PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release	October 4 , 2006
Ahhhh!!……Autumn Aboriginal Tours Amidst a Blaze of Color
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada---Fall is an amazingly beautiful season for Aboriginal Tourism in British Columbia. Summer crowds have gone, the leaves are turning into a glorious golden halo and many of the favorite attractions have space available. Throughout the province travelers will find exciting excursions, comfortable accommodations, tasty treats and exhilarating sports – all delivered by friendly and welcoming aboriginal hosts.
Autumn is the perfect time for golf and winery visits. In Osoyoos, Nk'Mip Cellars is open year round and produces Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Merlot, using grapes exclusively from the Osoyoos Indian Band's Vineyard. The Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, an 18-hole championship golf course in the nearby town of Oliver, is also open all year, as is the new $9 million Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre.
Cooler weather is perfect for conferences and retreats. The Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre in Duncan, on Vancouver Island, offers an authentic First Nations experience year-round. St. Eugene Resort, near Cranbrook in the spectacular Kootenay Rockies region has a 19,000-square-foot casino, within easy driving distance of nearby slopes with perfect snow conditions for winter sports.
Fall has always been a time of food gathering for traditional cultures. The Liliget Feast House, near Stanley Park in Vancouver, serves authentic regional dishes cooked over the alder wood grill in ambience reminiscent of a Northwest Coast longhouse. Liliget is open Wednesdays to Sundays in the fall. Shopping for hand crafted Native artwork is a great way to make gift giving fun. The Gift Gallery at Xa:ytem Longhouse in Mission is set in a 4000 square foot longhouse. Exquisite museum quality masks carved by Sto:lo artists, carved bent wood boxes, cedar hats, mats and panels, drums, talking sticks, paddles and totem poles fill the shop. Khot-La-Cha Art Gallery and Gift Shop on the Capilano Indian Reserve in North Vancouver offers totem poles, cedar plaques, ceremonial masks, Hand Knit Indian sweaters, moccasins, and prints. The store also showcases hand-tanned moose hide crafts, porcupine quill, bone, silver and gold carved jewelry.
Native fish guides look forward to autumn for coho fly-fishing along the shores and estuaries of BC’s south coast. Whenever the salmon are running, bears congregate along the river to feast before hibernation. Klemtu Tourism offers 4 and 7-day tour packages until October 19th. , Guests will experience Great Bear Rainforest, the world’s largest remaining intact temperate rainforest, home of the Spirit bear and a world wonder. Other fall sightseeing trips, such as those offered by Homalco Wildlife Tours and Aboriginal Journeys on Vancouver Island, pass beautiful coastal scenery, lush rainforests and swirling tidal waters to view bears, killer whales, dolphins, porpoises, eagles, seals, sea lions and old First Nations village sites. It’s a perfect autumn get-a-way when combined with a stay at a native run lodge! or bed and breakfast.
For more information on the array of Aboriginal cultural and nature experiences available in British Columbia, visit www.aboriginalbc.com.
-30-
Media contact: Nora Weber TerraCom Communications Group P: 604 504 4457 E: noraw@terracomgroup.net