Music, dancing, storytelling and acting will all be part of the fun when the beauty and diversity of B.C.'s newest park is showcased this Saturday at the Ancient Forest.
Indeed, it will be a full afternoon of the arts as well as a celebration of the park, with the festivities to begin at noon and continue until 4 p.m.
The musical acts will include the Khast'an Drummers, Jane Houlden and Keith Berg, By Request, Jazz Hoetjes and Fiddlesticks, Clayton Gauthier and Larry Stamm.
The story tellers will be Jackie Baldwin, Norm Monroe, Katherine Clark, Donna Kane and Nowell Senior. Heidi Bernard, Malayna Castly and Amira Castly will provide the dancing and Bob Thompson, Monica Zieper and Harold Edwards will provide the acting.
And the works of 20 visual artists will be on display.
Also known as Chun T'oh Whujudut, (pronounced Chun Toe Wood-yu-jud), it's located 115 kilometres east of the city. It covers 11,190-hectares and is home to an inland temperate rainforest made up of hemlock and western red cedar trees as old as 1,000 years and with trunks up to 16 metres around.
A centrepiece is a 500-metre wheelchair-friendly wooden boardwalk plus a further 2 1/2 kilometres of wood-planked walking trails built by volunteers.
In March 2016, then-Premier Christy Clark declared the Ancient Forest will be made a Class A provincial park and the legislation making it so was passed that same month.
The day will also feature appearances by Jerry the Moose, Gandalf and a group of forest fairies. And a character named Ivy Evergreen will provide guided walks at 12:30 and 2 p.m.
A taco lunch will be provided by the Dome Creek Community Association.
Event hosts include B.C. Parks, Lheidli T'enneh, University of Northern British Columbia, Fraser-Fort George Regional District, City of Prince George, Village of McBride, Robson Valley Arts and Culture Council, Caledonia Ramblers hiking club, Diversified Transportaton and Save On Foods.
A full schedule can be found online at bit.ly/2NmbWcQ.
