by Kathryn Cameron, Special to The Star
The first summer Ryan and I lived in Field, my sisters caught the Greyhound from Alberta to visit us. When they presented their tickets for Field Junction to the bus driver, he looked at them and asked if they knew where they were going. “Yes,” they both replied. The bus arrived in Field, they got off the bus, and as he handed them their luggage, the driver asked them if they knew what they were doing. “Oh, yes, we’re here to visit our sister.” A look of amazement spread over the bus driver’s face, and he exclaimed, “You mean people live here?”
Yes, people live here, in the magnificent landscape of the Kicking Horse River valley surrounded by the towering peaks of Mt. Stephen, Mt. Dennis, Mt. Burgess and Mt. Field. Life in Field is remarkably similar to life in most communities in Canada: work, school, shopping (okay, we do drive out of town for most shopping), recreation – hockey, skating, skiing, hiking, fishing, camping – and, of course, visiting and celebrating.
Field is a vibrant, active village ready to welcome the Olympic Torch back to British Columbia this Thursday, January 21. The celebration starts at 2:30 p.m. with a pick-up hockey game at the outdoor rink behind Field’s Community Hall, followed by the Olympic Torch Relay and Torch Bearer cheered along the route through town, a salmon and buffalo burger barbeque on the plaza, and finally, a dance at the Community Hall with Frankie McQueen, new to Canada’s indie music scene. Field is excited to host the Olympic Flame!
Thursday’s Olympic Torch Relay kicks off Field’s annual winter festival, The Yoho Blow, named for a fierce, frigid, tooth-grinding east wind that charges down our valley when winter arctic weather systems invade the south. This is when residents question the wisdom of living here! The weather phenomenon is not fun. The Yoho Blow Winter Festival, however, is a lot of fun. Four-on-four hockey, street bocce, weekend-long barbeque in our new prospector’s tent on the plaza, relay races, belt-sander races, card tournaments, cross-country ski events, a dance and wind-up potluck supper will keep residents moving from outdoor to indoor events all weekend long. Please call Susan Williamson, Chair of the Field Recreation Advisory Association, at 250-343-6789 for information and to register for team events.
Field extends its warm hospitality to all who want to join us for four action-packed days from January 21 through 24 as residents celebrate the Olympic spirit, community renewal, and winter sport. We’ll see you here!
