Rendezvous sees another successful year

Like any major event, things didn’t always go exactly according to plan.

Like any major event, things didn’t always go exactly according to plan.

In the end, however, organizers of this year’s Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous are deeming the annual winter festival a success.

Rendezvous president Marj Eschak said this morning one of the biggest highlights and draws of the weekend was the 20-minute fireworks show held Saturday night.

“That whole waterfront was absolutely jam-packed filled,” Eschak said.

She described an evening scene of families browsing through the area with their kids, taking in fireworks lighting up the night sky.

When it was all done, she said, the crowd cheered and applauded the showcase sponsored entirely by local RBC mortgage specialist Peter Harris.

It’s not often there’s a big traffic jam in Whitehorse, but after the fireworks show Saturday, there certainly was, especially along Second Avenue, Eschak said as she once again thanked Harris for his support.

Meanwhile, many of those attending Saturday night’s Queen crowning extravaganza gathered outside the Yukon Arts Centre right after the show to watch the fireworks.

Earlier in the day, organizers and volunteers were pleased to see what appeared to be record crowds at the many events in Shipyards Park. The warm weather conditions were welcome throughout the weekend.

While many children enjoyed taking part in events at Shipyards Park over the course of the weekend, on Friday, 38 older school-aged youngsters from around the territory were busy competing in the annual Northwestel Spelling Bee at the Yukon government’s main administration building.

The top winners in this year’s competition walked away with cash prizes as well as stainless steel water bottles and Laptop Lunches lunchboxes (made of recycled plastic) in an effort by Northwestel Inc. to help families pack waste free lunches.

“This year, we decided we could enhance the event even more by adding a ‘green’ element to the prizes,” said Paul Flaherty, Northwestel’s president and chief executive officer.

“The bottles and containers will make it easier for students and families to pack nutritious lunches and reduce waste.”

The top winners in English included Elijah Smith Elementary School students Quynh Nguyen (Grade 7) in first place and Sana Javed (Grade 5) in second, as well as Alisha Khalik, a Grade 5 student at Selkirk Elementary School.

In the French-language category, Ecole Emilie-Tremblay students Marek Boulerice (Grade 5) placed first, Liam Mather (Grade 3) came in second and Isak Parker (Grade 5) came in third.

Finally, winners in the French immersion category from Ecole primaire Whitehorse Elementary School included Grade 4 student Matthias Hoenisch in first, Grade 6 student Shae Petterson in second and Grade 5 student Zoe Briseboi-Bourget in third.

As events continued for young and old, one took its toll on Sunday’s scheduled dog races.

This year saw snow machine races for the first time.

While competitors made their way on a different trail system than that of the Babe Southwick Memorials Sled-dog races set for Sunday, Eschak said the snow machines damaged the sled-dog race trails where they crossed to the point the six-dog races couldn’t happen as planned on Sunday.

“They were supposed to cross neatly,” Eschak said, noting that the races will likely continue next year, but Rendezvous will ensure participants are aware of the rules and pay attention to the trails.

The situation meant having to decide how the Sunday sled-dog races would occur.

“We had to re-jigger things,” Eschak said, noting organizers didn’t want mushers to injure themselves on the trail.

Volunteers helped fix the trail as best they could and two heats of four dog races were held instead.

“It takes a lot of time to build dog trails,” Eschak said as she expressed her gratitude to Arctic Backhoe for creating the trails year after year for Rendezvous.

A total of 12 competed in the races and Eschak said it seemed that for every two people at the festival, there was one dog there for sled dog racing or other events like the pet parade.

Along with the annual Rendezvous races, festival-goers were also treated to watching teams in the new Road Runner race from Whitehorse to Haines Junction take off from the waterfront.

The performances of Gillian Campbell also highlighted many Rendezvous events, with the former Yukon performer, now a B.C. resident, remembering many Yukoners from the festival years ago.

As always, Rendezvous was full of regular favourite events for many Yukoners as well: the ax throw, chainsaw chuck, flour packing contest and air show, to name a few.

While attendance appeared to be a record on Saturday, Eschak acknowledged numbers were down Sunday, likely due to the gold medal Olympic game between Canada and the U.S.

Those at Rendezvous got to celebrate both the festival and Canada’s dramatic overtime win.

Many gathered in the parking lot of the former Canadian Tire store on Fourth Avenue for the start of the parade, ears tuned to radio coverage of the game.

As the parade got underway and Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal of the hockey game, a cheer erupted from those listening to the radio and continued through those in the parade.

While the Queen’s ball didn’t get the numbers people were hoping for and not many seemed to know that Rendezvous now has a presence in the Jenni House on the waterfront, Eschak believes that with time, both will see more people taking part in the ball and stopping into the Jenni House in Shipyards Park.

“That was too bad,” Eschak said of the Yukon Convention Centre only filling to about half for the ball, noting it was a chance for Yukoners to get decked out in their full Rendezvous regalia and enjoy the sounds of a big band.

“It’s the first year. It takes awhile for everybody (to start participating),” Eschak said.

As the festival wraps up for another year, organizers will soon be working on the 2011 program.

Eschak noted her thanks to all those who helped out with this year’s event.