Annual Cabin Fever Winter Festival at Mattson's Farm in Dawson Creek

The annual Cabin Fever Winter Festival hosted by the Mattson Family took place on a very cold, clear February day this year. We were all dressed up in our warmest winter clothes to be outside.

It was a day of visiting, laughing, eating, dancing, playing and stiff competition between neighbors and visitors alike.

The kids with their rosey cheeks had a great time racing the "Board Walk" (modified three legged race where they have to walk together with feet strapped into two short pieces of lumber and also testing their skills in the "Snowball Toss."

Adult Competitions:

"Tea-Boiling" - contestants had to run to grab a hatchet and kindling and light a fire with no paper and ten matches only and bring a pot of water to a rolling boil – first one to drop a bag of tea in the pot was declared the winner.

"Cross-Cut" Sawing - teams of two people sawing a slice from a big log with an antique cross-cut saw.

"Bale Rolling Race" - Teams rolling 1500 pound bales of hay a specific distance.

"Mitt Mayhem" – This was the best! Contestants struggled to open a canned drink and make a peanut butter and jam sandwich wearing large bulky snowmobile mitts.

The competitions were fierce! The winners were thrilled!

There was a beautiful team of Shire Horses giving sleigh rides. Hot food was served in the warm barn and we had a warm-up fire and hay bale wind break to make the outdoor event comfortable even with the bitter winter day.

The festival ended with a barn dance in "Albert's Loft" with old timey music by the Sweetwater Ramblers.

The festival was a great way to shake off the winter with friends and laughs.

Annual Cabin Fever Winter Festival at Mattson's Farm in Dawson Creek

A Spirit Art Festival Walkabout in Dawson Creek

The Spirit Art Festival has transformed Dawson Creek streets into a city-wide art gallery for the month of February.

Many of the downtown businesses have turned their street front windows into display cases for our local artists.

Last Sunday, I bundled up, parked my car at the corner of 102^nd Ave & 10^th Street, by the Mile O Post and went for a walkabout with my camera.

I stopped at Café Europa for my favorite specialty coffee to sip and walked up and down the streets looking at the awesome local art. It was great to have the time to stop and really look at all the work.

There are displays from potters, print makers, painters, photographers and quilters.

My absolute favorite is the display inside the Alaska Highway House that features the work of a local potter who just recently lost her life. She was an avid potter and her family put her latest work on display for the community and visitors to enjoy.

Projects like this really enhance the city. We are bursting at the seams with talent and I am looking forward to taking into many other performances and displays. My congratulations to the planners who chose the winter month of February to put on this festival.

Grab a hot drink and check out the art!

A Spirit Art Festival Walkabout in Dawson Creek

Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire At The Old Fashioned Christmas Festival In Dawson Creek

The annual Old Fashioned Christmas Festival sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dawson Creek is held at Pioneer Village and is free to the public. I went to meet up with some friends and was impressed to see so many people there.

As chance had it, the temperature climbed from a chilly -20 to a balmy -5 on the day of the outdoor festival and the community took full advantage of the reprieve from the cold.

It was already dark by the time the festivities began at 6pm and the Village was all lit up. There were two teams of horses pulling sleighs full of people, bonfires strategically placed around the village for hand warming and marshmallows and Santa hats everywhere.

Christmas carols were being played while hot dogs, hot chocolate and cookies were being passed out to everyone. Chestnuts were actually being roasted on an open fire and the gentleman who was manning the roasting pan was being kept busy by an eager audience of young and old alike. I tried my first one and it was delicious. Kind of Nutty.

Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire At The Old Fashioned Christmas Festival In Dawson Creek

Rocking at the SweetWater905 Music & Arts Festival

Just outside of Dawson Creek in the hamlet of Rolla, a yearly Music & Arts Festival is held each September. The talented artists come from all over western Canada to participate in this jewel of an event.

I've gone every year as an enthusiastic supporter and am continually amazed at how far people travel to enjoy this festival. A field of campers and tents attest to the numbers and dedication.

The festival is held on a private working farm and the artistry of the owners is apparent with each building and garden. All the stalls in the farm's two barns have been turned into individualart galleries, there are films offered in Albert's Loft, the small performing art center above the main barn, butter churning and ice-cream making in the yard and stock dog demonstration and pony rides for the kids.

I also took a tour of the farm on a wagon pulled by a beautiful team of Fjord horses as an extra treat.

On Friday night, after a short but intense storm, we were rewarded with the most spectacular triple rainbows I have ever seen. We gathered around bonfires well into the night visiting, listening and dancing to great music.

Sitting on a bench near a flower garden, I especially enjoyed the Saturday morning offerings in the main yard. A group of women poets who have recently published a book graced an enthusiastic audience with selected readings.

If you are looking for something extra-ordinary, this 3-day event is not to be missed!

Rocking at the SweetWater905 Music & Arts Festival

Defying Gravity at the Fall Fair

Going for a spin with friends on the Tilt-A-Whirl is one thing, but hanging upside down and being whipped around for 5 minutes in a gravity defying machine is quite another.

It's Fall Fair Days in Dawson Creek and it seems like the whole region comes out to celebrate.

A big part of the Fair is the Midway. As usual there were bumper-to-bumper line-ups of people of all ages waiting to get on one of the rides for an adrenalin rush. Several of those rides are not for the faint of heart.

I love the way the Ferris Wheel faces to watch the Chuck Wagon races. We were lucky this time and were loaded first on the Wheel so we got extra airtime while they loaded the rest. We watched a Pro Chuck Wagon race thunder around the track from the best seat in the house, high above in the sky.

The Midway wouldn't be the same without the smell of cotton candy, loud music that almost drowns out the screams of delight and the sight of people walking around with stuffed toys they won at a game. I spent my usual amount tossing rings at little floating duckies and even threw a few darts... no luck this time... but there is always next year.

What do you love about the fair?

Defying Gravity at the Fall Fair

Stepping Back in Time to a Country Fall Fair

Every year we go to the Kiskatenaw Fall Fair. Tucked away on a country road just off the Hart Highway about a half hour west of town, this old time community fair is a reminder of simpler times.

There is none of the glitz and glimmer found at the large exhibitions, this country fair is like home cooking. A barn filled with local handcrafts and preserves, a few rows of prize farm animals and 2 days of horse shows.

I am inspired to get a couple of geese but have been told their looks are nicer than their personalities so will do more research.

We always go on the Saturday for the heavy horses pulls. I love to see those huge animals showing what they were raised to do. They skid heavy logs through obstacle courses just like they skidded logs out of the forest when horses did logging. The teams also compete to see who can pull the heaviest loads. It truly is teamwork at it's finest.

The food is home cooked, generous and very affordable. The admission price is by donation and the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming.

The fair is held at the beginning of August every year and is well attended by locals and visitors alike. This year we sat and chatted with a couple from Nebraska on their way up the Alaska Highway.

Stepping Back in Time to a Country Fall Fair

Fly! Fly! Fly! The Dawson Creek Air Show

Swooping and looping, upright and upside down... We just had another amazing Air Show here in Dawson Creek.

Hundreds of people showed up to be thrilled and delighted... ooohing and aahhing as plane after plane performed in the sky.

It was very exciting. My favorite is always the daredevil on the bi-plane. I've seen that in movies, but seeing it up close and personal is a whole other thing.

The snowbirds were spectacular as usual. They just get better and better.

A real crowd pleaser was the Sailplane. No motor, great music and pyrotechnics on the ends of the wings. My friend described it as " a beautiful dance in mid air."

What a great yearly event!

Fly! Fly! Fly! The Dawson Creek Air Show

Summer Cruise Fun!

We just attended one of the largest show and shines in BC.

Most of the streets in downtown Dawson Creek were blocked off for the day as hundreds of shiny vintage cars and trucks gathered for the grand finale of the annual Summer Cruise.

We met people from all over BC and Alberta. Some of the locals actually drove the vehicles here and many hauled them here in special trailers.

The streets were alive with proud owners, vintage car enthusiasts and eager spectators.

There were sandwich signs in front of each of the vehicles telling us about them.

Most of the hoods were up and the owners were happy to answer any questions and tell stories about them. While some were for sale as the owners were planning their next restoration project, it was obvious that many were considered family members and would never be for sale.

One man jokingly told me that he would sell his kids before he sold his car.

Later in the afternoon, awards were given in several categories.

Summer Cruise Fun!

"Wild and Lawless" Horse Show in Dawson Creek

I admit to being a horse enthusiast. When I heard that we were having another Wild and Lawless Horse Show at the Lakota Equestrian Center, I was thrilled!

I couldn't believe how much the show had grown in one year. There were over 120 riders of all ages and all disciplines.

Horses were everywhere! In stalls, aisles, pens, in the huge bathing room and in the arena. The atmosphere was pure energy, the sound was a symphony of whinnies and laughter and the smell was pure horse.

I got a chance to visit with old friends and new friends from as far away as 100 Mile House and White Court. I even met some tourists up from Omaha, Nebraska, who although they were here for their grandson's graduation, couldn't resist sneaking out for a few hours to watch the show! Horses bring people together!

All the disciplines were represented: English Equitation, Pleasure & Jumping, Western Equitation, Trail, Pleasure, Barrel Racing and Pole Bending.

The equestrian center is a great venue for a show of this size, and more than capable of handling even more growth. What a top-notch center! I couldn't count how many times I heard out of town competitors praise the riding center and the organization.

Sometimes a person just knows that an event has taken root and will just get better and better year after year... well, 's the feeling with the Wild and Lawless! I'm putting it on my calendar for next year! And I know I won't be the only one!

"Wild and Lawless" Horse Show in Dawson Creek

Happy Birthday Canada!

Everyone loves a parade! Everyone loves a party and everyone looks great in red and white.

I have been going to watch the Canada Day Parade in the little village of Pouce Coupe near Dawson Creek for more years than I can remember.

The best part of it for me is that a small community has created an important cultural event that brings people together year after year.

The parade itself is not large, but the crowd is loyal and appreciative and you never know what you are going to see. ( My all time favorite was a small woman who thought it was a great idea to bring a very uncooperative miniature donkey; they stole the act, and many hearts that day, I actually followed her along the route so I didn't miss the antics.)

This year I noticed the variety of license plates on the parked vehicles: Montana, Wisconsin, Texas and one from Georgia were mixed in with the locals.

Right after the parade, everyone makes a beeline to Pouce Park for a big community barbecue. There is entertainment and craft booths and lots and lots of families.

What a great way to have fun, relax and celebrate being Canadian eh?! And this year we had lots of sun too!

Happy Birthday Canada!