Cravi TRAVEL Saskatchewan town new TO FIND Craven, Saskatchewan, on a map you'd better start with a very detailed roadmap and a magnifying glass. Clue: It’s a half-hour drive north of Regina. But for four days every year, Craven becomes the third largest city in the province, hosting the world’s largest country music jamboree, properly called “Craven County Big Valley Jam- bores.” To give you some idea of the size of the event, 400 acres of parking space is set aside for camping on the site. The music starts every morning at 10 o’clock and continues non- stop until the last show winds up between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. For anyone who feels that ‘‘if it ain’ country, it ain’t music,” Craven is the event of the year. And it attracts the stars: this year’s lineup included names such as Don Williams, Charley Pride, the Judds, Marie Osmond, Dan Seals, Kathy Mattea, Reba McEn- tire and a host cf other American headliners. Canada provided, among others, Marty Gillan and Lisa Brokop, Rocky Swanson, Gary Fjellgaard and Michelle Wright. Our friends Blair and Marlene Anderson are country music ad- dicts and the highlight of their year was a visit to Craven. They returned so enthusiastic about the event that I figured a report was in order. Who knows how many other North Shore people are in love with country and might want to put Craven on their list for next year? The Andersons took the bus. Maverick Tours offered an ir- resistible package to the Jamboree — $349 per person included bus fare, five. nights accommodation _and entry to the grounds for the duration. Unbeatable — you conldn’t drive there and pick up your own tabs for anywhere close to that. They were a bit concerned about the long bus ride. Having lived through a few tours of this nature | had a let of reservations, too, but kindly kept my mouth shut. They enjoyed every minute of it! The bus driver was tops, the other passengers great fun and stops were frequent. They played country music Barbara McCreadie BUDGET BEATERS tapes, two of the passengers had guitars and played for singalongs, and in short it was a non-stop party for two days each way. The hotel chain used in both Calgary and Regina was the Relax Inn and it was ‘‘just the sort of hotel we'd choose if we were driv- ing.”” They particularly praised the buffet breakfast at the Calgary hotel. It was about $7 and includ- ed everything you could possibly want, beautifully presented. Passengers are allowed one bag and a lawn chair each. The chairs are essenvial if you want to sit near the stage and see the perfor- mances. Otherwise, there is a grandstand but it’s so far from the stage that special SUPER CRUISE savings for CRUISE HOLIDAYERS from CRUISE MASTERS of Roseway AMAZON — Sun Line Cruises 2 for 1 Special — Fort Lauderdale to Manaus, January 5, 14 days from $2530 Cdn., includes air, per person. STAND BY BARGAINS =—— Princess Cruises, Mexico, Sept.-Dec., 7 days from $595 U.S. plus air L.A. return RARE SPECIALS — Royal viking Line Bermuda, July-Oct., 7 days, $1245 Cdn. inc. air. Barbados Series, Nov.-Dec., 10 or 11 days, $1595 Cdn. inc. air. CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S — Princess Cruises — various, including Mexico, Caribbean & South Pacific, trom 7-14 days, with $300-400/couple Love Boat Savers, free air. Royal Cruise Line — Golden Odyssey Panama Canal, 12 days from $2950 Cdn., inc. air. Sun Line — Caribbean, 14 days from $3226 Cdn., includes air. Remember your $75 coupon trom Alaska Cruise Shipp Guide PHONE 926-4344 106-100 Park Royal South, West Vancouver (ground floor office tower) Mecca for c you must view the action on im- mense TV screens. The sound system is excelent, though. The Maverick coach took their group out to the grounds every morning, returned to Regina at 1:30, stayed in town until 5:30 then went back to the grounds un- til closing. For $3, you could shuttle back and forth to Regina every half hour. Many passengers stayed put for the entire day. The main street of the grounds had every sort of food stand. There was a wide variety, in- cluding health foods, that were reasonably priced. For example, a steak and egg breakfast was $6. Also there were two liquor outlets —- a beer garden called Fort Whoop-Up and the Jack Daniels Saloon. No liquor — and no glass — was allowed anywhere near the stage or grandstand. Bags were inspected to make sure the rules were followed. There were no drunks, no rowdies and no trouble. In addition to the music, there were rides for the kids, various contests such as mud votlevbail and horseshoes and three tents full of crafts and other merchandise. If you want to plan a visit to Craven for next year’s bash, here are some words of advice from my friends: © Wear a good sunscreen. © Take lawn chairs. © Days are hot, but as soon as the sun goes down it gets cold. Bring clothes you can layer as the even- ing progresses. ® The grounds are dusty — san- dals aren’t the best choice for footwear. I'd think twice about camping in Craven. The campgrounds are free but unserviced except for fresh water and sewage disposal. There is no shuttle bus from the campground to the concert area and some people walked as long as an hour to get from their camp to the action. With the shuttles provided into n’ for Craven ountry fans Regina, staying in the city in a motel might be a lot more com- foriable. Also, campers begin to arrive as much as a week in ad- vance of the show to get a good spot -- but what in hell would you do for a week in Craven? Next year’s show is scheduled for July t1-14 and hopefully Maverick will be running another tour. The proceeds from the event go to Father Larre's Bosco Home and 57 other charities. Sunday, August 5, 1990 - North Shore News ~ 34 eeenters Invites you to join them ona Bingo Cruise on board The "Fun Ship? 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