CFB Esquimalt Lookout
SLt Carrie Dolan HMCS Whitehorse
Members of HMCS Whitehorse hang out with the Can Can Girls of the Sourdough Review.
As a first-timer to any of the three Territories, my arrival to Whitehorse was met with great fulfilment. Gliding over the picturesque Coastal Mountains in the Dash 8 was an experience I’ll always remember. it was a sunny Wednesday morning in late February with temperatures at a comfortable -14 C. I, and more than 250 other Canadian Forces members, had made the trek north for the annual Sourdough Rendezvous Festival. my role was to represent the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel HMCS Whitehorse. my visit began with the Civic dinner at the Yukon Inn. it was an evening to showcase those who help support the festival. Guests of honour included Whitehorse Mayor Bev Buckway; Commissioner of the Yukon, the Honourable Douglas Phillips; and a few Canadian Forces members from Joint Task Force North, including Major Bob Saunders, who is the Detachment Commanding Officer. as a representative from the ship, I took the opportunity to present the City of Whitehorse with the Royal Canadian Mint dollar coin, which recognized the 100-year history of the Canadian Navy. it is a commemorative circulation coin to honour the men and women who served and continue to serve in Canada’s naval service. The festival includes longstanding traditional, yet unusual, activities such as chainsaw chucking, wife-carrying, and the flour carrying competition, in which contestants strap a large metal frame stacked with bags of flour to their backs. The Queen’s Candidate portion of the festival involves a month-long indoctrination into proper “Lady” etiquette. The ladies are willingly put in the public eye before the festival in hopes of being chosen as the new miss Sourdough Rendezvous. What is a Sourdough? in a place like Whitehorse, where surviving the winter is not easy, the locals have come up with a term to distinguish the tough from the not so tough. Basically, once you stay the whole winter season, from freeze to thaw, then you are considered a true “Sourdough.” if you’re just visiting or continuously seek out warmer climates during the winter months then you’re classified a “Cheechko.” Although many of the events were at locations around the city, the festival itself took place mainly at Shipyards Park. there was a traditional maple syrup shack, a gyro booth that had a continuous line up of naval personnel, and lots of other local fare. One event worth braving the weather for was the corporate challenge that took place on Saturday afternoon. Participants in the challenge included the army and their Joint Task Force North team; a group of cheery francophones known as the French Toast team; and the navy with their team of sailors from HMCS Whitehorse. The challenge involved four events: a bed push around the pond, a tricycle push, a tug-o-war, and a multi-person 2×4 walking event that you’d have to see in action to really appreciate. The teams all brought their game faces and it was definitely something that helped get the blood flowing again. I was happy that despite a deplorable effort on the 2×4 event the navy was still able to successfully defend their best overall time title. The festival wound up with a parade and the Naden Band got one last opportunity to march everyone out. Even though the wind chill was a brisk -35 degrees Celcius, participants and onlookers were not deterred. It’s true that no namesake visit is complete without a stopover at the Legion, and we sure did enjoy the great hospitality at the new #254 location. LCdr Angus Fedoruk, the Commanding Officer of HMCS Whitehorse, presented Legion member Darcy Grossinger with a ship’s badge and two photos of the ship. We even got the chance to sample ‘solstice’, a much revered local spirit that does a great job of keeping out the cold.
British Coin Great