Tourism BC Story Ideas, November 2009

Eager to catch up with the Olympic Flame in British Columbia? On January 21, 2010, the Flame will make its way back to the province where the Torch Relay began, following an extensive journey throughout Canada. First stop: Golden, BC. This beacon for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games is set to visit a bounty of BC communities on a 22-day journey before making its way to light the Olympic Cauldron at the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver on February 12, 2010. Visit www5.HelloBC.com/2010-torch-relay/ to view daily videos featuring Torch day highlights and unique BC destination experiences along the way.

• BC's Sports Towns: Smithers
• A Vancouver Island Eco-lodge sports a deeper shade of Green
• Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Welcomes the Flame
• A Thompson Okanagan Winery invites you to meet the Working Horse team
• The Trail Dog Sled Mail Run Crosses Historic Ground in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast
• BC's Kootenay Rockies provides the track for leading Nordic Training Center

BC's Sports Towns: Smithers: How does a town of just 6,000 people send seven cross-country skiing officials to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?

Smithers, in Northern British Columbia's Bulkley Valley, has done just that. A pretty alpine town about halfway between the cities of Prince George and Prince Rupert, Smithers has access to great recreational facilities -- plus some of Canada's best nordic skiing conditions.

Darlene Doogan-Smith, one of the officials heading to Whistler in 2010, explains: "Over the years, the Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club has been very active on the race scene and we've developed a very competent, skilled group of race officials." The group, all of whom have qualified as cross-country skiing officials for the 2010 Winter Games, are Mark Blayney, Darlene Doogan-Smith, Mary Jean Cosman, Larry Cosman, Donna Jones, Kathy Spiro and Kirsteen Laing. They have plenty of experience too, having already officiated at a number of competitions in both the Bulkley Valley and Whistler, including the World Cup in January, 2009.

The Bulkley Valley Nordic Centre, just 10 minutes from Smithers, has a 45-kilometre network of groomed trails winding through mountain forests of spruce and pine. Thanks to its northern latitude, the centre also boasts enviable snow conditions and a long ski season. And what do Smithereens (and yes, they are called that) do when they're not on their cross country skis in the woods? They might be downhill skiing at Hudson Bay Mountain, ski mountaineering and summer mountaineering on the Burnie Glacier, fishing in any of five local rivers, or hiking and mountain biking in the Babine Mountains.

Smithers also has a thriving arts and cultural scene. Catch, if you can, the 30 plus acts from around the world playing at Smithers' annual Midsummer Festival, or check out the fascinating First Nations heritage at the nearby 'Ksan Historical Village & Museum.

Better yet, stop by on January 30, 2010, when Smithers will host an evening celebration to welcome the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. Something tells us Smithereens know how to throw a good party. www.bvnordic.ca; www.nbctourism.com

For more destination story ideas related to the 2010 Winter Games, visit www.destination2010.ca or to read more story ideas from the Northern British Columbia region, visit www.hellobc.com/northernbcmedia.

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A Vancouver Island Eco-lodge sports a deeper shade of Green: Need a break? Concerned about your carbon footprint? No worries. Tofino's Wickaninnish Inn, one of British Columbia's first eco-lodges, offers a guilt-free, earth-friendly getaway. The Tread Lightly Package, available year round, includes two nights' accommodation at the inn, a welcome plate of locally harvested treats, and a nature watching safari with local photographer and guide, Adrian Dorst. More goodies include a posh picnic packed by the Wick's culinary team, and copies of David Suzuki's Green Guide, and The Trees of British Columbia to take home. Oh, and to top it off, the inn will make a donation in your name to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the protection of the world's beaches and oceans. Treading lightly is nothing new at the Wickaninnish Inn, where Managing Director Charles McDiarmid and his team have been minding their footprint since surveying the oceanfront site in 1995. Raised in Tofino, McDiarmid designed the inn to minimize its impact on his hometown's pristine beaches and ancient cedar forests, building with reclaimed wood, driftwood, and trees from the site; siting the inn to save the most trees, and even clearing the underbrush by hand. From opening day in 1996, the oceanside eco-resort has been completely non-smoking, has sourced local fare for its Pointe Restaurant, and used eco-friendly spa products. Recent footprint shrinking innovations include a Worminator compost bin to deal with kitchen waste (affectionately referred to as The Organic Temple of Transition by inn staff) and high efficiency boilers installed to cut carbon emissions. The results? A four (out of a possible five) rating from the Hotel Association of Canada's Green Key Eco-Rating Program. The biggest kudo of all, though, went not to the inn
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