After weeks of delays and many bumps in the road, Yellowknifers can finally get their trees from the Yellowknife Scouts tree yard starting Dec. 13.
The trees go on sale at the Yellowknife Co-op at 6 p.m. The opening marks an end to a long and difficult journey for the shipment of more than 400 Balsam and Fraser firs.
There is already a shortage of Christmas trees this year, due to a combination of environmental and economic factors. The Scouts’ trees were supposed to go on sale the last week of November. However, “It wasn’t cold enough to cut the trees, so we said ‘let’s put it off a week,’” says Mike Kalnay, the Scouts’ tree-yard co-ordinator.
Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the ordeal: after the trees were harvested from Johnston Brothers Tree Farm south of Ottawa, the driver hired for the job doubled his fee. When the team instead put the trees on a train from Montreal to Calgary, the floods in B.C. shut down the rail network.
And as the trees arrived by truck in Edmonton, the shipment was stopped for a possible inspection, during which time the driver left.
“COVID, environmental crisis, general chaos,” says Kalnay of the factors that led to the delays. “Everything’s harder everywhere.”
Finally, on the last leg of the journey over the weekend, the truck ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. “Our driver went into the ditch, but he passed three other trucks in the ditch,” says Kalnay.
When the trees finally did arrive at their destination in the Co-op parking lot, more than a dozen shoppers and passers-by stepped in to help with the unloading. “We on-loaded that truck faster than we’ve ever unloaded,” says Kalnay.
A shipment of trees is also on its way to Cambridge Bay via airplane. “It’s up to Buffalo Joe and Braden Burry [expediting] now,” says Kalnay.
The Yellowknife Scouts have been operating the tree yard fundraiser for more than 30 years. It’s an important source of revenue for the organization, which currently has less than 100 members. “We hope to sell all the trees to cover those costs,” says Kalnay.
Kalnay is confident there will still be trees left this weekend. “We ran out last year after two weeks, and I think we have enough, so people don’t need to panic and stand in a long, long line tonight,” he says.
Trees are on sale during the week from 6-8 p.m., and on the weekend from 10-4. Due to Covid-19-related restrictions, a maximum of three families or 16 people will be allowed in the yard at a time.