Alberta Summer Games - 1987
- alessandra563
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
Strathcona County 1987 Summer Games
Strathcona County is hosting the 25th Alberta Summer Games from July 16–19, 2026, but this won’t be our first time hosting the Games. Despite one of Alberta’s most destructive tornadoes touching down in the Edmonton area just 6 days before the Games began, the 1987 Alberta Summer Games in Strathcona County went down in history as what many hailed as the most successful Games up until that point.
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Opening Ceremony
Because the Games aligned with the County’s 25th Anniversary, the community went all out to celebrate with County-wide sporting and cultural events from August 6-8. Up to 10,000 people gathered together on August 6, 1987 to open the Games at Strathcona Athletic Park, which had been specially built in anticipation of the Games.
Opening Ceremony of the 1987 Alberta Summer Games. ARCH007500.009
Members of the SkyHawks Canadian Forces parachute team starting off the opening ceremony in grand style. ARCH24127.001
Crowd during Opening Ceremonies watching the SkyHawks. ARCH007500.001
The torch currently held in the museum’s collections was used to open the 1987 Games. It was handed from runner to runner as part of a torch relay that started at the County’s boundaries and ended at the Opening Ceremonies at the Strathcona Athletic Park. Jim Common, the County’s Reeve at the time, ran the first kilometer. During his run he stopped briefly to survey the destruction left behind by the tornado tragedy less than a week before. While the venues for the Games were left intact, many parts of the County had been ripped apart and communication, transportation, and access to healthcare facilities were disrupted.
Torchbearers Femke Penning (L) and Derek Peters (R) holding the torch at opening ceremonies. ARCH007500.010
This is the actual torch used to open the 1987 Alberta Summer Games held in Strathcona. This artifact was donated to the museum in 2000 by the County and is kept safely in storage (SC.2000.023.001).
Many felt it was a miracle that the Games went on — but it was a County-wide event that community members had spent five years campaigning to host, so not even a tornado could stop the community from seeing it through. The Games were made possible thanks to strong leadership and thousands of dedicated volunteers.
Storm clouds started forming by the end of the Opening Ceremony, but luckily it only started to rain just 10 minutes after the fireworks and a balloon release to commemorate the County’s 25th anniversary.
The Games
The 1987 Games consisted of 22 Alberta class sports, 5 host class sports, and 2 demonstration events. Over 3,000 athletes from around Alberta aged 13-19 participated. Zone 5, which includes Strathcona County, dominated the competition and came in first in the medal standings. A commemorative pin collection was made to recognize the various categories.
1987 Alberta Summer Games Official Commemorative Set, Collection # 77 of 1000. SC.2007.049.001
A County-Wide Celebration
One of the goals of the Games at the time was to promote cultural awareness in communities and recognize local artists and performers for their talents. Approximately 500 artists performed at the Opening Ceremonies in dance ensembles, orchestras, and other musical performances. Other cultural events included a series of visual art exhibitions, artisan markets, rodeos, festivals, and a musical theater production called Outside In/Inside Out that local director Janet Yuzda produced specifically for the Games. One component included a 25th Anniversary Heritage Display of the County put on by the newly formed Strathcona County Heritage Foundation, the same foundation that founded and oversees museum operations today.
Legacy
According to one article published in the Edmonton Sun shortly after the Games had wrapped, Max Gibb, then director of the Alberta Sport Council who oversees the Games, said, “Strathcona County has shown the city of Calgary how to do the Olympics.” The Games led to the development of more recreational facilities in the County including Millennium Place. The 1987 Summer Games were so successful that the County went on to host the Alberta Winter Games in 2000, the Western Canada Summer Games in 2007, and the Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games in 2023.
MacFayden, Laurie. Aug 9, 1987. “Games were a winner!” The Edmonton Sun.
