By Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

Wagon rides to be part of Fort Whoop-Up anniversary season

May 11, 2017 | 11:05 AM

LETHBRIDGE – One of the city’s better-known attractions will include a new element when it opens for the season on Mother’s Day.

Admission to Fort Whoop-Up will include a wagon ride around the site and Indian Battle Park, available seven days a week. A teamster will be set up with four Clydesdale and Percheron horses for the summer.

“We have a new team of interpretive tour guides ready to welcome people as of our grand opening,” Dana Inkster, marketing and communications officer with the Galt Museum and Archives, said in an interview. “This year’s admission includes the interpretive tour, which is really wonderful history about the robe trade and the whisky trade and Fort Whoop-Up’s place in it, but it also includes a complimentary wagon ride.”

This is the second year Fort Whoop-Up is under the management of the Galt Museum, and Inkster said they’re working to ensure the information is historically accurate.

The 2016 season was somewhat abbreviated, beginning in mid-June, but Inkster said the fort recieved 4,500 visitors.

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“Looking at the statistics and visitor information we can see that the people who come to Fort Whoop-Up are quite different than those that come to the museum, and it is more of an international group,” Inkster said, “because for many people visiting forts and historical forts throughout North America and definitely throughout Canada it’s a destination experience. We’re looking forward to welcoming a new group of visitors.”

Inkster added they expect a boost thanks to publicity from international events like the recent World Senior and Mixed Doubles Curling Championships.

The 2017 season marks the historical attraction’s 50th anniversary, coinciding with Canada’s 150th birthday. Inkster said the fort, and the museum just up the hill, will offer free admission on that day.

“We’re working on a program that will honour the Kinsmen volunteer service which was really pivotal group in the creation of that facility,” Inkster explained. “It’ll be a party up and down the coulee in the museum area in Lethbridge.”

The fort will open for the season Sunday, May 14 from 1-5 p.m. More information, including hours and admission, is available on the attraction’s website.

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