Survivors of a tragic bus crash 22 years ago gathered in Calgary for the first time on Saturday to remember two young dancers who lost their life and work on a project to keep their artistic spirt alive.

"It's something that you don't want to ever leave your heart and your mind," said Don Powers, whose daughter, Tammy-Lynn, 16, was killed along with Jaimie Hill, 10, on a narrow pass near Golden, B.C., on July 25, 1990.

The two girls were on their way to a performance in Penticton, B.C., with fellow dancers from Calgary's Artistique Performing Arts Company when a speeding tractor-trailer jackknifed. Its load of gas pipes came loose and smashed into the bus.

Even 22 years later, the memory remains fresh and painful, said a survivors who organized the memorial event.

"Myself, I've dealt with it, every single day. I look at it every single day," La Shayna Ozubko told CBC News. "I look in the mirror and I see the scars on my face, and it's pushed me toward achieving the goals that we are doing today."

To that end the Jaimie Hill &Tammy-Lynn Powers Memorial Foundation has teamed up with the International Avenue Arts and Culture Centre project to have a stage named in their honour.

The plan is to develop a state of the art, LEED-certified 1,000 seat theatre that will include gallery space, rehearsal and production areas, meeting and educational space, and an archival/cultural resource library, the centre said in a news release.

Fundraising for the facility at 2601 17 Ave. SE, where Saturday's memorial was held, has begun with a $1-million pledge from the memorial foundation, which has said it hopes to continue to support the project through its lifetime.

IAACC chair Michael Pierson told CBC News the project has "about $15 million in place.The project is likely to be $50 million or more."

Organizers hope to raise the additional funds through government and private sponsors.

With files from the CBC's Sarah Konsmo