Audrey Basic (9) and her mom, Annamaria Richardson, get a workout at the Cross-Cut competition

Prince George, B.C. – More than one thousand city residents found yesterday’s snowfall provided the perfect backdrop for the start of the 27th Annual FrancoFun Winter Festival, as they made their way to St. Mary’s Hall for the Sugar Shack brunch and activities.

The week-long festival d’hiver is hosted by Le Cercle des Canadiens Francais de Prince George and Executive Director, Renee Trepanier, says it gets better every year.  "We always try to exceed the expectations and I think we have succeeded again this year, especially by building up partnerships with the Winter City Committee, the YMCA and many other official partners."

The partnership with the Family Y is new this year.  Y volunteers were on-hand with an activity booth for kids at the brunch.  Trepanier says the popularity of this long-running festival is a testament to the french community’s commitment to enriching life in Prince George. 

"Over the years we have been involved in so many partnerships, such as the Olympic torch coming into town and the bid for the 2015 Canada Winter Games," she says, "Because we believe that we live in this community and we want to make it the greatest place to live."

Brunch-goers certainly found the actual outdoor sugar shack, providing tire sue la neige (maple toffee on snow), made the wintry day a whole lot sweeter.  Cliff Waldie and Val Reimer had the challenging task of keeping up with demand. 

Reimer says the morning started with a line-up of returnees from last year, waiting for their toffee fix, and was followed by first-timers pleased to discover it tasted as good as it looked! (click on photo at right for a short video clip from the brunch)

The festival runs until next Saturday, when it wraps up with a concert and dance with performer, BLOU, at the Columbus Community Centre.  For a complete listing of upcoming events go to www.ccfpg.ca