Following Her Passion On A Daily Basis – Meet Bell Laosomboon
Growing up in Thailand gives someone an appreciation for food. Like in any culture that is food-centered, you learn from an early age to appreciate the composition of various dishes.
Yukon College
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 …
Earth to Yukon College
The Yukon will be launching a satellite into orbit for the first time, as part of a Canadian Space Agency-led project.Yukon College students are in the conceptual stage of their first-ever space mission. “A Yukon satellite will expand the depth of knowledge we have in the territory and will hopefully lead to other space-related projects …
Finding the keys to safer camping
On the Canada Day long weekend in 2012, the Congdon Creek Campground, located on the shore of Kluane Lake near Burwash Landing, played host to a furry teenaged visitor. A medium-sized grizzly found its way into the campground and proceeded to lounge around in the central meadow, feeding on the tasty flowers.
Molasses, methanol, and mine-water remediation
Yukon College mine-life-cycle researcher Dr. Guillaume Nielsen likes to find innovative solutions to problems.
The Northern Review looks at literature
The Northern Review, which is published by the School of Liberal Arts at the Yukon College, describes itself as “a multidisciplinary journal exploring human experience in the Circumpolar North.
Celebrating the role of mining in the Yukon
The Yukon Chamber of Mines has prioritized outreach and community engagement as part of their programming. Heading into its 10th year, the annual Mining and Exploration Camp, which is held during Yukon Mining Week each spring, is one of two major events geared towards that work. (Family Day, held during the annual Geoscience Forum in …
Moving Mountains
Student Sharon Bubsy examines one of the seismometer stations in remote areas of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. PHOTO: courtesy of the Yukon College Researchers investigate how Earth movement on the coast can affect inland mountains The white-capped Mackenzie Mountains, which spill over the border between Yukon and the Northwest Territories, are surprisingly active… …
Jamella Hagen: Part of Writing is Being Ready to Write
The local writer selected to be a mentor at this year’s Young Authors Conference is Jamella Hagen, who teaches creative writing at Yukon College.
Put on your Canadian tuxedo for Denim Day
Until you see it firsthand, it is difficult to comprehend the personal, professional and financial complications unleashed by a cancer diagnosis.
Powering up the North
Diesel power generators are like cars: the more efficient they are, the less fuel they need. And that increased efficiency translates into less cost, both for drivers at the pump and for the communities that rely on diesel fuel for heat and electricity.
From the field to the lab
Yukon College archaeologist Norm Easton has been unearthing the secrets of the area around the Yukon-Alaska border for more than 25 years. This year, for the first time, he is leaving the field to focus on doing research in the laboratory.
Increasing the chance of survival
For the past two years, Yukon College student Cheyenne Bradley has been working at the McIntyre Creek Salmon Incubation Site while taking classes at the College.
Heating up the music scene with Frostbite 2018
The Frostbite Music Festival returns in 2018, on a new date, and has embraced the theme of rising from the ashes.
What do you think?
ResearChats, devised by Northern Studies Instructor Amanda Graham and Chemistry Instructor Ernie Prokopchuk, are weekly opportunities for researchers from all disciplines to share ideas and learn from one another. They happen on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m., and everybody is invited to attend.
A wild and wonderful night
This weekend the Yukon Fish and Game Association (YFGA) is hosting their annual Wild Game Banquet at the High Country Inn. The event will include the usual camaraderie as well as the awards from the Big Bull Night, which took place in November, a silent auction, and a feast of Yukon harvested wild game. Cocktails …
Dawson City Music Festival aims for sustainability
The Dawson City Music Festival (DCMF) will be holding its annual general meeting on Thursday, January 18, at Yukon College. The meeting was to have been before Christmas, but analysis of the topics raised at a well-attended membership meeting in mid-October caused the board to decide to refine its thoughts a bit more before presenting …
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Change is happening
This year’s 16 Days of Action to End Gender-Based Violence was packed with some powerful events.
Auld acquaintance shan’t be forgot
Holiday season is a time of celebration. For Hospice Yukon, it is the time to offer support to grieving Yukoners during the Lights of Life
Better communities, 100 women at a time
The concept of 100 Women Who Care may be simple, but the community impact is huge.
Teaching kids about respect
As part of this year’s 16 Days to End Gender-based Violence campaign, former BC Lions player and 2011 Grey Cup Champion, J.R. LaRose will be returning to the Yukon.
The Northern Review remembers World War I
Volume 44 of The Northern Review contains the complete list of the papers from The North and the First World War Conference that was held in Whitehorse, and in Dawson City, May 9-12 2016.
Nicole Edwards and friends lift up their voices for local charity
This project gives Yukon audiences another opportunity to create a new and beautiful memory of what Edwards can do with music.
Congratulations SOVA!
Any discussion of the Yukon School of Visual Arts begins with a couple of questions: What is it? Why is it in Dawson? The first question is easily answered: the Yukon SOVA is a post-secondary art school with excellent facilities and dedicated staff, offering a foundation year (first year) of a Bachelor of Fine Arts …
Very Old, Very New
Not many art forms can trace their origins back to a single year. But according to Toshi Aoyagi, program officer for the Japan Foundation, Toronto, the popular theatre genre known as Kabuki started in exactly 1603. And it’s still going strong. Aoyagi will be in Whitehorse this week to introduce Yukon Arts Centre audiences to …
Stream of Consciousness
Visit the Academic and Skills Development office in the A-wing of Yukon College, and you’ll be greeted with words of empowerment on the backs of a stream of 16 cedar salmon in a work of art created by local artist Cheryl Teya. On each salmon plaque is a core value, such as kindness, respect, goals. …
Lobsters for Literacy (And More)
Whitehorse might be the site of the northernmost East Coast kitchen party in Canada this summer. On Friday, May 26, the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre will serve as the venue for a Rotary Club dinner featuring fresh Prince Edward Island lobster and Celtic tunes, courtesy of Keitha Clark and the Sláinte North band. The event …
Women in Whitehorse – Part 2
From the river to the mountains, Whitehorse is a picturesque place. However, it’s the people that make Whitehorse truly breathtaking . Beauty is found in Yukoners weaving their unique skills and talents into the tapestry of the north. This is the first in a three part series about three particularly extraordinary women of Whitehorse. Teagyn …
From Library to Learning Commons
Built in 1987, the Yukon College Library opened in 1988. It’s a place of constant change and with a budget for renovations in the area of $2.27 million, the College has chosen a new path for the Library: it will become a multipurpose learning space with a northern Indigenous focus. “We have to evolve and …
What it Means to Be a Man
I was 12 years old when I first remember putting on a mask to face the day. My mask was that that of a joker, a dependable friend, a fun guy. I used it to hide the sadness and helplessness I felt over my parent’s disintegrating marriage. I used it to face down the taunts, …
Look Who’s Parking in Whitehorse
Dr. Katie Aitken, an ornithology instructor at Yukon College, says it’s “unknown” if Yukon’s house sparrow population will expand to become a problem downtown or with bird lovers. She admits she has a soft spot for them. “It was the first species I identified when I started birding as a child down south,” she told …
“Build the strength of your people”
Al Cushing may be leaving, but he’s not going anywhere. When he steps into retirement at the end of this month, one aspect of the Yukon Arts Centre’s evolution during his nine years at the helm pleases Cushing the most. “I think the highlight is that the Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) has gotten closer to …
Great Food from the College Kitchen
This past fall they also did the Government of Yukon Agricultural Branch’s North of 60 Conference banquet and sourced almost 90 per cent of the ingredients for the dinner from local farmers. In the north this is especially a challenge as the conference is in November, so a lot of fresh produce isn’t available and …
Cooking Up a Career
Teresa Kozakewick grew up in Alberta. Raised by a father who had a passion for food, she had always been drawn to cooking. She enjoyed watching her dad cook on special occasions. Now her passion has become a career path. After moving to the Yukon, she enrolled in the Yukon College Culinary Arts program for …
Bringing Yukon literature to the world stage
Each October, the city of Frankfurt in Germany plays host to the second largest literary trade fair in the world, with 7,153 exhibitors representing 106 countries present in 2016. The Frankfurt Book Fair (known as the Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM), in German,) is a tradition spanning more than 500 years, with the first book fair being …
Wanted: Ideas
Applications are open until March 12 for the third annual Yukon Innovation Prize. The contest, which is hosted by the the Yukon College’s Cold Climate Innovation program and the Yukon Department of Economic Development, is seeking health and wellness-related entrepreneurial ideas related to the unique challenges posed by living in the North. Previous themes have …
Thoughtfully Thrifty
“To have local students take part in the project gives us something to be proud of,” he says. “Yukon College is always trying to meet the needs of the communities and having input from them is always helpful.” Five females and three males ranging from ages 18 to 61 participated in the project. “Having women …
February is Black History Month
by: Jillian Christmas Stepping off the plane in Whitehorse The last thing I expect to see is home Imagining I might roam this great black north not quite alone but close enough. Chris points out the window “That’s Antoinette’s, Caribbean food if you’re feeling in need of a pick-me-up She’s from Tobago.” And I’m not …
Beyond the Limits
Mallory Pigage is a 26-year-old woman with an apartment in downtown Whitehorse, a large network of friends and her own business. A true Yukon success story, Mallory is determined to focus on her capabilities rather than her limitations, and has made a name for herself within the community despite challenges. After graduating from high school, …
Syrian Sourdough
Now he is upgrading his education and learning English at the Yukon College in preparation to study pharmacy. He concentrates to force his hand write left to right, which is opposite to Arabic, as he writes out the names of his family. At school, it’s impossible to overlook Hasan’s notoriety. “We’re famous now.” He shifts …
Team Care
Most people are less intimidated by dogs with floppy ears, and consider white dogs less scary than black ones. That’s just one awareness Angela Neufeld has picked up in the years she has been using dogs as therapeutic assistants in her practice as a registered psychologist. “I’m not by any means suggesting that black dogs …
A Change in the Climate
Yukon College is expanding their offerings in one the hottest (pardon the pun) arenas today: climate change. Often described as one of the greatest challenges of our time, human-induced climate change is already having major impacts on northern communities and ecosystems. Many factors will determine how the trends we are witnessing now will play out …
Peace, Clarity and Open-Mindedness
Looking out my window at pristine snow, there are no human footprints on the forest floor. White, frosty, elemental, shadow. I can only imagine that similar images influence the spectacular work of Mark Preston. Mark Preston’s newest body of work entitled White Space will be on display at the Hilltop Bistro, in the Yukon College …
Trying Something New
Ploytida Samanachangphunk had one sister living in Whitehorse before she immigrated to Canada. Now she has three sisters and an extended family here. Ploytida’s sister would return for family visits to their hometown of Nan, in northern Thailand, and tell her about life in the Yukon. Ploytida became intrigued. “I love my country. Thailand is …
Slip-Sliding Away
Benkert is quick to underline this aspect of the project. “The Yukon Geological Survey has been really critical (to the project) all the way through,” she says, and goes on to cite the important roles played by the Universities of Ottawa and Montreal as well as each of the seven communities that participated in the …
Mining All the Options
Saturday, Nov. 19 is the Yukon Chamber of Mines’ Family Day and on Sunday the Forum Trade Show showcases the industry. Monday the Core Shack opens with drilling samples of recent prospects. Mann, an independent consultant, hasn’t missed the Geoscience Forum since the late ’80s. “If you live and work in this territory it’s the …
Mining Upward
Space, science and sci-fi is one of the strongest current trends in popular media, from the rebooted version of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and the new Star Trek movies to galaxy-print everything, and the I F***ing Love Science Facebook page. While it’s fantastic to see the general public become more interested in the world of science and …
Calls to Action
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action task all sectors of Canadian society to make changes that will affect “the way things are done” between First Nations people and non-First Nation Canadians. The TRC came about as a way to address the legacy of residential schools, and to help to reconcile relations between …
What Happened to the Kids?
I have Marie write out her full name for me. ‘Achtymichuk.’ It’s Ukrainian, where her dad is from. I compliment her on her beautiful handwriting. We have this interview in the store where Marie is a manager, we were interrupted by staff a few times. Marie is needed! Marie’s parents started the business in 2006, …
The Walking Monk Comes to Whitehorse
“I have always had a fascination with the North.” I am on the phone with Bhaktimarga Swami, a 63-year-old monk in Toronto. We are talking about the visit to Whitehorse he has planned for late September. Better known as The Walking Monk, at 63 he has already walked across Canada four times, as well as …
Getting Ready for Fall and Winter Birding
We’re getting ready for winter and so are the birds. They’re chirping and feeding everywhere and the sky is alive with flocks of all kinds. It’s so busy one of Yukon’s most avid birders, Tracey Allard, says fall can seem like spring for a few weeks. “There are so many sparrows and warblers and you’ll …
Mushroom Confidential
I wrote this in 2013 for Dave Mossop at Yukon College as part of my course requirements for NOST 201, A natural history of the North. However, it had been rattling around in my head for some time. Please do not use this to identify a mushroom; get expert advice. I’m going to tell you …
Seeds of Change Lead to Reconciliation
Seeds of Change invites locals and visitors to consider the implications of the concept of reconciliation. It’s the summer exhibit in the Gathering Room in the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre in Dawson City. It displays information about the history that has led to a need for this reflection, and it shows some of the steps …
Learning to fly just got easier
In a second-floor office of Alkan Air, there is a bulletin board that holds photos of pilots with their aircraft. The pilots are smiling – and a few of them are wet. “This is the First Solo Wall,” says Dan Rosen, Alkan Air flight training unit officer. “We splash them with a cold bucket of …
Yukon College won’t give up on you
“I thought no one cared.” This Yukon College student can be forgiven for being surprised. Just over 10 per cent of students at this institution are struggling, as he was, and are on probation. But then they were introduced to the Learning Assistance Centre’s latest initiative: Reboot. For those who have been academically dismissed or …
Learning her Mom’s Language
“Dänch’á Éh ma,” I begin the conversation with my mother in a standard Southern Tutchone greeting, uncertain and nervous about my speaking abilities. “Éyigē shrō kwäthän,” she replies. “My feelings are very good.” We are closing a generational gap that transpired in the last century in Northwestern Canada, as colonization took hold in the territories. …
Yukon Astronomical Society wants to make Whitehorse the Science-Centre of the North
Stargazing has long been part of the human psyche. For thousands of years, we – and our ancestors before us – have turned our eyes upward and wondered. With myths and legends, we have explained the sky’s magic with demons, heroes, gods and goddesses. Ancient Greek astronomers observed the heavens and began to explain the …
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He built a better greenhouse
There are two kinds of gardeners in the Yukon: those who can grow tomatoes and those who can’t. With Yukoner Bob Sharp’s Solar Growing Greenhouse Kit – a stable-temperature greenhouse that extends the growing season by three months – it is now much easier to join that first club. “Nothing about this is secret,” Sharp says. “It’s …
Learning to Fry
A small assembly of structures along Mountainview Drive has been quietly housing 45,000 young salmon each year for the past 25 or so years. The McIntyre Creek Salmon Incubation Facility is located midway between Range Road and Porter Creek. Now an educational facility under Yukon College, it was previously operated by Department of Fisheries and …
Interview with a Local Transman
Identifying as a transgender person in any community presents risks and challenges, which is partly why the transgender man interviewed for this article chose to remain anonymous. He lives and works as a man, and is only open about being transgender with a few people because, he says, prejudice against transgender people is real. “I …
Repurpose, Recycle, Reintegrate
Reducing our solid waste is not an easily digested subject. An upcoming conference in Whitehorse hopes to break down solutions into manageable bites. The Working Towards Zero Waste in the North Conference will bring together approximately 120 representatives from governments, businesses, non-profits, academia and the public to share success stories from other northern regions. The …
Myth and Medium Focuses on Stories and Performance
This week shaped up to be a culturally ambitious one in Dawson City. The centerpiece of the week has been the Myth and Medium conference organized by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in’s Heritage Department and focusing on the performing arts. It’s not too late to take in some of the culture. The week’s performance workshops continue on …
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Frostbite is Back
Yukon’s winter music festival, Frostbite is back for 2016, finally. A small group of volunteers have been working hard to make this happen.
Rallying together to honour and protect women
In a community as small as the Yukon, when people begin to stand together, change is a very real possibility. The 2015 annual 12 Days to End Violence Against Women campaign launches on Nov. 25. During these 12 days Whitehorse residents will come together in support of women in our community and take a stand …
A goldmine of history
I have an idea that would really put the Yukon on the world map: let’s build a True North Queen School. Tourists and Yukon students could spend few weeks at the Queen School, named after the wealth of history Rendezvous Queens study in order to be ambassadors to the Yukon. If we built a True …
Get Your Greens
Whet your appetite for lunch on Lillian Loponen’s new canvases at the Yukon College Hilltop Bistro this fall. The show, called Touch of Green: Enchanted Places, explores the colour green in washes and gestural brushstrokes. The show will be on display at the College’s fine dining lunch restaurant until mid December. Jacqueline Bedard, the Director …
Telling stories
Sharon Shorty and I first met back in 2005 when I worked at the Yukon College Library with her awesome husband, Derek Yap. Sharon was born and raised in Whitehorse and is a member of the Teslin Tlingit First Nation. She is a storyteller, beader, regalia maker, wife, playwright, mom, and actor. But what I …
E.T. Call P.C.
During my daily walks with the dogs in the woods between Porter Creek and the college, I can’t help noticing long straight corridors cut through the trees. At first, I naturally assumed these were the Whitehorse equivalent of the lines on the Nazca Desert in southern Peru that Erich von Däniken (Chariots of the Gods?) …
College is easier than logging
My dad figures it’s more common for adults to go back to school these days. This is compared to when he went to college for the first time when he was 33. In the ‘90s. He says, “These days, people don’t stay in the same career.” He had a wife (my mom), four kids (a …
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 …
Homage to a Yukon Birder
Yukon birds, and its birding community, have lost a true friend. When he died last month, at 75, Helmut Grünberg had spent over 40 years promoting the enjoyment, study, and conservation of Yukon’s bird life. He found his way to Whitehorse in the early ‘70s when, en route to climb Denali in Alaska, he was …
The Man Who Knows Tesla Trumps Edison
As a shout out to Gary Bob Joe Bremner’s love of specialty cocktails, I conducted our interview at Whitehorse’s newest, not-yet-open, cocktail-andwine bar, Woodcutter’s Blanket, on Strickland and 2nd (known to most as the two-moose building). The pews were just being set up when we arrived, but our place at the bar was ready for …
One River, Many Maps
At the beginning of his noon hour public lecture David Neufeld said he was working on his book but didn’t want to finish it because then he would lose his excuse to spend so much time on the Yukon River. He said when you say you’re working on a book, you get away with things. …
A Host Mom’s Story
The city bus stops right in front of our home in the Whitehorse. I still watch every day for “my boys” to get off and come home, even though they’ve been gone for weeks. I was privileged to be a host mom for the Canada World Youth program from October 2014 to January 2015. We …
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Yukon College Join Forces
There is an exciting new project underway near Dawson City. On September 19, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (TH) and Yukon College to create a framework for the development of a teaching-and-working farm located in TH traditional territory. The project’s impetus is to secure a source of fresh produce in …
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 …
Come On and Take a Free Ride
What do you get when you dump 38 truckloads of snow and ice at the doorstep of Yukon College? A 28-foot-high ice slide that’s fun for all ages. Marco Paquet, a multimedia student at Yukon College, is the brains behind the structure. “I have two children (a two-and-a-half year old daughter and a 13-year-old son) …
Canoeing The Peel
Meet Gabriel Rivest, a Yukoner. Last summer, Rivest and five friends spent 63 days canoeing 1,500 kilometres through the six rivers in the Peel and Yukon Watersheds. He and the team brought 220 pounds of camera equipment on the trip and they are now producing a video about the experience. On February 24 Rivest will …
Bringing Girls into the Realm of Science
This month, 20 girls from around Whitehorse will be starting a new, scientific adventure — exploring health and the body in a fun and innovative way. The All-Girls Science Club at the Yukon College is offering students in Grades 5 to 7 an opportunity to experience an exciting new world. Every year brings new ideas …
An Invitation for Arctic Youth to Speak Out
Environmentally conscious youth now have an opportunity to participate in an international virtual conference. The Arctic Coalition Council is hosting its first conference, called Breaking the Ice, to address social, economic, and environmental issues in Arctic regions. Youth between 15 and 30 years old are encouraged to represent the Yukon’s interests. The Yukon College will …
Small Charity Hosts Slide Show
Entering a log house south of Whitehorse, I’m confronted by a large box filled with little dolls, knitted in all the colours of the rainbow. I walk past them and Liesel Briggs welcomes me with a cup of tea and a seat in the comfy living room. There is warmth in this house, and it …
Tennis moves indoors
The tennis season in the Yukon is too short … so it has moved indoors. To help get the word out, Tennis Yukon is holding the 40 Below Indoor Tennis Tournament at Yukon College March 1 and 2. Low compression balls will be used for the adults to compensate for the floor and the children …
The Adäka Cultural Festival Aims to Include Everyone
The Adäka Cultural Festival will kick off for the third time in Whitehorse on Friday, June 21, which is also National Aboriginal Day. Adäka (pronounced Aw-daw-kah) means “coming into the light” in the Southern Tutchone language and each year this festival continues to expand, like the sun rising on a new day, spreading its light …
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An Evening of Delightful Beer Pairings
The number on my phone glared at me in ugly black digits: 2,020. My Fitness Pal app wasn’t being very friend-like, accusing me of eating over 2,000 calories in a single sitting. I undid the top button of my jeans and decided it was worth every bit of gut-distending discomfort. It’s not often you stumble …
Nebula of novelists take the NaNoWriMo challenge
What do you call a group of novelists? A narrative of novelists? A nonsense? A nuance? A nebula? A collective name would come in handy, seeing as there will be at least 23 people in the Whitehorse area simultaneously writing a novel during November. The writers are all taking part in National Novel Writing Month, …
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The societal imperative of coffee shops
I met an old co-worker downtown the other day and, as luck would have it, I had a spare half-hour. Maybe we could grab a coffee and catch up? But I looked at him and I realized I didn’t really know that much about him and, more importantly, where he likes to drink coffee. In …
Supporting the Economy Through the Arts
Supporting the Economy Through the Arts You could expect a 10-years lifespan from mining projects, and Hakonson is well aware that placer miners have been roaming the creeks since 1898 and show no signs of stopping, but the short life of Viceroy’s Brewery Creek Mine and the short lived Clinton Creek asbestos mine tend to …
Feeding Spirits, Not Just Stomachs
The thing about chefs is that they can work almost anywhere. Because of this, cooking is an ideal job for the restless spirits among us. In a crowd known for its wanderlust, Gordon Parton is somewhat of an anomaly. Parton is the head chef at Gadzoosdaa Student Residence, where students from small towns live while …
The Young at Heart Are Growing!
One of the delights of consulting and promoting gardening is that once in a while you stumble into on oasis that you did not know existed in Whitehorse. I was asked by our editor to check out what “The Seniors” up by Yukon College were doing, and when I eagerly drove up there recently and …
Seniors Who Are Growing and Giving
The Seniors Association, up on College Drive, not only has a fabulous greenhouse going, they have a complete gardening management system all set up and the project has plans to expand. Not only is there the wonderful, productive greenhouse I wrote about last week, but there is also an extensive outdoor garden. There is a …
Kerr-razy for Taste
Pat McKenna takes a cook’s tour of famous, infamous and soon-to-be famous Yukon chefs. Featured today is Mary-El Kerr of Whitehorse. Mary-El Kerr, owner and operator of Mary-El Fine Food & Catering, brings a wide variety of expertise and pizzazz to the table. An early start cooking at her father’s restaurant launched Kerr into course …
World of Words: Poetry in a Slant Room
Yukon poet Michael Eden Reynolds’ first book, Slant Room, released today by The Porcupine’s Quill, shows us a stark natural world, and us in it. The first half, titled “Migrations”, “is very spare imagery with little human contact,” Reynolds says. “In the second half of the book, the tension between humanity and the natural world …
Fulfilling a Childhood Dream
As a young biologist and a newly married husband, the Yukon offered Dave Mossop a chance to combine these recent developments in his life. “[Grace and I] were looking for an adventurous place to have a honeymoon, and I had the chance to research ptarmigan up here,” says Mossop. It’s almost 40 years later and, …
Mystery in the April Night Skies
It is Friday night, and everyone is waiting for a great northern light show. The night skies are clear, and we are ready. After several hours, we are left disappointed; we have not seen even a single green spear of light, let alone a full display of aurora. Heading down the hallway, my wife looks …
The New Faces of Dawson
While it’s rare to find a weekend in the Dawson summer when there’s not a major event, things do tend to slow down a bit after the Discovery Day weekend and the Yukon Riverside Arts Festival. The next big thing here is the Klondike International Outhouse Race, but that doesn’t take place until Labour Day …
When the Fire Hall Got Hauled
Back in Column #2 of this series, I promised you a couple of moving stories about Dawson buildings. My last column should certainly have made it clear that I was thinking about actual physical relocation rather than a tug at the heart stings. When I moved to Dawson in 1985, there was a clunky complex …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Origins of Berton House: Pt. 2
When I left off with this history of the Berton House, Pierre Berton had bought back his childhood home for $50,000 in 1989 and donated it to the Yukon Arts Council. The council collaborated with the Klondike Visitors Association (KVA) to set up the Berton House writer-in-residence committee to make decisions about how to handle …
Another Housing Crunch
First, and most obviously, it is now attached to its sister institution, the new campus for Yukon College (or Tr’odek Hatr’unohtan Zho), as noted here two issues ago. Then there are new staff members, with Sam Cheuk coming on board to take the English instructor’s post and Nicole Rayburn filling in for a semester on …
Frostbite has gone back to what works
“Frostbite used to see bands play … and then you would see them play on the world stage,” says Patrick Singh, Frostbite Festival’s new producer and general manager. Then he lists them: Sarah McLachlan, k.d. Lang, Feist, Moxy Fruvous. They all appeared before they became big names. “We used to have that reputation.” Since then, Frostbite …
