June 26, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Festivals & Events
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Just this past Friday I had the pleasure of helping out with the Fort St John Visitor Centre’s “Share the Excitement” event for local school children. The event brought local children out to experience the excitement of the coming Olympic Games.
Children became athletes as they played Olympic inspired games (‘curling’ with beanbags and the house draw onto the sidewalk with chalk, for example) and decorated their own personal gold medals. They met the mascots via a selection of colouring sheets (unfortunately Northern communities do not always have the funds to fly the actual mascots up for events). Lastly the kids learned about all the fantastic things that are entailed in B.C. Tourism as they toured the Visitor Centre and watched the “Share the Excitement” promotional video which shows many of the amazing experiences that British Columbia offers. In the closing ceremonies the children were given “Share the Excitement” flags as keepsakes to remind them that the 2010 Olympics are as much for them as for the hundred of athletes from all around the world.
Local enthusiasm was staggering as teachers snapped up the six spaces that were made available for classes within mere hours and students eagerly cheered ‘Go Canada’ while Visitor Information Counsellor, Samantha Gibeault, explained the day’s significance to them. The day itself was a great success with marvellous weather and over a hundred happy children learning just how exciting Vancouver’s Olympics truly are!
Here in Fort St John, we may be hundreds of miles from the home of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics but the excitement was shared and the children of the North could not be more enthusiastic.
The two classes that were unable to make it were sent goodie bags filled with mascot stickers, Olympic tattoos, flags, magnets, and a “Share the Excitement” decal for the class to share. Any other children who missed the festivities can also stop by the Fort St John Visitor Centre for complimentary flags and stickers!
June 24, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Sightseeing Tours
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I woke up this morning to lovely weather and a dog bouncing merrily off of the walls with excess energy. It was clearly time to find somewhere to walk. I took off on the sidewalk but soon stumbled across the Fort St. John Community Walking Trails.
The trails loop around the north half of town through forest and field, and even into a few of the local parks. Eventually the city hopes to wrap the trails around the entire city and perhaps even add a section leading out to Charlie Lake (a small community built around a lake just northwest of Fort St. John). Being pet and bike friendly, the trails encourage healthy, green living and save walkers from the trauma of being driven off a walking trail by some madman on a dirt bike as motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails.
Today we found ourselves jogging through mature stands of poplar on paths lined with bluebells and wild roses. It was like running through a perfumery! Though the trails are often quite busy we had them almost entirely to ourselves. The only thing we ran into was a healthy young moose.
He was stripping branches of new leaves just off the path as we jogged by and I will admit that I was quite startled and not a little frightened by his sudden appearance. Fortunately my dog decided against barking and getting us trampled and we were able to walk by without incident. At a mere 2 meters away it was the closest I had been to a moose in years! He watched us as we walked by, all the while munching on the trees.
By the time we got back home, my dog and I were both hot and tired but somehow exhilarated from our brush with the wild on Fort St. John’s Community Walking Trails. So if you happen to be in Fort St. John and in need of some fresh air and exercise, be sure to check out the community walking trails, you might even meet some locals whether they are wild or just walkers.
Tips for Meeting Moose:
- Don’t take dogs out on the trails unless they are used to wild animals and know better than to bark
- If you don’t want to run into any animals, make lots of noise while walking, but if you do encounter one remain quiet and do not make any sudden or loud noises
- Walk by the animal calmly and don’t make any sudden movements
- If you are as close as I was, don’t take pictures, a loud camera noise or a flash may startle the animal
Moose are generally quite docile but if you startle them you may run into trouble, so proceed with caution (be quiet and calm: don’t ever run and scream when you stumble across one) and try not to make any impact on the animal.
June 21, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Culinary Tours & Schools
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Sometimes the kitchen just needs a night off.
Last night was one of those nights.
My mother and I didn’t feel like firing up the stove so we wandered over to Fort St. John’s Irish restaurant and pub: Egan’s.
Upon arrival, we were seated in a comfortable booth in the attractively decorated restaurant side. Modern decorative light fixtures hang from the ceiling and cast a warm glow on the dark wood and warm yellow painted walls, the old fashioned decor pieces and the rich, darkly toned tables and seats. I will, however, own that, given the number of windows in the restaurant and the length of the daylight here in the North in the summer, a rather strange lighting effect was created; somehow it was both dim and bright.
Despite the strange condition of the lighting the food was prompt and delicious. In under 15 minutes (from the time we ordered) we were served steaming hot meals which were satisfying and tasty. I had the “Our Very Own Egan’s Burger” with a house salad. So it wasn’t Irish, but it was still to die for! The patty was big and thick and savoury (without being too much) and all of the vegetables on the burger and in the salad were crispy and fresh. I would even dare to suggest that the salad was NOT from a bag! Pretty rare for your average restaurant pub.
My mother got the steak sandwich which, she reported, was perfectly cooked and very pleasantly seasoned. She found the bread that it came on a bit too well buttered but then, she is quite picky about butter content in her food.
Overall it was a very tasty supper and, with a 2 for 1 coupon from a local fundraiser the meal (for both of us) cost under fifteen dollars. So next time you need some fresh hearty fare in Fort St. John, stop by Egan’s and enjoy fabulous (and fairly priced) food!
Photo shows the Pub side of Egan’s.
June 20, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Culinary Tours & Schools
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It may strike some as strange but Fort St. John has more sushi restaurants than Tim Horton’s-es. For the sushi lover in all of us, there are three great places to go: Masataro Sushi, Little Tokyo, or Sushi Heaven. They all serve surprisingly good sushi given how far the fish has to be shipped to reach our northerly (and inland) location, but there is one that holds a special place in my heart: Sushi Heaven.
I first stumbled across Sushi Heaven shortly after Fort St. John was inundated with the sushi craze when I decided that it was high time for small-town-girl-Brittney to try a taste of this strange Japanese meal replete with raw fish. I was mildly apprehensive but almost instantly fell in love with the fishy dish.
Sushi Heaven offers a delectable selection of inside-out rolls, maki rolls, dons, sashimi, and nigiri sushi. My personal favourite is the Dynamite combo (six pieces of dynamite roll and three pieces of nigiri sushi) which I found myself savouring a few nights ago with friends.
It tends to be quiet in the evenings (being more of a lunch venue) and so, we waited mere minutes for our meals to emerge. As expected the food was fantastic and the service was positively excellent. We chatted the evening away at a simple table beneath one of the many painted Japanese paper lanterns suspended from the ceiling, whilst periodically amusing ourselves with the Japanese quotes and wall hangings enrobing the walls around us. I probably consumed a good 3 cups of complimentary green tea before we trooped out of Sushi Heaven and slowly drifted back to earth.
If you happen to be in Fort St. John the next time you get a sushi craving or just need a taste of heaven manifested as a simple but charming Japanese restaurant, check out Sushi Heaven; it is a touch of paradise in seaweed and sticky rice.
June 20, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Festivals & Events
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I have never been fond of country music; in fact, I have been known to cry out in abject misery at the twanging strains of a country tune. All that changed at my first barn dance.
Towns with large rural populations like Fort St John are famous for their cowboy hat wearing and merry two-stepping but I had never fully appreciated the charm of folksy northern tradition until I was dragged (kicking and screaming) across the threshold of a local family’s barn for my first ever barn dance. That was almost two years ago and I have yet to regret it.
Fort St. John barn dances are a family affair, from toddlers in frilled dresses to stately two-stepping seniors, everyone is welcome. However, being as they are hosted in a homey, though unheated, barn, they only run once monthly from May to October. I periodically think that I would be willing to brave December’s -40 chill if only to get out dancing.
Just last night I attended a barn dance celebrating this year’s highschool graduates. All ages were present and dress ranged from ballgowns and tuxedos to jean shorts and cowboy hats. It was a marvellous night. We polka’d and two-stepped, even waltzed, and of course danced a few classic folk dances like the butterfly and the schottische.
Anyone who knows how to dance is always willing to teach others and newbies are warmly gathered into the fold. So, next time you are in Fort St. John, I encourage you to get out and meet the locals, if you’re lucky you might even be invited out to come barn dancing with one of the warmest, most charming groups of people that the world has to offer.