Barkerville, Wells, continue to feel economic impacts of wildfires

“12 days did feel like an eternity when we were in the middle of it, but thankfully it wasn’t any longer than that,” Cawood said.

It’s not just Barkerville though, Wells also saw a huge hit when it had to cancel its ArtsWells festival. 2024 was supposed to be the long awaited return of the festival, as it hasn’t run since 2019 due to Covid, but wildfires unfortunately postponed this return until 2025.

“It sometimes feels silly to say that I feel a lot of grief about not going to the festival this year, but it is. It’s like losing an experience and losing a time to be with your family and to be with your friends, and to create those moments and experiences that take us through the darkest parts of the year,” said Shannon Street, a Prince George comedian and longtime ArtsWells Volunteer.

Street has volunteered with ArtsWells for many years, but this was going to be to her first year actually performing. While that certainly adds to the disappointment, she adds the real tragedy of it is losing the sense of community ArtsWells brings.

“You take over an entire town for the weekend, so you feel like you’re a part of something, a part of a community, and the atmosphere is intensely creative,” Street said, when speaking on what makes ArtsWells special.

Like Barkerville, the economic impact is also greatly felt in Wells too, as the loss of this huge event means tourism has significantly dropped in Wells.

“There’s a whole huge factor of things from the vendors that are supplying artistic wares and food, to vendors that supply them for kind of like hidden things like our toilets and other things like that,” said ArtsWells Organizer Elyssia Sasaki.

While it’s been difficult, both Cawood and Sasaki encourage everyone to visit their respective locations. Barkerville is fully open again for people to enjoy that wonderful experience, and Sasaki adds even without ArtsWells Wells remains a wonderful place to visit.

“Wells is still a beautiful place, even when ArtsWells isn’t happening, and it’s still very special and it’s worthwhile for folks to come out here and get to take that in. Fall is my favorite time to be here,” Sasaki said.

“If they love Barkerville, the best way to support us is to come out, pay for admissions, come to the Theatre Royal show, go for a stagecoach ride, go and visit our merchants and restaurants,” Cawood said.

ArtsWells 2025 is already being planned and is set to make its long awaited return, while Barkerville is looking forward to running a full season next year with all of its special events.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your inbox every evening.

by Tommy Osborne

Barkerville, Wells, continue to feel economic impacts of wildfires

What's Trending