Yukon Chatter Bug

If there’s one thing that I find annoying during the summer in Whitehorse, it’s the fact that the Yukon Visitor Information Centre down on Second Avenue has parking spaces specifically marked for out-of-town visitors only. I know we should make the downtown welcoming for visitors, but at the same time, if I’m inside the visitors’ building looking through pamphlets to help plan a visit from an out-of-town friend or relative, why can’t I use those parking spaces?

The person/people coming to visit me are spending dollars flying here, shopping here, and visiting here, and we use my vehicle to get around. Because of the Yukon license plate, however, I’m subject to receiving a parking ticket if I use those darn parking spaces. (In the by-law officers’ defense – or whoever issues these tickets – I only got a warning on my windshield last summer, not a ticket.) Rather than limit the users, why not limit the parking time only?

What brought forth this rant so early in the season is the fact that a friend of mine is planning a visit in late June. I’m very excited and looking forward to this. Thinking about planning for her stay, I thought I should go down and have a look at some of the pamphlets at the Visitors’ Centre. This brought back the memory of the warning in my windshield last summer. Ouch!

First, it was Joe’s Free Pour.* That was the one place that any Cheechako* had to be initiated to upon arrival in Whitehorse.

“It’s the first time I’ve been served a see-through Ceasar!” I exclaimed when my aunt and uncle took me there for the first time.

I don’t drink beer or hard liquor, and the place didn’t sell wine. It was an old-fashioned bar with good old-fashioned service, no frills attached. Walking into that place was like stepping back in time, both in decor and in atmosphere. The live entertainment consisted of good conversation with old Yukoners, friends, and, of course, Joe, who is a friend of my uncle’s.

If a good blues’ band is what you were after, it was a matter of walking a few blocks south, down to what the locals still call “The Taku” (the current name being The Discovery Bar). Another landmark in Whitehorse, apparently they’re closing their doors in a year’s time. There’s talk that the whole place is being purchased by a well-known group (who already own half of Main Street) and the building will be converted into offices, and who knows what will be on the first floor, but it definitely won’t be the pub.

These last couple of years, however, my visits to The Taku tended to be at the hour of the after-work crowd. The only entertainment was either chatting with some of the regulars, people-watching, and meeting people during the terrorist tourist season. I love the small pub feel of the place; it’s the only bar in town like it.

That leaves the downtown core with four bars that I can think of. One is a “joint” that, though busy, has, shall we say, a reputation. The other two are half the size of a football field each; no small pub atmosphere there. And that leaves the Gold Rush. Yup, fairly small, but that building, too, has been recently purchased by yet another local corporation. Will they keep it going? Probably. Will it be the same? Who knows! Oh, I almost forgot about the Roadhouse. Boy, has that place changed and for the better! (Nice outdoor patio, good food!) Hhmm… I wonder where the Taku regulars will end up going.

It’s funny how things change; in the case of local bars, most of the changes have been positive. My aunt and uncle talk about the old days when people could literally (and legally) walk from one bar to the next, drink in hand, then stumble into their car and drive home at the end of the night. Thank goodness we don’t see that anymore. But seeing more little spots that are congregating points for old (and new) Yukoners closing their doors one after the other is another thing. Because of archaic laws, no small business person can open a little pub because you have to have x number of rooms attached to the place. That leaves the door open to huge chains of hotels to set up shop. I’m not against free enterprise, but it wouldn’t surprise me of one or two of these eventually replaces the small individually owned places, making Whitehorse look more and more like any other city. We’re already seeing this in other sectors – just look to your right next time you drive up Two Mile Hill. Now, that I have a problem with!

(*Note: Hyperlinks added April 3rd, 2007)

Okay, I know I’ve made my opinion clear about the CWG hiring of outside musicians, but after a conversation about this with an acquaintance, I realized there was an aspect that I hadn’t considered. First, let me say that after seeing the entertainment during the games at the ATCO tent and the First Nations tent, there was no shortage of local talent. My hats off to organizers!

Second, the final concert was for the volunteers, and most of these volunteers are locals. So, it only makes sense to bring a Canadian band from outside the Yukon. Why? Because most people in town have already seen all the local talent. Not that local musicians aren’t good enough; local groups really are a treat. However, it seems to make more sense to bring in someone new, a group that we normally wouldn’t have the privilege of seeing in the Yukon. Most bands that do come up are 80s bands that are “has beens,” as a friend of mine put it. That said, the choice of bringing in Great Big Sea was an excellent one.

Yes, I was there, and it was a blast! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people assembled in one place in Whitehorse. I do think that there should be a universal rule, though, where tall people must stand at the back (sorry guys)! I had a perfect view until a couple of tall fellows weasled their way in front of me. Still, it didn’t ruin the fun. I had a great time.

Another nice aspect of the concert was that it was dry, which allowed younger ones to take part in the event. One air cadet that I know of, Braiden, put in more hours than most volunteers. He did an outstanding job at medal presentations, and it would’ve been a shame had he not been able to attend his very first concert as part of a thanks to him and other volunteers.

Now that Whitehorse has hosted an event on such a scale (the Games and the concert), I wonder what will come next.

We finally got our favourite sporting event in: short-track speed skating relay race. We got there about 45 minutes early, were told at the information kiosk that they still hadn’t finished the previous races, and then there would be a 15-minute break before the relay would start on time at 4:50. We went upstairs to find a seat and realized that the relay races were just getting underway. Well, at least we did get to see them; thank goodness we were early.

Quebec took the gold, Ontario the silver, and New Brunswick the bronze for both male and female races.

After these races, I went down to see the performers in the tents on Second Avenue, and it was all free! The smaller tent held performances from First Nations people all over the north for the Gathering of Northern Nations. A real treat were the Deh Cho Drummers from NWT. In fact, they were so good that I returned later in the evening to see them perform again in the Atco tent. There were also throat singers and our very own Tlingit dancers from Teslin. Between performances, I enjoyed browsing the tables filled with beautiful moccasins, beadwork, and tools made by First Nations elders and others.

Another treat in the evening at the Atco tent was a performance by Serena Ryder. What a powerful voice this woman has. I truly felt that the events and displays in the two tents were the hightlights of the Games, and they appeared to be well organized to boot! Here are some pictures:

Okay, so I bit the bullet and purchased two passes for the first week of the Canada Winter Games. Both my partner and I wanted to see the speed skating short-track relay race and maybe catch another event or two. As soon as we arrived in town after our house-sitting stint on Tuesday, we checked the on-line schedules to find that we could see some of the races on Wednesday evening at 7:30pm. We got there at 7:00pm only to discover that it was all over. Apparently they started early, finished early, and didn’t bother to let anyone know through their website. I was soooo disappointed. I’m hoping that today’s events will start on time. Since I can’t rely on the Games’ website for scheduling changes (except for hockey), I’ll have to try to get through by telephone and speak to a live person.

As a college student, books are an unavoidable part of my life, not that I normally try to avoid them. I enjoy reading, and I can easily spend hours browsing in a bookstore or a library.

With the coming of the Canada Winter Games, however, I have had to try and figure out exactly what I need in terms of books for every paper, project, and unit of study for the next few weeks. Why? Because the Yukon College Library will be closed for more than a month because of the Games (Feb 15 – March 19). In addition, students were unable to request inter-library loans (ILL) as of late January; students did receive plenty of notice, however. So far so good! I literally spent hours figuring out what books were relevant and useful for the ton of work I have to do during the month of the library’s closure. (I also ordered ILLs through U of R -[modified on March 2])

So what’s the problem, you wonder? Well, I thought I’d be smart and try to beat the last minute rush for ILLs, so I ordered several books about a week before the deadline thinking I could extend the due date and have the books DURING the Games, the time I’ll be working on the bulk of my assignments. I just found out over the weekend that I could not extend the due dates on these books. Am I mad? You betcha!

Okay, maybe I should have asked prior to borrowing the books, but it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to extend a due date. These things are usually done on-line by the students themselves! [CORRECTION (March 16th, 2007): I've been informed that renewing ILLs online is not possible at the college. ]

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not upset with the library staff at the college. They have been extremely accommodating during this whole CWG mess and have worked their butts off to bring more remote access to students needing library services. Students now can access on-line databases from home, and there are on-line tutorials for most services. Plus, the library staff have been lenient about letting students exceed the maximum limit on the number of borrowed books. The staff at the college library are ALWAYS willing and ready to help out students, and they have certainly gone out of their way for me on more than one occasion. I cannot say enough good things about them. This is not about the library, but about the whole disruption to students due to the Games.

Yes, my gripe is with the whole of the Canada Winter Games. Okay, so we need to encourage our Canadian athletes to pursue their dreams, but why can’t facilities be set up in one city and the Games take place there each time, thus eliminating the need to build new facilities every couple of years? Why do they have to move around and leave cities dry in their wake? Why was so much money spent on building an athletes’ village when the 99 rooms and 2 dining facilities in the Klondike Inn sit empty during the winter? (I found out that they’re open for business during the Games.) Couldn’t some kind of deal be struck there? Why are local businesses being snubbed for contracts pertaining to the Games? Heck, even outside musicians were hired when we have wonderful talent right here in the territory. All of these athletes, officials, and their families will not get a true taste of the Yukon, because the people who will cater to them are from large outside companies. One of the main attractions for cities to vie for hosting the Games is the prospect of increased publicity for the host city, but with outside sponsors and entertainers, there isn’t much left for Whitehorse to promote itself and its citizens.

I was trying to get into the spirit of the Games. Honest! But with everything that is happening, it’s hard for Whitehorse citizens to continue to grin and bear being walked all over. As a full-time student, not having access to MY educational institution’s library for a whole month is ludicrous, and I don’t blame the library staff. They have to grin and bear this along with everyone else affected. See my big smile?

To say that I’m impressed with the service at Whitehorse Public Library is an understatement. About a week ago, I finished reading a young adult novel (The City of Ember) for one of my classes (the goal of the course is to get student-teachers familiarized with children’s literature). I had borrowed the book from a classmate, and it was so good that I decided to see if I could get my hands on the sequel, The People of Sparks. It turned out that the library didn’t have a copy of either, but was awaiting the arrival of Part III. Who would want to read the third part without first reading the others? Anyway, I proceeded to make a purchase suggestion to the library, and within a week, Part II has arrived. Talk about impressive service! Wait ’til you hear about the Yukon College library…for another post.