Winter festival to celebrate P.G.

As the one-year anniversary of the 2015 Canada Winter Games approaches, the city wants to reignite the community spirit with a new winter event.

The Celebrate Prince George Winter Festival kicks off Feb. 5, as a way to both commemorate the major sporting event as well as launch a new funding opportunity for community festivities.

The city has partnered with Tourism Prince George for the 10-day event, which will not only encompass a variety of existing February staples such as the Prince George Iceman competition and the annual Chinese New Year Celebration at Exploration Place, but also set the stage for new activities.

The biggest of of these is expected to be a public event at Canada Games Plaza, in front of the Civic Centre, on Feb. 13, featuring concerts, food trucks, activities and fireworks. 

"There's a number of events during that period of time and we're really excited and hoping that this particular event... will be very similar to what we saw during the Winter Games," said Mayor Lyn Hall. "We're hoping the community really embraces this and comes out. I think we heard loud and clear that the community wanted more of this."

Pulling everything together under one banner makes it more attractive from a marketing standpoint, said Tourism Prince George CEO Erica Hummel. There will be feature hockey games played by the Prince George Cougars, Spruce Kings and UNBC Timberwolves, PacificSport will be hosting try-it events and there will be free skating sponsored by Enhance PG.

"Obviously our goal from a tourism perspective is to extend the stay of people that are already here and attract people that would otherwise never come," Hummel said, noting that event tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry. "That will create some repeat visits, but we have to first be inviting people to come for a celebration and then they see what great facilities we have, what great opportunities we have – it might even lead to people looking for work here because they see the standard of living and the cost of housing is so low."

Ideally, Hall and Hummel said this will become an annual event – but not necessarily one that the city sponsors.

Earlier this year, city council approved the creation of a new grant program to boost winter and summer events, particularly in February and July.

The $30,000 in city funds is matched by Tourism Prince George for new and existing events under the new Community Celebrations program. With the first intake for the program closing Jan. 29 for July events, the partners decided to throw the first party as an example of what's possible.

"And because it is the one-year anniversary of the Games, it's really important that we launch it before those grants are available," said Hummel. "We don't want to miss out on this opportunity to celebrate."

Applications for grant funding can be made for events with a minimum budget of $5,000 and the forms ask organizers to detail how their events contribute to other celebrations and "promote Prince George as a great place to live."

As further details about February's event are finalized, they will be made available on a yet-to-be-launched website, which will be linked through tourismpg.com.