Canada’s longest consecutively running event is returning for the Labour Day long weekend.
The 111th Bulkley Valley Kinsmen Telkwa BBQ kicks off tonight (Friday) at 6:30 with a baseball tournament at the Telkwa BBQ Grounds.
“The Telkwa BBQ is about tradition and community,” said Bulkley Valley Kinsmen Member Dawn McConnell.
“Even beyond tradition, it’s about bringing the community together and giving back.”
She added that since covid, the event has become the longest consecutively running event in Canada, having run through wars, famine, pandemics, and wildfires.
“This is the 111th annual Telkwa BBQ, so that means for 111 years beef pits have been going into the ground, cooked, and served to the community.”
While the baseball tournament starts tonight, most activities start on Saturday with breakfast at 8:00, arcades, water fights, and karaoke on the main stage that afternoon.
In June, the kinsmen announced the annual Demolition Derby was not making a return due to the volunteers who had been running it moving on to new adventures.
This stirred up both positive and negative reactions from residents and returning attendees.
“Since the derby has been running for as long as many local people remember, there’s a lot of sadness to see that there’s no derby this year,” said McConnell.
She hopes that in the future, there will be volunteer power to bring the event back to the BBQ.
With the derby no longer happening, admission costs were changed so entry was free for everyone who wanted to attend.