The B.C. Northern Exhibition kicks off today and runs through Sunday.
The Citizen is proud to be a major supporter of the BCNE. This year, Citizen Special Events returns for the second year with the Northern Taste Market in Kin 1. Besides exhibitor booths and yummy samplings of food from local eateries and caterers, the taste market will spotlight the best local culinary geniuses going head-to-head in the Iron Ore Chef competition. Returning for his second year, celebrity chef and Food Network star Bob Blumer will be on hand to host the competition's final rounds. Blumer will also be serving up fun and wholesome snacks kids love and letting parents in on the secrets to get their children to eat healthier.
The Citizen's partnership is particularly meaningful for us because we see so much of ourselves in Prince George's annual fair.
The Prince George Exhibition was first held in 1912, three years before the incorporation of the city and four years before the founding of the Citizen.
Both the fair and the newspaper have grown and evolved over a century but still remain true to their guiding principles on serving the community and bringing residents together.
Both the fair and the newspaper are seen as something that speaks to the past, to tradition, to respect, to small town values and simpler times. For some, those are some of the qualities that make Prince George (and its fair and its daily newspaper) great and for others, particularly of a younger generation, it evokes yawns and reaching for the smartphone or the game console remote.
Their loss.
Both the fair and the newspaper have worked hard to remain relevant to changing times, evolving tastes and increased expectations. The Northern Taste Market is a perfect partnership for both the Citizen and the BCNE, celebrating the fair's long connection to food and health but serving it up in a new format.
Both the fair and the newspaper understand that it's great to celebrate the past but change is necessary to keep audiences coming back for more.
The BCNE team has worked tirelessly for months to get to this day and they deserve much thanks from the entire community. The best form of appreciation to show them is to come out and see what they've accomplished at Exhibition Park.
The second best form of appreciation is to thank them while you're there.
Money is no excuse today because Wednesday's is sneak peek day with free entry. The livestock arena is open, as are the exhibits in the Kin Centre, while the midway gets going at 5 p.m. for an evening of fun and thrills. Check out the 4-H Horse Showmanship from 3 to 6 p.m. in the arena, followed by the Top Dog Demo from 7 to 9 p.m. Parking is free, not just on Wednesday, but for the entire run of the fair this year.
Thursday is Seniors Day (60+) with admission just $2 for seniors, compared to $5 Friday through Sunday. General admission Thursday through Sunday is $10 (ages 18 to 59), $5 for youth 12-17 and free for kids 11 and under.
Each day is crammed with music, exhibits, animals, food and fun. On Sunday, the final day of the fair, admission is just $2 before 11 a.m. and the flapjacks will be flipping with a pancake breakfast available for just $6 from 8 to 11 a.m.
After a long absence, the rodeo returns to the BCNE this year. The Great Northern Rockin' Rodeo goes Saturday and Sunday afternoon with the usual thrilling assortment of bareback and saddle bronc riding, tie down roping, steer wrestling, ladies barrel racing, breakaway roping, team roping and bull riding.
And the weather also appears willing to do its part to make the fair fantastic. After a soggy, autumnal last few weeks, mostly sunshine and low-to-mid 20s temperatures are in the forecast through Sunday.
So do yourself a favour and get yourself and your friends and family down to the BCNE. "It's the same thing every year," is the lamest excuse not to go. Christmas is the same every year and nobody dares miss that. Like Christmas, the fair is about old favourites and new traditions, like the Northern Taste Market. Most of all, it's about being a kid for a day and having fun.
See you at the fair.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
