A Rendezvous Drag Show
Punjabi-Canadian drag artist Jolene Queen Sloan misses the Yukon. It’s where she got her start in a Rendezvous competition….
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Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous
A Brief History of Rendezvous
The last 60 years of Rendezvous has seen many changes, be it the events, weather or the people. But, overall, the festival…
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Indigenous Book Club: Jenn Ashton
Indigenous Book Club Event. Join us online for a conversation, reading and Q&A with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh First Nation writer and artist Jenn Ashton
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Sam McGee Connects The Yukon to B.C.
“Memorizing poetry is my daily training and therapy,” B.C. storyteller Andre Sutherland Begin said, adding he will be coming to the Yukon…
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2023 Yukon Rendezvous
After two years of the pandemic, Rendezvous will be back to form and celebrating its 59th festival this February.
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Celebrate the great outdoors!
Yukon Rendezvous Festival has planned four possible versions of the festival this year, to quickly adapt to changing health regulations.
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We Will Rendezvous
Rendezvous weekend takes place Feb. 26 to Feb. 28, with a mix of in-person and outdoor action.
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Honoured to participate
The Canadian Armed Forces have a long history in the North (harking back to the Yukon Field Force in 1898), and JTFN is honoured to take part in YSR and celebrate Yukon Heritage Day events.
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Who’s behind the mask?
The annual Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Masquerade Ball theme is simple elegance and mystery— and it’s a great opportunity to get dressed up!
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Representing Kluane
Each year, the Yukon Order of Pioneers (YOOP) selects Mr. and Mrs. Yukon in recognition of two longtime Yukoners who have made lasting contributions to their communities. This year they have named Valerie Drummond (born Wakefield) and Dan Drummond of Haines Junction as the worthy representatives.
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It’s a drag
Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous hosts For the Love of Drag. A full fun indoor drag show that’s going to be warmer for the queens getting dressed!
Volunteerism, a true Rendezvous tradition
Without volunteers the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival (YSR) would have never started, let alone gotten to its 56th year.
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Yukon’s got talent!
The 2020 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR) Festival promises to be more inclusive than ever. The much-loved Superstar competition will be replaced by Hunt for a Headliner, open to all, including comedians, dancers, singers and anybody else with an entertaining skill!
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The next level
Growing a beard that contends for the winning length in the “Old Growth” category of the Strength and Style competition takes years of preparation, literally.
The Chainsaw Chuck is just the beginning
The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre is the place to be this February. That’s where the majority of events are taking place for the 2020 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR).
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Rendezvous struts its stuff
The theme of this year’s Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous is local, community participation. With a theme like that, it makes sense that when designing the festival’s
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Like a rhinestone Sam
The Boys and Girls Club of Yukon (BGCY) partners with Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous and hosts entertaining skits, from the Sourdough Sams to live auction more expansive and exciting date packages.
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Croon your way to confidence
If you love to sing, but you’ve never stepped onstage in front of a crowd of people to do it, maybe you’ve just never had the proper motivation. How does $1,500 sound?
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Rendezvous a major event for military
The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous has been around since 1945 and a defining part of the winter festival has always been the Military.
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Champion fiddler makes his Yukon debut this Rendezvous
Having won over judges at competitions around Canada and the United States with his uniquely Canadian style, Ontario born fiddle player Shane Cook is coming to Whitehorse this Rendezvous for his first gig north of 60.
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Let loose your inner kid
In the midst of Sourdough Sams, tattoo competitions, and beard and leg hair-growing contests, Yukon kids need a place to call their own during Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous.
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Using their indoor voices
Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous mainstage is indoors this year. “(Being inside) is definitely a change and I hope that people embrace it,”
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Do the sourdough sync
When it comes to the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous lip sync competition, you might have to bring more of an A-game than you’d have to bring to a contest where you actually sing.
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It’s a mad, mad world
Mary Fitton’s experience with Mad(am) Trapper! A rendezvous event for any women wanting to compete. Along with various Rendezvous events!
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Main squeeze
Where do you think the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous should be held at? Front Street? On a river bank? On a frozen river? Find out more!
The usual suspects
Rendezvous made Marj Eschak move to the Yukon. It was 1977. She’d only come up for the weekend, but was so impressed, she decided to stay.
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Strength and style
See what you can expect at Strength and Style Competition during the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. From Hairy legs to bushy beards and more!
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Get to know your sourdoughs
Every year we hear about these Sourdough Sams, this “Call for the Cup,” and that the search for the “primo Yukon male” is on again, but what does any of that really mean?
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Bigger and better than ever
The countdown is almost over, with only days left until the official Rendezvous Kick Off, presented by the Hougen Group of Companies.
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A favourite tradition with a fresh face
After eight years, the traditional Bachelor Auction is getting a makeover! The title sponsor, Beauty Bar Hair & Esthetics Lounge is proud to introduce the first Sourdough Sam Date-off & Auction.
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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
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Get your lips ready!
What is one to expect when one decides to go to a 2018 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous event in November?The Ultimate Lip Sync Battle!
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Spring rendezvous in the midnight sun
On June 7, the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR) will host their first spring auction, a must-add for everyone’s calendar.
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Mixing it up at the Mad(am) Trapper Contest
The multi-event Mad(am) Trapper competition, slated for Feb. 23 through 25, usually attracts dozens of women and men vying for the title of Mad Trapper or Madam Trapper.
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Snow sculptures are snow cool…
Mount Sima’s snow guns, ready for action at Shipyards Park Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous has partnered with Air North, the City of Whitehorse, Days Inn, Kwanlin
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A Dog Day Rendezvous
Brooke Rudolph with her howling buddy Timber, 2nd place finisher in 2016 The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous and the unique relationship between a Yukoner and their
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Paint your friends red, green or blue
The preparation for the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Colour Wars can get pretty messy, but the end result has turned into one of the most anticipated
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A weekend of kid fun
With the advertised Burlesque Workshops and the Pub Crawl, at first glance the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous may seem like an event geared towards adults. But
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Yukon’s got strength and a whole lot of style
The Strength and Style competition is a popular event and whether you’re new or old to the Yukon, it brings people together.
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The sounds of the next generation
The annual BYTE Battle of the Bands, which will feature up to 10 groups, has been taking place for over a decade and has teamed up for the second year with Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous as an affiliated event at Shipyards Park.
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Dining with future queens
Enjoy two high-class afternoons with the Quest for the Crown Rendezvous Queen candidates The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Quest for the Crown competition features opportunities
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A royally good time
The Rendezvous event called Her Majesty’s Royal Feast is an elegant evening with a 5-course meal on Feb. 13 at the KDCC In its second
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Ready, set, paint your windows!
Brenda Buren (left) and Lindsay Agar (right) present staff from BMO ribbons for Best Bank and Best Overall in the 2017 Business Decor Competition Yukon
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Meet the 2018 cancan line
The 2018 Eldorado Line: Steal Your Fella Ella (left), Last Call Liz, Razzle Dazzle Rachel, Lollipop Ginger Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous season begins in February, but
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The Heart of a Queen
When Telek Rogan decided to run for Rendezvous Queen in the 2017 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous competition, she did so as a celebration of who she
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Yukon Tough
A graduate of the Porter Creek Secondary School in the Class of 2009, Nicole Grove, 26, has always been physically strong. Back in 2003, in
Battle of the Bands
This Rendezvous, The Battle of the Bands is going down, bringing together youth bands from across the territory to battle for top dog honors of
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The Secret Life of a Can Can Dancer
What does it Take to be a Can Can Dancer? Six months of determination, of going straight to practice after work, of trying that spin
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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
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Have Some Francais Fun
Often mistaken for the French version of the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival, Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF), from March 3rd to 23rd, is a
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Joyful Performance
Donnell Leahy remembers exactly how he felt when he made his stage debut as a fiddler at the age of four. “Mom and Dad had
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Don’t Panic!
My dog, Herman, once stepped between myself and a charging two-thousand-pound black Angus bull. He turned the animal back by sheer virtue of his own
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
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The Steampunk Ball starts here
If you were on a committee to provide decorations for a dance, your shopping list will likely include balloons, streamers and crepe… lots of crepe.
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A farewell from the 2015 Rendezvous Queen
As the year 2015 is coming to an end, so does my reign as the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Queen 2015. This article will be my
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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
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The future is now
The Yukon Rendezvous Society is throwing a Halloween dance party again this year, and the theme is Back to the Future Part II. The trippy
Queen School In The North
The Yukon Rendezvous Sourdough (YSR) Queen School runs from November until the following February, when the next queen is chosen. Queen candidates, (QC’s) meet weekly
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History is being re-written
Over the last few months, I have been sharing how I became involved in this queen title and what I have been doing. And while
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You are a Winner
One of the many remarks I got when I was selling queen raffle tickets during Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR) events was, “I have never won
Dreams and Hopes
The great Klondike Gold Rush brought people to the Yukon in the pursuit of their dreams and hopes. To this day, many individuals continue to
The Game Is On
Spring is here and summer is coming. Everybody has put away talk of events that happened in the cold winter months. The 2016 Yukon Sourdough
School spirit and teamwork
Before working on my school’s float, I didn’t think school spirit mattered or even truly existed. I thought it was a thing that teachers loved
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A Different Type of Rendezvous
You can keep your fishnets and feathers stored for this Rendez-vous. But you don’t have to. If you can’t help but whip them out for
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February Seedlings
Anything can happen in February, weather-wise. It can be -30°C one day and 5°C a few days later. The sun can be very warm and
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How to Sam
Early in 2008 my mother saw me on the cover of the Whitehorse Star wearing nothing but a straw skirt and a bottle of our
Fun Fair tips by Nash and Thayer
What are those? “Whiffle balls.” What are they for? “Tic-Tac-Toe.” Five-year-old Nash Battersby is about to school me in the art of winning prizes at
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The fiddle remembers
Harold Routledge did not remember that he had built this fiddle with his own hands; but the tunes, and the skill to play it, were
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The Dedicated Volunteers of the Yukon Quest
Judy Beaumont talks about the early days volunteering in the Yukon Quest office. The cramped space was shared with the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous in the
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The Many Faces of Claire Ness
I’m in the ‘98 drinking water (sober January) and waiting for Claire Ness to arrive. “London Calling” by The Clash is playing, which, for some
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King of the Castle
“When I moved to Whitehorse I started building with snow in my yard,” says Tyler Waddell, owner of Rockhard Construction, and man behind the new
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Making of a Queen
If you thought royalty was something found only in Europe, check again. In the Yukon, February ushers in a new breed of Queens for the Yukon
A Sourdough Scrapbook
How much do Yukoners look forward to Rendezvous? A quick glance at the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous website gives you a hint: they have a clock counting
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It’s Not Just the Feathers and Fancy Dresses
For Elizabeth Nemeth, the tiara sparkled in her eyes since she placed third in the McDonalds’ Junior Princess competition – she was 12 years old.
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The Evolution of Rendezvous
It’s the biggest party in the territory, and this year Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous celebrates its 50th anniversary. For a lot of Yukoners the festival represents
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Salt of the Yukon
Dwayne and Nellie Backstrom might never be listed in the pages of The Colourful Five Percent; I don’t think they would care to be. But
Rendezvous In the Old Days
Rendezvous – it’s always been our mid-winter break. A chance to unwind. It’s competition, and horseplay, and fun.
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Yukon Idol looks for the best!
Here is the chance for the Yukon to prove how much pop musical talent is up here. Yukon Idol is a competition that will find our
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Something old, new, borrowed for Rendezvous
“Forty-four and so much more” is more than just a slogan around the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous offices as it prepares its 44th winter carnival. Executive
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Rendezvous 101
Canuck Chuck Lands Difficult “Job” Wrangling a bevy of beautiful can-can dancers and introducing them to the world is a tough job, but Canuck Chuck,
Rendezvous’ Mr. and Mrs. Yukon Fit the Bill
Mayo resident Hilda Tuck was surprised to hear that she and husband Wilf had been offered the title of Mr. and Mrs. Yukon for the
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Northern Romance, February 14, 2013
Q: What should I do if I don’t have a date on Valentine’s Day? –Dateless on Donjek Charlie Says: Count your blessings Dateless. Valentine’s Day
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Nostalgia for Rendezvous Past
The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous began in 1945. The prime feature of the festival was the colourful dog races made up of working dogs owned by
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The Blahs Get a Good Exorcise
Man, could I ever have used a Rendezvous this year. The past month was a particularly dark sinkhole of a time for yours truly, and
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Offering Shelter
Kip Veale is right at home among the throngs of people who are participating in Rendezvous at Shipyard’s Park. As Yukoners celebrate the coming of
The legacy of legends
There are legends – those men and women who left their mark on the Klondike – and that is the theme of this year’s Yukon
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Didee & Didoo – Poem “Cabin Fever”
All winter trappers trap beaver But then they catch cabin fever. They quit trappin’ for mink an’ squirrels ‘cause they want to see the can
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Hibernate? Not Us.
Everyone knows the Yukon is a laid-back, sleepy little place – especially come November, when we gorge ourselves on seal blubber before bedding down with
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Capturing Rendezvous
The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous is about to bless us with its annual appearance – a great opportunity for you to capture all the activities and
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Eye on the Prize
Christina Macdonald is a woman on a mission. During her time in the Yukon she has seen the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous axe-throwing competition dominated by a
Confessions of a Newbie Kicker
For anyone under the impression that Rendezvous week makes cancan dancers magically appear as if from thin air like so many green fairies to light up
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