British Columbia Magazine

Every four years, salmon runs on the Horsefly River reach a cyclical peak. 2009 is the year we’ve been waiting for, and folks in the Cariboo community of Horsefly are marking the occasion with a festival on September 5 and 6.

While recent news about British Columbia’s declining salmon stocks has been bleak, Horsefly hopes to welcome home a million spawning sockeye this fall. Education is the focus of activities planned for the weekend, with information about water quality and aquatic invertebrates, as well as fish-dissection demonstrations.

Gutting fish not your idea of a good time? There will also be musical entertainment, a potluck, and a family square dance.

It takes the sockeye approximately 28 days to journey from the Pacific Ocean up the Fraser River, then along the Quesnel River to the mouth of the Horsefly River and its spawning grounds. Only 15 to 50 percent of the adult fish that set out on the 760-kilometre journey survive past the commercial fishing areas of the lower Fraser.

For more on the Horsefly River, see our Fall 2008 story “Protecting B.C. with TLC” (full article online here.)

For details on the Horsefly River Salmon Festival, visit www.horseflyriver.ca. There’s even an online video so you can see what it’s all about.

If you’re looking to grab a last bit of summer fun before fall sets in, it’s not too late to take in Vancouver’s Pacific National Exhibition. The annual fair runs through the Labour Day weekend, and if you visit between September 5 and 7, keep a lookout for the friendly folks from British Columbia Magazine.

At our booth in front of the Pacific Coliseum, we’ll be giving away FREE copies of the magazine, while supplies last (they’re going fast)! And for just $1 you can spin the British Columbia Magazine Prize Wheel for a chance to win posters, magnets, collector’s issues, hats, T-shirts, and other exciting prizes. Every spin is a guaranteed winner!

Stop by and say “hello”—we’d love to see you!

Contributed by Heather Ramsay

At the Midsummer Music Festival in Smithers, fans get a bonus with their music fix: extra elbowroom and the opportunity to mingle with the musicians.

Perhaps 2,000 people convene for the Smithers songfest each year—a fraction of the 30,000 or so that crowd the better-known Vancouver Folk Festival on the Lower Mainland. At one of the first shows in 1984 or 1985, the Smithers audience was so small that everyone simply moved onto the covered stage and sat cross-legged around the band when a rainstorm hit, recalls organizer George Stokes.

Audience members can often be found sharing food in the hospitality tent with such musical greats as American bluesman Taj Mahal, Canadian folk guitarist James Keelaghan, and the Be Good Tanyas bluegrass trio, or joining the pros for nighttime jam sessions around the campfire. Some artists, including Toronto fiddle star Oliver Schroer and Whitehorse-based singer Kim Barlow, find their experience in Smithers so invigorating that they come back year after year.

The mountain community has even produced a few headliners of its own: Juno-award winner Alexis Puentes, folk singer/songwriter Mark Perry, and bluegrass performer Jenny Lester, among others.

From the Midsummer Music Festival in Smithers,  enthusiasts can follow a circuit of intimate, outdoor summer music festivals hosted in northern B.C. communities. Plan a trip to take in some or all of the following events:

* Midsummer Music Festival (www.bvfms.org), June 26 to 28, 2009, Smithers.

* Crab Fest (www.crabfest.ca), July 2 and 3, 2009. Rocks the Nisga’a community of Gingolx, perched at the mouth of the mighty Nass River, north of Terrace.

* Atlin Arts and Music Festival (www.atlinfestival.ca), July 10 to 12, 2009, combines music with other performance and visual arts on the shores of Atlin Lake.

* Kispiox Valley Music Festival (www.kispiox.com), July 24 to 26, 2009, on the grassy banks of the Kispiox River, northeast of Prince Rupert.

* Edge of the World Music Festival (www.edgefestival.com), August 7 to 9, 2009, at the cedar-fringed Tlell Fairgrounds on east Graham Island, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).

Our former editorial intern, Meghan Stothers, is the poster girl for Victoria’s Bike to Work Week this month. Meghan was the model cycling commuter while on staff with us, earning frequent fashion kudos for cycling to work in stylish skirts and heels. Meghan appears in the poster below with her daughter and a colleague at her new job with the Ministry of Environment.

Cycling commuters in close to 20 communities across the province will get into gear for Bike to Work Week, May 11 to 17. As of May 7, more than 530 teams had registered to participate in the Victoria event.

Bike to Work Week promotes cycling and the many benefits of two-wheeled travel, including reduced traffic congestion and pollution, and improved personal health. “Celebration stations” with food and drinks are part of the fun.

In June, Vancouver cyclists can become part of an installation at the Vancouver Museum entitled “Velo-City, Vancouver and the Bicycle Revolution.” The photographic exhibition, running June 4 to September 7, will explore “Vancouver’s human-powered revolution that’s changing the way people experience and relate to the city, their neighbourhoods, and to their own bodies.” Submit a photo of yourself and your ride online and answer a few questions to join the revolution.

Start spreading the news…British Columbia Magazine’s “The lure of Tatlayoko,” published in our Fall 2008 issue, has won the top prize for magazine article at the 12th annual Northern Lights Awards for excellence in travel journalism. The feature was written by Vancouver-based contributor J.B. MacKinnon.

The awards, recently presented at the Waldorf=Astoria hotel in New York, recognize excellence in North American travel writing and photography. MacKinnon and British Columbia Magazine editor Anita Willis travelled to New York to accept the award. The Northern Lights awards are sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission.

Head to Castlegar this week for your chance to meet one of British Columbia’s most fascinating fish, face to face.

On Wednesday, April 22nd, the public is invited to help release juvenile white sturgeon by hand into the Columbia River.

The young fish to be let into the wild are only 15 to 25 centimetres long and weigh approximately 60 grams, but may ultimately grow as big as a canoe and live for 100 years!

White sturgeon have existed since prehistoric times, but are now struggling to survive due to habitat degradation, water contamination, poaching, and other factors. Approximately 10,000 10-month-old sturgeon have been released into B.C.’s Columbia River over the last seven years in an attempt to shore up this population (one of six in the province), while biologists search for more long-term solutions. There are perhaps 1,000 adults in the B.C. portion of the Columbia today.

The release, hosted by the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, will take place at Hugh Keenleyside Dam from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more on white sturgeon, check out “The amazing sturgeon” in the Fall 2008 issue of British Columbia Magazine.

In tough economic times, “cheap” is a word we all want to hear. Cheap travel. Cheap gas. Cheap eats.

Tomorrow on CBC Radio One, our own Jane Nahirny will share tips for cheap B.C. getaways with B.C. Almanac host Mark Forsythe. Jane is promotions co-ordinator for British Columbia Magazine, and is working to develop all kinds of fun activities around our magazine’s 50th anniversary year (1959-2009).

Jane will bring her bubbling enthusiasm for all things B.C. to the radio show this Friday, March 13, between 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. B.C. Almanac listeneres are encouraged to call in after 1:00 p.m. with their own recommendations for cheap B.C. getaways.

Tune in tomorrow for some terrific ideas for spring break!

If you build it, they will come.

Head to Creston this coming Wednesday, March 4, to help construct nest boxes for endangered western screech-owls.

Native to British Columbia’s southern Interior, the macfarlanei subspecies of western screech-owl (Megascops kennicottii) primarily inhabits the Okanagan Valley. The small, nocturnal, non-migratory bird prefers to nest in the cavities of mature cottonwood trees, but has suffered serious habitat loss and degradation in recent years. Only 50 to 200 individuals remain in the province. While nest boxes are not a permanent fix, they do provide temporary nesting and roosting sites.

The Columbia Basin’s Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program is hosting this family-friendly event. Pre-registration is required (info@fwcp.ca). Cost: $10 for materials. The workshop will get underway at 7 p.m. at the Rotocrest Hall in Creston.

Show your support—and a lot more—at this weekend’s naked bungee jump for schizophrenia, taking place at WildPlay Element Parks of Nanaimo.

Participants can let it all hang out for a reduced jumping fee of $40, or opt to wear clothes for the regular rate of $99. Spectators are welcome for a $15 donation. All proceeds go to the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society. The 2008 event raised $5,000 toward their education work.

Some people are gung-ho to support the cause, which is championed by one of WildPlay’s owners. Others simply seek the thrill of jumping in the buff. “It adds an extra level of excitement to it,” says Kathleen Burton, marketing and sales manager for WildPlay.

At the annual naked jump last year, 160 people soared from the WildPlay bungee bridge, which stretches over the scenic Nanaimo River. Most wore nothing but the big bungee cord fastened around their ankles.

WildPlay Nanaimo is open to adults only on this special weekend, and other site activities are not available. The event runs Feb. 21 and 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Looking for a bargain? Jump naked for only $30 by booking in advance through the WildPlay online shopping cart.

Let the countdown begin.

In just three days, Lotusland will start the clock for the one-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Vancouverites are marking this milestone with the 2009 Cultural Olympiad, running from February 1 to March 21. The celebration will feature 400 performances, both free and ticketed, including dance, visual arts, music, and film.

Famed singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan will headline a One-Year Countdown Celebration concert on February 12, 7:30 p.m., at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Alt-rocker Joel Plaskett, violinist Adrian Anantawan, and the Alberta Ballet will also take the stage at this ticketed event.

Up the Sea to Sky Highway, Whistler Village will host the Whistler Winter Arts Festival through February and March 2009. Enjoy outdoor concerts, photography exhibits, literary soirees, snow sculpting, and more. Many events are free.