Forts will offer weekend events all summer

Vicki Brooker Jun 20, 2023 7:30 AM
Down the trail at the Fort George site, interpreter Levi Power explains the working of a buffalo pound, used to capture buffalo for meat and hides during the fur trade era, to Grade 4 to 6 students from Dewberry School and their supervisors during their May 31 school visit.▲
Interpreters Jacob Losey, Sam Urquhart and Levi Power have spent the past four weeks showing and telling the stories of the fur trade forts built in 1792 to a series of school groups and are now eager to share even more of those stories with visitors throughout the summer months.▲
Grade 4 to 6 students from Dewberry School all got to lend a hand to hoist the Union Jack up the flagpole at the Buckingham House site, where replicas of the fort’s gate and palisades and markings that show the location of the buildings that were erected there in 1792 give visitors to the site a glimpse into the area’s history.▲

ELK POINT – Fort George and Buckingham House has enjoyed a full calendar of school visitors ever since the doors opened for the season on May 20. However, the fun doesn’t stop with the school year – the provincial historic site has eight great weekends of special activities lined up again this summer, starting on July 8.

The Forts are open Wednesdays through Sundays every week until Labour Day again this year, which provides only three days per week for the school visits, and there is already a substantial waiting list of schools coming to visit in 2024.

Once again, the summer events will be paired up, with the July weekend events repeated in August. They start off with the fascinating archaeology of the sites, showing and telling visitors how a series of archaeological digs over the years have helped to solve ‘The Puzzle of the Past” on July 8 and 9, August 5,6 and 7.

The following weekends, July 15 and 16, August 12 and 13, ‘One River, Many Boats – Water Transportation at Fort George and Buckingham House’ tells visitors how three kinds of boats were involved in the fur trade, transporting furs down the North Saskatchewan River to market and bringing trade goods back to the forts… and one of those boats was invented at Buckingham House! You’ll find out which one that was, and actually be able to see how big those boats were at these weekend events.

Ever wondered how people spent their time in 1792? That’s the theme on July 22 and 23, Aug. 19 and 20 as you discover what life was like in or alongside the forts, who their families were and what they did for work and relaxation. Come to ‘1792: How people Spent Their Time’ and you may even get to try out some of their activities.

The final pair explores the ‘Bounty of the Land’ on July 29 and 30, August 26 and 27, There were no grocery stores in the area back then, and both the families at the forts and the voyageurs heading downstream with their loads of furs depended on the plants and animals of the surrounding land to provide them with food. One of these weekends is scheduled to include the Friends of the Forts annual Saskatoon Pie Day, when you’ll get to try one of these bounties for yourself. Stay tuned for further information!

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