It was a week to celebrate tourism in the Battlefords and in Saskatchewan.
June 15 to 21 was proclaimed Saskatchewan Tourism Week by the provincial government, which allowed tourism officials in the Battlefords to celebrate the week as well.
The high point of the week was Wednesday, when tourism officials unveiled the newly-named Battlefords River Valley Visitor Centre, which was formerly the Nature Centre, at a barbecue and reception event.
The centre is now occupied by Battlefords Tourism and Convention Association where they will provide tourism information services to the public. The location is open between the 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
The hope is to keep the facility operating year round, however the building will need upgrades to insulation and other features for that to happen.
The event Wednesday included the naming of a Volunteer of the Year as well as a Tourism Training Award.
To the surprise of no one the Tourism Training Award went to Gold Eagle Lodge and was accepted by its general manager Malcolm Anderson.
The Volunteer of the Year award went to John Eberle for his years of work with the Battlefords Agricultural Society. He has served the Ag. Society for 25 years, including serving as president, and has worked on events such as the CPCA races, Northwest Territorial Days, including organizing its Demolition Derby, and other roles.
Ag. Society general manager Jocelyn Ritchie was on hand to present the award to Eberle.
The week started with flag-raising ceremonies Monday morning at North Battleford City Hall and Battleford Town Hall. Those were attended by officials from Tourism Saskatchewan and from Battlefords Tourism, as well as Mayor Ian Hamilton of North Battleford and Councillor Susan McLean Tady of Battleford.
That event allowed Tourism Saskatchewan's west central field officer Owen Einsiedler to announce the launch of the newly rebranded ExploreSask Photo Contest.
Amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to submit images as part of that contest. There is a new contest category this year: SaskSelfie, where people are encouraged to snap a selfie photo with their mobile device or camera at a recognizable hot spot in Saskatchewan.
Prize winners in each category receive a $250 gift card from Don's Photo, while the grand prize winner also receives an additional gift card of $250 from Don's Photo.
More details and complete contest rules can be found at TourismSaskatchewan.com/PhotoContest.
Also launched at 4 p.m. Wednesday was the fifth annual Best of the Battlefords Photo Contest.
The City of North Battleford and Battlefords Tourism and Convention Association are encouraging amateur photographers to enter. The four categories are Battlefords Vacation, Events, Urban Life, and Sports and Recreation. Winners in each category receive a prize with a minimum value of $100 and the best overall prize is valued at $250.
Last year's winning entries were featured prominently on the cover of the 2014 Official Battlefords Visitor Guide and on the home page of the Battlefords Tourism website.
The deadline to enter is Wednesday, Sept. 3.
Entry instructions, categories, rules, and regulations are available at www.cityofnb.ca and www.battlefordstourism.com.
