When you first hear the words ‘fishing derby’, the majority of us immediately focus on those scaly creatures that dwell in the lakes and rivers that surround our respective communities. Others might picture a fun competition where they can test their skills out on the lake as the hot, summer sun beams down above you.
But, for the Binche Whut’en and the Binche Keyoh Society, their third annual Canada Day Weekend Fishing Derby is about far more than just the catch of the day.
It’s about spending quality time with your family, positive community initiatives and moving forward.
For Fort St. James councillor and manager of the Binche Keyoh Society Dave Birdi, the annual fishing derby is the perfect opportunity to showcase the community and the region in an extremely positive way.
“Binche is moving forward,” says Birdi. “When it comes to the fishing derby, it’s another example of the partnerships that we are building. With these partnerships, what we’re telling the communities, businesses and residents involved is essentially that Binche is open for business. These sponsorships and the support that we have received is a positive sign of us working together.”
From June 29 to July 2, $45,000 in cash prizes will be up for grabs at the Canada Day Weekend Fishing Derby at Stuart Lake. Despite only being in its third year, the partnerships that Birdi mentioned, which include local businesses as well as magazines, newspapers, television and radio advertisements have attracted a lot of attention from around the province.
“Another thing that the fishing derby has done is helped local businesses,” says Birdi. “Through our advertising, we’re promoting the entire region, so it is not only Binche that will see the economic benefits, it will be the entire region.”
Kayla Pierre, the events coordinator for the Biche Keyoh Society says that there has been some interest from people from the United States as well, signalling that this years fishing derby could be the largest yet. With around 300 participants during the inaugural event and 550 participants coming last year, the Binche Keyoh society is projecting that there could be anywhere from 500 to 800 individuals making their way to Stuart Lake this year.
“There is a lot of excitement from the community,” says Pierre.
But for Birdi, this is no surprise. Due to the numerous community initiatives undertaken by the Binche Keyoh Society in recent years, Birdi believes that more and more reasons to visit the community are constantly popping up.
“Feedback we’ve received in the past is that there have not been enough campsites available in this region,” says Birdi. “People were not coming to Fort St. James or Binche, so now we have additional campsites. It’s another reason for people to come down this way.”
But for the entire community of Binche, the fishing derby is more than just a fishing derby. It’s a community celebration and an opportunity for families to gather together over the Canada Day weekend and spend quality time together. Furthermore, Birdi believes that the event offers something for everybody who attends.
“To promote family time, we have two nights of live musical performances that are free for everyone to enjoy,” says Birdi. “For some people who might have some trouble getting their kids out of the house, well here’s a video game competition for them,” says Birdi. “A bonus is that it is outdoors, so they are getting fresh air at the same time.”
“Whether it’s a young person or an older person, you can still come out to the lake, get some fresh air and have some quality time. We’re really trying to bring families together from all over,” says Birdi.
To promote this family friendly mentality, Birdi and the community have been working hard to ensure that event is affordable as well.
“We understand that people are always on a budget,” says Birdi. “Sometimes people decide not to attend events just because they can be expensive. On the other hand, to enjoy this family event, people won’t have to fork lots of money out. It’s a holiday people can afford.”
“With all the partnerships we have available, the tickets become virtually free,” says Birdi.
Binche Whut’en Chief Joshua Hallman also spoke on the importance of family at an event like this.
“It’s not just for adults, not just for fishermen,” says Hallman .We want the whole family, seniors, elders, women, the youth, all out there enjoying the nature and having some time with their families.”
In addition to the overarching goal of encapsulating quality family time for all, Hallman wants the fishing derby to showcase how the Binche community is constantly moving forward in collaboration with communities region wide.
“It’s not just about Binche, it’s about the whole region,” says Hallman. “We’re trying to bring the whole region and the communities together, all in the goal of working together. We always want to stay on the positive side. We’re not really looking at what has happened in the past. We want to move forward.”
Jessica Erickson, a member of the Binche Separation Committee and the Binche Leadership Team, believes that Binche has always had a strong sense of community, but events like this enforce the collaboration that they are working towards.
“I think that Binche has always had a certain community spirit about them, we’ve always had that,” says Erickson. ” I think that events like the fishing derby really allow us to share that spirit with everybody else. There’s a lot of great things that unfold with initiatives like the fishing derby and we just want to share that. It’s all about dissolving those lines, moving forward and working together.”
Ultimately, for the Binche community, the Canada Day Weekend Fishing Derby is about so much more than reeling in that perfect fish.
“We want to welcome everybody to the community over the weekend,” says Hallman. “It’s about having fun and enjoying quality time.”
“We want to show that we can work together and show that independent communities can come together and work together to achieve something and to bring more to this region,” says Hallman. “That’s what we’re doing.”
For more information regarding the Binche Whut’en Canada Day Fishing Derby, visit www.binchefishingderby.ca
