How’s your summer going? For some of you it’s no doubt Go! Go! Go! with ball tournaments and other summer sports, plus all the fairs and other summer events around the Lakeland, but if it’s too hot to go sit in the bleachers one more time, and all the blue green algae warnings have sidetracked your plans to go to the lake, there’s a shady spot waiting for you, not far from home.
I was out at Fort George and Buckingham House last weekend, and discovered that after being run off their feet, or in the case of the local bison, hooves, during the deluge of school tours of the historic site, they have had lots of time to rest up, with only a trickle of tourists coming through, even on the weekends when they have now hosted their third of eight special events.
That surprises me, because I thought that the collaboration between the federal and provincial government to encourage families and young adults to visit with the Canada Strong Pass would bring out all those who are looking for an affordable outing. With free admission for everyone under 18 and half price for those from age 18 to 24, right up to the time the Forts close for the season on Sept. 1, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for those who thought they couldn’t afford to visit. But maybe they didn’t know that this applied to Alberta’s historic sites as well as the national sites? And although they call it a ‘pass’, the Forts people tell me that no pass or pre-registration is required, just show up and claim your discount!
The staff out there also wants me to remind you that both the interpretive centre with all the displays and the trail to the original sites where the North West Company’s Fort George and the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Buckingham House were built in 1792 are very accessible for those with mobility issues – if you need a way to get to the Fort sites, they will open the gate for vehicle access, as they did for a visitor the previous week.
Again this year, they have pairs of special programs on the weekends. The first of those, entitled ‘The People of the Forts’ was on July 5 and 6, and will be repeated on Aug. 2 and 3, giving insight into the lives of the traders, the trappers who came to trade their furs for beads and blankets, and the women who shared their lives.
The second pair explores ‘The Puzzle of the Past’ and focuses on the archaeological digs that have taken place over the years and that provided much of the information about how the forts were built and the work done there. A great display of items found during those digs is featured in the gallery, and during these weekends, July 12 and 13, Aug. 9 and 10, visitors get to try their hand at some fun digs of their own, and there’s a special new version indoors for the kids if the outdoor weather is uncooperative.
This past Saturday and Sunday were the first of the Bounty of the Land, which explores the foods the fur trade families harvested, prepared and ate, from the pemmican that fuelled the voyageurs as they paddled their way to the eastern markets with huge loads of harvested furs to the saskatoons and other berries found in the woodlands surrounding the forts. This program will be repeated on Aug. 16 and 17, which coincide with Open Farm Days and will feature the Friends of the Forts’ annual Saskatoon Pie Day, watch for further details.
Next weekend and the Aug. 23 and 24 weekend, the theme is ‘One River, Many Boats’, which is also the theme of this year’s display in the interpretive centre. Make sure to check out the video that is a speeded-up version of the construction of a York boat, the largest of the vessels that was used to transport the hides all the way to eastern Canada, returning loaded with supplies and trade goods for the forts.
Youngsters visiting the forts on school trips come home enthused with their discoveries – now it’s your turn!
