{"id":865321,"date":"2026-08-20T19:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/865321\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T19:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:26:11","slug":"search-for-b-c-s-best-roadside-attraction-northern-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/865321\/","title":{"rendered":"Search for B.C.’s best roadside attraction: Northern finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Prince George city councillor Tim Bennett is in full booster mode for Mr. PG.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He wants his city\u2019s mascot to win, and to spread the word, he\u2019s posted a photo of himself standing in front of the roadside monument, a fried drumstick in hand, and giant smile on his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a re-enactment of a hand-drawn card given to him by a child a few years ago when Bennett left his job at Big Brothers Big Sisters. \u201cChicken is awesome, Mr. PG is awesome, and you\u2019re awesome,\u201d the child told him at the time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bennett knows where he stands in that hierarchy \u2014 \u201cMr. PG reigns supreme when it comes to most awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"APrince George city Coun. Tim Bennett poses in front of Mr. PG. (Submitted by Tim Bennett)<\/p>\n

Mr. PG towers over the junction of highways 16 and 97. But Bennett has been amazed at how far beyond the north his \u2014 that is, Mr. PG\u2019s \u2014 awesomeness has travelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. PG socks are a very hot commodity,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we travel, whether it\u2019s to Vancouver, Victoria or Ottawa, we\u2019re giving away a lot of pairs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That brand and name recognition has been parlayed into its own form of boosterism \u2014 for the north, and B.C. in general.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really become a champion of Prince George and, unfortunately, as we\u2019re seeing ongoing challenges within the forestry sector, Mr. PG stands strong and is a good reminder of the foundation Prince George was built on,\u201d said Bennett.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | How roadside attractions are changing in B.C:\"\"<\/p>\n

Are roadside attractions in danger of extinction?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of the big old smile that he has on his face, and that truly represents the people of B.C.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s another story to be told in the north. Another resource sector embedded in B.C.\u2019s mythology. Another booster.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarkerville has been around before British Columbia was considered a province and helped create this place as we know it today,\u201d said Stewart Cawood, who has worked at Barkerville Historic Town and Park for 20 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barkerville, he said, reminds British Columbians of \u201cwho we are, and where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AHow the finalists in the Interior and north sections of the Search for B.C.’s Roadside Attraction got to this point. (CBC News)<\/p>\n

For example, the attraction\u2019s immersive experience about the gold rush has also evolved to bring the stories of Indigenous communities \u201cfront and centre,\u201d said Cawood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that people from all walks of life, of all cultures, were a part of what was going on here, and all of those stories are important.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s also the fact that the drive north on Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon, and the many mile houses of Highway 97, exist because of Barkerville.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just a roadside attraction, we\u2019re the point of that whole trek when that road was built back in the 1860s,\u201d Cawood said. \u201cOur stories aren\u2019t just isolated to this little historic site here. It is connected to all the other stories of the history of British Columbia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only that but Barkerville is, after all, an actual town, said Cawood. It\u2019s \u201cmore than something you just look at and take a selfie in front of.\u201d Hold on to your drumsticks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The boosters have said their piece. May the best northern attraction win.<\/p>\n

It’s bracket time<\/p>\n

After determining the best small town<\/a>, lake<\/a> and symbol<\/a>, the Search for B.C.\u2019s Best Roadside Attraction<\/a> continues our summer tradition of asking CBC British Columbia readers to vote in a bracket and weigh in on an aspect of the province’s identity.<\/p>\n

In today’s matchup, Mr. PG faces Barkerville in the northern finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Voting takes place every week in August from Monday to Thursday, with one region represented on each voting day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A champion will be crowned from the final four before Labour Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Voting is open until 8 p.m. PT on Thursday. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-865321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}