Picture Butte’s Centennial in the spotlight at 2026 Jamboree Days

Posted on August 13, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

The Town of Picture Butte’s annual Jamboree Days kicks off this Friday and will welcome residents and visitors for a special three-day Centennial celebration Aug. 14-16, as the community marks the Town’s 100th anniversary milestone. 

Things get underway Friday afternoon with the opening ceremony at 4:30 p.m. at Lions Park with an official welcome and remarks by Picture Butte Mayor Cathy Moore and other dignitaries, including Lethbridge MP Rachael Thomas. That followed by the Fun Run at 6 p.m., and there’s a free swim Friday, at the Cor Van Raay Aquatic and Community Centre from 2-7 p.m. Later that evening, there’s the annual Street Dance with live music and a barbecue at Lions Park from 6 to 9 p.m. 

“The Fun Run is basically kicking off the Jamboree Days celebration weekend,” said Boyd Folden, chair of the Picture Butte Centennial Committee. “Our theme is Jamboree Days: A Centennial Celebration so the centre attraction is the 100th anniversary of the Post Office and therefore of the Town of Picture Butte.” 

Members of the Centennial committee will be participating in the Jamboree Days Parade on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. They are entering a “people mover” in the parade, that will seat about 12 to 15 committee members.   

“We’ve got some banners on it identifying us as the Centennial committee and we will be wearing our Centennial committee 100th anniversary t-shirts so that people can identify who we are, if they need questions answered during the day,” said Folden, noting that the Centennial committee will also be a part of the Heritage Display set up at the Community Centre Saturday afternoon. 

“We’ve got the Lethbridge North Irrigation District (LNID), we’ve got the Prairie Tractor Club, we’ve got other organizations that are coming in to put displays on in the community centre and talk about the days gone by,” explained Folden. “There’s going to be some movies, there’s going to be some interviews playing (during the day) on a monitor of people who we have interviewed, and then there’s going to be the unveiling of the commemorative 100th anniversary Picture Butte History Book that was put together by our book committee. 

In addition to the Centennial book presentation, there will also be carriage rides available at the community centre, and family activities and live music at Lions Park all Saturday afternoon from 12 – 4 p.m.

The official ceremonies begin at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday with the mayor’s address, a Centennial book promotion, Lions Park future plans unveiling and donor recognition and the Time Capsule presentation. 

“There’s also going to be the dedication to the time capsule. We’re going to re-dedicate some of the stuff that was opened for the 25-year time capsule (in August 2025) and add some other stuff to the time capsule,” said Folden, noting it will be a  good time for residents and visitors to learn about town history and see the many things the area has to offer in and around Picture Butte. 

Folden pointed out the hard work, time and efforts by many volunteers and committee members over the past several months, that helped make the Centennial celebration a great success, beginning with the formation of the committee in 2024. 

“We had our first meeting in October 2024 – we had quite a few people turn out,” he said. “Then the next meeting we organized a committee – we set up a committee and a board of directors and it went on from there.” 

He praised Centennial Publication Committee member Jeanene Casson and the entire publication committee for their help in creating the Picture Butte Centennial History Book and said they did a “fantastic job” on the project.  

“The Town has been great to work with in all departments,” he added, noting the town’s communication and correspondence and positive reception towards the Centennial committee and their ideas for the Jamboree Days Centennial Celebration. 

“We’ve had a great time working together with everyone and we’re all going to have a good time during Jamboree Days,” said Folden.