Winterfest Saturday Night takes it all outdoors, with Court House Tree Lighting, Harbour Sail Past and Fireworks

Just over one day from the Grand Lighting the Prince Rupert Court House 
Lawn is ready for the Holiday lights 

While there are many activities on the shcedule for Winterfest 2022, the focus of the annual event will fall on Saturday evening this year, with a number of outdoor events to make for the largest of crowds for the weekend.

Saturday evening brings the Annual Lighting of Trees of the Prince Rupert Court House, the showcase of the Holiday season for the region which illuminates the foot of Second Avenue West at McBride each year.

Through these last few weeks workers from CityWest and Special Events volunteers have been testing out the annual display, replacing strings that needed to be replaced, all in anticipation of the Saturday lighting ceremony.

The tree lighting which will feature a range of activities and music takes place at 6 PM you can find updates on the evening plans through the Facebook page for the event.

Once the Court House Lawn comes alive with light, the scene will shift to Mariner's Park and the Waterfront area where the Annual Winterfest Sailpast will transit the harbour staring at 6:30PM.

The night comes to a conclusion with a Fireworks display over the Harbour sometime after 8PM

Updates on the Sail Past and Fireworks show can be followed from the Facebook page created for the event.

Those planning to take in the evening events should dress accordingly, while temperatures are anticipated to moderate a bit from the current Arctic Outflow conditions,  this Wind Chill effect for Saturday night is listed at -14.

A project as large as Winterfest takes a lot of resources and key to the success is the amount of volunteers that step up to help out, find out how you can lend a hand to Prince Rupert Special Events here.

For more Winterfest notes from the Special Events Society follow their Social Media Feed.

We  also host an archive of some of the events which you can review here.

Charles Hays Senior Boys Rainmakers tip off the season in Terrace Saturday

The Kermodes Den is the host for some high energy
Basketball Saturday in Terrace
(From Caledonia Secondary School website)

With more than a few practice and skill building sessions under their belts, the Senior Boys Basketball program at Charles Hays Secondary take to the road for a pair of Saturday showcase games in Terrace.

The Rainmakers head to Terrace with games against Nisga'a and Caledonia, the two match ups making for the start of the 2022-23 Secondary School Basketball season.

The Rainmakers game has captured some interest for the hosts, who sent out a tweet about the Saturday showcase through their Twitter feed today. 

As we outlined in November, Coach Ryan Bishop and Assistant Ben Mark have a good mix of veteran players and newcomers to the Rainmaker line up for this years quest for a berth in the Provincial Championships in Langley in March 2023.

Those notes can be explored further here.

If you're in the Terrace area tomorrow afternoon, the Rainmakers and Kermodes tip it off at 1:30. The Home of the Kermodes is at 3605 Monroe Street. 

For more notes on CHSS athletics see our archive page.

Northwest Ski enthusiasts to hit the powder this Saturday with Hudson Bay / Shames Mountain openings

An off season that seemed way way too long, gives way to the start of the 2022-23 Ski Season for the Northwest on Saturday. 

And the news is doubly good, with both Shames Mountain in Terrace and Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers  announcing their opening days!

As they work out the final details of their weekend opening at Shames, they have yet to update the Snow Report for the Mountain, when they do, you can check out the latest conditions from the mountain here.

You can find out all you need to know about what Shames has to offer and how much it will cost for a day of fun in the great outdoors from the Shames Mountain website here.

The Slopes of Shames are a popular destination for Prince Rupert area skiers and snowboarders, with a good portion of the Shames pass holders coming from the North Coast.

Shames officials provided this synopsis of the Weekend opening through their Social Media stream.

You can get updates on the Shames plans for Opening weekend through their Social Media Stream.

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The Smithers Ski area one of the popular destinations in Northern BC, making for a key part of the Smithers Economy in the Winter months, the Mountain the focus for much of the community's events and recreation activities. 

The conditions for the mountain have 105 cm of snow having accumulated to date, with a light dusting of 2cm in the last 24 hours.

The Weather will be fairly cold, with the weekend expected to bring much the same conditions as the last week, so those taking to the Mountain will want to dress accordingly and be sure to take occasional breaks for warming purposes.

The latest notes from the Mountain can be reviewed here.

Sunday is a day of note for the annual pass holders, with Hudson Bay Mountain Holstein day of entertainment and prizes for their loyal customer base.

You can reach Hudson Bay Mountain through these options.

For updates from Hudson Bay Mountain follow their Social media page here.

More notes on the Northwest Ski scene can be reviewed from our archive page.

Sports: Skiing Notes for the Northwest for 2022-23

Our Archive page for events and items related to skiing in the Northwest.


Shames Mountain Website  (Terrace)

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Hudson Bay Mountain Website (Smithers)

Website
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Skeena Cat Skiing and Boarding (Hazelton)

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2022-23 Ski Season


July

July 20 -- Terrace's Shames Mountain grapples with mounting deficit 

June

June 28 -- Hudson Bay Mountain Ski hill purchases carpet lift for novices 
June 20 -- New lift to be installed at Hudson Bay Mountain Resort 

May

May 12 -- Shames Mountain Season Pass Sale (video)

April

April 18 -- Oh Heli No - Burns Lake council opposes tourism idea

March

March 23 -- Writers of ski hill history book donate to ski club

March 16 -- Prince Rupert Library has your pass to some spring skiing NCR

February

February 23 -- Heli-Ski resort for super rich voted down amid public outcry 

February 22 -- Hudson Bay Mountain closed due to weather conditions 

January

January 31 -- Heli-Ski resort for the super rich pushes back amid public scrutiny

December

December 2 -- Northwest Ski enthusiasts to hit the powder this Saturday with Hudson Bay / Shames Mountain openings  NCR

December 1 -- Hudson Bay Mountain set for Saturday opening 

November

November 24 -- Hudson Bay Mountain to open next week




Cross Country or other ski/snow board related events





Archives from past years

2021-22
2020-21
2019-20
2018-19
2017-18
2016-17
2015-16
Prior to 2015

You can check our latest information from our right hand Sports Columns location .

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Nisga'a Nation Executive meets with BC Government at Vancouver Leadership Gathering

Premier David Eby met with the Executive Leadership of the Nisga'a nation
this week as part of the annual Leadership Gathering in Vancouver.
(Photo from Nisga'a Nation)

The Nisga'a Nation is highlighting some of their work in Vancouver this week as part the BC Cabinet-First Nations Leadership Gathering which took place at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The event which celebrated its ninth session this week, mirrors some of the set up of the annual UBCM sessions of September featured an opportunity for First Nation Government representatives to meet with Premier David Eby and other Provincial cabinet minister.s.

As President Eva Clayton relays to the Nisga'a membership, she and other officials participated in nearly 30 meetings through the conference.

Among the topics that were discussed the KSI Lisims LNG project, Advanced Eduction, Education and Child Care issues as well as areas of note related to emergency preparedness and Children and Family Development.

The Nisga'a also continued their work to have the province upgrade the Cranberry Connector and to work towards other important Highway 113 improvements. 

President Eva Clayton also was part of discussions with the Alliance of BC Modern Treaty process and the First Nations Climate Initiative.

Some of the background from the meetings is outlined here.

More notes from the Nass Valley can be reviewed through our archive page which features a link to the Nisga'a Lisims website and social media streams for more notes on the last week's gathering.

So far, there have been no reports from some of the other participants in the First Nations gathering, with no notes to share locally from the Metlakatla First Nation, or from the Lax Kw'alaams Band Council.

Rampage take undefeated status on the long haul into the Cariboo this weekend

Fresh from a twin bill of victories last weekend at the Jim, the Prince Rupert Rampage hit the road this weekend, the GPS on the bus charting the familiar CIHL long haul course to Williams Lake, with a stop in at Quesnel on the way back home on Sunday.

It's some bonding on the bus time for the players on the Prince Rupert Rampage
as the team embarks on the always challenging Cariboo road trip

The structure of the schedule maker's work providing for another interesting weekend ahead as the Rhinos take on the same two teams they faced at home last Friday and Saturday. 

With the match up in Quesnel one to be watching for the stats sheet come Monday morning.

Last week in a nasty little affair the Rampage topped the Kangaroos 6-4 in the Friday night showdown that delivered 130 penalty minutes between the two sides on the night. 

The result of the final score one which knocked the Kangaroos from the ranks of the undefeated

That might suggest that there may still be a few hard feelings for the reunion come Sunday, with the Quesnel side looking to return the favour when it comes to ending a wining streak.

Before that marquee matchup between the two division leaders the Rampage will be in Williams Lake for a Saturday night contest with the Stampeders, the Rupert squad winning the most recent match, setting the stage for the Stamps to try to avenge the loss in front  of their loyal fans.

Judd Repole has the hot hand for the Rampage so far into the 2022 season currently listed in gift place in the scoring race, a contest which features to Kangaroos at the top.

The supporting cast in Prince Rupert is strong though, with both veteran players and newcomers to the team finding their mark through the first half of the CIHL season.

As they head for the road, the Rampage bring 41 goals scored and just 19 against as features of their resume; that record thanks to some outstanding goaltending from Kieran Sharpe who is the toast of the league so far with a GAA of just 2.33

Saturday night's match with the Stampeders starts at 7:30 at the Cariboo Memorial Complex, the rosters for the game can be viewed here.

There won't be much time for rest or renewal for the Rampage, the Sunday showdown with the Kangaroos has a 1 PM start time at the Quesnel Arena. Team rosters can be viewed here.

For more notes on the Rampage follow their Social Media feed here.

We track Rampage results here,  a look at some of the stories of the games and other notes rom the CIHL is available from our archive page here.

Wheelhouse Brewing Co. to host Winterfest Vinyl party Saturday

Some of your Winterfest plans could make for a stop at the Wheelhouse
Brewing Company for some special winter festival musical fare 

They'll have Stax of Wax down at the Whellehouse Brewing Company for your listening pleasure this Winterfest weekend, with the popular beverage hall to host a reprise of their always anticipated Vinyl Night.

The event one of two Winterfest themed projects for the Wheelhouse as part of this years celebration of a Prince Rupert winter.

Tonight the Wheelhouse is hosting Celtic Rain which will provide for some festive themes for the Friday evening launch to Winterfest.

Saturday the Vinyl comes out as they take patrons back in time complete with the hiss and clicks that a deeply loved and well used vinyl record will bring.

For updates on their Winterfest plans follow the Wheelhouse Brewing Company Facebook page.

For a look a glimpse of some other Winterfest events see our listings page here.