Festivals and Fairs

Celebrating Yukon Culture

Spruce Bog Easter Boutique

Spruce Bog  Easter Boutique -Sternwheeler Hotel.Yukon handmade offerings from 52 vendors! Stock up for Mother’s and Father’s Day too!

A participant in the Axe Throw

 2023 Yukon Rendezvous

After two years of the pandemic, Rendezvous will be back to form and celebrating its 59th festival this February.

First Nations Craft Fair

Traditional Artwork (carving, beading, etc.), Homemade Baking, Silent Auction, Raffle Baskets, and much, much, more…..

A woman performing a traditional Japanese tea ceremony

The Art Of Japan

On Saturday, November 5, the Japanese Canadian Association of Yukon (JCAY) has teamed up with the City of Whitehorse to bring you Japan Fest.

ME AND WILLIE

The 1969 spring carnival talent show was the talk of the town. I begged and pleaded, with my mom, for a dollar to go. She reminded me that I would skip next week’s allowance if I took the dollar now, plus, I had to fill the woodbox with firewood. I assured her that I was …

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ALFF 2022 goes online

A few of the the diverse offerings at the 2022 Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) happening online, and maybe a bit in-person.

How to pivot the Pivot Festival

As with every year, the 2021 Pivot Festival will bring Yukoners surprising work from both national and local performers. Due to COVID-19, the national talent – a comic duo called Folk Lordz – will participate online from wherever they are in Canada.

Dawson’s Thaw di Gras

Dawson celebrates almost spring, sort of end of winter, with a local event called Thaw di Gras. An obvious play on New Orleans’ Mardi Gras.

Spice up you January with some variety

If you feel a strong connection to the Yukon and you like variety and fun in your entertainment, or if you’d just like a good excuse to hire a baby-sitter and get together with friends on a cold January evening, you could check out Nakai Theatre’s Pivot Festival 2020.

An appetite for stories

The story you tell in a restaurant is going to be different than the story one tells on a bus. It is nice to get unconventional storytellers into the Pivot Festival and into unusual venues for performances.

Adäka Cultural Festival

Coming into the light

The Adäka Cultural Festival is quickly growing into one of Canada’s premiere Indigenous arts and culture festivals

Focus on the funny folk

Tokyo-born comedian Aiko Tanaka is one of the visiting performers featured in this year’s Yukon Comedy Festival, in both Whitehorse and Haines Junction Ricard Eden makes no apology for putting the focus of the Yukon Comedy Festival on the performers as much as on the audience. “We obviously want to bring up talent that residents …

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Volunteers make Rendezvous!

It is no secret that without volunteers, there would be no Rendezvous. Each year hundreds of Yukon residents step up to continue a tradition that started over 55 years ago. It is these volunteers who contribute to the success of the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous festival and make it such a memorable event and experience. Rendezvous …

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It’s (almost) that most wonderful time of the year …

This year’s Spruce Bog Craft Fair features a wide array of crafts, from quilts that mirror paintings, to paintings that mirror nature, to knit designs that are seen in current fashion, or to locally-made gourmet coffee Spruce Bog. Two inspiring and motivational words that bring back many pleasant memories, both of crafting and shopping; they …

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Geek the Halls, a craft fair for the geeks-of-us

The second annual Geek the Halls craft fair is a different affair than the larger, more established craft fairs. But the vendors participating are a different sort of crafters and artists than the traditional Yukon crafters. Carrie Jackson, the Yukon Comic Culture Society president, explained that the society hosts creators who are focused on geek …

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The Yukon’s exclusive arts and crafts

Only two weeks to go until the 2018 Cranberry Fair, when, again, over 40 artists will gather to present the Yukon’s exceptional artistic craftsmanship.

The Junction and JAR (Junction Artist in Residence)

Landing in Whitehorse for the first time, Henry Navarro Delgado arrived in the Yukon knowing nothing about the place. Delgado wanted to remain as open-minded as possible when he settled into the coveted Junction Artist in Residence (JAR) Program in Haines Junction.

The Queer Songbook Orchestra

The Queer Songbook Orchestra is a Toronto-based 12-piece chamber pop ensemble making their Yukon debut on September 30. The group formed in 2014 and has been dedicated to exploring and elevating queer narrative in pop music. “I was at loose ends after several years freelancing in the indie pop music scene in Canada,” said Shaun …

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Moosehide – shining a light across the North

The 2018 Moosehide Gathering in Dawson City was, once again, a smashing success. The local Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in relocated to Moosehide, two miles north of Dawson City on the Yukon River, during the gold rush of 1898, to escape the insanity of thirty-thousand lousy, drunken gold-hungry stampeders. It is a refuge for Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, and the …

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Magic under the mountains

Haines Junction is gearing up for the second-annual Augusto Children`s Festival. It’s the Yukon’s only arts and music festival for children.

Paradise is ‘plugging in’

The Yukon’s annual electronic Paradise Music Festival is back and is set to take off July 27–29 at Kettley’s Canyon, at Marsh Lake.

Pride in Dawson City!

Pride is back in Dawson City! Pride Week is happening from July 9–15 and, as part of the celebrations, a parade will be taking place on July 14 at 5 p.m.

Seize your Canada Day

No summer in the Yukon can be complete without the yearly Canada Day events. The very mention of Canada Day can conjure up memories and build anticipation for just about any Yukoner.

National Aboriginal Day

It’s the longest day of the year, and what better way to appreciate this new Canadian statutory holiday than to visit local First Nations and to be part of this national celebration and enjoy live music, artist demonstrations, traditional food, ceremonies and more.

Serving laughs straight from the oven

The Whitehorse comedy scene is on a roll as of late. One of the events that has helped cultivate this resurgence has been Baked Laughs, the stand-up nights presented monthly at Baked Café.

Riverside rave

Beginning on May 31, guest DJs will perform on the Whitehorse Wharf, providing a summer dance floor for Yukon families and dance music fans.

Café des Voix at Cafe Balzam at the Takhini Hot Springs on Jan 31.

A funky little family

Café des Voix at Cafe Balzam at the Takhini Hot Springs on Jan 31. PHOTOS: courtesy of Elaine Schiman Café des Voix is always looking for new talent Yukon accompanist Grant Simpson helped found Café des Voix in 2016 as an extension of Jazz Yukon workshops that had been occurring since 2011 and as “a …

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Kicking it Special O-style

Special Olympics Yukon enriches the lives of Yukoners with an intellectual ability through opportunities to train and compete in sports, and the gala is a fundraiser to help them provide programming.

Party at the Hill

Since 1999, Simapalooza has become a yearly tradition for Yukoners to enjoy their local ski hill with a variety of events and prizes. Now in its 19th year, Simapalooza is bigger and better in anticipation for its 20th year anniversary next year.

A different kind of volunteer

Tom Gibbs doesn’t get as many hugs as he used to. As the president of the board of Special Olympics Yukon these past five years, he isn’t working with the athletes as much and he isn’t able to give out as many of those encouraging hugs.

The Winterlong Podcasting Co

On March 24th the Winterlong Brewing Co. will be slinging more than beer when they play host to two popular Los Angeles based podcasts.

A weekend of laughs

The Yukon stand-up comedy scene can be fickle. Some years comics will perform to packed houses that turn people away at the door. Other years, not so much. Whether it’s a lack of comics, audience, or both, northern life can bring a number of challenges that make live comedy difficult to maintain. Richard Eden, George …

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Keeping the weekend weird

Thaw-di-Gras, Dawson’s spring-or-late-winter carnival, is adding a day this year, with events beginning on Friday, March 16 and running through Sunday, March 18.

Thaw di Gras is going to the dogs…

Dawson City is gearing up for it’s annual Thaw di Gras spring carnival. One of the most popular events for families is the annual dog show, held at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s.

Stand up for Stephen McGovern

On March 9, Yukon comic Stephen McGovern will be gearing up to take the stage at the Just for Laughs Northwest comedy festival in Vancouver. The 10-day event beginning March 1 offers a wide variety of shows that highlight Canadian and international comedy. McGovern makes his Just for Laughs debut performing in The Outsiders Comedy show, which …

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Sharing a love for film

There are meetings. There is paperwork. There are grants to apply for and cheques to sign. But, for Jessica Hall, being the president of the Yukon Film Society is all about… people. “The thing I really like about being on the board is my fellow board members and the staff,” she said. “They are all …

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Let there be light

The 2018 Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) features a strong Indigenous presence in this year’s films – and in the audience, with more than 40 guests attending from Outside.

It’s so bad, it’s good

In honour of James Franco’s upcoming film release of The Disaster Artist, I figured I had to take a look back at where this film actually started, and that meant watching The Room (2003). The Disaster Artist is a dramatization of The Room. The Room is written, directed, produced and stars Tommy Wiseau and is …

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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 …

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Freezing for the sake of art…

Ask most people what they do during the cold month of January, and they would say, “Stay inside and keep warm.” The (s)hiver Arts Society, however, wants to change that.

Ten days to celebrate Pivot Festival’s 10th year

The Pivot Festival runs Jan. 24 to Feb. 3 with local and national acts Since Nakai Theatre launched the Pivot Festival in 2008, there have been some big names and unforgettable performances that have graced stages and pop-up theatre settings in Whitehorse. The festival has boasted bringing unconventional and award-winning shows from across Canada and …

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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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Debaters Bound

Whitehorse comedian Jenny Hamilton will be performing live on the CBC Radio One show The Debaters in North Vancouver on Nov. 22

Kids and parents can play in the big sandbox

The 45th annual Geoscience Forum is organized by the Yukon Chamber of Mines as an opportunity for everyone to learn more about mining, aviation, the environmental sciences and other aspects of the mineral exploration industry.

Good vibes: Blue Feather Music Festival

Blue Feather Music Festival is entering its 17th year and is still holding true to its roots, providing healing, sharing culture and providing positive opportunities for youth to grow.

Yukon’s version of Oktoberfest

The Yukon Beer Festival is returning for its fifth year on October 13 and 14, with proceeds benefitting the Boys and Girls Club of Whitehorse. Local beer aficionados will be able to taste beer from more than a dozen brewers and distributors travelling to the festival from across Canada, as well as local Yukon brewers …

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Wines With a Cause

Wine-lovers will descend on the High Country Convention Centre on Thursday, October 19, for the 26th edition of the Rendezvous Rotary Wine Festival. These grape connoisseurs will have over 200 wines available for sampling and tasting. Those lucky enough to hold one of the 100 priority tasting tickets secured one of the hottest tickets in …

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Turn Your Eyes to the Skies

Yukoners – and others – who enjoy celestial pursuits may want to follow the stars to Kluane’s “Northern Nights” Dark Sky Festival at Kathleen Lake this weekend. This is the second time around for this event, which is jointly sponsored by Parks Canada and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). Viktor Zsohar is a …

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Hidden Memories Revealed at Fringe Festival

Five years ago Hidden Memories started as a one-act play Lillian Nakamura Maguire drafted to improve her dialogue skills for a creative writing class. Now the full-length version will be featured in the Vancouver Fringe Festival’s Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women on September 13. “It’s the first time Hidden Memories will be read …

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Trinidad’s Carnival: Experience of a Lifetime!

Carnival is a massive street party that falls the week before Ash Wednesday, which is in late February/early March, and is observed annually in many countries around the world. It is celebrated with especially great vigor in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s basically a culturally-rich party parade, filled with beautifully diverse people in elaborate costumes dancing …

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So Good, So Try It

The Yukon Culinary Festival sounds like a good way to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. “The definition of Canadian cuisine that we use is local, seasonal, sustainable ingredients in the hands of many cultures,” says Eric Pateman, the festival’s main organizer. “This being Canada’s 150th, we have an opportunity to tell this story through the food.” …

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Stay for the Conversation

“Prepare to be moved, disturbed, engaged. Come for the film. Stay for the conversation,” says Canadian author and media critic Geoff Pevere. Pevere is director of programs for Rendezvous with Madness, a Toronto based film festival focused on movies that delve into the world of mental health and addiction. The festival is travelling across Canada …

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Augusto! Children’s Festival the First of its Kind in the Yukon

“We are proud and excited to be founding the Yukon’s only dedicated art and music festival for children,” says Darlene Sillery, one of the five main organizers of the Augusto! Children’s Festival in Haines Junction this weekend. “We have a great variety of workshops and an excellent group of presenters, including visual artists, performing artists …

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Fishnets and Chainsaws

From antique carousel and ferris wheel rides, to wearable art and cake bake off contests, to beer and wine gardens, to beach wrestling and the Fisherman’s Rodeo, the Southeast Alaska State Fair really does have something for everyone. The longstanding annual festival, which takes over the 25-acre fairgrounds in the small town of Haines, Alaska, …

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Celebrate National Tlingit Day with a Fun Packed Weekend in Teslin

The biannual Haa Ḵusteeyí Celebration and community gathering in Teslin this month presents a unique opportunity for Yukoners of all backgrounds to connect with the Tlingit community. “Everyone is welcome. We want everybody here. We want to share and showcase our culture to the world,” says Melaina Sheldon, community arts and events coordinator at the …

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Taking the Sound of the Yukon to a National Stage

On July 1, the community choir, along with the Persephone Singers and the Chamber Choir, will take their sound to Ottawa. As part of the annual Unisong Choral Festival, they will sing with and for choir members and audiences from around the country and the globe.

Tout en musique pour la Fête de la Saint-Jean

La Saint-Jean, qu’est-ce que ? À l’origine, une fête païenne célébrée, le 24 juin, depuis quelques siècles, qui a, par la suite, été christianisée. On y faisait des feux de joie, on chantait et on dansait, le tout pour célébrer l’arrivée de l’été et le jour le plus long de l’année! Depuis une cinquantaine d’années, …

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Come as You Are

Don’t wait for your invitation in the mail – Yukon Pride isn’t an exclusive event. “I think sometimes that some of our straight allies, they feel like they need to be invited to an event, which I totally understand,” says Rian Turner who, along with Fi Griffin, Chase Blodgett and Stephanie Hammond, is one of …

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Three Days of Dance

World travel has its place, but Sharon Shorty says a lot of Yukoners need to get out and take a trip into their own territory. And, she says, if you want to start with Haines Junction, The Da Kų Nän Ts’etthet Dance Festival makes it easy. The bi-annual festival, now in its second year, takes …

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Celebrating the Power of Art

A mural festival in the Yukon will draw artists, youth, and the general public together to decorate some buildings in Whitehorse with a colourful palette. The 2-month long Yukon Heritage Mural Art Festival is kicking off on Saturday, and organizers are inviting anyone and everyone to pop by, check out what’s going on, pick up …

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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 …

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Gold Show: The Rush is On

Early in May, with the deadlines for the 2017 edition of the Dawson City International Gold Show approaching, Coralee Rudachyk was busy, but calm. As the General Manager of the Dawson City Chamber of Commerce, she has the primary responsibility of making sure everything works out according to plan. The plan is a pretty solid …

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Wild Times

“They’re [cranes] a much more delicate bird, compared to the swans,” says Carrie McClelland, a wildlife viewing biologist with Environment Yukon. “They stand three and a half to four feet tall, with a six foot wingspan, but they only weigh around seven or eight pounds. They’re very slender.” Lesser sandhill cranes migrate each year from …

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Celebrate the Art of Filmmaking this Weekend

The cupboard behind Dan Sokolowski’s head is still covered with the multi-coloured Post-it notes he’s been using to assign the 86 short films in this year’s Dawson City International Short Film Festival to various categories for Friday, Saturday and Sunday screenings that will fill up this Easter Weekend. The films were selected by a group …

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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 …

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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 …

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Arts, Culture and Creation

“Artists show the world unseen,” says Tahltan First Nation artist Rhoda Merkel. “Teachers show students a better form of themselves.” Merkel, who was raised in Whitehorse but lives in Atlin, combines both talents in her newest project, the Sam Johnston Storytelling Festival, which takes place Tuesday, March 7 in Teslin. The festival is a collaboration, …

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Something for Everyone

However, the Koot to Kat Alpine Adventure Race has a list of requirements: a partner, beacon, shovel, probe, communication device (phone or GPS) and the ability to get yourself up and over Mount Ripinski. The Winter Fest runs from Friday, March 3rd to Sunday, 5th. The Haines “First Friday” event also takes place on March …

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Life After Tragedy

When asked about the message she hopes to convey in the film, Ohama responded, “It’s a moving and inspiring story of how people find real joy, love and meaning in life again… even in the face of extreme loss. In our busy, cluttered world filled with stress… we tend to forget how to see and …

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Rendezvous Queen's Majesty's Royal Feast

Take a Midwinter Break

“Her Majesty’s Royal Feast is a brand new and exciting event,” says Dave Blottner, executive director of Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. This event will feature a five course meal catered by six local restaurants, with a speech by the Rendezvous Queen and a string quartet. The event will take place at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre …

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Yukon Stories

Arctic Secrets Directed by Allan Code, a Whitehorse based filmmaker, Arctic Secrets is a symphony of immensely strong and surprisingly fragile elements that comprise the wilderness of the Yukon Territory. Stunning imagery abounds in this visual adventure through its waters, mountains, and forests. Focusing mainly on the more arctic regions of the territory, Code and …

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Writing Down the Soul

Anyone who has ever put pen to paper knows it can be a daunting experience. To stare at a blank page waiting for the strike of inspiration. When something is finally put down on paper, is it something others might want to read? What works? What can be done differently? Brave New Words is a …

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Sweet Swing

The All City Band is comprised of students between the ages of 12 and 17, playing alongside more experienced adult musicians. The group is comprised of sections: the All City Jazz Band, the Junior and Senior Concert Bands and the Grade 8 Band. “The All City Band is a great musical opportunity for students in …

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(S)hiver Me Timbers

“The dark and the cold are conducive to creativity,” says Carly Woolner, one of the co-founders of Dawson’s (S)Hiver Arts Festival. Blair Douglas, the other half of the team, chimes in with a smile: “They are also conducive to everyone staying home.” Together these sum up the motivations behind the festival, which has a mandate …

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Triple Threat

The Pivot Theatre Festival – Nakai Theatre’s annual performance showcase – begins a seven-night run this weekend in multiple Whitehorse venues. In addition to smaller-scale offerings such as a theatrical pub walk, an evening of spoken word material and a “speed-friending” event called Stranger Connections, the festival will feature the three major pieces, including: A …

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About a Fair

From stunning jewelery, fine arts and unique crafts to quality prepared foods and personal care products hand made by Yukon artisans, the 12 Days of Christmas has become one of the largest Yukon craft fairs over the past decade. From its humble beginnings as a one day Christmas market in 2005 it has gradually grown …

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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 …

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Book Fair Fever in Frankfurt

British artist David Hockney displayed his latest piece here: a complete collection of his artwork in a huge book. The book costs about 2,500 Euro and contains 62 years of Hockney’s work. It was set up on a stand so visitors could browse through it. The Arts+ exhibition shows that books are not only about …

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Keeping the Dream Alive

When Jolie Angelina McNabb was buried 16 years ago, Kwanlin Dün elders gave her the name, Blue Feather Eagle Woman. The Bluefeather Music Festival started in 2010 as a tribute concert to Jolie, who committed suicide. She had a dream, that she wanted to do something for youth, something to give them hope so they …

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For the love of beer

Kaori Torigai loves beer in much the same way others love baseball.  Or World of Warcraft. Like baseball, there are a mind-boggling array of statistics to consider. And, like World of Warcraft, there is a huge cast of characters. And, as in both baseball and World of Warcraft, beer is social, it can be shared …

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Doors are Open for Culture Days

The Yukon is recognized for its rich cultural diversity, and you are invited to experience it during the seventh national Culture Days and Doors Open celebration, from Friday, September 30 through to Sunday, October 2. “The best place to start your Culture Days experience is at The Old Fire Hall,” says Michele Emslie, co-ordinator and …

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Exotic Animals to Visit the Yukon

A wide variety of exotic animals from Cuvier dwarf caimans, pythons, tortoises, tarantulas, a black lemur and opossums are being brought to Whitehorse for the Canadian Accredited Zoo & Aquarium (CAZA) Professionals 2016 Conference running Sept. 21 to 24. These animals will be showcased in select elementary schools in Whitehorse and at a series of …

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Eat Your Art Out

‘Tis the season where giant vegetables are being harvested from gardens and potentially prize-winning jams are being churned out for display in the hopes of gaining a ribbon. This was the case at Dawson City’s horticultural exhibition as part of Discovery Days last week, but you won’t find large or entertaining vegetables adorning the tables …

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The Yukon Culinary Festival Tells a Story of the Yukon, Through Food

The Yukon is filled with culinary hidden gems, according to Eric Pateman. A culinary expert, Pateman had no idea how rich the Yukon food scene was until Debra Ryan, manager of strategic planning for Air North, finally persuaded him to visit.  Now he is a main organizer of the Yukon Culinary Festival, running from August …

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Hands-On Haute Couture in the Junction

From beading to working with hide and hair, “Textile and fashion endeavours are followed by a huge number of locals,” says Heiko Hähnsen. He’s the director of the Junction Arts and Music, or JAM, an organization that “nurtures the arts”, according to its website, and is hosting Haines Junction’s first Hands-On Craft Weekend. Given that …

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Artists Going Flat-Out

Question: What does a steam roller have in common with wood block printing? Answer: Joyce Majiski and Linda Leon. The two Yukon artists are hosting a spectacular event from August 5 to 7. Each day between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the skating oval in Shipyards Park a road packer will be rolling over …

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Another Field, Another Festival

Claire Ness wasn’t even born in 1969, when the most famous rock festival in history took place. It’s possible her then-20ish parents, Roy and Penelope, have regrets about not joining the throngs of music-loving hippies who flocked to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel, N.Y., for three days of musical magic known affectionately as Woodstock. …

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Chronicling the Peace

From her cabin on her parents’ farm near Fort St. John, B.C., Jody Peck can see the broad, meandering Peace River, not far from where her family first settled in 1924. On a recent Friday afternoon, Peck was about to start assembling the merchandise she and her band, Miss Quincy and the Showdown, hope to …

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Underground at the Core

By the time Danny Fernandez was 10, he had visited over two dozen countries during six years spent aboard a floating hospital that provided free surgeries and medical care to some of the world’s poorest people. “I don’t think I realized how cool it was at the time. Looking back, I definitely feel being immersed …

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For the Love of Northern Art

Every year for 10 days, northern artists and art lovers gather in Inuvik, a small town of 3,400 in the NWT, to celebrate culture and creativity.   Entering its 28th year, the Great Northern Arts Festival features almost 60 artists from the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Running from July 15 to 24, the activities …

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CypherFest

For the sixth year in a row, Breakdancing Yukon Society (BYS) is inviting professional and aspiring dancers from across Canada for a weekend of performances, dance battles and workshops. This year they are bringing up two renowned dance groups to the Yukon for the festival: OURO Collective and Tentacle Tribe. OURO is a dance collective …

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A Cultural Affair

One of the fun things about fermented foods is passing on bits to others, knowing they will grow and spread like a great idea. It required a bit of a mental leap to go from creating my first ferments to seeing this possibility, kind of like going from growing your own lettuce each year to …

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Aroused and Ecstatic

Ping pong might be what prevents Shawn Hall from harpooning Matt Rogers, or keeps Rogers from dismembering his musical partner with an axe. The duo known as The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer discovered the stress-relieving game in London, England during a recent tour. “We went to a night club and there were 75 ping …

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Resisting and Resurging

This year the Yukon Film Society (YFS) returns to the Adäka Cultural Festival with more First Nations programming. The collaboration between Adäka and YFS allows all the screenings to be free. Screenings run July 3 and 4 at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre during the festival, which takes place July 1 to 7. Screenings begin …

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The Joys of Reading Aloud

Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is not a particularly long book. A mere 70 pages, perhaps a few more in a version with illustrations, it is often published between the same covers as its thematic opposite, White Fang, often along with some of the better known short stories to round out the page …

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A Big Night in a Small Town

The Teslin Arena is going to be rocking on June 25. Canadian country acts Aaron Pritchett, Cory Marquardt and Roger Gabriel are coming to town to put on a country music show. It benefit the Teslin Minor Hockey Association and the Teslin Recreation Society. About 450 people live in Teslin. This is the biggest event …

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Chasing Stories in Skagway

My shakedown cruise for our trailer has come to be my annual pilgrimage to the town of Skagway to attend the North Words Writers’ Symposium, held this year from May 25-28 in the windy town. This was the seventh annual event, of which I have attended all but one since the first in 2010. The …

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Summer Fun has Begun

Look around. The birds are singing, canoes and kayaks are back on Subaru roof racks and my neighbour seems to have an urge for gardening at 11:30 p.m. These are signs of summer. It’s a change from spending much of our time inside, sipping hot tea and feeding the woodstove to living the wild and …

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Out of the Rec Room

Scott Wilson doesn’t credit either ’50s TV host Arthur Godfrey or campy falsetto Tiny Tim with the current popularity of the humble ukulele. Instead, the Whitehorse musician thinks it likely stems from a few years back, when Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s hauntingly beautiful medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” became …

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Easy Riders

Next Thursday up to 300 motorcyclists will descend on Dawson City for the 29th gathering of Dust 2 Dawson Motorcycle Ride. Dick Van Nostrand, a long time Dawsonite, helps organize the gathering. He’s been involved since almost the beginning. “We had just bought the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City in 1995, when I met some …

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Hot Ticket to Ride

France has the Tour de France. Italy has the Giro d’Italia. And here in the Yukon, we have the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay. The relay sees cyclists ride the spectacular 238.3 km from Haines Junction, Yukon, to Haines, Alaska. The race is split into eight legs and can be done as a relay by …

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National Aboriginal Day Stick Gambling -F

Come On Out To the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre

On June 21st the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Society will be hosting National Aboriginal Day at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. The festivities are open to the public and will include games, music, food, kids activities and cultural displays. Krista Reid, the cultural programing coordinator for the society, says they are excited about this year’s event, …

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Chalk It Up

I had a great chat recently with Heidi Loos.  She is organizing the first Yukon Chalk Art Festival for Unlikely Events Yukon.  The Festival will run June 11 and 12, 2016, 10 am. to 5 pm. at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre parking lot.  Two workshops will take place at the parking lot of Dana …

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Follow Our Trails

Audience members with program “maps” in hand will be guided through the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre for a unique performance adventure from Gwaandak Theatre, showcasing the spectacular riverfront and Yukon stories about who we are and where we come from. Gwaandak Theatre in association with the Yukon Arts Centre and Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre (KDCC) …

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I Know What You Did

In Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th century collection of novellas called The Decameron, seven young women and three young men entertain each other with stories for 10 days inside a secluded villa near Florence as they tried to escape the Black Death. More than 650 years later, Toronto playwright and multidisciplinary theatre maker Jordan Tannahill found himself …

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Major Funk

Big, Loud and Funky

Major Funk and the Employment is a big band with a big sound. It has some big changes since bassist Etienne Girard put the group together.

Pickin’ on The Junction

In the pines, in the pines, the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Music Festival will take place June 10, 11, and 12. It is held annually at the St. Elias Convention Centre and St. Christopher’s Log Church in beautiful Haines Junction, Yukon. The mostly volunteer-run festival is the first of many music festivals held throughout the Yukon …

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Stay on the Trail

“It requires a lot of discipline to stay on the trail – not just the ski trail,” says Gary Bailie, “but the trail of life.” Skiing is definitely a way of life for Bailie, who has been running and coaching the Whitehorse-based youth cross country team the Kwanlin Koyotes since 1999. His hard work and …

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Oh, Beer. Maybe Next Year?

It’s a gathering where you may sip the tingly bitterness of a pale ale, sample salty snacks from the “bacon booth” and lock eyes magically with your future spouse. No wonder tickets to the Haines Beer Fest have sold out faster than ever this year.  The event takes place May 27 and 28, in Haines, …

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It’s Not All Greek

When you think of the Greek philosopher, Plato – if you think of him at all – the expression “party animal” might not come to mind. But Zuppa Theatre Co. would like to change that. The Halifax-based troupe has taken one of Plato’s best-known works, The Symposium, and re-cast it as a modern party – …

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Who’s Out There?

Don’t bother asking Damien Atkins whether or not he believes in UFOs. He won’t tell you. What the Toronto-based playwright and actor will do instead is talk about his one-person play, We Are Not Alone, which he’s bringing to Whitehorse next month as part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. “When I do interviews about …

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Life, Love and Trevor

Dogtown: the Musical, a story based on the life and fate of a local dog named Trevor, will be one of the many productions featured during the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, taking place June 9 to 18 Nakai Theatre and the Yukon Circus Society are the co-presenters of Dogtown: the Musical, which will be playing …

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The Next Act

Longtime Yukon teacher Mary Sloan and rapper Eminem have something in common. They both got their careers started in Detroit’s notorious 8-Mile district. However, Sloan’s teaching environment from the beginning to the end could not have been more different. Growing up in Michigan, Sloan was just 20 years old when she began her first teaching …

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Intimate, Insightful and Non-Traditional

It’s 1929, Virginia Woolf publishes her famous extended feminist essay, called “A Room of One’s Own,”  exploring the gender disparity between women and men. Fast forward to 2016 and discussion around gender politics has widened to include people living beyond the male/female binary. Cyn Lubow’s documentary film A Womb of Their Own asks the question, …

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National Theatre Festival Comes to Whitehorse

“It’s the only national theatre festival in Canada,” Selene Vakharia tells me. She, along with a handful of other local creatives, are working on the Yukon end of the traveling theatre festival: Magnetic North, based in Ottawa, which moves to a different Canadian town every second year. “This year they picked Whitehorse,” Vakharia says. With …

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The New Girlfriend is French filmmaking at its best

The New Girlfriend (Une Nouvelle Amie), a French drama from acclaimed director and screenwriter François Ozon, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. It has received several international award nominations and won best picture at Spain’s San Sebastián film festival. The New Girlfriend is loosely based on the 15-page crime …

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Everything But the Sake

Japan is a country that is rich in history and has made quite the presence within popular Western culture. Think ninjas, samurai warriors, cherry blossoms, sushi, anime – the list goes on. On April 2 you can experience many of the wonderful things Japan has to offer at the festival hosted by the Japanese Canadian …

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The Danish Girl Attracts Controversy on Several Fronts

At some point, perhaps, acting credentials and not gender identity, will dictate who gets what role. Until then, high profile films like The Danish Girl and Dallas Buyers Club will continue to raise hackles in the transgender community for having cisgender (a term coined in the 1990s to denote a person whose self-identity matches their …

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We Burnt It Away

This past weekend, Yukoners burnt away their winter blues at the annual festival of the same name.Photographer Dylan Nelson was there to capture the action.

A Room within a Room

The intensely charged film Room was the Winner of the Audience Choice Award for Best Canadian Feature at this year’s Available Light Film Festival. If you missed it in February, The Yukon Film Society is bringing it back to the screen March 20th. Adapted from Ireland-born writer Emma Donoghue’s Booker Prize nominated novel of the …

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Dawson City Street Hockey Tournament during Thaw Di Gras weekend

Announcing Yukon’s Unofficial Other March Long Weekend

With late February temperatures maxing out at +4  in Dawson, it’s hard to say just what this year’s Thaw di Gras, Spring Carnival will be looking at for weather, but the Klondike Visitors Association (KVA) has once again encouraged a wide variety of groups to get involved in outdoor and indoor events for the weekend …

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What’s on at Rendezvous

It’s that time of year again, when it’s totally normal to see girls walking around in period costume, when men compete in beauty pageants, when that guy with the really long beard who comes into the restaurant you work at starts talking about the medal he hopes to win.   And this year is no …

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Soul Migration band members

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.

Hone Your Craft

This year marks the 14th anniversary of the Available Light Film Festival. Each year, the festival seems to grow and attract greater talent from a variety of places. This year also has a substantial amount of filmmaking workshops, some free and others requiring tickets. The festival’s keynote address will be from Dylan Marchetti, chief creative …

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Cinema for Lunch

The Available Light Film Festival running Feb. 6–14 there will be showing films during the daytime, right in the middle of your lunch hour. So pack a sandwich or a smoothie and head over to either the Yukon Arts Centre or the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre for some truly fascinating cinema. Here is a rundown …

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Art Crawl Dawson Style

Blair Douglas and Carly Woolner are hoping you’ll join them outside to have some fun this weekend. They are organizing the second annual edition of The (s)hiver Winter Arts Festival, taking place in Dawson City on Jan. 30 and 31. “We want to get people out to celebrate when everything is shut down and quiet,” …

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Literary Fisticuffs

Local Yukoners will face-off to defend their favourite books as part of the Northern Lights Writers Conference, running Jan 23-23. Author of Best Laid Plans and 2013 Canada Reads winner Terry Fallis will be “refereeing” the event. The winning book goes home with the glory, the winning contender goes home with money for a charity …

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The Must-See Guide to the Pivot Theatre Festival

By La Compagnie L’Immédiat/Camille Boitel Jan. 27-29, 8 p.m., Yukon Arts Centre Co-presented with the Yukon Arts Centre, this European classic comes all the way from Paris, France. Perhaps more exciting than the distance travelled, or the point of origin, is that its Yukon debut will also be its North American premiere. Yukon audiences will be …

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Awesome Canadian Films

For years Canadian cinema was referred to as invisible cinema for its lack of global impact and struggle to compete with Hollywood’s massive export of blockbuster films. Each year film festivals around Canada aim to disprove this notion and push the potential and visibility of Canadian cinema to other parts of the world – and …

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Available Light Film Fest shines on Canada’s North

This year’s Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) features a series of films draw audiences’ attention to the experiences of life in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The North on Screen series comprises a third of the Yukon Film Society’s 14th Annual film festival, which runs Feb. 7 to 14 in Whitehorse. Nunavut Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) returns …

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Holiday Gift Guide

As we enter the holiday season where advertising, social media, and storefronts are shouting at us about all the things there are to buy, one might wonder whether all this shopping will lead to anyone’s happiness. Researchers out of Cornell University had a similar thought. Thomas Gilovich and  Amit Kumar published their research in the …

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Blue Feather Turns 15

Gary Bailie has taken a personal tragedy and turned it into the fuel that powers him to produce the popular Blue Feather Music Festival. Now in its 15th year the annual music event was never meant to be the large-scale music festival it has become. It initially began as a celebration of life for Bailie’s …

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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 …

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Deep Ecology

The year was 1971. Three Dog Nights’ “Joy to the World” became RPM’s top chart hit alongside The Stampeders’ “Sweet City Woman”. Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister and James Smith was Commissioner of the Yukon. Smith was instrumental in creating the Kluane National Park and Reserves and designating the Chilkoot Trail as a National Historic …

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Good beer is like fine wine

“Tasting beer is a very similar process as tasting wine,” says Kaori Torigai, president of the Yukon Beer Festival Society.

The beauty and the decay of life around the planet

Since being presented the Palme D’Or and Best Director credits at the Cannes Film Festival for Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987) respectively, German filmmaker Wim Wenders continues to be intrigued by the human condition has ceased to allow his intrigue of the human condition to weaken. Wenders’ more recent films Buena Vista …

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Revisiting the Klondike Big Inch

Each year during the Riverside Arts Festival, the ODD Gallery sponsors a paired set of exhibitions called The Natural and the Manufactured, each dealing with some way in which people and their plans have had an impact on the environment around them. This year one of those exhibits, the one indoors at the gallery itself, …

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Slynking into Paradise

Evan Chandler spent his first 27 years in Brisbane, Australia, before he started thinking it would be “cool” to see what life is like in another country. But two years ago, when he decided to move to Canada, expanding his musical reach was just one element in the mix. “I chose Vancouver because it’s right …

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The Paradise Beat

“Welcome to paradise,” Kevin Jack says. Thus begins my tour of a property that edges onto the swampy back of Marsh Lake. An old gold mining site, it is a refuge for old gold mining things: a tiny log cabin with grass growing out of the roof; metal drums sunken into the ground on a …

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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.

Boulder On!

Do you like climbing rocks? Do you enjoy hiking in a gorgeous valley? What about making friends? Walking a tightrope suspended between two giant boulders? Do you like having fun and being happy? If you answered yes to any of these, you’re in luck. This Saturday, the local climbing community will host a revival of …

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Concierge at Large

Most youngsters try on adult roles from time to time, but few go from role-play to reality as seamlessly as Eric Pateman moved into a career in hospitality. The founder and president of Edible Canada has photos of his 5-year-old self with a waiter’s towel draped over his arm, serving lunch to his grandparents, complete …

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Pop-up Fashion

Jessica Vallenga has an eye for quality-made clothes; she is an artist trained in textiles, and she makes clothes. She turns embroidery into pendants and earrings, and she makes lingerie. As well as making clothing, Vallenga keeps her eyes peeled for second-hand finds wherever she goes. Most recently, it was Seattle, where she found a …

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Ian Tyson

Atlin’s Ian Fest

Ian Tyson, iconic minstrel of life in the West/North. 68yr old hearing an 81yr old singer at Atlin Arts and Music Festival felt young again.

Festival Fare

Festival season is in full swing, and every weekend sees crowds descending on another Yukon community for a bit of all-night sun revelry. My personal favourite, and often my only festival of the summer, is the Atlin Arts and Music Festival. This year’s festival had an impressive array of food vendors who seemed to be …

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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 …

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Writing Across the Borders

An ambitious pan-Northern ensemble of seasoned musicians from all three territories will make its debut in Whitehorse next week as one of the performance highlights of the fifth annual Adäka Cultural Festival. The New North Collective will bring together the songwriting and performing talents of four Yukoners, two residents of the Northwest Territories, and a …

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Playing With Fire by Theo Fleury

I heard Theo Fleury speak at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse last summer during the Adäka Cultural Festival, but hadn’t had a chance to read his autobiography, Playing With Fire, until recently. I finished it quickly. He writes forcefully about his addictions and the abuse and neglect that underpinned them. Much of the …

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More than just music

Meet Jordi Mikeli-Jones — a renaissance woman. She is the owner of the popular Triple J’s Music, Tattoos and Piercing. She is president of Kona’s Coalition, a non-profit organization that works towards improving animal welfare in the Yukon. She was the first female resident DJ in Whitehorse, and she is the founder and promoter of …

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Ancestral Ways

Juanita Growing Thunder-Fogarty lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the tiny community of North San Juan, on the same property her paternal ancestors settled during the California Gold Rush of 1849. But her heart is inextricably linked to the Great Plains territory of her Sioux and Assiniboine forebears, and the beading …

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A Little Help from Friends

According to Marc Paradis, it’s starting to resemble a mini-music festival. He should know. The Whitehorse drummer has performed at pretty much every major music function since he arrived in the Yukon 35 years ago. “We don’t have an Alsek festival any more, which used to be the highlight of early summer for a lot …

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Cranes Fly High Up in the Sky

The thermals above the town of Faro may account for the “tens of thousands” of sand hill cranes that fly above it each spring. Or so Rose Fulton speculates. Fulton works for the town, and is the Faro Crane and Sheep Viewing Festival coordinator. She says she’d be the event coordinator, but there aren’t enough …

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Flowers in the Concrete

Rich Hill, playing at the Yukon Arts Centre on Sunday, is a poignant observational snapshot of three boys on separate, but similar, journeys through the early days of youth, as spent in America’s povertystricken heartland. Poverty is crushing. But it’s always amazing to see that the human spirit, especially in children, is remarkably diffi cult …

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OUT North comes of age

Contemplating what to write about this weekend’s OUT North Film Festival, which runs from April 17 to 19 at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, my brain landed on the word “age”, and stubbornly refused to budge. So, with apologies for the occasional reach, what follows is a quick tour of how the thread of age, …

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The Wild & Scenic Film Festival Makes a Whitehorse Debut

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival (WSFF), screening at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre on March 5, aims to create a space “where activism gets inspired”; it is the largest environmental film festival in North America. The group behind this festival, the South Yuba River Citizen’s League (SYRCL, pronounced “circle”), is California based organization that …

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East Coasters Come North

When I reach Jon Mckiel he’s in the middle of a New Brunswick snowstorm. I’m in the Yukon, where the temperature has dipped below -30°C. We talk about what to expect when he arrives in Whitehorse to perform at the Available Light Film Festival on February 13. He’s never been here, and I’ve never been …

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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 …

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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 …

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Two 4 One Breaks New Ground

Move over Ben Affleck and Julia Roberts, the Canadian filmmaking world would like to thank you for solidifying conventions for the romantic comedy genre, so Two 4 One can break those conventions into a million pieces. This progressive look at real-life love is refreshing and accessible: a movie about a transgendered Canadian in which an …

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The Wooden Sky Kicks Off ALFF

For Yukoners who miss having a music festival in February, the Yukon Film Society has stepped up. This year, the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) has expanded to include musical performances. Andrew Connors, ALFF director, explains: “It’s twofold. We realized that the way we configure the Yukon Arts Centre for cinema, we move the screen …

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Dan Mangan is Back in Town

Dan Mangan is almost as excited to see the Yukon again as Yukoners are to see him. In 2010, Mangan played both the Frostbite and Dawson City Music Festivals and was impressed by the local cultural scene. He says, “it seems to me like there’s a really good music community up there, a really strong arts …

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(S)hiver Festival

A brand new event will be taking place in Dawson City on Saturday, January 24. The (s)hiver festival promises a night of art, light, and creativity in response to the dark cold of a northern winter. Originally from Vancouver, festival organizers Blair Douglas and Carly Woolner arrived in Dawson last summer. Both are artists; Douglas …

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Imagination and pain on display in Newfoundland yarn

Joel Thomas Hynes’s blackly tinted, yet poignantly observant perspective, brings you his best film yet. Cast No Shadow, playing at the Yukon Arts Centre on February 10, is a beautifully filmed narrative about the most terrifying demon of all: the one within. Set in the ever-shadowy outport Newfoundland, a world of dilapidated musty kitchens and …

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The Web of Family

Two distinctly different takes on the theme of family are among the highlights of this year’s Nakai Pivot Festival, which kicks off on Saturday, January 17 . Ralph + Lina is a two-handed “acrobatic comedy” performed by the husband and wife team of Dan Watson and Christina Serra, who first conceived the project while they …

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People Will Always Need Stories

 “ One hundred writers from around the world in 86 events”, was the motto of the 2014 Vancouver Writers Festival. It kicked off with an author many were looking forward to hearing from: Karl Ove Knausgaard, a literary sensation from Norway, who has published an autobiographical six-book-series called My Struggle. He writes about big issues …

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Premium Suds

2014, craft beer options were the T & M lounge or the Yukon Beer Festival. Brainchild of Andrea Pierce now Kaori Torigai will be president.

The Scientific Lens

The Yukon Film Society and Yukon Arts Centre present the return of the Available Light Cinema series on Sunday, September 21 with two films of the scientific variety. The science fiction film screening at 9:00 p.m. is Jonathan Glazer’s chilling parable Under the Skin. Scarlett Johansson stars in it, and it has been compared to …

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Busy Weekend in Dawson City

“This weekend is an iconic celebration of what’s great in Dawson,” says Paul Robitaille. Discovery Days, the Riverside Arts Festival & more

Not Easy Being Green

If you’re heading out to Circle D Ranch for a few days of music and food this weekend, you’d be well-advised to bring your own eating and drinking gear, or at least a toonie to “rent” a plate. The three-day outing, now known as the Frog Food Festival – Served with Music, is being billed …

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A Foodie’s Dream Come True

Birch syrup, fireweed jelly, juniper berry shortbread, and low bush cranberries are a few of the ingredients that will rise to the occasion for the Yukon Culinary Festival. Among the festival events is the Tastes of Whitehorse food crawl, beginning July 31 at 5:30 p.m. It will encompass the tasty delights of five local restaurants …

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Pig-roaster with Serious Cred

Chris Irving has cooked for Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family of Spain. He’s made sushi and fried chicken for the four “just normal kids” of David and Victoria Beckham. He’s cooked on luxury yachts and in fancy hotels, not to mention the private mansion of master chef Gordon Ramsay. Now he’s coming home …

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Makushan-maker

Florent Vollant’s first exposure to music was in his family’s cabin on a trapline in Labrador. After a successful caribou hunt, the family would celebrate with traditional songs and dances, in the Innu tradition of the makushan, or pow wow.  “I was four or five years old the first time I remember the sound of …

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Feels Like a Celebration

First, she says, it allows artists, performers and cultural sector workers “to come together once a year to share inspiration, to share ideas, to learn new skills, to inspire each other.” Alexander is a co-founder and executive producer of the four-year-old festival, which runs this year from Friday, June 27 through Thursday, July 3 at …

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The Sunstroke Music Festival is a Sign of Summer

Solstice is nearly upon us, which means the annual Sunstroke Music Festival is almost upon us, too. For those who are new to the festival, it’s a non-profit fundraiser for Kona’s Coalition. The coalition helps animals in the Yukon by educating people, advocating for animals, and providing financial support when needed. It is a two-day …

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Taxicab Theatre

Gab in a cab, do time in the hole, or ponder what lies behind schoolyard shootings. These are just some of the options available to audience members as Nakai Theatre presents version six of its Homegrown Theatre Festival next week at the Guild Hall. The lineup of 12 local shows runs the gamut from a …

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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 …

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Films from the Out-side

The Yukon Queer Film Alliance are hosting the third annual film festival OUT North this weekend at The Old Fire Hall in Whitehorse. The eclectic festival delivers a variety of lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender-related films. “The first OUT North was in 2012,” says festival co-producer Debbie Thomas. “We take it a tiny bit at a time and try …

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Ten Years of Tuesday Night Jams

On March 11, at the Old Fire Hall, the local francophone band Soir de Semaine will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their very first gig. “We played at Steve’s music store,” Marie-Maude Allard says. “The place was packed and all we had was two original songs and a few covers.” Actually, Soir de Semaine …

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Iskwé performs at the 2018 Frostbite Music Festival

Filling the Frostbite Void

For 35 years the Frostbite Music Festival has been bringing bands to Whitehorse to showcase new music to an appreciative audience. Year after year organizers chose acts that were a combination of emerging talent breaking onto the music scene in a big way, as well as established musicians and unknowns. Except not this year. They’re taking …

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Rockin’ Riverdale

This February finds Whitehorse music aficionados scratching their heads in a manner not seen since the Trudeau administration. After 35 years of jams and jingles, the Frostbite Music Festival will fall silent this year. But while some see disappointment, others sense an opening. Enter Josh Paton and Marcus Steiner. Paton is the proprietor of Epic …

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An Invitation to Experience the Thrill and the Grit

The mix of open-flowing creativity, with a dash of fear, makes for a high that’s addictive for  theatre performers — and especially for playwrights who perform their own plays. Usually the audience goes home with ideas swimming around, but we’re not buzzing the same way. Next week we can come close. The Pivot Theatre Festival, …

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Poignant Labour Docs Screen in Whitehorse

The Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLIFF) celebrates its fifth anniversary in the Yukon on Wednesday, November 20. CLIFF is an initiative of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), presented locally by the Yukon Employees Union (YEU). Designed to showcase the realities of working life in Canada and around the world, CLIFF will present …

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Clowns running amok at Yukon Arts Centre: Humour in the finest traditions of Bugs Bunny

Skating on wash buckets, pratfalls, explosions and fart jokes – Fart jokes! What can be better than fart jokes? – combine for a rollicking fun circus show. “It’s the funniest show I’ve seen on a Canadian stage in five years,” says Eric Epstein, the artistic director of the Yukon Arts Centre. He had heard good …

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The three faces behind the Yukon Film Society: There’s more than one way to eat popcorn

A group of movie lovers gathers on a frigid Sunday in Whitehorse. In an apartment living room, they watch movies and eat popcorn. They laugh with a good comedy and are swept away with a gripping drama. But the home of Yukon Film Society president Michael Vernon is not being used just for a good …

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Frostbite brings music from all over the world: It’s the Thrill on the Hill

Brenda Barnes knows that the best way to get rid of cold is to get lots of bed rest. But the Frostbite Music Festival begins Friday, Feb. 11, and she is its producer. But, two weeks ago, it was Day 12 of her cold and the list of her emails (the ones that arrived before …

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The Good, the Old and the Creepy: A look at the Available Light Cinema’s eclectic new season

Andrew Connors has you in mind. All of you. And it isn’t even creepy. Well some of it is — like Upstream Colour — but most of it is just harmless fun. “Diversity in programming was the point,” says the Yukon Film Society’s executive director about this fall’s Available Light Cinema roster. “We are trying …

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The Word is Art: Arts festival and publishing symposium take place in Dawson next weekend

The festival season isn’t over yet in Dawson City. From August 15-18, the 13th Annual Yukon Riverside Arts Festival will take place at various venues around town. The Festival features workshops, live music, guest lectures, artist talks, exhibitions, special events, public art projects and a gallery hop throughout the downtown core. Writers will also have …

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Available Light Film Festival promises great stories, great film

For the sixth year, Northern film buffs will have the chance to “reconnect with the world and immerse themselves in great film”. Andrew Connors, the director of the annual Available Light Film Festival (ALFF), is satisfied he and his volunteers have found enough feature films to satisfy its mandate of telling great stories. If one …

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Staging local talent

As the sunshine creeps into the evening and temperatures slowly rise toward double-digits, some art organizations’ seasons are winding down. One of the final accomplishments in focus for Nakai Theatre is a barrage of local performance artists. Also affectionately known as the Homegrown Festival. “It’s emerging artists, first-time artists and artists who are devoting their …

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Faro’s sheep and cranes ready for their closeup

Faro’s Crane and Sheep Viewing Festival has attracted international attention before as it grows yet again in its fifth year, but this time the International Crane Foundation will help attract even more attention. The Wisconsin-based organization has a crane preserve that protects representatives of all 15 known species. It has a global mandate and has …

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Morse of the North: First Nation poet featured at Poetry Festival

“Fool that I was, for many years, I tried to reject any notion of an artistic life,” says poet Garry Thomas Morse. “For me, a poet is not just someone who pens pretty lines or teaches theory or hangs out with poets. You can blame my Native background for my shamanistic viewpoint [but] for me, …

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Making New Tracks

In the past 10 years more and more First Nation dance groups have been popping up. People have decided it’s pretty cool to learn their traditional drumming, singing and dancing. Bracken Hanuse Corlett calls it de-colonization. Hanuse Corlett is an audio-visual artist with the group Skookum Sound System, which uses current technology and traditional sounds …

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Pelly Dancing

After their initial inception, the Selkirk Spirit Dancers had a hiatus, and some wondered if they would ever dance again. Started by Carmen Baker, the dance group is based in Pelly Crossing and is now comprised of 45 dancers. The large number in itself is enough to set the group apart, however what makes the …

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African, French and Japanese Groups Showcase Their Culture

They are not always featured in history books, but since the Klondike Gold Rush people of many ethnic backgrounds have called the Yukon home. On Sunday, June 23 the Adäka Cultural Festival will host the Sharing Our Spirit Community Celebration, a day of events bringing together the culture of these different groups that have put …

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Keeping the Stories Alive

Tammy Lee Josie was literally pushed onto the stage at 14 years old. She was watching her grandmother, Edith Josie, perform her family’s Vuntut Gwitchin stories at the Yukon International Storytelling Festival in 1998 when festival coordinator Louise Profeit-Leblanc asked if Tammy Lee knew Edith’s tales. “Then my grandmother pointed at me and said ‘Your …

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Small Town, Big Arts Festival

MAYO The Village of Mayo, named most astutely after a certain Alfred H. Mayo, one-time circus acrobat, is hosting, for the fifth year in a row, a back-bendingly large assortment of homegrown artistic and musical talent. Set this year on summer solstice, June 21, the Mayo Arts Festival, along the banks of the Stewart River …

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Artrepreneur: Art to Share Spirit

SYANA’s first annual Yukon First Nations Arts Festival will have a strong visual arts and crafts focus. That’s what the society’s members asked for. Executive Director Sonny Voyageur had SYANA members fill out a questionnaire. Most said they would like to see the society’s activities focus on visual arts and crafts. Voyageur finds that arts …

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The boulder you get

The sport of bouldering does not end with “conquering” a boulder but, rather, “understanding” it. The sport’s founder is a mathematician and accomplished gymnast, while its most successful participants do not necessarily possess great strength. The Ibex Valley Bouldering Festival (not “Competition” … but “Festival”) is a good chance to see this sport and to …

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From his Basement to the Stage

If you’ve had your ear to the Yukon ground in the past year, you’ve probably felt a vibration shaking from 86Heaven – they’re an informal conglomerate of Yukon hip hop artists headed by Warren Strand a.k.a. Abstract Original. Strand is of Southern Tutchone decent, representing the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and the majority of …

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Laughing at the unlaughable

Bruce Horak no longer needs the catharsis that his play, This is Cancer?, has been for him. But other people do and, so, he will continue accepting invitations to travel with the play he wrote and stars in. Indeed, having only just been here for one show this past winter for the Pivot Festival, Nakai …

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Variety Is The Spice Of Francophone Film Festival

Le secteur culturel de l’Association franco-yukonnaise is bringing north some of the greatest cinematographic creations of the year in the world of francophone film, Canadian and foreign. From Oct. 16 to 19, the Francophone Film Festival is coming to Whitehorse. Once a year, this event provides the rare opportunity to view new, independent French films …

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Provocative Fringe Theatre

When it comes to theatre, David Skelton says he believes Whitehorse audiences are “brave and sophisticated”. As Nakai Theatre’s artistic director, Skelton admits that last year’s Pivot Festival came with a small dose of controversy. However, he’s ready for another go this January when the avant-garde performance event hits the stage for its second run. …

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Sasquatch Prom Date will have fun at Frostbite

The bearded man shrugged on his Carhartt jacket and then levelled a gaze at Genesee Keevil. She was sitting by the window, wearing a cover-your-eyes bright-pink wig, and her slightly too-loud voice only added to the spectacle. “Where are you playing?” came the unexpected question. “Frostbite, next weekend,” was the cheery answer from Keevil. “I’m …

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Pretty and Witty and Gay

The Old Fire Hall in downtown Whitehorse will host the second annual Out North Film Festival on the weekend of April 19-21. Buoyed by last year’s successful debut of the only Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,Transsexual (LGBT) film festival North of 60, organizers Fiona Griffin and Debbie Thomas have assembled a package of five features and six …

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2009 ALFF is bigger and better

Andrew Connors is very pleased with his 32-page program for the upcoming Available Light Film Festival. “Last year, it was 24 pages,” says the festival’s director. He explains that there are only slightly more films being presented this year. The difference is in the “value-added events”. Connors says these include panel discussions, information sessions and …

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Hops Across the Pond

Back in March, we sent one of our brewers on a jaunt to jolly old England. Alan went there to participate in a beerfest put on by a group of pubs, J.D. Wetherspoon (JDW). At each beerfest, JDW features 50 different beers in their pubs, most of which come from around England, but some of …

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World of Words: Poetry Festival reached for the stars

When local poet Michael Reynolds reads at the 2009 Whitehorse Poetry Festival, he’ll join a closely connected group of guests that includes Michael Ondaatje, Don McKay, CD Wright, Adam Sol and Erin Mouré. “It’s exciting that we will all meet in Whitehorse!” said Mouré from Montréal. Organizer Clea Roberts said the June 19-21 festival attracts …

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