Saturday, June 20, 2015

2015 Canada West: Calgary Wedding (6/20/2015)

Saturday, June 20, 2015
We were invited to the wedding of Jaymal T, whom I met as a 5-year old in India.
Hansa's mehndi/henna
Avani, Jayanti, Kent, Brynne
The groom's family follows a drummer
Now we were part of his "family" for the Reception of Barat, where the groom arrives at the marriage venue on a horse.
Well, not a real horse, more like 380 horses in a Ferrari F355!
Jaymal arrives on his "horse"
The fathers of the bride and groom exchange garlands
As do the mothers
Jaymal dancing
Fancy shoes, which later get "stolen" by a "sister"
who requires a monetary ransom
A young relative
After we were welcomed by the bride's family, we were given refreshments, usually a tea, today a "breakfast."
Table settings
Unbelievably good "cookies" made with peas and spinach
"Guest book" table
The wedding ceremony itself was full of Hindu rituals.
Puja and Jaymal
After the wedding was a scrumptious buffet luncheon of Indian cuisine.

We spent the afternoon at Heritage Park Historical Village, starting with the Gasoline Alley Museum with an extensive antique car collection and memorabilia.
Gasoline Alley (KSS)
Part of the gas pump collection
Inside a camper
Posing at the "drive-in theatre" (KSS)
Heritage Park showcases Western Canada's history from the fur trade of the 1860s, a pre-railway settlement of the 1880s, to a 1910 prairie railway town and a town square depicting the 1920s to the 1950s.
Replica of Nellie McClung's house in Calgary
with the Famous Five Centre of Canadian Women
Windmill (1920) from Bruderheim, AB
built by Wilhem Mallon to grind rye
CPR 0-6-0 steam locomotive (1944)
Replica of the Dingman oil drilling rig,
the first in Alberta (KSS)
Grain Elevator (1909) from Shonts, AB
and CPR Snowplow 400884 (KSS)
Montefiore Institute (1916), a prairie synagogue,
meeting hall, and school near Sibbald, AB
Montefiore Insitute synagogue (KSS)
Prince House (1894, in Queen Anne style) from Calgary, built by
lumber and water power magnate Peter Anthony Prince
Sandstone House (replica of 1891 house in Calgary)
Vintage truck (KSS)
Horse team in the livery stable
Replica of Calgary's first Town Hall (1885) 
We found the two-story outhouse
at the Windsor Hotel (1905)
from Lundbreck, AB
Convenient for hotel guests on the 2nd floor
Opera House (1898) from Canmore, AB
Cottage Hospital (1907) from Calgary
Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP) Barracks (1887,
the second floor of original) from Banff
Another Lepus townsendii/White-tailed Jsckrabbit
His cousin, the Odocoileus virginianus/White-tailed Deer
Nightingale Colony House (1909),
an example of a "ready-made" house
from east of Strathmore, AB
A thunderstorm chased us out of the park, and we drove back into downtown Calgary.
We walked across a pedestrian bridge
to Prince's Island in the Bow River
Prince's Island is a park on land donated by Peter Anthony Prince, the lumber and water power magnate.
Cracked Pot Foundations (1964, by Katie Ohe)
Hey, there are Canada geese in Canada!
We stopped for "High Tea"
at the River Café
River Café Fish and Game Board with sesame crackers;
had to pay for the water!
Eau Claire Park water fountain for all
Propeller used in Arctic expeditions,
donated by the Arctic section of Society of Naval Architects
and Marine Engineers (SNAME) in 1993
Later we headed to Jaymal's sister's house for more wedding events and dinner.
Puja and Jaymal untying knots;
later they will scramble for a ring in the bowl of milk
to see who will be the boss of the house (Puja!)
Shoes at the front door!
Another great Indian meal!

Next: More Calgary.

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