Growing young farmers
In 2020, when the Yukon closed its borders to the outside world due to COVID-19, Sundog Retreat owners Andrew Finton and his partner, Heather, found an opportunity in the challenge. They created the Sundog Veggies project.
A cheesy business plan
Jill Johnstone turned to cheese-making for her scientific outlet. Let her show you through a 12 week training program.
The pandemic creates the space to share stories in a new way
As the Ice Melts is a project that takes the form of two videos which present stories and poetry on the theme of our changing environment. The work has been put together by Bielawski, Lilley and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations storyteller, Ron Chambers.
FRISKY NORTH OF 60
New podcast shares stories about dating and relationships north of the 60th parallel.
Bringing BBQ to the masses
Smoke and Sow, from food truck to Whitehorse restaurant. The menu includes beef brisket, pulled pork, racks of ribs and whole chickens.
Learning to be a good person through fishing
In 2017 Paul Rath attended the North Words Symposium in Skagway. He joined an early morning session in the library hosted by Deb Vanasse, an experience that led to the birth of his first book, Fishing with My Fathers, earlier this year. “Deb started off the session by challenging us to write out a list …
Think About The Wild
Rodden has created albums for adults but he says his niche is really children’s music. His recently released Think About the Wild.
What’s new in your art practice?
We’re starting a new column that will ask a different visual artist each month the question that I got on the sidewalk: what’s new in your art practice and what are you working on right now?
Honouring a whale
“I’ve been thinking about water for about five or six years,” said artist Joyce Majiski. While walking the beach in Spain she was struck by the large amount of garbage that was getting washed in with the tide. And then, one day, she was struck with a vision of building a whale out of garbage.
A Parade of Dreams
Christopher Wheeler has had a long-standing dream to become an author. When COVID-19 arrived, it brought with it the opportunity for him to pursue this dream. The result is his first collection of poetry, A Parade of Dreams. “I’ve put the collection together over COVID,” Wheeler said. “I thought, why not? It’s been something I’ve …
Dino-riffic!
November 1 heralds the start of DiNovember, when my daughter’s pet dinosaurs, full of mischief and hijinks, take over the house for a month.
Bringing local food to Yukoners
Farming in the Yukon comes with a few other unique obstacles, including producing food with wildlife at the doorstep.
Lesson learned?
Allan Code directed Pandemic at the End of the World in order to bring a historical perspective to the current global reality.
Beast of the Boreal
“It’s not an art form you often see featured in traditional gallery” We wanted to create space for illustration artists to have work seen.
A smooth recovery
A golden eagle is recovering at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve after arriving in August, weighing only half of what a healthy eagle should weigh. The bird, brought up from Watson Lake, had a fractured scapular, which was preventing him from flying.
Bringing live performance back to the Yukon
The Guild Hall is getting creative. Of course, that’s pretty standard for the Whitehorse theatre, but COVID-19 is forcing a different kind of creativity.
Falling back into programming
As Yukon students head back to the classrooms, schools and teachers are not the only groups working out how to deal with the new normal imposed by COVID-19.
Tackling the Monster Plant
Rhubarb often goes straight into pies, cobblers and crisps, often the freezer first. Here are two amazing canned rhubarb recipes.
Nature fusing light and air to create art
Anne Hoerber’s new exhibition, Waking Dreams, shows at Arts Underground this month Different artists are often drawn to different media in part because of what they are able to express with their chosen supplies. For Anne Hoerber, this chosen media is encaustic (working with melted wax), which allows her to bring the feelings and impressions …
Yukon athletes honoured by Sport Yukon
For 44 years Sport Yukon has been handing out awards to the Yukon’s top athletes, coaches and sport administrators. The 2019 crop of honourees continues this trend, despite COVID-19 necessitating the distribution of the awards to take place at a distance.
Bringing mentors and mentees together
COVID-19 is a challenging time for artists, which is why the Yukon Arts Centre is so excited about their Yukon Emerging Artist Program.
Reaching the World Through Dance
Before COVID-19 Gurdeep Pandher had never considered teaching an online class.“I had always believed that to be effective classes needed to be taught in-person,” he explained. Despite that hesitation Pandher, who teaches bhangra, decided to give the world of online teaching a try. He hosted his first online class in March.
Facing Your Fears
Everyone experiences fear at some point in their lives. This universal emotion and our response to it forms the core of Eva Holland’s first book, Nerve.
Childhood memories for children and parents alike
Over the last four years Claire Ness has been pulling inspiration from her childhood memories and her time as a mother to create her new album, Broccoli Farm. “I am really excited to get this one out there,” said Ness, “It is a collection of original kid’s songs that I have been working on for the …
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Putting delicious food into the hands of Yukoners
Wayfarer Oyster House provides takeout and off-sales during the time of COVID-19 COVID-19 has dramatically changed things for Yukon’s restaurant community, including Wayfarer Oyster House. “If there’s a word to describe everything right now, it’s different,” explained the co-owners of Wayfarer Oyster House, Andrew Seymour, Brian Ng and Eddie Rideout. “Like our peers across the …
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Cooking up some good
The Yukon Chef Collective is a group of local culinary professionals giving back by creating meals for the Whitehorse Food Bank
Pho-fix
Making sure Yukoners can still get their pho-fix is not the only way Lan Tang, owner of Pho 5 Star Restaurant, is contributing during the pandemic.
Stock your freezers
Antoinette’s Restaurant decided they would work through the pandemic by providing their fellow Yukoners with frozen meals so they could stock their freezers and enjoy the dishes when they wanted.
Bring the community together through fitness
The COVID-19 lockdown has left fitness studios empty, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay in shape
Support local with a beer and some Indian food
Things are different for everyone in the new COVID-19 world and companies everywhere are having to change their business models to adapt. Nowhere is this truer than for the Woodcutter’s Blanket. “It’s been difficult, it felt like it happened overnight,” said co-owner James Maltby. “It has forced us to do a 180 on our business …
Capturing a significant moment in history
It all started when Yellowknife-based photographer Pat Kane posted a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post in response to the new reality of social distancing associated with COVID-19: “So much for my photography business, I guess I’ll have to start taking photos of people through their windows.”
Art education wherever you are
Kids Kreate, the Yukon Arts Centre’s education program, needed to bring art into the lives of Yukon’s youngsters. The solution, go virtual.
Bringing the world of the culinary arts to Yukoners
For every Yukoner who has ever felt intimidated by a new recipe or technique in the kitchen Chef Catherine (Cat) McInroy is here to help. She is the owner/operator of the only privately-owned culinary education centre in the Canadian North.
Meals inspired by literature
Many classic stories have food and drinks intrinsically linked to their narratives. The Whitehorse Public Library has taken this idea and run with it, creating Page to Plate – a series of workshops for youth linking literature and cooking.
Curious about coats of arms?
Heraldry is a way for individuals, institutions and groups to identify themselves visually. Coats of arms tell personal stories about the people they represent.
Helping Northerners Deal with the Realities of Climate Change
Yukoner Brian Horton Joins the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices’ Expert Advisory Panel on Climate Adaptation Brian Horton, Manager of the Northern Climate ExChange, has recently been appointed to the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices’ Expert Advisory Panel on Climate Adaptation. The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices is a newly created independent climate policy research organization. …
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Wild in the city
Linda Leon’s newest exhibition, Wild in the City, is an exploration of the relationship between animals and urban centres.
Who’s behind the mask?
The Masquerade Ball serves as YSR’s big Saturday event. Major Funk and the Employment will provide entertainment for the evening, and there will be dancing and a prize for the best dressed.
Pinoys on Parliament
From February 21 to 23, young Filipino-Canadians will converge on Ottawa for a youth-led national leadership conference. Pinoys on Parliament will bring together 200 delegates from coast to coast to coast. “Pinoys on Parliament was born out of the idea that although Filipinos compose one of the largest minority groups in Canada, they are still …
Here come the mushers
The Yukon Quest has been described as the hardest sled dog race in the world. Luckily the Yukon Quest organizers have created a series of events so the public can get involved with this iconic event without the risk of frostbite or sleep deprivation.
The Chainsaw Chuck is just the beginning
The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre is the place to be this February. That’s where the majority of events are taking place for the 2020 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR).
Get ready to howl
Buckwheat Donahue arrived in Skagway from Colorado in the 1980s. “He made an immediate impact in the establishments on Broadway,” said William Brady, secretary of the Log Cabin Ski Society. “After a winter in town, he famously said he’d like to start a ski race to bring more women to town in the winter.” He …
Rendezvous struts its stuff
The theme of this year’s Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous is local, community participation. With a theme like that, it makes sense that when designing the festival’s first-ever stand-alone fashion show, the organizers would look to the local design community to bring the event to life. The event will feature the work of Sportees, the Fashion Art Design …
Spoiled for choice
When coming up with a description of the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) for the uninitiated, Andrew Connors, the festival director and artistic director of the Yukon Film Society, highlights the festival’s diversity and character. “It’s an intimate festival that celebrates northern, Indigenous and Canadian cinema with some international spice thrown in for good measure, …
Yukon Famous
The Yukon Famous, otherwise known as Jason Westover, Patrick Keenan, Elissa Ciullo and Chris MacFarlane, plan to perform comedy in various styles and genres, including a mix of stand-up, sketch, improv, monologue, music, dance and media.
Getting nutty
Go Nuts show created by the students of The Heart of Riverdale is an opportunity for the community to celebrate the successes of our students, which contributes to their self-confidence.
The coldest pool party north of 60
‘I jumped into cold water in the Yukon at -45.’ I figure it’s in line with ‘I used to have to walk two miles to school through waist deep snow, uphill both ways.’
Thirty-five years and counting
For more than the past three decades, Däna Näye Ventures has helped Yukon businesses succeed. Now, on the eve of the organization’s 35th anniversary, it has been honoured by Startup Canada for its entrepreneurial efforts.
When the community comes together, Christmas magic is possible
Since 1991, Wayne Henderson, aka Garbage Truck Santa, has delighted Yukoners with his colourful light displays, dancing antlers, music and gifts of candy canes. Now, Henderson can feel confident that his garbage truck will keep bringing joy throughout the holiday season for years to come.
Showcasing accessibility and diverse abilities
Yukoners have the option to put some of their holiday shopping dollars towards the support of local entrepreneurs who are living with intellectual disabilities.
Creating bridges between the audience and the land
Boreal hip hop, still from “Remote Sensibility: the ecology of perception” Grace Simpson-Fowler, Talia Woodland and Karyin Qiu were early participants in Remote Sensibility, performing in Marten’s favorite stage: outside [one_half] [/one_half] [one_half_last] What happens when you bring Elders, astronauts, visual artists and choirs together? If you’re Marten Berkman, you end up with a multi-screen …
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Twelve days of holiday cheer
As the holiday season rapidly approaches, Yukoners find themselves in the full swing of seasonal craft markets. One of the most highly-anticipated events in the calendar, and the largest in the 2019 season, is the 12 Days of Christmas Market, taking place this year from Dec. 12 to Dec. 23 at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural …
Opportunity is what they do
Every holiday season the Challenge Disability Resource Group brings their clients together with business community supporters, funders and government officials, for the Challenge Annual Christmas Luncheon. This fully inclusive and barrier-free event is just one element of the myriad of work that Challenge does to support Yukoners with a disability. “We are a non-profit organization …
Ring in the Holidays with Song
For many, the holiday season would not be complete without their favourite Christmas music. The Whitehorse Community Choir has the perfect solution for those who are loathe to see December pass without beautiful renditions of “Silent Night” or “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” The choir’s winter concert, Tis the Season, will be sure to fill …
Come prepared to dance
Generally, when you decide to attend a dance performance, you can anticipate being treated to a single style of dance–ballet, highland, tap, contemporary, etc. The 2019 Bhangra Concert taking place at the Yukon Arts Centre on Saturday, Nov. 23, from 7 to 9 p.m., will break that mold. Gurdeep Pandher, along with his dance students, will …
Main Street or bust
Rolf Hougen stands with Harreson Tanner beside the bust of Sam Steele that he commissioned Chuck Buchanan to sculpt as part of the centennial RCMP celebration in 1992 What do Jack London, Martha Black, Pierre Berton and Ted Harrison have in common? They’ve all been commissioned by Rolf Hougen to be sculpted by Harreson Tanner …
The Chilkoot Trail allows for exploration of more than the wilderness
Hannah Perrine Mode’s pieces “Scattered Light, Low Clouds” and “Now We Can Hold Time,” are tied closely to the landscapes where they were created: the northern California coast, Joshua Tree, Lake Tahoe, Desolation Wilderness, Walden Pond, Oakland, Antarctica and the Mendenhall Glacier, respectively Hannah Perrine Mode’s art practice exists at the confluence of visual art, …
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Just keep paddling
Carmen Gustafson is gearing up for her fourth Yukon River Quest. For those who are fond of stats, that means that by this year’s Canada Day long weekend she will have raced 2,860 km between Whitehorse and Dawson City. To the casual observer this probably sounds crazy, especially when you consider that those paddlers who …
Through the thought process
What journey do we take to arrive at an idea? Artists Michel Gignac and Gorellaume chose to explore that pathway in their new in-situ work, Through the Thought Process, installed at Northlight Innovation Centre. “We were really inspired by the space and all of the idea generation that goes on in the building,” said Gignac. “We …
Perforating the walls to let nature in
NorthLight Innovation wanted art to amplify space. Berkman brought in a group of artists to collaborate & create the finished in-situ work.
A solo show
If you’ve never heard of Paul Chartier, it’s with good reason. History doesn’t usually remember what might have been. “If he had succeeded in what he set out to do, his name would be taught in every classroom in the nation,” said Doug Rutherford, local playwright. “But he failed, which has made him a very …
Using his passion for the sport to support others
In April each year Whitehorse’s Volunteer of the Year award is handed out. This year’s recipient, Afan Jones, brought together his passions for orienteering and volunteerism in the work he was honoured for. The Yukon Orienteering Association hosted the 2018 North American Orienteering Championships in August 2018 (NAOC2018). Jones served as race director for the event. …
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Wild Cards
The 4th Dawson Daily News Print & Publishing Symposium, part of the annual Yukon Riverside Arts Festival, is taking a walk on the wild side.
Touch and Tell
A series of demonstrations and hands-on activities is helping animate the current exhibition at the Yukon Arts Centre’s Public Gallery, Found, Forged & Fused, a survey of handmade works from the Yukon Permanent Art Collection. The idea for this interactive component stems directly from the thinking behind the exhibit’s curation, explains Garnet Muething, art curator …
Frolic for Foodies
At the end of July, foodies from across the country will travel north to take part in the 2015 Yukon Culinary Festival. Now in its third year, the festival will showcase and celebrate the Yukon’s local food movement to visitors and locals alike. Taking place over four days, from Thursday, July 30 to Sunday, August …
Soccer Squad heads to Sweden
On July 12, a group of young Yukoners will step on the pitch in Sweden to represent the Yukon at an international soccer tournament. The Strikers, an under-16 men’s squad, will get their first taste of international competition at the Gothia Cup — the World Youth Cup. “The boys are heading to the Western Canadian …
Media Arts on the Waterfront
A few years ago the Yukon Film Society (YFS) unsuccessfully bid on a lease for the Hatch House in Shipyards Park, in hopes of hosting an artist residency. Although that didn’t work out, it planted a seed that has borne fruit this summer. Throughout the spring, summer, and fall YFS will support an artist residency …
Japanese Drums Arrive in the Capital
Whitehorse is about to get a dose of Japanese culture from the upcoming Festival of Taiko Drumming. June 11 to 13 will see the Japanese Canadian Association of Yukon host the world-renowned drumming group, Uzume Taiko, for a series of workshops and concerts. Canada’s first professional taiko drumming group, Uzume Taiko has released four CDs, …
Arts In the Park Returns with a New Captain at the Helm
Geneviève Doyon came North in 2010. Her first job in the Yukon was assisting Steve Slade with Arts in the Park. She says it was an amazing way to be introduced to the community. “I didn’t know the community at all when I started because I’d just moved to town — spending that summer with …
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The Newest Coffee and Beer Headquarters
Micah Quinn likes a challenge — whether it’s hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada (4265 kilometres) alone, or re-imagining a local Whitehorse coffee shop as a dynamic new hub for the community, he’s up for it. Late last year Quinn was finishing a contract at Yukon College. He had spent the last …
Start at the Beginning
Have you ever had big dreams of creating a piece of theatre but weren’t sure how to start? Have you ever had a great idea for a play but had no idea how to get it on the stage? Are you looking for the chance to try out a script you have written in front …
There’s Something About Twenty
The Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) is challenging Yukoners to embrace “spring break up” in all its disparate meanings. To help with that, YAC is hosting a Pecha Kucha evening on Friday, March 13 at the Old Fire Hall. Pecha Kucha, which translates to “chit chat” in Japanese, is a unique presentation format that will bring …
ALFF Breakdown, Part Two
Thursday, February 12th The day kicks off with the festival’s final installment of the Fire Hall Film Talks, a series of free lunchtime discussions between filmmakers and artists about behind-the-scene development of projects. Thursday’s talk is on the changing face of music videos and narrative film. Panelists are singer-songwriter John Southworth; Violent director and member …
Film Festival Round Up: Part One
The 2015 Available Light Film Festival is bringing a jam-packed program to Yukon Arts Centre this February. The first half of the festival, Feb 7 to Feb 11, is covered here. Itinerary from Feb 12 to Feb 16 will be in next week’s paper. Prices of events may vary. Get your day planners ready — …
Tanya Tagaq Reclaims Stories of her People
For those who missed Tanya Tagaq on stage at music festivals in Dawson and Atlin, the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) is giving Yukoners another chance to experience this acclaimed musician’s work on February 10 at the Yukon Arts Centre. Tagaq rocketed onto radar-screens last year when her newest album, Animism, won the 2014 Polaris …
Shifting Gears
The Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay is about to check-off its 22nd year, and organizers are making sure the race adapts to changing times. Mike Kramer, a race organizer, explains: “We are constantly trying to improve the environmental sustainability and safety of the race, and in order to do so, we are constantly looking at …
A Downtown Fixture Returns
Arts in the Park, now the longest running free summer festival anywhere in Canada, kicked off its 18th in LePage Park. 2014
Talent and Passion
The Yukon is blessed with a huge number of talented and passionate women. It would take much more space than I have here to pay tribute to even just a handful of these inspiring ladies but I’m going to give it a shot. I’ve had to narrow the list down to five who have inspired …
Birds, Bats & Bees
For more than a decade, the Yukon Fish and Game Association has helped youngsters build houses for our winged friends. That tradition will continue on May 10 with a workshop to build bat and bird houses at the Canada Games Centre from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop is a free drop-in event aimed …
A Flood of Activities
The middle of March is important for more than just spring break — it also marks Canada Water Week. Described as the week to celebrate water across the nation, Canada Water Week is held annually in the third week of March, coinciding with the United Nations’ International World Water Day on March 22. Heather Jirousek …
A Broom With a View
March 28th marks the 30th anniversary of the Yukon Broomball Association. “We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings playing on local community rinks,” says Scott Smith, the association’s travel team coach. “We outgrew the community rinks pretty quickly, causing us to build two outdoor rinks in the Takhini North neighbourhood. They were pretty …
All Apologies
What do you do if your family is “the most apologized-to family in Canada?” If you’re Mitch Miyagawa, local writer and filmmaker, you create a documentary about it. Miyagawa’s documentary, A Sorry State, chronicles his family’s experience of receiving three official government apologies for historical injustices: one issued to his First Nations stepmother for the …
Beautifying Your Space
Deanna Slonski has always had a flair for interior design. “My parents owned a furniture and appliance store when I was a kid,” she says. “I worked there helping people pick out items and fitting them together – essentially I was the in-store decorator. I’ve always had a passion for it, I’ve always loved it, …
Lyn Fabio
Lyn Fabio is hard at work preparing for Northern Scene. The fibre and mixed-media artist finds herself in her Whitehorse studio daily. “I tend to work really intensely in the lead-up to a show, and then not nearly as much in the intervening periods,” she explains. “My last show was in 2011 and so it’s …
Special Olympian Brings Back Hardware
It’s not every day that a Yukon figure skater is named to Team Canada for the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games. For that athlete to win a silver medal is a very proud moment and that is exactly what 15 year old Michael Sumner did in Pyeonchang, South Korea this month. Sumner joined 101 …
Olympian is a Special Gift to Christmastime Basketball Camp
When a former Olympian is willing to travel from southern France to Yukon in the middle of December you know there has to be a really good reason. For basketball player Kim Smith that reason is to direct the Future Stars Girls Basketball Camp, something that she is very excited to do, although she does …
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Artists Experiment in Brave New Show
What do a dancer and a photographer have in common? What about a visual artist and an actor, or a writer and a violinist? The answer is Brave New Works’ Homeland Fusion, which will run Nov. 21 and 22 at the Old Fire Hall in Whitehorse. Brave New Works is an artist collective that supports …
Festival of Trees Offers Several Events to Light Up the Season
There’s nothing like the fun of picking out and decorating the perfect Christmas tree to put you in the holiday spirit. But if one tree can put you in the holiday spirit, what will 30 do? The NorthwesTel Festival of Trees is gearing up for their annual kick-off to the holiday season from Nov. 22 …
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Dog Sledders Hope To Get Students Mushy About The Sport
“It is so important for kids to be outside and to connect with nature,” says Karin Grenier. “And one way to do that is for them to interact with dogs and dog sledding.” Grenier and her partner Normand Casavant run Casaventures, a dog sledding operation with 39 dogs (and two cats) on the Annie Lake …
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Club Welcomes Beginner Dogs and People to Races
Whether you have a poodle, a retired sled dog, or a dog in race form, the Dog Powered Sports Association (DPSA) of the Yukon has an event for you. The association runs events year-round and provides dogs -— and their owners — lots of opportunities for exercise, skill-improvement and socializing. In the summer, the Hot …
Prepping for the Trail Run
It’s been called one of the hardest marathons in North America by iRun magazine and one of the top 10 trail races in Canada by Canadian Running magazine. And it’s in our backyard. The Yukon River Trail Marathon takes place annually in Whitehorse at the beginning of August, attracting runners from across the continent. This …
Speaking Frankly about Choices
Jessica Yee doesn’t mince her words. “As young people, our rights to our own bodies and spaces are fundamental to our own existence. They are our birthright,” the 25-year-old activist declares. Yee speaks about seeing people her own age experiencing violence and unwanted pregnancy and how that contributed to her work in sexual reproductive rights …
Special Sessions
The phrases “a picture is worth a thousand words” and “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” are taking on new meanings this summer at Arts in the Park. The annual lunch-time music series in Lepage Park is trying something new this season. Each month it hosts a special panel session of local …
Seeing With Both Eyes
My first introduction to the CHAOS program involved driving up Grey Mountain to meet a group of grade 9 students and educators as they completed an extended hike on their final day of school before summer break. CHAOS, which stands for Community, Heritage, Adventure, Outdoors and Skills, is a new experiential education program for Yukon …
Quiverful of Coaches
If watching The Hunger Games made you wish you could take up a bow and arrow, then the Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle has some very good news for you. Last month, the Sport Circle brought in the top instructor from the British Columbia Archery Association to train a number of Yukon coaches in order to …
(Ex)changing Paddling Gear
Perhaps you believe, as Kenneth Grahame suggests in his classic novel, The Wind in the Willows, that “there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” If so, you need to get yourself to this weekend’s first annual Paddle Swap in Whitehorse. “Members of the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club …
Three Legs Inspire 4×2
This is just what hundreds of cyclists will be doing next week, as the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay celebrates its 19th birthday. Teams ranging from one to eight riders will attempt to traverse the 238 km between Haines Junction and Haines, Alaska. A competitor myself, the first time I rode this race I got …
Whitehorse Club Offers Cross-Country Skiiers Dream Conditions
“When I travel down south for meetings, other clubs are astounded and in awe of what we have here in Whitehorse,” said Claude Chabot, Executive Director of the Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club. “On our trails you can be cross-country skiing by moonlight, watching the magic of the northern lights dance over the Lower Valley trails …
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Getting the Message
Editor’s Note: Amber Church’s assignment was to gather some impressions of Yukon Educational Theatre’s latest production from a few young audience members who saw it before it travelled to Yukon communities. Dean Eyre’s new play, Wake and Bake, takes an in-depth look at the lives of two sisters and their experiences with drug use. Opening …
2011-Condor “Picture Yourself in Frankfurt Germany Contest” Congratulations
Cheers and congratulations from What’s Up Yukon to the winners of the “Picture Yourself in Frankfurt, Germany” contest! The winning photographs were drawn randomly after the contest closed April 30, with close to 100 entries. Renate Schmidt won the grand prize of a round trip flight for two to Frankfurt, Germany with the “Easter Bunny” …
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Passion for the Planet
Passion and excitement practically explode over the phone as I speak with Veronica Huggard. Huggard is one of five young people chosen to represent Yukon at the Northern Forum’s Youth Eco Forum in Anchorage, Alaska from May 1-8. “There is so much we can learn from each other and our different approaches to dealing with …
Sandhills on Demand
A quarter million sandhill cranes! When, anywhere in this territory, do we have the opportunity to see a quarter million anything? Caribou? Nope. People? Not even close. Trees? Well, probably, but trees aren’t typically very active; they don’t really provide a spectator sport, as it were. But a quarter million sandhill cranes, flying overhead in …
Avalanche Aware
As the first fatality of the 2011-2012 snow season is reported (a snowmobiler in Prince George, B.C.), Kristie Simpson muses that the timing for the new Yukon avalanche forecast system couldn’t be more crucial. Simpson, a board member of the Yukon Avalanche Association and owner/operator of Avalanche North, is one of several dedicated volunteers who …
Getting a Leg Up
Eric Allen keeps his hand close to the supporting foot of a young climber as he coaches the six-year-old through his first successful climbing problem during the 8th Annual Ibex Valley Bouldering Festival. The bouldering festival is one piece in the mosaic of the ever-expanding Yukon climbing community. Bouldering is a style of rock climbing …
At Your Service
In the quarter century since the late Rob Harvey founded Yukon Engineering Services (YES), the company has had its hand in the majority of mining venture in Yukon and northern B.C. It’s not hard to see why. With expertise in everything from designing tailings and water dams, to conducting site surveys and mapping, ore body …
A Consuming Challenge
Marsh Lake-area family is working hard to demonstrate how well Northerners can reduce their energy consumption. Along the way, they hope to show other Canadians a thing or two. Brian Kitchen and Marguerite Kuiack, along with their daughters, Simone and Marika, are taking part in Canadian Geographic’s Energy Diet Challenge. The three-month challenge involves six …
Pucks in the Pool
While she was away at university in Prince George, Katrina Wohlfarth discovered a new passion – underwater hockey. Now that she has returned home she hopes to share that passion with the Yukon community. “It started out for me as just one of those weird university things. You stumble across it and think ‘what’s that?’ …
Derby Girls on a Roll
It’s a lot of work being a Yukon Roller Girl. There are two practices a week that keep you on your skates for a few hours at a time. There are boot camps to organize and attend, funds to raise through skate-a-thons, bar nights and community sponsors. There are volunteers to wrangle and recruit, bouts …
Witnessing Arctic Change
On my second day on board ship we saw a cow and calf blue whale,” says Emerald Kains. “The opportunity to share a moment with the largest animals on the planet was so surreal and moving.” Kains, a recent graduate of Vanier Secondary School, was part of the Students on Ice Arctic Youth Expedition that …
Running for a Reason
The Robert Campbell Bridge between Riverdale and downtown Whitehorse will be closed this Sunday. But not for long. The bridge will be closed for approximately 10 minutes around 1 p.m. as over 1,000 runners and walkers make their way across its surface. This will mark the start of the 14th annual Run for Mom—an event …
Honing Their Outdoor Skills
“You get to learn how to notice the plants around you, how to shoot a rifle, how not to ground your boat in the river, how to pack properly for a multi-day hike, and you get to have fun and relax while you’re doing it,” says Nansi Cunningham. Cunningham is speaking about the annual Yukon …
Pushing Their Limits
Fourteen lucky young Yukoners will get the opportunity to take part in an outdoor education camp this July for free. The Yukon Fish and Game Association’s 25th annual Outdoor Education Camp takes place July 2-9 and it should provide an amazing experience for the group of youth between 13 and 16 years old who get …
Relaying the Relay
The Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay turns 20 this year. For all of those years, Ron McFadyen has worked dedicatedly in the background, radio in hand, to make the event a success. “I founded the Yukon Amateur Radio Association in 1976,” McFadyen explains. “At that point we had one VHF radio repeater in Whitehorse, the …
A World Beneath the Ice
As Oliver Barker tells it, fish taught him how to walk. “My family had this fish tank balanced on a crate in our living room,” he explains. “I used to haul myself up using the edge of the crate to see the fish—but every time I did that the fish would spook and swim to …
When Horse and Rider Become One
“Being able to bond and connect with a gigantic graceful creature is incredibly fulfilling,” says Meghan Larivee, a local equestrian enthusiast. “Being able to work on building a relationship with a different species and seeing an improvement over time is a wonderful thing. I love connecting with and being around animals so having one as …
A Road Less Travelled
As you drive toward Kluane Lake an inconspicuous dirt road marked as “The Arctic Institute of North America” leads off to the right. If you choose to follow this path less taken you’ll find yourself confronted with a gravel airstrip and a hodgepodge of buildings populated by people sporting Carhartt pants, dirty jeans, and toques. …
Ultimately It’s About Fun
The Yukon Ultimate Frisbee Team will travel over 2,000 km next week to join with colleagues from the NWT, dress in costumes, and represent the North at one of Western Canada’s most notorious tournaments. The Pumpkin Pull is an annual ultimate frisbee tournament that takes place over the Hallowe’en weekend in Victoria, BC. Teams from …
Painting With a Camera
André Gallant proves that you don’t need a brush to be a painter. His expressive photography creates the impression of a painting for the viewer through a series of techniques he has been perfecting over the last decade. “I had been working as a photographer for about 15 years, focusing on travel photography because it …
Sports in the Extreme
The biggest lesson is to like what you do and do it because you want to do it – do it for yourself.” While that advice might apply to almost any undertaking, Wade Hoyt is speaking specifically about his career – making films about extreme sports. Hoyt’s company, Standard Films, has specialized in producing snowboard …
Week of a Lifetime
You’ve just stepped off the plane in Whitehorse from your home in the Circumpolar North. You’re excited and proud to represent your region at the Arctic Winter Games (maybe a bit nervous as well), and you’re looking forward to everything the week has to offer. Once you’ve had a chance to strut your stuff at …
Try These at Home
Can’t afford to fly to London for the Olympics this summer? Not to worry, a world-class level of sporting competition is arriving on our doorstep this week. The Arctic Winter Games (AWG) will play host to several events that are not commonly seen in these parts – the Dene Games and Arctic Sports. Unlike most …
Eye on the Prize
Christina Macdonald is a woman on a mission. During her time in the Yukon she has seen the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous axe-throwing competition dominated by a small cohort of tough and strong Yukon women. This year she is aiming to join them and – if she has her way – come out with the top prize. …
Confessions of a Newbie Kicker
For anyone under the impression that Rendezvous week makes cancan dancers magically appear as if from thin air like so many green fairies to light up the stages of venues across the city – I’m here to tell you you’re mistaken. Being a cancan dancer is hard work. Really hard work. Four-hour-reheasals hard work that takes …
Fat Tracks
Have you ever driven past someone on a bike at -35 in a blizzard and thought they were crazy? You’re probably not alone. Let’s face it, it’s cold and miserable outside, and bikes aren’t really designed to tackle winter conditions (anyone who has ever tried to ride their mountain bike down a toboggan hill knows …
Skipping Into History
We got our medals stuck in the ice” Thomas Scoffin. The 17-yr-old Whitehorse resident skipped the Junior Winter Olympic Team.
An Ultra Experience
All I can say is this race has really impacted my life,” says Shelley Gellatly, a race coordinator for the Yukon Arctic Ultra. The Yukon Arctic Ultra, which bills itself as “the world’s toughest and coldest ultra” is a self-propelled race along the Yukon Quest Trail in February of each year. There are various distances …
The Warriors of -35
The eventuality has come to pass – the cold snap has finally caught up with us. After spending the winter to date enjoying generally mild temperatures, allowing even the most cold-averse of us to enjoy skiing, snowshoeing, and pond hockey, we are facing the fact that -35 (without wind chill) has become our new reality. …
Get Your Zumba On!
You can literally feel the energy radiating from Marlon Davis as she teaches a Zumba class. Luckily, it’s contagious. It would be difficult to participate in one of her classes and not feel energized, with a big smile on your face when you leave the room. Zumba is essentially a work-out party or, as Davis …
Skiers on Patrol
“A slight glow on the eastern horizon beckons to me and I anticipate the brilliant splashes of intense color that characterize our spectacular Yukon mornings—an incredible visual feast to welcome the day! “We knew with certainty it was going to be a great day! And like magic, we snapped into our skis, glided to the …
Connecting Cultures
What do pictures of people’s houses, art workshops, guest speakers and sandwiches have in common with each other and the concept of multiculturalism? Yukon College hopes to answer this question—and spark many more—with its Yukon Cultures Connect Project. The project aims to build bridges among different cultural groups, foster public discussion about diversity and help …
An Unstoppable Force
Wrangling four Special Olympics athletes for a week of national-level competition in an unfamiliar city is not for the faint of heart. But 74-year-old Bill Wasylenko handled it with a smile on his face. Wasylenko is one of two coaches for Special Olympics Yukon’s curling team that travelled to the national winter games in St. …
The D.O.G. System
Are you struggling to stick to that resolution to shed a few pounds, made a few months ago under the inducement of a glass of champagne and the promise of a new year? Are you frustrated and bored with generic workout programs and searching for inspiration? Do you find your motivation to exercise regularly lagging? …
Skiing the Animal Trail
Bison and foxes and sheep. Oh my! The Yukon Wildlife Preserve on the Takhini Hot Springs Road offers all of these and more—and it’s recently added a series of track-set ski trails to give visitors a new way to get up close and personal with the animals. The Wildlife Preserve covers over 700 acres of …
Climbing back
Over a decade ago, the climbing wall housed on the gymnasium stage at F.H. Collins Secondary School was awash with young climbers training to compete in climbing competitions in southern Canada. At the helm was their coach, Alain Dallaire. Then tragedy struck in the form of an ice-climbing fall that required Dallaire to step back. …
A Game for Life
The sport has been called “jet-propelled chess”, “the healthiest sport to play” and “the world’s most dangerous sport”. With a range of monikers like that, it’s no wonder that at the age of 18 Khoon Chua decided to give squash a try. “I was a competitive badminton player when I first tried the sport,” explains …
A Day to Celebrate Sport
On Saturday, September 29 organizations, communities and individuals across the country will celebrate sport by taking part in Sports Day in Canada. Sports Day in Canada is a national celebration of sport of all different kinds and at all levels. On the ground, in the week leading up to September 29, over 1,000 organizations, schools, …
Lace up and Learn
“I started playing hockey when I was four years old, because I wanted to keep up with my older brother,” says Vanessa Bogaert. Twenty three years later, Bogaert is the president of the Whitehorse Women’s Hockey Association and a passionate advocate for getting more women involved in the sport. “This sport has so many opportunities,” …
Remembrance of Relays Past
This year the iconic Klondike Trail of 98 International Road Relay from Skagway to Whitehorse turns 30! On September 7 and 8,, teams of runners will cross 176.5km of terrain broken into 10 legs (between nine and 25.6kkm in length), all while gaining 1,004m in elevation (only to lose 394m after the climb). To celebrate …
Two Sports in One
Normally the summer season is relatively quiet on Whitehorse’s biathlon range, but not this year. A partnership between the Contagious Mountain Bike Club and Biathlon Yukon has created a new way for Yukoners to make use of the range. Bike biathlon races have been taking place each Monday in August to the delight of local …
Slipping Those Discs
If, on a recent walk through the Mount McIntrye trails, you’ve heard a lot of rustling and crashing around in the bushes, it may not have been the bear you feared it was. Instead, it may be a pack of disc golfers. Most simply put, disc golf is like regular golf except with Frisbees. In …
Not a Line for Slackers
“I don’t think I can even stand up on this thing,” laughs Steve Roddick, as his knee vibrates back and forth like an erratic metronome, trying to steady the piece of webbing enough to put his full weight on it. The piece of webbing in question stretches 25 m across a clearing in the Ibex …
Do as the Monkeys Do
Have you ever been happily hopping from rock to rock on a hiking trail, only to have a rock shift unexpectedly beneath your feet to remind you that the ground isn’t always as stable as you like to think? Have you ever had it happen when you were 60 feet in the air? I have, …
Calling All Awesome Warriors
Do you love to play outside? Are you always looking for the next challenge or surprise? Then Taelin Free believes he has something that is right up your alley: the Awesome Warrior Challenge. The Awesome Warrior Challenge is a 3-km trail run with over 30 obstacles. It incorporates core strength, balance, stamina, agility and cardio. …
Biking the Lakes
The Yukon summer is event-driven. Because of this, once they step off the pedals after finishing their leg of the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay many riders put their road bikes aside in favour of a mountain bike or a pair of running shoes as they gear up for road relays, trail marathons, and the …
It Will Be Fast
“We’ve got lots do to, but we’re on schedule and on target, and we’ll get it all done,” says George Arcand, executive director of Softball Yukon. Softball Yukon is gearing up for its biggest event to date—the 2012 Women’s World Fastpitch Championships—and the host organization has been making its lists and checking them twice for …
Defying Gravity
For anyone who likes to play on two wheels on the local bike trails, Mount Sima is the place to be the weekend of July 14 and 15. That’s when the local ski hill will play host to the AFD Gravity Cup, the second and final downhill mountain bike race in the 2012 AFD Downhill …
Putting It on the Line
It’s hard to envision just how long a one kilometre zip-line is until you’re standing on the launch platform. Trust me: it is very, very, very long. It’s so long you can barely make out the landing platform at the other end. When you watch another rider taking their turn, it takes you a while …
Promoting Canada’s National Sport
Terry Mosdale wants to see the sport of lacrosse take root and grow in the Yukon. The learning facilitator and officiating clinician with the Canadian Lacrosse Association was in Whitehorse a couple of weekends ago to train a group of new Yukon lacrosse coaches to help make that happen. Mosdale, who travelled to the territory …
Navigating Point to Point
Every second Wednesday throughout the summer, you can find a full cross-section of Whitehorse’s population—children, seniors, families, teens, young professionals, even excited dogs—out in the woods, maps and compasses at the ready. The Yukon Orienteering Association brings them together for bi-weekly orienteering meets that cater to the full gamut of abilities, from absolute beginners to …
Martial Art and More
In the padded and tranquil setting of the Aikido Yukon studio, students are warming up with their instructor William Jones by doing side push-ups. “Now everyone do a set of handstand push-ups,” says Jones with a twinkle in his eye. “Welcome to capoeira.” Capoeira (pronounced ka-poo-eyh-rah) is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and self-defence discipline that …
Do You Speak AWG?
The Beatles forever changed our musical landscape with the simple phrase, “You say goodbye, I say hello”. This week, hundreds of visitors from across the Circumpolar North will descend upon Whitehorse for the Arctic Winter Games. Although the official language of the games is English, for many participants this is not their first language – …
The Little Blue Blur
Have you ever watched downhill skiing on television and caught the flash of a blue jacket running out of frame as the racer gracefully (or recklessly, depending on your take) carves down the slope? If so, you’ve probably caught a rare glimpse of the elusive course crew. The course crew member is a hardy species, …
From Archery to Zumba: Up Off the Couch!
Is it possible to write a sports column that covers kayak polo, fighting kites, ice climbing, skinny dipping, and broomball? And if it is, would you still call it a sports column, or the ultimate bucket list of things to try at least once while living in the Yukon? Well, my friends, perhaps the answers …
Staging Canada’s Parks
It’s a challenge trying to engage an audience in a meaningful celebration of all of Canada’s national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas in 40 minutes or less. But the award-winning Mountain WIT Theatre Troupe has proven that it is possible. Mountain WIT is a professional theatre troupe based in Banff National …
Broken Shoulder Scene
There are moments in life when you suddenly realize that you are heading for disaster and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Some people have experienced this sensation once or twice. Some, like me, have experienced it more times than they would like to count. A lucky few have yet to know …
