August 18, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Festivals & Events
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We have such a great Fall Fair here in Dawson Creek. I have been going every year since I was a kid. People from all over the world come to make Rodeo Weekend a holiday.
I love to go early on Saturday morning with a fresh cup of coffee, a few bucks in my pocket and fresh batteries in my camera to take in all the exhibits and competitions.
Every type of animal has it's own facility and over the years, it keeps getting better. All the barns are brightly decorated, there are flowers everywhere and so much to see and appreciate about the agriculture that is the backbone of this community.
I spend the whole day walking around talking to people, looking at the exhibits and watching the various shows. I love seeing cows being groomed, heavy horses pulling great skids of weights, llamas wearing halters, dressage in the light horse ring, displays of grains and quilts and jams and sweet peas. It truly is a wonderful fair!
Over the years, the booths have been built to resemble a western town. There is excellent fair food offered by the local service groups and everyone has their favorites.
There is always great country band in the Watering Hole Beer Gardens and it seems that everyone knows how to two-step. Staying to watch the nightly fireworks is the perfect end of a great day of fun and community.
August 15, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Festivals & Events
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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 seemed like the whole region and friends from far and wide show up to celebrate.
A big part of the Fair is the Midway. This year, 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.
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.
August 08, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Festivals & Events
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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 Dawson Creek, this old time community fair is a reminder of simpler times.
There is none of the glitz and glimmer found at large exhibitions, this country fair is like down-home cooking.
There is a barn filled with local handcrafts and preserves, a few rows of prize farm animals and 2 days of horse shows.
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 to the fair 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.