Only one month away!  Sasquatch Days 2013 will be held on June 8th and 9th on the beach front here in beautiful Harrison Hot Springs.

This cultural event is a collaboration between the Village of Harrison Hot Springs and the local First Nations Band of the Sts’ailes and includes War Canoe Races, Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles, Buckskins, Small and Large Canoes.  There will be a salmon barbeque, Drumming, Artisans, Sasquatch Talks, Medicine walks, Games and Cedar Weaving.

Ever wonder what the difference was between War Canoes and Dragon Boats?

Dragonboats are the basis of the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing an amateur watersport which has its roots in an ancient folk ritual of contending villagers held over the past 2000 years throughout southern China. While ‘competition’ has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of religious ceremonies and folk customs, dragon boat racing has emerged in modern times as an international sport, beginning in Hong Kong in 1976.

Typically, a war canoe will be faster than a dragon boat over any given distance, because of a better hull shape (narrower and without the characteristic ‘w’ shape of dragon boat hulls), lighter construction, and the kneeling position allowing for a fuller, more powerful stroke than the sitting position used in dragon boats. The term ‘war canoe’ is derived from large Native American canoes intended for war, and war canoeing was in fact a popular sport in Vancouver,  before large gatherings of indigenous people were outlawed for a time beginning in 1922.  War canoeing among indigenous communities is enjoying a revival today, although there as yet has been little interaction with non-indigenous teams.A war canoe holds 15 paddlers including one coxswain, or cox, for steering.

Native Americans also utilized canoes in warfare, ranging from small, lightweight canoes for rapid raids to large, ceremonial canoes amply decorated for conferences and other events. As an attack craft, a canoe is actually quite well designed, because it can be easy to maneuver with a skilled crew, and it can be extremely fast with a lot of paddlers working together to propel the canoe. Native American war canoes are sometimes seen at ceremonial events held by groups with a tradition of canoe building

Top this!!

Mount Cheam…YES you can!  The top of our world!

Mount Agassiz…Don’t underestimate it…getting to the top is tough!  This is our answer to the Grouse Grind!

Mount Woodside…once you get to the top, hang glide down!

Bear Mountain…summit and see forever…this hike is tops in our book!

The top of the lake…bring out your quads and 4 x 4’s or twice yearly by boat with Shoreline Boat Tours

The top of Mount Breckenridge…Glacier helicopter tours…you know you want to!

Top up my coffee… Miss Margaret’s, Marius Café Deli, Oasis Coffee & Bistro, Beach Bites Café, Chantilly Ice Cream, Chuck and Kitty’s Country Café, and, Muddy Waters Espresso Bar & Cafe

Take the top off the beer…Sand, sun, beer, music, great food…need we say more?

Take your top off…highly recommended if you are going swimming!

Top up your tank…the Husky Gas Station for all motorized vehicles and Killer’s Cove Marina for all boats.

Top up on groceries…for all your picnic and camping needs The Husky Gas Station, the Harrison Lake Market, Papples Market and Marius Café Deli.

How about some amazing toppings for the best pizza in town??  Check out the Village Pizzeria.

Topping the ball…Need some help with that?  Ask one of the Pro’s at the Sandpiper Golf Resort or the Harrison Resort Golf Course

 One of the Top fish for sushi?  Salmon!!  Kitami Restaurant and Yukiya Sushi

Take the top down…the perfect drive if you’ve got a convertible.

Unscrew the top of the wine bottle and toast yourself for your discerning good taste in choosing a place like Harrison!

For 60 years, hops, a basic ingredient in beer, were the main industry in the Agassiz Area of British Columbia. At the height of the business, 300 acres of a total holding of 450 acres were planted with hops. The first hop yards, planted in 1892, belonged to the B.C. Hop Company.

Hops were harvested from August to early October every year and during that time Agassiz prospered. With the arrival of a thousand pickers, the town’s normal population swelled to 15 hundred and business flourished. Many town merchants increased their sales by setting up small stalls beside the hop yards to serve the pickers. Reliable men with teams of horses were hired to plow and cultivate the hop fields. In the early days pickers came exclusively from First Nation families but later the work force included locals and Chinese immigrants who had come to Canada to work on the CPR line. Many plants were destroyed by downy mildew around 1935 and as it began to spread, pesticides were used but the sprays proved to be expensive and ineffective.  Still, from 1939 to 1945 the hop industry boomed in Agassiz.  The Famous Fraser River flood of 1948 annihilated the hop fields, the industry rapidly declined and in 1952 the hop yards moved to the Creston Valley. The fertile soil that had for 60 years nourished a bounty of hops, was planted with corn and hay as dairy farms began to prosper in the Agassiz area.

This October, Harrison Hot Springs will present the first of what we hope will be an annual event, The Harrison Beer Fest.  Get your tickets early and join us on October 26th and 27th for what already promises to be this years hottest hop happening!!http://www.harrisonbeerfest.com/

http://www.agassizharrisonmuseum.org/

Well known and loved names, beautiful beach venue, soaking up the sun, the last weekend of the summer season, amazing music, no tickets-no charge, welcome to Harrison Hot Springs Bands on the Beach

Reserve your hotel, motel, B&B, campsite now!  Two full days that are sure to keep your feet tapping, your hands clapping and heart light.  This year headliner Todd Richard will be joined by Kenny Hess and grow this great event from one day to days.  Other great names include:

Brent Lee, “Brent Lee The real deal. One of the best singer / songwriters around. One of the last great country guys around. Canada`s best …”

Ken McCoy& the Snake Oil Band, ”Ken has over 20 chart  hitting singles released to radio to date, countless nominations and awards including SOCAN songwriter of the years and single of the year for “Prayin’ for Rain”.

Trevor Murray “Trevor Murray’s baritone vocals and catchy songs set him apart. His positive outlook on life make him an instant favourite in the Canadian country community. Trevor Murray’s the kind of artist who makes you want to dance, sing and forget about your troubles for awhile.”

Robyn & Ryleigh “Robyn and Ryleigh Gillespie are part of the wave of young, new country performers rising up from the West Coast of Canada.  They’ve taken modern, youthful pop influences and blended them with traditional country elements.”

Alisa Rose & the Show, Vacationers, Chris Buck Band Mathew Cheverie round out the festival!

On top of the great music, the Labour day weekend also sees a great craft fair taking place at Memorial Hall, so while the music is on a break do some shopping!

Thousands of years ago, a huge blanket of ice covered everything in sight except the highest mountain peaks.      As the ice mass slowly receded, it bulldozed tones of earth and rock lying in its path, carving out a lakebed.  As the earth warmed and the glaciers melted, these scooped out trenches filled with water creating Harrison Lake.

The lake is tidal.  Ocean tides influence water levels in the Fraser River, the Harrison River and even Harrison Lake.  As far back as 8000 years ago, local Stolo people have harvested trees here for use in building enormous long houses, dugout canoes and carvings.                                                     

 From 1931 to 1937, Green Point was used as a base camp by the Green Point logging company.  Massive trestles were built and steam locomotives were used to access the wilderness for further tree harvesting.  Remnants of these trestles still exist today near the entrance to Sasquatch Provincial Park, less than a kilometer away.  The modern road network in Sasquatch Park follows much of the original logging rail network

 In the autumn months, migrating salmon fill the waters at Green Point and Eagles and seals follow.  Wildlife abounds from squirrels and rabbits to deer and brown bear, although they are keenly sensitive to human activity and make themselves scarce during the times the park is in use.

 Only a five kilometer drive from the four-way stop in Harrison Village, the park is beautifully maintained and offers a boat launch, a large parking area, washroom facilities and picnic tables.  The beach  is a mixture of sand and pebbles and is a wonderful place to explore and a child’s paradise filled with nature’s wonders.