A local documentary, Haunted Gold Rush, took home the Tourism BC Innovation Award on March 2.
The two-part series, which aired on T+E Totally Entertaining TV during the Halloween weekend last year, was recognized at the 2023 BC Tourism and Hospitality awards presentation. The series explored whether ghosts of the Cariboo Gold Rush haunt the area.
Leanne Sallenback, Corine Carey, and Kelly Ireland filmed the documentary as they travelled through the Fraser Canyon and along B.C.’s historic Gold Rush trail looking for answers to that question.
“Due to the success of Haunted Gold Rush the team is greenlit for six new episodes airing this year on T+E and HauntTV in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK,” Sallenback said in an email.
The awards are an annual event put on by the BC Hotel Association and Tourism Association of BC. The purpose behind them is to recognize and celebrate excellence, leadership, and innovation within B.C.’s tourism and hospitality industry, showcasing the province’s most exceptional leaders and positive change-makers.
The team acknowledged executive producers Sean De Vries and Stephen Sawchuk, of Small Army Entertainment, and the entire production team for their work on the documentary.
When Haunted Gold Rush first aired, Ireland said having a film crew from the production company along for the ride made the trip extra special. They usually film their encounters themselves, so bringing a crew added a fun new dimension to their explorations.
Sallenback also gave credit to T+E and Blue Ant Media. The latter is a privately held content producer, distributor, and TV channel operator.
Haunted Gold Rush originally came about when people contacted the team asking them to visit the region.
“In the Fraser Canyon, with the floods, fires, and the pandemic, there’s been an unearthing of paranormal activity,” Sallenback told the 100 Mile Free Press last October. “We were called to specific areas to experience what people were seeing, so it wasn’t your typical girls’ road trip. We looked at history through a paranormal lens.”
As they travelled from Yale to Barkerville, Ireland said some “pretty wild” things happened. One of the most intense was in the Clydesdale Barn at the 108 Mile Heritage Site. Sallenback said they had an encounter with a spirit who “may or may not” have wanted them there.
Sallenback said Haunted Gold Rush is the first documentary to explore the history of the Cariboo Gold Rush from a paranormal angle. In addition to the 108 Mile site, the team also paid visits to a haunted house in Yale, Historic Hat Creek Ranch, Barkerville, and other places along the 650-kilometre Gold Rush Trail.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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