Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous goers will be heading to a new spot for the annual winter festivities in February 2019.

The festival society recently announced it will move events to the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre from the usual Shipyards Park location.

“We are incredibly excited to be strengthening our partnership with the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre; their outstanding facility will allow the festival to offer more family-friendly programming throughout our festival weekend,” said Dave Blottner, Rendezvous’ executive director.

“We feel these changes will allow us to provide the best festival possible for Yukoners and tourists alike; while still paying homage to the festival we all remember and love.”

He noted the organization will look at how the changes go before making any decisions for post-2019.

Blottner said in a recent interview the board began looking at the possibility of moving to the cultural centre around last June.

He noted the society was looking at ways to improve its ties with local First Nations. At the same time, the weather has presented challenges in the last couple of years, and the group was looking at ways to have more indoor options for festival goers.

The group then began talking to staff at the cultural centre to see if it would be a possibility to go there as well as speaking with the city and Lumel Studios, which sits across from the cultural centre, about the change.

The cultural centre confirmed it could handle upwards of 20,000 people coming through the doors during the weekend, and officials from the city and Lumel expressed their support for the move. Consequently, efforts got underway to begin planning for the change.

“We’ve had an excellent partnership with the city,” Blottner said.

He noted though there is a cost savings to renting the cultural centre compared to putting up the main tent, then heating it throughout the three-day event.

All of the free shows and events that took place in the main tent will now happen inside the longhouse at the cultural centre.

Blottner also highlighted the strong partnership with Lumel, which is providing space next to its glass blowing studio, for the snow pad.

That’s where many of the favourite Rendezvous competitions – the chainsaw chuck, axe throw, whipsaw and swede saw events among others – will be held.

Lumel is also on-board as the title sponsor of the Mad(dam) Trapper Contest, where competitors take part in five Rendezvous competitions with the competitors with the best overall results being declared the Mad and Mad(dam) Trapper.

The 2018 event saw Lumel present glass axe trophies to Ian Angus, who was declared the Mad Trapper, and Nicole Grove, declared the Mad(dam) Trapper for 2018.

Blottner said the organization has been pleased with the support from those involved.

As he noted, the cultural centre has “bent over backwards” anytime festival organizers have contacted it and those with the Adäka Cultural Festival have worked to answer numerous questions about hosting a major community event in and outside the cultural centre.

Adäka, now in its eighth year and held at the cultural centre, has become a staple event during the summer, celebrating Indigenous arts and culture.

“The community has been very supportive,” Blottner said.

For many years, Rendezvous weekend events were held on a closed-down Main Street.