Send us your blues
  1. Your privacy is important. This information will be burned!

“As a volunteer for Burning Away the Winter Blues, my main job was setting lines of tealight candles into the snowbanks to light the paths. I loved that job. The little candles shed so much light, pushing back the dark. And they gave off so much heat, warming my hands as I worked, melting the snow around them, and burning away my winter blues.”

Volunteer Catherine Millar

Join Us!

Volunteer

Organizing Burning Away the Winter Blues is a big job but it’s also rewarding and lots of fun. We welcome new volunteers every year.

We need people to set out candles on the path, animate the dragon of spring and the effigy of winter, carry torches, bring and play their percussion instruments, and put away all the props at the end of the evening.

Every year we offer community groups the opportunity to fundraise by running our concession, and we are always open to offers of artistic input. Interested? Contact us.

Fire Spinner swivelling torches at night

Be There!

Burning Away the Winter Blues begins at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday March 24, 2012 on the shores of the Yukon River in downtown Whitehorse.

Park your car at Robert Service Campground and take the shuttle to the gathering place at the SS Klondike. The Shuttle bus is free and starts at 8:30 PM. Th Parade leaves the SS Klondike at 9PM (If it's really cold, it will leave earlier - because it is too cold to wait!)

The procession will wind along the waterfront and the Millennium Trail, through Robert Service Campground, ending up at a huge bonfire in the campground.

Be sure to wear sturdy walking shoes or boots. Dress warmly and in layers, in case you need to shed a layer or two in the heat of our great bonfire. Walking with strollers or sleds is usually fine, although it is a good idea to check in with event organizers to see if a snowfall or thaw has recently affected the path. Organizers wear security jackets and are readily visible. Dress for fun and bring instruments and noise makers!

Last minute info call Artistic Director, Erin Corbett: 336-1723.

Be There In Spirit

If you can’t join us in person, we invite you to watch Burning Away the Winter Blues over our live webcast. Just go to our home page on March 24nd and we’ll have a link there to the webcast.

We’d also be pleased to burn away your blues for you. Use the form on this page or let us know over live chat to send us your blues.

You can also mail them to Box 31697, Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 6L9. Attach your name or mail them anonymously.  As long as they get here by March 24st, we’ll be happy to throw them in our bonfire, and you can start spring with a clean slate! (For those of you who stumble on our site the day of the event and have blues to burn – you will be able to email us, or let us know over live chat and we’ll write them down for you right on the spot and burn them up with all the others!)

Invite Your Friends

Burning Away the Winter Blues, like many grass roots community events, relies on word of mouth. We’d appreciate any invitations you can make to people who might enjoy being here.

And, with this year’s live webcast, anyone with an Internet connection can enjoy a virtual visit to Whitehorse and our event. Please email your friends and relatives and tell them we’d love to have them take part. They can even send in their blues and we’ll burn them away!

And here’s another added perk - you can come by our webcast camera during the event and send a greeting out to anyone watching from afar.

 

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