
Last Year’s BC Day Long Weekend – the view at Koocanusa Campground on Sunday, August 5th, 2012
As many of you know, July has been an incredibly sunny, summery month for us here in the South Country, so while it might be raining and thunderstorming at the moment, we can’t complain much and it will most likely pass quite quickly. The forecast is somewhat unsettled for the weekend but still supposed to be very warm and we should see a lot of sun too. Last year’s August long weekend seemed to be the busiest weekend in history here at the lake with the amount of visitors, vehicle and boat traffic etc. so this one will probably be similar especially judging from the midweek traffic we’ve seen this week.
Thanks in part to recent thunderstorms/moisture etc., small campfires are still okay in the campground, just make sure they are small and monitored/controlled. As you know, the store is open daily from 9:30am – 9pm for your grocery, camping essentials, vehicle and boat fuel and of course ice cream needs! The kitchen is open daily as well (until 7:30pm) serving breakfast sandwiches, burgers (beef & veggie), hot dogs, calzones, mini pizzas, salads, daily specials, fruit smoothies and more.
In the celebratory spirit of the long weekend, we’re trying something new this year… please join us this Sunday, August 4th morning from 10am – 12pm on the store deck for a mini arts/homebased business market. If you are a camper who crafts or has a homebased retail business with products for sale or to order, feel free to come and set-up on the deck that morning (i.e. between 9 – 10am to be set-up by 10am).

by Anita Braconnier
If possible, please bring your own table so that most of the picnic tables can be used by customers.
Hope everyone enjoyed our annual Canada Day fireworks this year! Please remember that empties can be dropped off at one of our camper’s sites, Fred Mills (Site #110). Make sure cans/bottles are emptied and have caps removed. Fred generously takes care of this recycling and provides all the money raised to the fireworks fund each year. He says that the amount of bottles being dropped off this year is down from other years.

Click on this poster for a larger version.
In other news, an exciting event is making it’s return to Koocanusa next weekend that you might want to check out and mark your calendars for. The 2nd Annual Koocanusa Wakesurfing Challenge will be taking place at Gold Bay (where Sunshine Houseboats is located) from Fri. August 9 – Sunday, August 11th. This is one of only two National Qualifying events for the World Series of Wakesurfing (the Worlds are taking place in Las Vegas this year from Sept. 27 – 28th.)
The competition is open to everyone of all ages—if you can drop the rope, you can enter! There are several different categories for both men and women (Juniors, Masters, Outlaw, Pro Skim & Surf, Amateur etc.) Spectators are welcome but the Rocky Mountain Wakesurfing Association recommends either coming by boat or if driving, please carpool as parking is limited. For full details about the competition, please visit: www.rmwa.ca
As a fundraiser for the event, the Rocky Mountain Wakesurfing Association is also having a raffle. You could win a vacation at Cerritos Surf Colony in Baja, Mexico (6 nights/7 days for 4 people.) Only 200 tickets are being sold so there are excellent odds of winning! Tickets are $25/each or 5 for $100 and are available in Fernie at Boardstiff and the Gearhub and also online! There are no blackout dates and the winner has up to 3 years to use their prize. The winner will be drawn on the last day of the Koocanusa Wakesurfing Challenge on Sunday, August 9th and does not need to be present to win.
That’s it from here for now. Wishing everyone a great long weekend with their friends and family and see you at the store or on the beach soon!