Artists have embraced the idea of helping preserve the history of the McDougall Stoney Mission Church in a unique way by incorporating charcoal from the burned church into their creations.

Some of these pieces will be included in a special day of art and music tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 18, at the church site, 28 km west of Cochrane on Hwy. 1A. It runs from 1-4 p.m.

Adding to the vibe will be two performances by The Wardens at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Mission society president Brenda McQueen is thrilled with how the event has come together.

"We thought it would be a really nice Saturday where people can just walk around and see artwork on display and purchase some if they want. Then they can listen to the singing Wardens while they're walking through the beautiful property. I think it could be quite a spectacular event.

Allowing artists to use charcoal from the church's remains has added an exciting element to the whole event.

"We already had the art event ready to go and planned and we were reaching out to artists and then we thought well, why not provide them with the opportunity to actually use the charcoal from the burned church to make pictures and sell to public and then it's part of the history that's being passed on in a drawing or painting ," says McQueen. "They seemed very interested in it."

"It just seems to have all of a sudden taken off where artists out of the blue are getting in touch with us and letting us know they'll be there on Saturday. There's a lot of interest, especially in Cochrane."

One artist, Nick Austin, has already provided the society two pieces to display in advance. While one is a charcoal drawing, in the other he softened the charcoal to create colour and paint the image.

"Some are painted with the charcoal, so they're not actually a drawing," says McQueen. "They are coming up with different ways that they can use the charcoal to make us a picture."

There is more charcoal available and that may lead to more artwork and anchor a similar special event next summer.

"We have quite a bit of charcoal we can hand out to people and they can try and see what they can do with it. But we thought this would be an event where they can showcase what they've been working on."

Admission is by donation.

C-Can storage unit mural

This Saturday, the society is also inviting artists to add to the mural being painted on the C-Can storage unit containing the church's remains. It was originally white and the society wanted it to be much intriguing to visitors and even those passing by along Hwy. 1A.  A basic landscape of sky, mountains and water has already been painted and the hope is more details will be added this weekend.

The Wardens

With performances equal to the mastery of the ranger trade, The Wardens - Scott Ward, Bradley Bischoff and Ray Schmidt - are a Banff National Park-based trio whose stories rise from the very land they’ve protected for the past 60+ years. 

The Wardens' mountain music - blending folk, roots and western styles - is a piece of Canadiana reflecting the pristine wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. The trio has performed at Folk Alliance International, Canmore Folk Fest, Alberta Showcase and shared the stage with Blue Rodeo, Paul Brandt, Scenic Route to Alaska and Ian Tyson. 

Their two sets will include performances of songs from their recent multi-nominated album "Sleeping Buffalo," produced by Leeroy Stagger.

The mission society has created a number of special activities at the church site this summer, including talks, educational, cultural and spiritual events.