Join the 100 Mile Nordics for a Winter Solstice Celebration and the burning of the Swedish Straw Yule Goat on Dec. 22.
Nordics coach Jens Lundsbye and his wife Kim are the ones who first came up with the idea when the Nordics were looking for a solstice celebration a couple of years back.
“It incorporates well into the Nordic vibe that we have up here,” said organizer Taralynn Leclair. The goat is constructed of chicken wire on the outside and stuffed with dry cattail reeds. “It’s just a really cool spectacle.”
It is a reason for the club to get together and many cultures celebrate solstice she said. The first event went over well so organizers decided to put it on again.
There will be food and refreshments served and new this year is glogg, a Swedish mulled wine (non-alcoholic) to go along with the more traditional offerings of hot chocolate, chili and a bun, coffee, and cookies.
Admission for the event is by donation and all proceeds from the evening go to support the 100 Mile Nordics 2024 race team.
“Cross-country skiing in 100 Mile has been a tradition here for many, many years. They used to run the Cariboo Marathon (here),” said Leclair. “They haven’t had this race team for quite a few years now so we’re just trying to get it back going because we finally have some kids going through the program who are interested.”
This year the club also has a level three race coach, Sam Loewen, so they need to raise funds to get the race team together.
Now all they need is snow, she said. There is a good face at this point but not enough to groom the trails, unfortunately.
The solstice event is being held from 5 - 7 p.m. at the 100 Mile Nordics clubhouse at the 99 Mile ski trails. All are welcome to attend and to bring their ‘snow dance’ along.
