After throwing axes, carrying flour and chucking chainsaws, Yukoners are now going to be able to get a little Frostbite during the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous.

The Frostbite Music Festival and Rendezvous announced Thursday they will be joining forces the weekend of Feb. 16-18 in light of the Canada Winter Games.

'It will add a little bit of vitality,' said Harold Sher, executive director of the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Society.

The annual winter festival announced last year that because of the Canada Winter Games, which will be hosted in the city from Feb. 23 until March 10, the usual two week event would be taken back to just a weekend.

It also bumped up its time so it wouldn't be conflicting with the Games and ended up landing on the same weekend as Frostbite.

Both organizing boards came to the conclusion with the demand in the city for volunteers, venues and sponsorship operating single-handedly this year would prove difficult.

It would have resulted in some 'stepping on toes,' said Sher. So instead, the two groups have acknowledged each has assets and experience that could benefit the other, he said.

It's an example of how non-profit groups are able to work together to get things done in the Yukon, Marj Eschak, the president of Rendezvous, said today.

Rendezvous will be moving off of Main Street and into Shipyards Park for the weekend events and setting up their Bell Zone tent at that location.

The two festivals have agreed Frostbite will be able to use the tent space on the night of Friday, Feb. 16 to host a substance-free youth event.

In exchange for the venue location, Frostbite will provide the winter Games festival with technical support and lighting in the tent for the remainder of the weekend.

'It helps both of us,' said Eschak of the agreement.

Though the societies are working together for resource and logistical reasons, the actual festivals will remain separate in their events and schedules, said Sher.

'It's important to note that not all of it is in partnership.' It's more of a lending of resources, he said.

Both groups considered cancelling their events for the year as the Games place strains on the city in terms of volunteers, hotel rooms, revenues, sponsorship dollars, tarmac space and vehicle rentals.

But the two festivals are so pivotal to the Yukon's winter tourism that cancelling didn't seem like a real option, said Eschak.

'It's really tough to just drop off the map,' she said. A year's absence may have had a considerable impact on the festivals' volunteer and sponsorship masses, she said. 'It's difficult to get that momentum back.'

The two groups have been discussing a potential partnership for the last 12 months, said Sher. The discussions really picked up for the last six months before the announcement was made at a Business After Hours function on Thursday evening.

The partnership isn't likely to continue in its current form into future years, he added, because the festivals will go back to their traditional weekends.

Shipyards Park, however, will remain the future home of the Frostbite festival.

'What better way is there to celebrate our soon-to-be new headquarters?' asked David Prodan, general manager of the Frostbite Music Society.

'It's a fitting kick-off,' agreed Sher. He added the shared weekend will likely mean a greater degree of entertainment and professionalism in Rendezvous' main tent.

Shipyards Park will become the focal point of the festival, with the usual Main Street favourites happening at the location, said Eschak.

It will keep everything together to provide easy access and parking, she added.

It was also the easiest option this year and received the support from the City of Whitehorse, she said.

The dog sled events and the Sourdough Sam competition have been cancelled for 2007, because of the sheer amount of volunteers needed, said Sher.

But entertainment in the main festival tent, the Rendezvous Review, featuring many of the performers at the festival such as the Snowshoe Shufflers and can can dancers, and the Queens competition will continue for 2007.

Both Rendezvous and Frostbite are moving forward despite the challenges this year out of respect for their volunteers, sponsors and stakeholders, said Eschak.