Search for gold continues at Taylor event

By: 

Kimberley Molina

Friday, July 30, 2010

Photo: A participant searches for gold at last year's competition in Taylor./ Energeticcity.ca Staff

The 38th Annual gold panning event is happening in Taylor this weekend.

The event runs on July 31 and Aug. 1 and will begin with a parade, starting at the community hall at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Sheena Tailleser is the event co-ordinator and says there are different levels in which people can register to participate but that people who want to participate in the Class A events must be a certified professional, which means having won at a previous gold panning championship.

There are three competition categories that people can participate in: fine, speed, and skill.

Tailleser says the fine competition requires participants to sift through a pan that has equal parts of sand, gravel, and 15 flakes of gold. The first person to find gold yells it out and gets points awarded but the judges can then take off points based on the number of flakes missed.

For those who don’t want to participate in the search for gold, there are other events such as a bannock baking competition, metal detecting, and claim staking.

There are also several activities for children, including learning how to gold pan, that will start at noon, Saturday.

Furthermore, there will be a steak BBQ held Saturday night and a pancake breakfast on Sunday.

Anyone wanting more information about the event can contact Sheena at 250-263-8289.