Barkerville’s Main Season is set to begin this Saturday, on May 31, and visitors will have three new attractions to check out.
Stewart Cawood, Manager, Public Programming and Media, says that alongside the regular live programming and performances every day, there will be a new variety show at the Theatre Royal.
The ‘New Fashion Show Revue’ will be put on each day starting at 2 p.m. Cawood says the Revue is a variety show that has “a bit of everything” the types of shows the Cariboo Amateur Dramatic Association would have put on during the Gold Rush.
“It’s a family-friendly variety show. There’s music, there’s comedy, there’s some heart-touching moments,” says Cawood. There’s some pretty exciting horse racing that tends to happen each year, and I’ve heard a rumor that people might be able to see that again this year.”
Two new programs are being introduced this year alongside the variety show.
Barkerville’s Music Director, Patrick Courtin, will be performing a show called ‘The History of Gold Rush Music’ that will show different types of music played during the Gold Rush in the Barkerville Hotel.
“ He takes you through how music during the Gold Rush evolved and how it was different from what you might find in London or Paris,” Cawood explains. “We’ve had a lot of talented musicians to come and play, and this will be the same. It’s going to be happening three days a week, and it’s a lovely little program.”
The final new program is exploring another piece and a pivotal figure of Barkerville, Jeanette Houser, in the ‘Mrs. Houser Story’, also being held in the Barkerville Hotel, on alternating days of the music show.
Houser was a long-time resident of Barkerville during the height and end of the Cariboo Gold Rush.
“We’re telling her story, which touches from the 1860s up until the 1930s. So there’s a nice range of history for people to learn,” says Cawood. “There are still members of the family who come to visit Barkerville each year and visit the house. It’s the second to last building up in Chinatown.”
Cawood adds that Barkerville will eventually be hosting ‘The Mrs. Houser Story’ in Houser’s old home, should the program become a mainstay of the Historic Town.
‘The History of Gold Rush Music’ will be performed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the Barkerville Hotel. ‘The Mrs. Houser Story’ will alternate days, and be performed on Tuesdays, and Thursdays in the Hotel.
Returning this season will be the long-time favourites of Barkerville. The Waterwheel show, Town Tours, Chinatown programming, stagecoach rides, Gold’s Bakery, and schoolhouse lessons will be in full swing, alongside newer features such as Indigenous programming at the Kelly Hall.
Dominion Day comes on July 1, celebrating the anniversary of the first Canada Day as well. There will be a parade, games for all ages, and evening activities, including live music.
Barkerville’s Main Season begins on Saturday, May 31, and runs until September 7.
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