Services in Fort McMurray. Among the 650 attendees were many members of the RCMP dressed in their traditional Red Serge, dignitaries from the region and beyond, as well as other prominent representatives from the community.

Thank you to all those who came out in celebration of the Wood Buffalo RCMP centennial and in support of the Fort McMurray Victim Services Unit.