Olde-Fashioned Christmas and other shoulder-season favourite events are coming back to Barkerville. Organizers at the historic town said Dec. 16-17 would be their first Christmas event since 2019.
“We’re very excited to bring back Olde-Fashioned Christmas,” said Stewart Cawood, Barkerville’s manager of public programming and media. “Over the last four years, we’ve had to pull back on many of our events because of financial constraints due to the pandemic, but we saw a positive upswing in our visitation this season which has allowed us to start thinking about winter again.”
“We had 35,000 people come through the gate this past summer, which was about 4,000 more than we had last season,” said Rocky Nenka, manager of commerce and Indigenous relations in Barkerville. “Obviously we want our numbers to go even higher than that, but seeing growth is a positive sign for our future attendance.”
Those who visit on December 16-17 can expect Barkerville’s Olde-Fashioned Christmas to include holiday shopping at McPherson’s Jewellers, Mason & Daly, and C. Strouss, as well as carolers at the Methodist Church, fresh baking at the Goldfields Bakery, chilli at the House Hotel, photographs with Father Christmas, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and of course, plenty of snow. The blacksmith’s forge will be hot, and the press will be running at the Cariboo Sentinel.
Admission will be $10 for adults at the Welcome Centre and online, with an $8 rate for seniors. Children and youth will be admitted for free with a non-perishable donation to the food bank.
“We are also very excited to announce next season’s dates,” said Cawood, “Our 2024 programming will return June 1 and finish on September 8, and we will be announcing our special events when the new year rolls around. Our cottages and Kelly Guest House are available for booking year-round including the weekend of December 16-17, so people will want to make their reservations right away before they are booked up. The St. George Hotel also has rooms available but those are going fast.”
2024 annual passes for the heritage site will be available for purchase starting December 1 with an early bird rate of 20 per cent off until January 15.
Visitors to Barkerville’s Olde-Fashioned Christmas are reminded to dress warmly and to be prepared for changing winter conditions when driving Highway 26. For more information, to book accommodations, and purchase advance admission, visit barkerville.ca.