Amazing Race episode spotlights Lethbridge
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on July 14, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
CTV’s hit reality series focused on Lethbridge Tuesday night, giving national exposure to a few city landmarks.
Fort Whoop-Up, Helen Schuler Coulee Centre and the High Level Bridge were featured prominently in the episode that had contestants tackling two difficult challenges in the city’s river bottom. Tuesday’s was the second episode of this season’s series.
After arriving in Lethbridge from Calgary in red Chevrolet Blazers – which many have recognized from being parked at a city car dealership earlier this year, they were welcomed at a rattlesnake statue in Indian Battle Park where a traditional Siksika dance was performed. Along with an eagle feather, they were given their next clue which had them choosing between identifying seven owls by their sounds at the Helen Schuler centre or doing a counting exercise involving a herd of goats penned at the fort.
Only two teams took on the owl challenge, which was a hoot to watch as they struggled mightily to earn their clue to the next challenge. This required one team member to learn the sounds while the other read descriptions of each. Both teams, who decided to work together, failed multiple times to make the right matches.
The majority of teams chose to use their math and memory skills by adding up the numbers on goats wearing different coloured bandannas, which matched the ones contestants selected. A catch that took awhile for contestants to realize was that two goats of all bandanna colours had the same number, which cost numerous failures.
After those two challenges, contestants drove to a Subway store at the south end of Mayor Magrath Drive for a challenge involving memorizing a list of vegetables before heading to CR Fruit Market just outside the city to pick up specific numbers of those tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumbers.
Former NHLer and Lethbridge Bronco Ron Sutter made a cameo appearance when he was asked for directions by the sibling team of Jesse and Marika who are Canmore residents and one of two Alberta teams in the competition. The other Alberta team consists of sisters Franca and Nella who live in Edmonton.
But that challenge wasn’t the last for the teams in Lethbridge – they all had to contend with a “roadblock” which had one member doing a virtual reality arcade game to music called Rythmatic at Ctrl V virtual reality arcade. Contestants had to hit 90 per cent of the VR targets before receiving their next clue.
The segment ended at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton but rather than the last team being eliminated, cast and viewers learned from host Jon Montgomery the episode continues next week when they head to Fernie, B.C. which is the hometown of one cast member named Ali who is competing with her boyfriend Court.
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Good to see our name a little more positively portrayed on TV. It is too bad that it couldn’t have been shot this time of year, with leaves on the trees and green coulees. An aerial view of the city would have been nice, like they do in other shows.
I wasn’t aware that the Prince of Wales sat on Treaty 7/ Blackfoot land as they stated when the last teams arrived when they welcomed them saying ” I respectively welcome you all to Treaty 7 territory, land of the Blackfoot people, here in Waterton Lake “. It didn’t say traditional or the hunting lands, but their land.
I guess the Supreme Court will make the decision on whether it is their land. My research shows that after the official counts were made over 140 years ago, they were only entitled to the land they were given, since the size was pursuant to the population.
The ‘signed’ allotment was what they received after the ‘actual’ counts were made.
There was some dispute/court actions that failed over the Cardston area, but to lay claim to lands that go all the way to the Waterton River and US border just is not reasonable.
The agreement was signed! Should I go back on the homes I have sold and change the agreement made?
I do agree that there have been some legitimate land claims, but Waterton Park, even in what they are claiming was never in the first survey before the Treaty was signed, nor after and to claim it is their land on National TV is just not acceptable. The agreement was made they could hunt and forage on those lands, but it was part of the Reserve.
It was great to see Lethbridge on the TV in a positive way, instead of negative drug related issues such as the busiest comsumption site in the world or the mini-series Pure where the cartel character was going to move to Lethbridge to operate from there, but if I lived in some other part of Canada, would I have a reasonable idea of what Lethbridge or Waterton was like? Do they think Lethbridge and Waterton are found on the Blackfoot Reserve?
If that is the case, maybe I should apply for some of that Treaty money? 🙂
I believe the Blackfoot Confederacy have a great opportunity for Indigenous Tourism in this area as leadership in the region are building up our airport and tourism to increase regional tourism and I support them and wish them well, but I was in shock when I heard that at the end of Race!