The snow has come and gone… and come and gone again… but the heavy mist on the hillsides around the town – mists that last well past the morning and into the afternoon – tell their own story of seasonal change. Winter, as they say in Westeros, is coming.

Indeed, a lot of us wish that the ground would hurry up and freeze and that we would come to the end of the season that leaves mud splatter on the legs of our pants and across the floors of our homes.

The ground will be white again by Hallowe’en, of course. It’s a rare year that doesn’t see the kids going door to door with their costumes over their winter gear.

Those who think that the Klondike is just a sleepy little place between the end of September when the tourists stop coming and the arrival of the mushers for the Yukon Quest in early February would be mistaken.

Earlier this month the Robert Service School’s Ancillary Room was the sight of much activity as the town’s Recreation Department sponsored its Clubs and Information registration evening.

Both the EMS Ambulance crew and the Klondike Sun were hoping to recruit new people.

The Rec. Department itself was offering a whole batch of winter activities for young and old.

Youth were invited to participate in jigging, Outdoor Club, Cooking Monsters, Girl Power, Cheer (tumbling and acrobatics), gymnastics, crafts and skating.

The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Youth Centre was also offering a variety of programs.

Families were encouraged to try badminton, soccer, basketball and/or volleyball.

We were notified that the Fitness Centre on Front Street has taken over the former office of the Klondike Sun, and that it has expanded its operations since the Rec. offices were moved to the second floor there. Ramp access is being constructed at the north end of the building and new facilities are being worked on inside.

For those wanting more exercise, circuit training, Zumba, athletic conditioning and yoga are available at various sites around the town.

Outdoor activities were a draw at the info night, with skis and snowshoes on display. It’ll be awhile before there’s enough cover for snow machines to get going, but it won’t be too long, now.

On the culture front, the winter-to-spring series of house concerts has already started. There have been two monthly open mic/coffee houses at the Odd Fellows Hall and a couple of other musical evenings in the same venue.

November will see the annual Dawson City Museum Auction as well as a first of a series of Christmas bazaars that will run pretty much weekly into early December.

The ODD Gallery continues to hold exhibits all year long and a stop there is always an interesting diversion.

Speaking of the arts, the first week in November is the time for the annual Youth Art Experience week. This year the program will feature Fundamentals of Drawing with Meshell Melvin, Exploring Colour with Paint and Paper with Suzanne Paleczny, Basic Beading with Dolores Scheffen and The Art of Radio with George Maratos.

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