The Meridian Source looks back at events in April 2025.
Ukrainian dancers put on show in Lloyd
Hundreds of Ukrainian dancers graced the stage at the Vic Juba Community Theatre as the Lloydminster Malanka Dancers held Ukrainian Dancing on the Border.
Read more: Year in review: A look back at events in January 2025
The event, which ran from March 27-30, has a long history in Lloydminster and brings in hundreds of people.
“This year is our 18th annual Ukranian Dancing on the Border festival. It’s a dance festival that celebrates Ukrainian culture, our heritage and all these kids with all of the hard work they’re putting into their performances,” said
Tara Jarvis, event organizer.
“This year, we have almost 450 dancers, and that’s just dancers and families that have come into town. We have 471 routines this year, so we ended up expanding it into four days instead of our traditional three.”
Families come from all corners of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Luckily, the snowstorms rolling through both provinces didn’t hinder the event.
“This is the first year that I’ve experienced snow during the festival. We’ve been very fortunate, most families braved the weather and the roads,” said Jarvis.
Only one club was unable to attend due to the storms.
“We have clubs coming in from all over Alberta and Saskatchewan that come and participate,” said Jarvis.
Lloyd council heads to SUMA
Lloydminster council headed to Saskatoon to take part in the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention in April.
Mayor and council will be at the convention from April 13-16 to connect with ministers on key issues.
“There’s two opportunities to reach out to the provincial government’s respective ministers; one are a series of what they call bear pits with the respective ministers of policing, health, mental health and addictions, environment, highways, a few of those,” said Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers.
He says they try to ensure Lloydminster is represented at each of the various meetings during the convention.
“We try as council to ensure there’s a council member at each meeting to ensure we have the opportunity to raise any issues we have,”
said Aalbers.
Rock for a Cure an ‘incredible’ success
The 2025 edition of Rock for a Cure, a fundraiser for I Love Alberta Boobs, raised big bucks for families battling breast cancer.
“It was incredible,” said Brandy Schwenk, president and co-founder of I Love Alberta Boobs. “We had the best time ever and raised so much money again.”
The grand total for the event was $25,000. That money will go right back into the community with the help of the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation (LRHF).
Vaadeland proves ’em wrong with Juno
Jake Vaadeland grew up in Big River, Sask., hearing, “No one likes bluegrass and country music,” and getting teased for the way he dressed.
Well … looks like he’ll get the last laugh.
Now 21 years old, the Cut Knife resident and frequent performer at the Vic Juba Community Theatre won his first-ever Juno Award on March 30.
The sharply-dressed Vaadeland and his band, The Sturgeon River Boys, took home Traditional Roots Album of the Year for Retro Man … More and More (Expanded Edition) at the 54th Annual Juno Awards in Vancouver.
“I heard my name called and was excited for a second, then entertainment mode kicked in. People at my table were trying to hug me and later said I ran away too fast,” joked Vaadeland, explaining his priority was stage presence.
“I wasn’t going to let there be any dead air on the Junos. I was making sure I had good stage presence, a good speech, and I wanted to say as much as I could in those 30 seconds before the music came on to get me off the stage.”
For Vaadeland, the win is special, but it also reassures him that he made the right choice in pursuing his dream of being an entertainer.
“It means a lot, and it’s special,” he said, explaining he wrote half of Retro Man … More and More (Expanded Edition) while still in high school.
Read more: Year in review: A look back at events in February 2025
