Ponoka is a town in the province of Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is situated in the south/central parkland region of rolling hills. Industries are agriculture (grain and cattle production), and oil and gas production. Ponoka is located at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 53, 59 kilometres (36.7 mi) north of the city of Red Deer

Red Deer, Alberta

Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...

 and 95 kilometres (59 mi) south of Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

.

The name Ponoka is Blackfoot

Blackfoot language

Blackfoot, also known as Siksika , Pikanii, and Blackfeet, is the Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot tribes of Native Americans, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America...

 for "elk"; the town flag depicts an elk.

Ponoka was founded on the land north of Fort Ostell in 1905 as a waypoint for the railway from Edmonton to Calgary.

The town is the seat of government for the County of Ponoka

Ponoka County, Alberta

Ponoka County is a municipal district in Alberta, Canada. It covers and it claims to "embody the essence of rural Alberta" .-Demographics:In 2006, Ponoka County had a population of 8,640 living in 3,330 dwellings, a 1.7% decrease from 2001...

.

Demographics

In 2006, Ponoka had a population of 6,576 living in 2,771 dwellings

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

, a 3.5% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 13.05 km² (5 sq mi) and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 504.1 /km2.

Services and facilities

Fire service is provided by the Ponoka Volunteer Fire department. Policing is the responsibility of the Ponoka Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

 Detachment. General bylaw enforcement is undertaken by the town's special constable, in collaboration with the RCMP. Health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

 facilities include: The Ponoka Hospital and Care Center (formerly known as the Ponoka General Hospital), The Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury (Formerly The Alberta Hospital Ponoka), The Northcott Care Center, and The Rimoka Housing Facility. The Ponoka Hospital and Care Center is responsible for general healthcare, while the Centennial Centre serves as a care and treatment facility for mental health and is known for its outstanding brain injury program (The Halvar Johnson Centre for Brain Injury). The Northcott Care Center and Rimoka Housing Facility both care for the elderly, with the Northcott Care Center focusing on care for handicapped individuals.

Events

The town holds the Ponoka Stampede, a seven day rodeo

Rodeo

Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...

 at the end of June/beginning of July, usually ending after or on the Canada Day

Canada Day

Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...

 weekend. During this time, the town is packed with holiday trailers

Mobile home

Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...

 and people wanting to watch the rodeo, or participate in the games, activities, and rides in the midway

Midway (fair)

A midway at a fair is the location where amusement rides, entertainment and fast food booths are concentrated....

. This is advantageous to the small businesses in the area, as there can be up to four times more customers in their stores than any other time of the year. During Stampede time the population of Ponoka grows by approximately 400 percent.

Parks

Ponoka is home to the Wolf Creek Trail which starts at its southern end near the Ponoka Community Golf Course

Golf course

A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

 and travels northwards, ending in the middle of a field. The trail follows the Battle River for several kilometers. Along the trail are several descriptions of various local wild animals and historical tidbits. Also along the trail system are several baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 diamonds, benches, and picnic tables.

Another major park in the Town of Ponoka is the Lions Centennial Park. The park is located along the west side of Highway 2A. The park contains a pond with a small dock, several bathroom facilities, a stage, a statue which is "The World's Largest Cowboy Riding a Horse Statue", The Centennial Time Capsule, several gazebos with picnic tables, and the Fort Ostell Museum.

External links

• Town of Ponoka
• Alberta First. Ponoka Statistics