Outdoor activities in Houston and nearby communities like Burns Lake made for a busy weekend in Houston.
On the weekend of Jan. 27, it was busy for businesses in Houston thanks to the cross country ski tournament in Burns Lake and the hockey game in Houston on Saturday Jan. 28.
“We saw over 500 patrons come through the doors starting after 4pm on Friday,” commented Tasha Kelly, manager of leisure services at the Houston Leisure Facility. When asked what a regular Saturday looks like at the Houston Leisure Facility, Kelly replied, “It’s hard to narrow down what a regular Saturday looks like. I’ve looked at it a few different ways and we seem to have about 100 people, if not more, come through the door on any given Saturday.”
A comment from a resident of Smithers said that after a day of skiing the kids loved coming to the pool to use the Tarzan Rope.
Sherry Rumph, manager at the Houston 7-Eleven said, “We did have a few people come through here for the cross country ski.People were fueling up, buying snacks, and lots of drinks.”
For some businesses in town there wasn’t too much of a difference compared to most weekends.
“We might have seen a little bit of an increase, but not a huge amount for us.” said Heather DeValera, manger of Mr. Sub.
But businesses have noted an increase especially when there are recreational events happening in town or nearby.
“We were so busy. Especially on the weekends when all the hockey kids come to town, “said Chau Ly, manager of Lee’sGarden.
Greg Yeomans, president of the Morice Mountain Nordic Ski club, said that he isn’t aware if any members from the club participated in the race, and at this time the club will not be putting on any cross country ski race events in Houston this year.
“We will test the waters with a run event in July. Events really help bring money to the whole area,” said Yeomans.