It’s a decade worth celebrating.
For the past 10 years, the Shuswap Trail Alliance has collaborated with other groups to create and maintain trails for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and capabilities to enjoy the wilderness.
The alliance’s accomplishments have been celebrated with a party every winter for the past eight years. More than 200 tickets have been sold for this year’s party and silent auction, which takes place Friday, Feb. 6 at the SASCU Rec Centre.
The event has become a phenomenon in the Shuswap, selling out several weeks in advance each year.
“We are very pleased to have Scarecrow back, along with EZRock’s Patrick Ryley, to get the crowd dancing and celebrating all of the accomplishments that we have achieved in the region in 2014,” says Trail Alliance chair Winston Pain. “This is the eighth anniversary of the party and (Okanagan College) Enactus students will be available to drive people home and do door duty.”
Blue Canoe will again provide the delicious appies that are included in the price of the ticket and Brian Coffee will return to provide the stage lighting.
“So many things are happening,” says Pain, noting volunteers built 15 kilometres of trail and maintained over 120 km of trail this past year.
A regional trail strategy is underway bringing together 60 people representing First Nations, BC Parks, local governments including CSRD, Sicamous, Enderby and Interior Health.
“Mike Simpson of Fraser Basin Council has been facilitating and we’re four or five months away from being complete,” says Pain. “We even had motorized users there and we’re starting to talk about the rail trail.”
Pain says while that’s exciting because it’s another element of the strategy that will come to life in 2015, it is driven by the Splatsin Band and important they are viewed as the leaders in this process.
“After 10 years, it’s astounding to me how the area has mobilized so much support at all levels,” says Pain enthusiastically. “It’s not about are trails worth it any longer, it’s how can we continue working together to improve the assets in the area.”
The 2014 Shuswap Trail project list is impressive, with over 50 projects, 60 volunteer trail events – and 160 new trail signs added.
“When you walk, ski, or ride on a local trail, you can know volunteers and regional partners worked together to make that possible,” says Phil McIntyre-Paul, Executive Director of the Shuswap Trail Alliance. “The annual fundraiser celebration gives us the foundational resources to support that ongoing work.”
In an official statement to the Legislative Assembly, Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo recently thanked the “amazing volunteers of the Shuswap Trail Alliance for their hard work in providing such an amazing opportunity for residents and visitors to experience the natural beauty of the Shuswap.”
Trail party tickets are available at Skookum Cycle & Ski and Ridetech. For more information on the Shuswap Trails Annual Fundraiser Celebration and trails throughout the Shuswap visit www.shuswaptrails.com.
