[BCMA] O CANADA! Barkerville averages a thousand visitors per day during ninety-six hour "true patriot love-in"

Wed Jul 7 09:08:06 PDT 2010

---- Original Message --------
Subject: 	O CANADA! Barkerville averages a thousand visitors per day 
during ninety-six hour "true patriot love-in"
Date: 	Tue, 6 Jul 2010 13:57:12 -0700
From: 	James Douglas <JDouglas at barkerville.ca>

*_For Immediate Release_*

*O CANADA!  Barkerville averages a thousand visitors per day during 
ninety-six hour "true patriot love-in"*

BARKERVILLE, BC, July 6, 2010 -- Nearly four thousand visitors from far 
and wide rushed into the action on William's Creek this past week during 
four days of nationalistic revelry that took place at BC's Gold Rush Town.

The partygoers came from 17 Canadian regions, several US states, South 
America, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, central Europe, the 
Netherlands, Scandinavia, Asia and the South Pacific.

Things kicked off July 1^st as Barkerville hosted its 142^nd annual 
Dominion Day festivities in grand Victorian style.  Although Canada is 
in fact 143 years old this year, Barkerville held the very first 
birthday party for the new country 142 years ago - on July 1^st , 1868 
-- as a way of marking the one-year anniversary of Confederation. 

Opening ceremonies for the 2010 BC Provincial Heritage Fair at 11 a.m. 
were followed at noon by the doling out of more than 800 pieces of a 
giant, maple-leaf-emblazoned birthday cake supplied by Barkerville's own 
Goldfield Bakery.  The cake, four feet by eight feet in length and 
weighing close to one hundred pounds, took eight people to carry and was 
completely devoured by the jubilant crowd in less than an hour.

A parade of Barkerville's costumed interpretive staff assembled next at 
St. Saviour's Anglican Church and proceeded to march up the town's Main 
Street, led by the Quesnel Pipes and Drums and several members of the 
Royal Canadian Mounted Police dressed in time-honoured Red Serge.

The July 1^st highlights included traditional 19^th -century games and 
races for both children and adults all afternoon, including a Men's 
Hammer Toss, Ladies' Egg in Spoon Race, the ever-popular children's 
broad jump, and a Greasy Pole Climb. 

After the games, Newman & Wright Theatre Company, operators of 
Barkerville's legendary Theatre Royal, entertained the masses with a 
rousing "Gold Rush Revue" of historical song and dance. 

By dusk, the party had moved inside Barkerville's House Hotel and 
continued into the wee hours with more dancing and live music.  A 
late-night fireworks extravaganza rounded out the evening, and despite 
the day's erratic weather the radiating energy that the assemblage 
displayed was in no way dampened.

"Our thanks go to the Quesnel branch of Scotiabank, the 2010 Dominion 
Day sponsor, for helping continue Barkerville's July 1^st legacy in such 
a magnificent fashion," said James Douglas, Barkerville's Marketing and 
Communications Officer.  "Their generous and heartfelt support of our 
Dominion Day activities made the event the huge success that it was."

Douglas pointed out that the attendance figures for this July 2^nd were 
nearly double those for last year, adding that the numbers held up well 
throughout the weekend.

"Considering the world's current economic climate, that's a pretty 
significant accomplishment -- one that we hope to continue through 
quality community partnerships like these," he said.

With nearly four thousand international visitors over four days this 
past week, it appears as though Barkerville's "community" is as large 
and diverse as it was during the town's first Dominion Day party 142 
years ago, at the height of the great Cariboo Gold Rush.

-30-

*About Barkerville Historic Town*

BARKERVILLE HISTORIC TOWN is the largest historic site in western North 
America (www.barkerville.ca <http://www.barkerville.ca/>).  Barkerville 
is provincially, nationally and internationally recognized for its 
historic significance associated with its place in western Canada's gold 
rush era and the role the gold rush played in BC joining Canada.  
Barkerville is widely known as a "must see" for travel itineraries in 
western Canada.  The historic town is also a significant contributor to 
the Cariboo regional economy and is widely regarded as a unique 
component of the regional identity.

The Barkerville Heritage Trust, as Barkerville's operating and managing 
partner, works in conjunction with the Province of British Columbia, the 
owner and statutory guardian of Barkerville's heritage resources,  to 
ensure that Barkerville is efficiently managed, entertaining and 
educational to visitors,  and financially stable as the premier heritage 
resource and tourism attraction for the Cariboo.  The ultimate aim is to 
maintain and enhance Barkerville's position as a nationally significant 
heritage resource and tourism attraction for British Columbia and Canada.

Barkerville is situated 80 km east of Quesnel, British Columbia in the 
foothills of the Cariboo Mountains, close to Troll Mountain Ski Resort 
and Bowron Lake Provincial Park.  The nearby community of Wells (8 km 
from Barkerville) is the service and housing centre for the area 
(www.wellsbc.com <http://www.wellsbc.com/>) and is itself a dynamic 
cultural community, home of Island Mountain Arts, the acclaimed Toni 
Only Artists' Project, the International Celtic Harp School 
(www.imarts.com <http://www.imarts.com/>), the dynamic indie music 
festival ArtsWells (www.artswells.com <http://www.artswells.com/>), and 
the Sunset Theatre (www.sunset-theatre.com 
<http://www.sunset-theatre.com/>). Wells is also situated close to a 
wide variety of winter and summer outdoor activities

*Media Inquiries*

*James Douglas*

Marketing and Communications

Barkerville Historic Town

Box 19

Barkerville, BC V0K 1B0

250-994-3302 ext. 41

888-994-3332 toll free

250-994-3435 fax

james.douglas at barkerville.ca <mailto:james.douglas at barkerville.ca>

www.barkerville.ca 
<https://mail.barkerville.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.barkerville.ca/>

barkerville.wordpress.com

Skype: barkerville.historic.town

Twitter: #barkervillebc

Watch: youtube.com/barkervilletv 
<https://mail.barkerville.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://youtube.com/barkervilletv>

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