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Rowley, the Alberta hamlet populated by nine humans and 15 cats, stays alive by partying

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ROWLEY, ALTA.—The keepers of Rowley march across its gravel main street in an early October snowstorm to unlock an Old West-style saloon.

Stepping in from the storm, Doug Hampton flicks on a dim light to reveal a bar that can hold 225 people — many times Rowley’s entire population.

This group of six represents most of the tiny community, and they’re fighting to keep their home alive. Tonight they’ve come to the saloon to unwind after their monthly review of the hamlet’s meagre finances.

The floors are brushed with sawdust, and the walls and ceilings are hidden by crude posters collected over decades. A toilet seat hangs on the wall with “A-hole of the Month Club” written in felt.

It’s still cold, and the group of six keep their jackets on as they distribute cans of beer from a fridge behind the bar. One lights up a smoke at the table.

Anything goes in Rowley, a rural Southern Alberta community with no water or sewer service that swings between bustling tourism hot spot and near ghost town.

“Tourists seem to find the place no matter where they’re from,” said Hampton, a 67-year-old retired oilfield worker who holds a key to open all eight public buildings in town.

“They read about it on the internet or something: ‘tourist attraction’ or ‘ghost town.’ (They say), ‘People live here?’”

Once an agricultural “boom town” of 500, Rowley’s population has shrunk to nine. There’s Doug, his older brother Terry who lives on main street with his wife, a family with two kids and a new couple in a tucked-away home that’s now up for sale.

This is a community that, for all the practical reasons that towns usually exist, should no longer be. The industry is long gone, and there are no civil services. But because the keepers of Rowley see value in these buildings and the history they represent, the place has a chance to keep on living.

Their best shot for fighting the ravages of time: parties.

The main street in Rowley.
The main street in Rowley.  (Codie McLachlan / StarMetro Edmonton)

The community association, made up of residents and people from nearby communities, runs pizza and beer fundraisers on the last Saturday of every month to maintain the hamlet’s most prominent aging buildings.

In July, a record-setting 700 people packed into Rowley, including tourists from across North America and Europe. The main street was roped off so visitors could carry their drinks outside between the community hall, saloon and pool hall while a live band performed.

“We do have a lot of fun. Otherwise it would just be a job and we’d probably all lose interest,” Hampton said.

As critical as the parties are, they aren’t the municipality’s only source of income.

Rowley falls under the jurisdiction of Starland County. In 2017, the Rowley Community Hall Association received just over $6,000 toward utility costs and another $4,500 to help with maintenance and hiring summer students.

Meanwhile, the province has provided close to $600,000 through nine grants since 2007 for tourism products, according to municipal affairs spokesperson Lauren Arscott.

Today the hamlet of Rowley is known for its kitschy storefronts, abandoned houses and barns that have fallen to ruin and two tall grain elevators that house flocks of pigeons. The first sign of life upon entering is a gang of about 15 feral cats occupying a wooden “cat condo” built by Doug’s brother Terry.

Cats in their "condo" in Rowley, a Southern Alberta community that swings between tourism hot spot and near ghost town.
Cats in their « condo » in Rowley, a Southern Alberta community that swings between tourism hot spot and near ghost town.  (Codie McLachlan / StarMetro Edmonton)

The old train station, school house and store are populated by haunting white mannequins dressed in period clothing, positioned to emulate scenes that might have occurred in the 1920s when Rowley was “booming.”

“People would bring in their produce and their milk and their cream and their eggs and ship it on the train, and grain was being hauled out of the elevators. In Rowley then there was two or three lumber yards and a couple of garages and pool halls and barber shops, the hotel, a couple of stores,” Hampton said.

When the Great Depression hit, food stopped growing and the boom turned to bust.

“We never got the rain, just wind all the time. So people started moving away, and the odd fire would sweep up main street there and take away a few of the buildings, and then nobody would rebuild it.”

Rowley once had a daily connection to Edmonton via the Dayliner passenger car, but it stopped running in the 1970s. The nearest place with any real amenities is Drumheller, a 38 km drive away.

When the train disappeared, Hampton’s parents helped form the Rowley Community Association and started restoring the few buildings left on main street.

They re-shingled the United church and turned the train station into a museum with artifacts dating back to the 1800s, “just to keep the buildings alive.” A former grocery store and meat market owned by Chinese immigrant Sam Leung, who passed away in 1972, was renovated as Sam’s Saloon in 1980.

Hampton’s sister Shirley Bremer said the hard work has been worthwhile for the simple joy of sharing the town’s history.

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“It is kind of wild, because some of (the buildings) are pretty bad. But I guess it’s the pleasure you get,” Bremer said. “We’re all proud of where we grew up. It’s just kind of a unique little thing and we like it.”

Rowley’s early rebuild caught the attention of Hollywood film producers, who spent several months there in 1988 shooting the film Bye Bye Blues. The crew constructed storefronts for a bank and a funeral home that residents turned into a pool hall. Film crews occasionally still come around to shoot movie scenes or commercials.

Bill Reimer, director of Rural Policy Learning Commons and professor emeritus at Montreal’s Concordia University, said towns often try “chasing smokestacks” by bringing in new industries, but that’s rarely successful. The ones that get by, Reimer said, are places like Rowley that find ways to leverage the things that make them unique.

“In very general terms, the towns that are managing are the ones that look around and say, ‘What have we got here that we’re particularly good at, and who might be interested in it,’” Reimer said.

In warmer months, visitors can camp in town by donation, and the association hires students in July and August to give guided tours, touch up paint jobs and mow the lawns. Rowley’s community hall, church and saloon are already booked through next summer with weddings, family reunions and other events.

But money from bookings is not enough to cover ongoing maintenance and power costs, and the labour of rebuilding gets tiring for the aging population.

Locals gather in Sam's Saloon after the Rowley Community Hall Association meeting.
Locals gather in Sam’s Saloon after the Rowley Community Hall Association meeting.  (Codie McLachlan / StarMetro Edmonton)

Sitting in his kitchen the afternoon after the snowstorm in one of Rowley’s four inhabited houses, Hampton contemplates the hamlet’s future. He likes the peace and quiet that comes with living in isolation but has recently become painfully aware that it can also be dangerous.

“Life is good until you get sick,” he said.

One night in October, his wife Brenda, in bed at home battling bone and lung cancer, was in pain and needed an ambulance. When he dialed 911, the dispatcher said it was not on their map.

“They didn’t know where the hell Rowley was at,” Hampton said.

“It took probably 15-20 minutes on the phone trying to explain we need an ambulance out of Drumheller, not Red Deer. The wife was dead by then.”

Now another couple that moved to Rowley a year-and-a-half ago is planning to move away, which would bring the population down to seven.

Lars Hallstrom, University of Alberta political studies professor and director of the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities, said the trend of people leaving is almost impossible to reverse.

He said rural populations in Canada have been on a pattern of decline for more than a century. Eleven Alberta municipalities have dissolved over the past decade, and about 30 have reviewed whether they should continue to be autonomous, stand-alone municipalities.

The Prairie School Museum — populated by mannequins — in Rowley.
The Prairie School Museum — populated by mannequins — in Rowley.  (Codie McLachlan / StarMetro Edmonton)

Grande Cache in Western Alberta, with a population just over 1,000, voted to dissolve as a town in September after a loss of population and tax revenue made it unsustainable.

“It’s tough. They’ve been paddling upstream for years. And you have to admire the people who are willing to stay (in Rowley) and try to say, ‘This is our home, we do want his place to exist,’” Hallstrom said.

“But it’s very difficult to be optimistic in even the medium term about the likelihood of that community returning to a population of 50, let alone 500.”

Hampton said it’s getting harder to live in a place that lacks so many basic services.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Once I croak and my brother croaks, hopefully some young people come into town and take interest in it and learn to be proud of the town, too.”

Winter is about to settle in, and a heavy snowfall can render the community inescapable until a snow plow comes from outside.

When asked if he plans to stay put, Hampton takes a moment to pause before answering.

“Yeah. I don’t know where in the hell else I’d move.”

Kevin Maimann is an Edmonton-based reporter covering education and marijuana legalization. Follow him on Twitter: @TheMaimann

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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