Marriott Ribbon Cutting

April 5-6th, 2017 marked another great milestone for the Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN). We officially celebrated the grand opening of our new hotel – Courtyard Marriott Cold Lake located in the hub of the nation’s commercial park on highway 28.

April 6th we held our official formal grand opening event for the public. In similar fashion, we began our day with a pipe ceremony and our sacred fire was kept lit all day and night before. We opened with a prayer, welcoming address, and speeches by many dignitaries in attendance. The highlights of the day included we were honoured by our elder Rosie Muskego as she cut the ribbon in our ribbon cutting ceremony. Grammy award nominees the Northern Cree Drummers filled the room with such beautiful sound. We ended the two (2) day festivities with a round dance and extinguished our sacred fire to mark the end of our celebration.April 5th we honoured our CLFN members by having their very own private celebration. We began our festivities with a pipe ceremony and lighting of the sacred fire. We opened with a prayer, welcoming address, speeches and guided tours of the hotel. All of our members left with full tummies and goodies and memorabilia such as cups, hoodies and some were even lucky enough to win awesome door prizes! That evening an executive style mixer was held in the hotel bistro featuring Alex Janvier. Alex entertained all with his charm and wit. It was a great way to end a really great day.

A special shout out to Primco Dene group of companies and Seven Lakes for sponsoring the memorabilia / swag and door prizes. We also thank Osum, Witten, Marriott, Casino Dene and the CLFN Administration for their contributions to this special occasion. We couldn’t do this without all your generous support!

Our hotel grand opening celebration was honoured with traditional dene singing, drumming and sacred activity. This will ensure success in our venture.

Masi Chok to all who attended.