3. Coyote Hall

Coyote Community Association (Coyote Hall) as most know it as… is a country hall north of Cherhill in Lac St. Anne County – division #4. It is a small community hall, once the location of the original Coyote School… but in 1966 a small hall was built, when the school had burned down. This year marks our 60th anniversary of Coyote Hall. Over the past 6 decades our non-profit hall has been a central point for hundreds of weddings, dances, parties, socials, showers, meetings, birthdays, retirement parties, Christmas concerts, and celebrations of life.

Around 5 years ago… the future looked bleak for the community as it has for many of the halls or legions that have sold, shut down or have simply stopped being used. Coyote was on the edge of that same old story, however, we kept having a few dances… even though the building was becoming very worn down and in much need of repair. We began having meetings to discuss the potential of fundraising money to fix the interior. After 4 years of fundraising and 1 year of community led volunteered construction, we transformed our little dance hall into the gem it is right now (in the interior). For the first time in 17 years… weddings are being booked, parties are happening, people are camping overnight and it is overall being noticed and booked as a community venue in our county.

 

2025 Upgrades went well in Phase #1 and the change speaks for itself:

 

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This is the same north facing view from the entrance…. It shows what happens when community spirit is lifted and people from the surrounding farms and acreages pitch in to donate time and money so that one of the last remaining community halls is preserved for future generations to use and enjoy.

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Phase 2: “The Ask from S.A.N.G – Community Enhancement Foundation – 2026”

 

The next phase in our community refurbishing goal, is to be able to raise funds for the new siding of the exterior building, along with new insulated metal doors that meet updated safety codes.

The exterior of Coyote Hall is a mixture of 3 diMerent materials spanning from the 6 dacades of use. It is worn, cracked and in need of new strapping and tin, with facia, soMit and eaves troughs that span the length of the roofline to remove water from the building properly.

Here is our current goal from before to after…. In future phases we are planning to incorporate a 2 sided wrap around deck with updated wheel chair ramp, perennial beds and sidewalks – so that the outside is as attractive, safely built to code and modernized for the many uses and rentals in our County.

 

 

Current (Before)                                                                     Future (After)

 

 

 

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The building received a new roof around 7 years ago…. And with the interior upgrade as previously shown… we want to preserve this hall with a sharp exterior that “pop” when you enter the site. It will give the community and anyone renting it, a modern option with old style flavour of the Coyote Community. We are known by young and old – consistently as the “Best Dance Hall in the area” For the last 5 years, the Lead Music Promotions President of the Ponoka Stampede has continually come out to dances and says it is worth the 2 hour drive to this little hall in the middle of a grassy field…. Because of the level of good quality dances held here – it’s great to have that type of support here in Lac Ste. Anne County.

 

A short video below has been provided to showcase our hall and our ask for $25,000 that we want to hopefully utilize with a CFEP grant that could double it to $50,000 or more.

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“This is our vision – we hope to build in 4 Phases”

 

• Currently the Spirit of our Coyote Community is the strongest it’s been in over 25 years. A new generation of youth mixed with the older generation who used to run this venue work together and it’s bringing a fresh start to old traditions and new. I.e: trying to sell out an “old school country dance” with the help of the younger members utilizing TikTok, IG, Meta…. To get the word out…. And it works – we are continually getting sell outs to these dances and functions from people all around Onoway, Mayerthorpe, Cherhill, Sangudo, Lisburn, Barrhead, Lessard and many areas near and far.

• This idea came to life after a walk through of the building in 2017 with some of the few members at the time. It gave us the push to apply for Casinos and other fundraisers to earn the cash to get started.

• Coyote Hall is an important part of Lac Ste. Anne. Many settlers came from Europe and farmed in this area, went to school, got married and passed on….. and now the generations after 100 years are still here including new people as well… and the same feeling of gathering and having a meeting place for everyone is important.

• If Coyote Hall is awarded the funding of $25,000 that we are aiming for – it will be a massive step towards the 2nd phase that we would like to complete in 2027. Combined with coyote cash, a SANG SCEF cheque would allow us to apply for a CFEP grant by September 15th of 2026 to double our funding and try to get close to our goal of $70,000.00 in total needed for tin, labour, doors, etc. Once phase 2 is completed then we will work towards the final steps of phase 3 and 4 in the future with decking, sidewalks, a proper parking lot, etc.

• The funding would be going towards protecting the Coyote Hall itself. It is an asset that needs to be sustainable and kept in modern, safe, clean shape for future years and many future bookings. Just like everone’s house… Coyote Hall is like a large acreage that requires the upkeep to keep it running and standing.

View our video submission here

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