Eight Below in Smithers
I recently rented the Disney movie Eight Below about an expedition in Antartica that gets evacuated, leaving the husky dogsled team behind. And yes, I enjoyed it; it had all the required elements of a Disney family flick - adventure, love, friendship, drama, and of course, cute dogs. What I didn’t expect was a little bit of Canada thrown in there too.
While flipping through the bonus tracks on the DVD, I ended up watching "Running With the Dogs: The Making of Eight Below," and was surprised to find out the gorgeous "Antarctica" scenery was actually filmed on a mountain plateau outside Smithers , BC (with a bit of Greenland and Stewart , BC thrown in too). To really get a sense of the area's beauty, you will have to just rent the film, and watch the bonus features. And then perhaps visit.
Orca Plays With Cameraman
Check out this amazing video of an Orca Whale playing with a cameraman from the Australian Today show!
Raincity Grill's new winter 100-Mile menu
I just read that the Raincity Grill in Vancouver now has "BC's first totally local mid-winter restaurant menu."
Their 100-Mile Tasting menu consists of all BC ingredients that have been found less than 100 miles from the restaurant. It currently features Polderside Farms Duck Cassoulet Agassiz, described as ‘coco’ bean and pork belly ragout, house made Berkshire pork sausage, confit of duck leg. For dessert, Ricotta Cheesecake with roasted Denman Island crab apple,‘district of kent’ grown hazelnut wafer, sage honey. YUM!! You can't get more BC than that!
The Raincity Grill is well-known in Vancouver for its high-quality West Coast Cuisine. See The Tyee for the full article.
New First Nations Cultural Tours in Lillooet
Last month, my friends and I were invited to sample a set of three new cultural mini-tours that are being developed by the St’at’imc Nation in Lillooet . The St'át'imc are the original inhabitants of the territory that includes Lillooet and ten other communities in the surrounding area.
If you’ve never been to this part of BC before, it’s an area of stark contrasts – particularly if you approach it along Highway 99 from Vancouver as we did. In a matter of just four hours, the highway traverses coastline, rainforests, mountain valleys, mountain passes, and glaciers before descending into an arid and dramatically scenic land of rugged canyons, mountains and plateaus that surround Lillooet and the mighty Fraser River.
As I pass through these varying landscapes, I’m always mindful of the fact that there was a time when the inhabitants of this land thrived without such things as automobiles, electricity and other modern-day conveniences… they thrived by learning to live harmoniously with the land. Fortunately, much of this wisdom has been passed from generation to generation. And in 2007, when the St’at’imc cultural tours become available to the public, visitors will be invited to gain some fascinating insight into these traditions.
The sample day-tour that we were invited to participate in consisted of three segments. The first was a narrated walk around the Lower Seton River Spawning Channel, situated just outside of town. Our guide Jennifer enthusiastically shared her wealth of knowledge on the history of the channel and explained some the many uses of the area’s local plants.
After the spawning channel tour, we made our way over to the Julianne Hall for a wonderful theatrical performance that included traditional singing and dancing. This was accompanied by a lunch feast of such treats as Smoked Salmon Pate or Herb-Roasted Venison on Fresh Baked Bannock, Venison - Barley Soup, and White Cake with Huckleberry Sauce. There was also a great selection of beverages including local herbal tea and xusum – a cold drink made of soapberries, that I’m told is loaded with vitamin C. Outside the theatre, the T'it'q'et (Lillooet) band is constructing a replica pit house, known as an s7istken (pronounced ee-sh-kin). This semi-subterranean dwelling was the traditional winter residence of the St’at’imc.
After lunch, our group headed down to the rocky banks of the Fraser River for the tour’s third segment: a presentation on traditional fishing practices. Our guides demonstrated how salmon is prepared and dried on racks and offered us a variety of dried salmon to taste test.
The St'át'imc Cultural Tours provide an educational glimpse into the rich and proud traditions of the original inhabitants of the Lillooet area. While the tours are currently still in the development phase, look for them to become available to the public in 2007. For more info, visit: http://tours.uslces.org/index.htm
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Sleepfest
Last month, I attended an evening at the Orpheum to listen to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra . Sorry it has taken so long to write about it, but…yawn, I am still a bit sleepy from the event.
I purchased tickets to the first of the new Horizons series. Here is what the VSO had to say about the concerts: “The brand new Horizons series explores music that is cosmopolitan, bold, and adventurous.” Don’t get me wrong, I love the VSO. But except for the charisma of Maestro Bramwell Tovey, I would have to say the evening was anything but cosmopolitan and bold. The only adventure I had that evening was walking along Granville Street to get to the theatre.
In all fairness, despite not getting what I expected, the music was beautifully played. Just like a lullaby.