A cry that is often heard in our small communities is “There’s nothing to do!” This is palpably untrue, as even the most cursory look at bulletin boards, or the Facebook pages of local clubs and organizations, will show. What the people saying this probably mean is “There’s nothing to do that appeals to me!” Which is fine; I understand that pickleball or fiddle lessons are not for everyone.
And of course there are big special events that occur fairly regularly. Unfortunately, they often happen at the same time as another big special event; and therein lies a problem.
An example of this was on the night of Monday, April 24, when an all-candidates forum was held in Ashcroft at 7 p.m. That was at the exact same time that a regular open council meeting was occurring in Ashcroft, bingo was happening in Cache Creek, and a long-planned concert, sponsored by the Winding Rivers Arts & Performance Society, was taking place in Cache Creek.
Now this was an unfortunate situation all-round, and not really anyone’s fault, but it was regrettable nonetheless. And I am sure the same situation will arise more often when summer hits. There are only so many summer weekends on which to hold events, which will undoubtedly result in days when people have to decide between attending one event or another, as cloning is not yet a viable option.
The organizer of the all-candidates forum was apologetic about the clashes, but I understand that arranging something like this—given time constraints and schedules—is probably akin to herding cats. He did ask, however, where people could find out about such potential clashes, and try to avoid them; and I immediately replied “Call me.”
There are many parts to being editor of The Journal, but one of the more crucial ones is knowing what is going on—and when and where—in order to cover it in advance and/or cover it on the day. While I was speaking with the organizer, my eye fell on a whiteboard in my office, with dates and times of different events, and I noted that there were six events in the next 10 days alone. I don’t pretend to know everything that’s going on; but if in doubt, give me a call.
Still, that’s a hit-and-miss solution at best; as I’ve pointed out before, I try to keep my eyes and ears open, but there are invariably things I miss. If only we had some sort of easily accessible community calendar, where groups could post their events, and people could check to see not only what’s going on, but if their planned event clashes with something else.
Guess what: there is such a community calendar! It’s maintained by the Gold Country Communities Society (GCCS), is free, and is open to all groups in the GCCS area. It can be found at http://www.exploregoldcountry.com/events/, and while the good folk at GCCS try to update it with information they’ve gleaned from various sources, they would be helped immeasurably if groups and organizations could send them information about upcoming events (goldcountry@telus.net).
It’s for events that coordinators want to invite all people to (not just locals), and reaches visitors from nearby communities and potential tourists. It’s also a great resource for locals to learn about events happening in their own, and nearby, communities. Give it a try!