Prince George, B.C. -It’s been  over a year since Mayor and Council for the City of Prince George  agreed to pony up $50 thousand  in cash, or in-kind donations  to  have the  multi media Canada 150th  travelling show “Sesqui”  arrive in Prince George.

Well, ‘Sesqui’ is still coming,  but it is far from the grand   project  first   pitched.

Initially, Sesqui was  to be a multi-domed, interactive multi- media experience  that was to be set up in the CN Centre parking lot.  It was  designated a “Signature Sesquicentennial event” by the Federal Government which described the  event  in a news release as “an interactive festival experience that will travel to communities across Canada in 2017. The festival will be housed in a portable village of dome structures, including an immersive digital space that will host live events, interactive programs and a cutting edge 360° film experience.”

But, Federal funding for the project  dried up and the event was officially cancelled last fall.  While the City had committed to the cash/in-kind  cost,  no cheques had been written, so the City was not out  any  money.

Well,  Sesqui  is coming after all,  but has been significantly downsized.   It  is now a  screening of the 360 degree film “Horizon”  in a blow up media dome the folks behind Sesqui  have  attained  through a partnership  with the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.  The dome will be set up inside the Prince George Public Library.

The City’s Civic Events Coordinator, Jen Tkachuk  says  Sesqui’s visit will coincide with the BMO Kids Art Days on July  7th and 8th “It will be on the second floor ( of the library) in the adult paperback section.  The bookshelves are on wheels  so we are actually able to  move that  and create  a big  nice open space where we can  place the dome.”

The scaled down version  still has a price tag,   with the City  contributing  a little under  $7 thousand dollars says Tkachuk “We are essentially just paying for the cost of bringing up the dome  and the HR MacMillan staff, so it’s a  fraction of the price of what the original  contract was”

Tkachuk  says the inflatable dome is “Pretty phenomenal.  It can hold 25 to 35 people and you can  get fully immersed.  It has all the sound and technology inside,  it has come to Prince George in the past  and  I  have heard it is a really positive experience.  The film itself, I have heard, is absolutely phenomenal.”

The film has been billed a ‘visual symphony of Canada’ featuring coast to coast to coast images. Below is a trailer  for the film:

“I think this  still  a very exciting way for this film to come to Prince George” says Tkachuk “even though the larger logistical  one didn’t work out through their funding through the Federal Government.  I really think this an exciting thing that  I hope  will be embraced by locals  and that lots of  people go and check it out.”

There is no cost  to  see the film.