EDMONTON SHRINE MOTOR CORPS

The Edmonton Shrine Motor Corps was established in early 1967 as a Unit of Al Azhar Shrine Temple of Calgary Alberta, Canada. In 1985 Al Shamal Temple was established in Edmonton Alberta , Canada and the Corps now is a Unit of that Temple.

Like most Shrine Units, the objectives of the Motor Corps are to support the philanthropic work of the Shrine and have fun and comradely while doing so. We do this through participation in parades, the Edmonton Shrine Circus, the Pacific Northwest Shrine Association (PNSA) and Shrine Imperial competitions. Participation in parades and the circus help us promote the Shrine and Shine Hospitals to the general populations throughout Northern Alberta.

The following links are to photographs that attempt to document many of the competitions, parades and social activities that took place during the first 45 years of the Unit:

1968 through 1989 – Denver & Los Angeles
1990 through 1993 – Toronto, Spokane, Billings & Orlando
1994 through 1996 – Seattle, Butte & Portland
1997 and 1998 – Boise
1999 – Calgary
2000 through 2001 – Spokane & Billings
2002 through 2006 – Vancouver
2007 through 2010 – Anaheim & Boise

Special thanks must go to Lorne Anfindsen for his years of work taking photos and maintaining a large collection photo albums. Dale Christensen also contributed many of the photos. Also contributing photos were Jim Forbes, Mike Ledig, Jim Matheson, Harvey Millar, Don McGarvey and Robyn Peace, some unknown photographers and a few newspapers.

2010 Parades

Morinville Parade - June 26, 2010 - Photos taken by Robyn Peace
Ft. Saskatchewan & Legal - Ft. Saskatchewan (July 1) and Legal (Tuk Tuks and Shrine) - Photos taken by Robyn Peace
Ponoka - Ponoka (July 2) - Photos taken by Robyn Peace
Camrose, Lacombe & Ranfurly - Camrose (July 29), Lacombe & Ranfurly (Tuk Tuks and Shrine)- Photos taken by Robyn Peace

2011 Parades

Robyn Peace provided photos for the 2011 parades at St. Albert, Stony Plain, Ft. Saskatchewan, Capital X and the BBQ at Lorne & Anne Anfindsen’s. Lorne also provided some photos of the BBQ.
Ina and I took a few photos the Alberta Beach and Camrose parades.
In August nine riders attended the PNSA in Butte Montana. There are three sets of photos, mine, Don Bauers and Don Anderson, the Al Shamal Photograher. There is also a short video of part of the competition routine.

2012 Parades

We lost some of our photographers in 2012, so have a limited number of photos.
We purchased a new trailer which has up-to-date pictures and advertising and I was able to get some photos of the preparation for the Edmonton parade and some of the parade happenings at Alberta Beach.

2013 Parades

In 2013 we attended most of the same parades as in the past. We chose Sherwood Park for the July 1 parade because Ft. Saskatchewan could not guarantee a water free parade. I have photos from Leduc, Ponoka, Sherwood Park and Edmonton. We attended the PNSA in Lethbridge Alberta and won 1st in competition and parade and had a great BBQ to close out the 2013 season. Also, a few special Halloween photos.

2014 Parades

2014 parades were a bit of a challenge because of the small number of active riders. This was partly overcome through the help of some of the Past Riders who participated in several parades, particularly the Edmonton K-Days Parade. We had a couple of practices to get everyone up to speed. I have photos from the Morinville parade which Don McGarvey provided (the first Parade were we wore the new MC jackets because it was so cold) and a couple of photos from the Camrose Parade. Parades. There are also photos from the BBQ and Christmas Party. I have two videos of the practice Video1, Video 2.

Also, for the second year running, a few special Halloween photos – your President in action!

2015 Parades

The number of active riders is getting less and less because of death and retirements. Once again we had a few of the past riders join us for a couple of the rides. Unfortunately we had to cancel a couple of parades because of a lack of riders. We did not ride in the K Days parade because the weather was cold and rainy. I missed all of the August events because of travels so I do not have any photos of those parades and events. I do have a few photos from the Devon and Leduc parades which were in late May and some from a move-out we made to the Edmonton Golf and Country Club to support the Potentate on a fund raising event. 2015 Photos.

Once again, few special Halloween photos.

2016 Parades

2016 was a bit of a wash as far as photos are concerned. We missed two parades because of bad weather and didn't have anyone taking photos at the parades we did go to other than this Alberta Beach photo courtesy of Larry Heron. I'll try better next year. The only thing I have is Halloween photos.

2017 Parades

Once again I don't have many parade photos. I missed several parades because I was traveling and the K Days parade was rained out. I do have a photo from the Leduc parade where a guy was trying to interest us in a three wheeler model but that didn't go over very well with the riders.

Karey Koch took some photos at the Alberta Beach Parade so at least we have some photos for the year – Thank you Karey.

2018 Parades

We did five parades during the year and I have pictures from all of them. We had a bit of trouble getting enough riders for week-day parades and had to cancel out on a couple of events. We attended parades in Leduc, Devon, Ft. Saskatchewan, Edmonton K-Days and Barrhead. We missed Alberta Beach this year because of inclement weather. 2018 parade photos

Click on this photo for a Video from Global TV Parade coverage of 2018 K-Days Parade. Sorry, no sound available

2019 Parades

We rode in five parades in 2019 – Leduc, Devon, Gibbons, Barrhead and Millet. We were in attendance and were ready to ride in the Fort Saskatchewan and Edmonton KDays Parades but had to cancel prior to the start because of rain. We were scheduled to attend the Morinville parade but cancelled the day before because of the weather. Unfortunately I only have photos for the Millet parade Thanks to Karey K.) and I have a video of the Gibbons Parade thanks to my very exuberant wife of the first practice we had after replacing the motors on twelve of the bikes (Thanks to Peter D.) View video

CN donated a 53’ container that we have setup for bike storage and repair. We have installed lighting and plugins and purchased and installed shelving, generator, compressor, work bench and a motorcycle lift stand. Storage Container

2020 Parades

2020 was a non-year for the Motor Corps because of the COVID pandemic. There were no parades in Northern Alberta and restrictions on meetings and social events were in place of most of the summer months.

2021 Parades

We had agreed to go on a couple of parades but a combination of poor weather and COVID restrictions meant that we were unable to attend any of the very few parades that actually happened in 2021. We did have a practice in anticipation of parading and we combined a practice demonstration at the BBQ held for all members and wives in August. View video

The members agreed to have the storage container painted with advertising for the ShrineHospitals for Children and cartoon representations of a number of Al Shamal units were added to attract the attention of anyone passing the Shrine Centre and to provide some exposure for Al Shamal.

2022 Parades

In June 2022 our storage container was broken into and two bikes and a lot of tools were stolen. In August there was a second break-in and five additional bikes were stolen. Because of the loss of bikes and continued off/on COVID restrictions we did only one parade in 2022 and that was Alberta Beach and I have no photos.

2023 Parades

We attended five parades in 2023 – Leduc, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta Beach, Lacombe and Barrhead. Karey Koch attended four of these parades and thanks to her we have a lot of good photos. 2023 Parades

In April Larry Heron received his 60 year bar and Ray Nyroos his 50 year jewel from Edmonton Lodge No. 7. The Grand Master of Alberta was present to assist in the presentation along with a lot of other Grand Lodge Officers and of course, many Motor Corps members. Check out some of the photos

In 2023 we purchased three new parade vehicles which will be used by members that can no longer ride our motor bikes. They are four wheel Cheetah Trail Master UTVs which will be modified to include Shrine and Motor Corps advertising. Their first use will be in 2024 parades. To better protect the bikes and other equipment the container was moved away from the fence and electrical power was installed. Outside lights were added to provide additional security and to display the container artwork at night for motorists driving by on 142 Street. A few photos