Humboldt art gallery curator Jennifer Fitzpatrick stands next to a banner given to the city following last year's Broncos bus crash (Brent Bosker/650 CKOM)

By Brent Bosker

Humboldt museum Broncos exhibit helps healing one year later

Apr 3, 2019 | 4:40 PM

The City of Humboldt and the Humboldt Broncos organization received a massive outpouring of support in the days following a devastating bus crash on April 6, 2018 that claimed 16 lives and injured 13 others.

A small sample of the estimated 6,000 cards, letters, signed jerseys and banners sent to support the city and hockey team are now part of the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Exhibit. The display, located on the second floor of the art gallery, is the third installment of the rotating exhibit which is made up of 700 pieces cataloged to date by the gallery.

Director of Cultural Services for the city Jennifer Fitzpatrick is in charge of preserving the collection until the city can decide what to do with it.

She said every piece shows how the tragedy touched people differently.

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“Any way people could kind of demonstrate their love and support is what they sent,” she said.

“Whether its a very small little card that a child did or a community banner, they all express the same emotion.”

A colorful string of 1,000 origami cranes folded by students at Kumon Math and Reading Centre in Regina is one example of the mementos of condolence that flowed in from across the country.

The gallery has seen an uptick in visitors this year, which Fitzpatrick attributes to people wanting to honour and pay tribute to those lost in the crash, and survivors.

“Anything that we can do in supporting the community in healing is really our honour to do so,” she said.

To mark one year since the devastating crash, the gallery has put together a larger exhibit and will be staying open longer for the public.