The thing about traveling to Alaska is that many of the interesting things to do and see along the way are down dead end roads. I had read about Atlin in the tourist literature available at nearby tourist centers and the Milepost guidebook and it sounded like it was interesting, but decided to go there on another trip. But the thing about traveling and going where the wind takes you, is that the wind may take the smoke of a forest fire and put it right over the places where you’re heading. The smoke is so thick, not only can you smell and see it, but it can negatively impact your health. So, I arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon on a very smoky morning, planning to make my way north to the Dempster Highway. However, the smoke predictions were that the entire highway was smoky, with the worst of the smoke being around the Arctic Circle. This smoke was sticking around for at least a week, so I wondered what I could do instead, even considered going home the smoke was so bad. But then I turned on local radio and heard about the Atlin Arts and Music Festival, starting the next day. I got online at the Whitehorse Visitor center and found you could no longer buy tickets online, and the place to purchase the tickets locally was to stop pre-sales the day before. I didn’t give up and headed over to the local office. They weren’t sold out and they would still sell me a ticket for the pre-sale price of $145 for the whole weekend festival. So, I bought my ticket, had a nice lunch, filled my tank with gas, and started driving to Atlin. I’m so glad I went because the festival was great and there were interesting things to do in Atlin, BC:
Things to do in Atlin – Check out the cool old buildings
Atlin is the most northwest town in British Columbia. It connects by road only to Yukon, and Whitehorse is the closest major city, about 2 hours by driving. Many of the older buildings in town have amusing plaques describing the use of the buildings in the early 1900’s. There are signs on many shops, the church, theater, etc. Some have other purposes today, such as the hardware store and craft shops.
Things to do in Atlin – Go Aboard the Historic Ship Tarahne
The Tarahne ship is open on weekends in the summer and admission is by donation. This ship was used in the early 1900’s to bring tourists to Atlin.
Things to do in Atlin – Lake Atlin
Lake Atlin is the largest natural lake in British Columbia. It’s possible to rent houseboats and do other boating and stand up paddleboarding.
Things to do in Atlin – See a Show at the Globe Theater
The refurbished Globe Theater is a small venue for film and music during the Atlin Arts and Music Festival, but it’s a community gathering place for film showings and speakers at other times of the year. Look at the bulletin boards around town for what’s playing at the Globe Theater.
Things to do in Atlin – Explore further
There are many miles of roads that go east and south of Atlin. These roads contain historical and natural sites. Natural sites include fishing lakes, mountain and beach hikes, and several campgrounds, some of them free. I particularly liked the Pine Creek Falls, found only about 3 km east of town. I happened to see the falls marked on my maps.me app and had the view of the falls all to myself. Not many tourists make their way out to Atlin, even post festival.
Things to do at the Atlin Arts and Music Festival
Music –
Even though I had never heard of any of the artists (but many Canadian attendees were familiar with them – they were singing along), I LOVED some of the artists that were new to me! I especially liked Dan Mangan, Terra Lightfoot, DJ Shub, and Sarah MacDougall. There was a mix of music from Rock, Folk, Country, and more and there was usually 2 shows at the same time so everyone can find some music they like.
Visual Arts –
There isn’t loads of visual arts, but even more fun is that you can take classes in various visual arts from printmaking to painting to mixed media. I took a 2-hour landscape painting class using acrylic paints for a very reasonable $20 CAD, and had a painting of the Atlin mountains to take home with me.
Film –
The Yukon Film society put on two pre-festival showings on Thursday night plus films during the first 2 days of the festival. I was lucky to view “The Edge of the Knife”, the first full length feature film in the Gaida (First Nations) language and a Documentary about mountain life in British Columbia.
The Atlin Arts and Music Festival After Party –
The festival grounds and town clear out by 5 pm after the festival officially closes. Many of the people from Whitehorse need to work the next day. But one of the festival goers mentioned I should stay the night (the camping pass let’s you stay until Monday) and go to the after party. At 9 or 10 pm, some of the festival attendees, volunteers, and performers show up at the Atlin Rec Centre for an informal jam session. It was cool so see a few relatively known Canadian performers hanging out, talking to fans, and singing cover tunes of Prince and Weezer. I met some people from Whitehorse that attend the party each year and they said 50% of the years, the after party is better than the festival.
Where to Stay in Atlin
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If coming for the Atlin Arts and Music Festival, most people camp. Camping used to be free (there is still an informal free campsite for tents farther from the festival), but I paid $50 for camping for the whole weekend. Most people just stay Friday and Saturday night, but I stayed Thursday through Monday morning.
There are a couple hotels and several B&Bs around town (View Rates and Availability). Note that during the Atlin Arts and Music Festival, many of the rooms at the hotels are reserved for the performers.
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