With just over a week until kick-off, facilities across the City of Grande Prairie and County of Grande Prairie are getting ready to welcome visitors and residents alike for the 2018 Alberta Summer Games.

Both recreational and cultural facilities throughout the host communities will be on display for the games.

The Opening Ceremonies mark the official start of the games on Thursday, July 19 at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in the County of Grande Prairie. This outdoor event will feature a variety of entertainment with music, dance, and the entry of the traditional Games Torch.

"The County of Grande Prairie is proud and excited to co-host the Games," said Leanne Beaupre, County of Grande Prairie Reeve. "We hope residents and visitors take full advantage of the games and join the community in the wide-array of cultural events taking place."

"Our communities have a strong reputation for hosting sporting events at the provincial, national and international level and we are ready to add these games to our list of successes." says Deputy Mayor Kevin O'Toole. "We're eager to extend our well-known Peace Region hospitality to all the athletes, coaches, families and supporters and hope they have a wonderful experience during this event."

Sporting events run Friday through Sunday at 15 locations including the Community Knowledge Campus Field, Crosslink County Sportsplex, Eastlink Centre, Evergreen Park diamonds, Grande Prairie Composite High School Field, Grande Prairie Regional College, Legion Field, Macklin Field, Muskoseepi Park, Nordic Ski Area, Peace Wapiti Academy, Rotary Field, St. Joseph Catholic School, South Bear Creek Park and Wembley Field.

Across the weekend, a selection of cultural events has been scheduled as part of the games' experience including:

• A Tipi Village will be open Friday and Saturday at Eastlink Centre with traditional games, dancing, drumming and elder story-telling from Treaty 8.
• A "Summer Games" collection of athlete recommendations and collector bookmarks are available at the Grande Prairie Public Library
• Entertainment stages at the Community Knowledge Campus Grandstand and Legion Field
• Family Carnival at Revolution Place on Saturday, July 21

An 'Alberta Summer Games Arts and Culture Passport' is available to encourage participants to visit local arts and culture venues and enter to win prizes. Eight locations are participating with great prizes to be won. Special programming is also available at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Grande Prairie Museum and Heritage Discovery Centre for the weekend.

Revolution Place and Bowes Family Garden are pleased to host the Athlete Celebration Night on Saturday, July 21 with an interactive dance and carnival, and the Volunteer Appreciation Party on Sunday, July 22 with live music by The Privateers.

The Closing Awards take place on Sunday, July 22 on the Community Knowledge Campus Field where 1,617 medals will be awarded as well as the Ministers' Cup, Alberta Cup, and Spirit of Sport Award.

For more details on the games and to get your tickets to join in on this major event, visit albertasport.ca/alberta-games/summer-games.