There was no better way to kick off a summer tourism season in the Battlefords than with a barbecue.
It took place over the noon hour at the Battlefords River Valley Visitor Centre, where those in attendance enjoyed free burgers and soft drinks, courtesy Discovery Co-op, Tourism Saskatchewan and Destination Battlefords.
The barbecue was part of Saskatchewan Tourism Week, which included flag-raisings at City Hall and Town Hall and related announcements.
“The idea was to help celebrate Saskatchewan Tourism Week and to encourage people to come down here,” said Ryan Bater, executive director with Destination Battlefords.
“This is a nice, hidden gem in our river valley and we wanted to expose people to it, and we thought a free barbecue would be a good carrot to get people down.”
Afterwards, visitors were able to look around the newly-renovated visitor centre building. The building is now fully insulated for year round use as headquarters for Destination Battlefords, who moved to the location full time from their former downtown offices.
“The interior is all done, the offices are built, we have meeting room facilities now that are actually available for private groups to rent,” said Bater.
The outside renovations are done and most notable has been the installation for a huge 60-foot Canadian flag that is easily visible from the highway to potential tourists.
“We want to draw attention to this place to make it as beautiful as we could yet while still maintaining the natural serenity.”
While the Battlefords bills itself as a year-round destination, it gets particularly busy during the summer months with plenty of traffic on the way to the nearby lakes and other amenities.
“People come year round, but mostly they start coming right about now,” Bater said. “We’re looking forward to a nice busy season.”
