Altona, Manitoba
Altona (2006 population 3,709) is a predominantly Mennonite town in southern Manitoba about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 133 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. Much of the surrounding area is devoted to farming and agriculture-based business. Its sister city is Emerald, Australia.[1] Ever year a Sunflower Festival is held in which a young women in the community is crowned the Sunflower Queen and gets a flight to Emerald for free to participate in the Sunflower Festival held there.
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[edit] Attractions
Altona is called "The Sunflower Capital of Canada", and is host to the annual Sunflower Festival. The Sunflower Festival has a Sunflower festival pageant where they crown a queen every year, who wins a trip to Australia. The festival also includes a small midway, quilt show, baseball tournament, stage show, and street dance to name a few. Just recently they have added a sculpture park, displaying many different styles of artwork.
It is also home to the largest replica of a famous painting by Vincent van Gogh. It was named 'The largest painting on an easel by The Guinness Book of World Records in 1998. The painting is 'Sunflowers' and it was re-created by local artist Cameron Cross. The base (easel) stands at 76'6" and the canvas was made by laminating together 24 sheets of 3/4" plywood and splattering it with 17 gallons of paint to create the picture.
[edit] Economy
Altona was the site of the Rhineland Consumers Co-operative (founded 1931), the Altona Service Co-op (founded 1937) and the Altona Credit Union (founded 1939). These co-operative enterprises were a highly effective local response to the devastating impact of the Great Depression on local farmers' incomes. Jake Siemens played an important role in their development, and the growth of the co-operative movement in southern Manitoba.
Altona is also home to Friesens Corporation, which started off as a small confectionery store and is now employs hundreds of people. It is the primary printer of yearbooks in North America, as well as printing in commercial consumer books, specializing in full colour art and educational books.
The first Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Shop was founded in Altona in 1972. Staffed by volunteers, MCC Thrift stores now contribute about $4M annually to MCC projects.
[edit] Climate
| Climate data for Altona | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.7 (44.1) |
14 (57) |
22.2 (72.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
36.7 (98.1) |
38 (100) |
38.9 (102.0) |
40 (104) |
39 (102) |
33.5 (92.3) |
25 (77) |
14.4 (57.9) |
40 (104) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −11.6 (11.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
10.6 (51.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
24 (75) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.8 (78.4) |
19.4 (66.9) |
11.4 (52.5) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−8.7 (16.3) |
9.1 (48.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −16.6 (2.1) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
4.6 (40.3) |
13 (55) |
17.9 (64.2) |
20 (68) |
19.1 (66.4) |
13.1 (55.6) |
5.8 (42.4) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−13.2 (8.2) |
3.5 (38.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −21.6 (−6.9) |
−17.6 (0.3) |
−10 (14) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
6.1 (43.0) |
11.7 (53.1) |
13.8 (56.8) |
12.4 (54.3) |
6.7 (44.1) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
−17.6 (0.3) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −40 (−40) |
−40.6 (−41.1) |
−33.5 (−28.3) |
−23.9 (−11.0) |
−13.9 (7.0) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
2.8 (37.0) |
0 (32) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−30 (−22) |
−35 (−31) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
−40.6 (−41.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 27.3 (1.075) |
20.5 (0.807) |
26.2 (1.031) |
32.9 (1.295) |
58.2 (2.291) |
86.8 (3.417) |
77.3 (3.043) |
67.2 (2.646) |
51.6 (2.031) |
36.9 (1.453) |
28.1 (1.106) |
27.6 (1.087) |
540.5 (21.28) |
| Source: Environment Canada[3] | |||||||||||||
[edit] References
- Robert Meyers. Spirit of the Post Road, Federation of Southern Manitoba Co-operatives (1955).
- Esther Epp-Tiessen. "Altona: The Story of a Prairie Town" an on-line resource at Our Roots
- ^ Town of Altona website
- ^ Honey, Janet; Oleson, Brian (2006-09-10). "A Century of Agriculture in Manitoba" (pdf). University of Manitoba. http://www.umanitoba.ca/afs/agric_economics/Century/ACenturyofAgriculture.PDF. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- ^ Environment Canada - Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 04 March 2011
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 49°06′16″N 97°33′45″W / 49.10444°N 97.5625°W
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