Prince George, B.C.-  With the New Year  just days away,  the City is announcing a  festival  it hopes will capture, and rekindle the  positive  vibes created by the Canada Winter Games.Say hello to the Celebrate Prince George Winter Festival!

From February  5th through the 14th,  the City will be  under the Winter Festival banner  as  residents and visitors are  encouraged to attend  events.  The Festival is being organized in partnership with Prince George Tourism.

“It was the atmosphere in Canada Games Plaza last February that really inspired us to develop this idea for a Winter Festival one year after the Games,” says Mayor Lyn Hall. “Our hope is that the spirit of the Games and the City Centennial will continue to live on in our Community Celebrations grant program, which Council created this year.”  Under the Community Celebrations grant program,  organizations can apply for  up to $30 thousand dollars in funding  for events to be held in February or in July.

Community Celebration grant applications are  being accepted until the end of January,   that  doesn’t  leave much time for some  groups  to  plan  for an event. “We just saw it as an opportunity to do something in February to coincide with the year out from the anniversary of the Games, and we wanted to get at it a little  quicker than what we had  originally planned” says Mayor Hall.

One of the highlights of the Winter Festival, will be an open air event at the Canada Games Plaza,  much like what was experienced during the Canada Winter Games, complete with concerts, food trucks, activities and displays, and fireworks.

The Plaza  event is set for the 13th of February.

There are a number of other activities taking place in the City   during that period  which will be under the  Winter Festival banner,   including Chinese New Year at Exploration Place,  Theatre Northwest,  Cougars, Spruce Kings and Timberwolves games,  Pacific Sport,  the  Prince George Iceman competition and cultural performances. “There’s a number of things  that would have been traditionally  held during that time that we’re incorporating into this ten day festival, but there are  things as well  which will be new to it.”

So will the  festival, recapture, or rekindle the  Games spirit?  “I think we can” says Mayor Hall “I think  wehat happened during the Games is that we really, really   ignited the spirit of Prince George during those Games, and I think we can relive some of that.  We won’t have 10 thousand people here from across Canada, but you know,   those events  at the Plaza, more often than not,  the greater percentage of people attending were from Prince George, and   absolutely  loved it.  It show cases the local entertainment and cultural events we have  here in Prince George so,  it’s such a  positive thing for the community and we really showed what the spirit of Prince George  is about and I think we can capture that. ”

There will also be  free admission to a number of local  facilities on select days.

“This event is exactly what we need in Prince George to attract visitors as well as enhance activities for residents,” says Erica Hummel, CEO of Tourism Prince George. “It’s great that this won’t be a one-off, and will grow to include annual festivals in February and July through the Community Celebrations grant.”