Patrick's Story - Sir William Whyte (1843-1914)

On October 19 Patrick Vokes visits the dining car at Aspen Crossing after hearing from a friend that his great grandfather was mentioned in our history. This is Patrick’s Story...

Sir William Whyte was the front man for Canadian Pacific Railway during the time of Van Horne and Shaughnessy. Whyte would travel to towns and would negotiate building the railway through that area. Some of the more famous projects were the High Level bridge in Edmonton and the High Level bridge in Lethbridge. Sir William Whyte also negotiated the first labour contract.

Among Aspen Crossing’s historic literature Sir William received a letter from David Hysop about creating CPR gardens to help settle the west. Sir William would have been responsible for implementing the gardens.

Sir William Whyte had many achievements throughout his life including having a Mountain near Lake Louise named after him. He was also knighted in 1911 for his work with the settlement of Canada. Upon Sir William’s death in 1914 all trains stopped for 3 minutes in his honour.

We at Aspen Crossing would like to sincerely thank Patrick for telling us this remarkable story about his great grandfather. If you have a story or incredible Aspen Crossing experience you would like to share you can email us at info@aspencrossing.com or call at 1(866)440-3500.

For more information about Aspen Crossing or to make reservations call 1(866)440-3500 or go to www.aspencrossing.com.

Loco Motive - What people are saying about this 'nail biting' dinner theatre

"Hold on as Wayne Hvingelby's thriller "Loco Motive" takes you on an unforgettable and emotional ride!"  -Donna Biggar

The Thickening Plot

Wealthy industrialist, Benedict Malarbor married Gwendolyn in 1927. Together, they had two daughters, Judith and Abby.  The Malarbor family lived contently in their manor estate in Lethbridge, also taking care of Benedict's ailing aunt, Lilith.  But, five years into the marriage, a child of Benedict's from a previous relationship came into their lives.  Five years older than the sisters, Michael had difficulties fitting into the family.  Then, things got increasingly complex a few years later when dead animals started to show up in Michael's bed without explanation.  All suspicion reared upon Michael.  Then one final tragedy.  And Benedict had no choice but to send Michael to the Brathwaite Mental Hospital in Calgary, Alberta.  

Twenty years have passed and Benedict Malarbor has been found dead in horrible vehicle accident close to their estate.  The bereaved family has been summoned to Mossleigh to meet with Benedict's Calgary based lawyer, Ron Finkle, for the reading of the will.  Little are they aware that an unexpected guest has been invited as well.  

The Malarbor family has many secrets.  Dead animals.  A murdered aunt.  A fifteen year old boy lost in a pool of madness.  Twenty years pass and with the recent death of the father, focus turns to the will.  This will be one family reunion you will not be able to forget.  All aboard.  Next stop:  intense insanity in "Loco Motive".

Wayne Hvingelby

What People Are Saying About Hvingelby's "Loco Motive"

 "My first experience at Aspen Crossing's Dinner Theatre was memorable. Loco Motive has laughs and some good twists in the story. Great job by local playwright Wayne Hvingleby. The cod dinner and service were superb. Wonderful intimate environment and you get to meet new people. Love it and will be returning." -Marcy Field

"It was all excellent!!! The acting, the food and the timing of it all... perfect! Wonderful evening out." -Barb

Please, write your own review below in the comment section. 

If you've never been to an Aspen Crossing Theatre, watch our video of our first play of the season "The Perils Of Pauline" to get a peek of our dinner theatre experience.

As always, if you enjoyed this article share it with your friends!
For Dinner Theatre tickets and dates call 1(866)440-3500 or go to www.aspencrossing.com.

The New Caboose

On September 24th, 2012 Aspen Crossing moved a caboose from the now closed Ogden Legion in Calgary, Alberta. This video highlights some of the history, the move and the future plans for this caboose.

How to align your shot- One easy step for taking stunning fall photos

Hi, my name is Leanna and I'm the Marketing coordinator for Aspen Crossing. Today I'm sharing my trick for taking great pictures. 

Autumn is absolutely the most beautiful time of the year. What an opportunity to take some stunning photos of your home, yard or loved ones! The technique I'm going to share is one that I learned in my photography class years ago, I like to call it the "Railway Crossing" technique. I call it that because I can't remember the real name of it and it always reminded me of a road meeting up with a train crossing. If you do know the name, please let me know!

Looking at these two pictures of sunflowers, most of us would have taken Picture A, centering the focal point in the middle.

Picture A

Picture B

The "Railway Crossing" technique is a way of centering a photo in a completely different way. Imagine every shot with 4 lines over it, dividing the picture into 3 parts horizontally and vertically. If you can't imagine it, just take a look below (It's like a road meeting up with a train track). In Picture B I've decided to center the sunflower not in the middle, but where one of the vertical and horizontal lines cross (shown by the blue circles). You can also use the vertical and horizontal lines to place a horizon, a tree or anything that could run along those lines. This is just a very simple example, so let's take a look at some more complicated photographs.

Take a look at this picture of Captain stretching just outside of the Gift Store, imagine the 4 lines again. You can see that I've focussed his head in the bottom left line crossing, with the high part of his back in the top right crossing. I've also lined up the edge of the wagon wheel with the left vertical line and the top of the two hay bales with the two horizontal lines. If you took this picture and accurately measured the lines, they would't be perfect, but as you can see, they would be pretty close. Next time you're out taking pictures see if your camera has a setting to see these lines when you look through your lens. The one part of this photo that I don't like, is that your eye is somewhat focussed to his butt instead of his head. That's because your eye is naturally drawn to that top right crossing- remember that when your taking your pictures!

In this picture I could have easily placed the Aspen Crossing caboose and speeder exactly at the bottom right crossing. Instead, I made sure that they were just outside and I lined up the center of the trees with the left vertical line- making the trees the focus of my photograph.

Take a look below for some more examples of the "Railway Crossing" technique I used while taking pictures at Aspen.

Was this helpful? As always, we hope to hear from you.

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All Aboard... The Next Dinner Theatre Season!

Aspen Crossing Theatre (ACT) is an intimate evening including an original show and a delectable three course served dinner  featuring Aspen Crossing’s famous Prime Rib! The performances and dinners take place in an authentic 1887 Pullman train car.  All the shows revolve around the train in a beautiful rural setting located only 40 minutes southeast of Calgary on Hwy 24.

The fourth season of Aspen Crossing Theatre begins Sept 19 with The Perils of Pauline.  Set in 1935, the murder mystery show takes place as a movie crew arrives to film one of the first talking pictures.

When I  asked Gail Whiteford, Artistic Director for Aspen Crossing Theatre, she said,“I think people are really going to have a good time at our season premier, “The Perils of Pauline,”.  It is a very interactive murder mystery comedy.  “The actors are from the local community and Calgary and love to play with those audience members who want to play with us.” During the evening the audience will witness a series of unfortunate events, which will lead to an untimely death or two. Audience members will play the role of ‘detective’ and solve the crime,” explains Whiteford,.

“People really enjoy the authentic and cozy environment of the dining car,” said Donna Biggar, manager of Aspen Crossing. “The dining car is so unique and elegant, not to mention equipped with a choice menu. The rail car can hold an audience of fewer than 40. So people need to be sure they book their tickets in advance.”

Aspen Crossing Theatre’s fourth season starts this Sept. and wraps up Mar. of 2013. The season also includes:  The Perils of Pauline, a mystery comedy; Loco Motive, a thriller; Troop Train, a Remembrance day drama; Rudolph Express, a Christmas murder mystery comedy; Love in Training, a Valentine’s day comedy and Emerald Engine, a St. Patrick's day murder mystery comedy. There is something for everyone’s tastes this season at Aspen Crossing Theatre.

Tickets are $65-75, including dinner and show. Visit www.aspencrossing.com or call 1(866)440-3500 for more information, tickets, or location.