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A Saskatoon-born singer and songwriter is wishing his home province of Saskatchewan a very happy 120th birthday in a new music video.
Bruce Thiessen has spent most of his adult life in California, but Saskatchewan will always have a special place in his heart.
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Thiessen is honouring Saskatchewan’s Inauguration Day with a music video for his song “Gravel Roads (Take me through Saskatchewan).”
The singer said he was inspired to write the song while traveling through the province to visit his parents, who are now in their 90s.
“We took pictures together. We had video of some of the beautiful areas around Saskatoon and further north. And through that process, I was just inspired to write this song and it occurred to me ‘OK, if you’re going to write a song, you might as well have a music video that goes with it,’” Thiessen told the Evan Bray Show.
Listen to the full interview with Thiessen:
“There’s so much beauty around here, why not capture it? So accidentally, my parents became the videographers.”
As an artist, Thiessen goes by his initials Dr. BLT – Bruce Lee Thiessen.
Thiessen even said some of the barns seen in the video were owned or designed by family members of his, like his uncles and grandfather.
“That was a part of the landscape growing up. It was just part of the beauty. The flat prairies, the beautiful sunsets and the grain elevators – it just gives me a really good feeling to visit those places that bring me back to that experience,” Thiessen said.
Saskatchewan officially became part of Canada on Sept. 1, 1905 through the Saskatchewan Act, but its inauguration was held on Sept. 4, 1905.
Saskatoon’s Remai Modern gallery is also hosting a celebration for the inauguration, which will be attended by Lieutenant-Governor Bernadette McIntyre.
Premier Scott Moe said the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ recent win against Winnipeg in the Labour Day Classic is one of the most recent fond memories he has about Saskatchewan. The premier said it showed one of the many ways in which people from Saskatchewan come together.
“(It’s) very significant as to how we function as people in the province – supporting one another, coming together in times of need,” Moe said.
“It’s not to say that we don’t have our differences, but we very much come together to support one another when we need to.”
Lieutenant Governor reflects on Saskatchewan’s 120th birthday
Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant Governor, Bernadette McIntyre, was on the Evan Bray Show, saying it is always special and important to celebrate Saskatchewan becoming a province on Sept. 4, 1905.
Listen to the full interview with McIntyre:
“Saskatchewan is a wonderful province, as I’ve said before, 120 years sounds old, but it really isn’t. We’re a young province, yet with our Indigenous peoples, we have a long, long history,” she said.
“I think we need to celebrate that we became a province in 1905 and that we have this long history with Indigenous peoples. We have this wonderful, strong agricultural economy, and we’ve just diversified so much in 120 years. There’s so much to celebrate.”
McIntyre said it is important to celebrate Saskatchewan’s history, because it is something everyone can learn and grow from.
She also said the 120th birthday is something that brings communities together.
“When I say communities, I mean it very broadly. There are communities in villages, towns, First Nations communities, and there are communities within communities, and we need to celebrate, whether it is the Ukrainian community or the Filipino community. What are all those communities doing? The 120 of Saskatchewan brings all communities together, because we’re all proud to be living in Saskatchewan.”
There is an event taking place on Thursday evening in Saskatoon to celebrate 120 years of Saskatchewan history, communities, and economy. McIntyre will speak at the event, sharing the main message of her speech to kick off the event.
“We have accomplished so much, and we have so much more potential. The people should stay positive, work hard, and celebrate that we are a fabulous province with wonderful people, wonderful resources. We’re so innovative. It’s just wonderful to be from Saskatchewan.
