#Good Morning #Canada Another installment of #BigStuffInSmallTowns takes us to Dewberry Alberta, the home of chuckwagon racers. So it's no surprise that the world's largest chuckwagon was unveiled at the 1995 Chuckwagon Races held in Dewberry, a full 1.5 times the size of a real racing wagon. There may be more deserving oversized monuments across Canada, but the YouTube feature on this big wagon only has 54 views and needs some love.
Good Morning #Canada We are well into season 3 of #BigStuffInSmallTowns, and it's a long weekend, so today we celebrate Canadians' favourite subject - #Beavers. In Fredericton, a pair of Beavers has been hidden away for almost a decade but recently have been exposed to the public once more. The 1,400 kilo sculpture of a Beaver and a cub, commissioned in 1959, has been restored and installed inside the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Good Morning #Canada Another installment of #BigStuffInSmallTowns brings another tale of a town mascot on the move. Mr. PG is an 8.14-metre statue made of wood and fibreglass, located at the intersection of Highways 16 and 97, in Prince George. But Mr. PG is now looking for a new home downtown where "things are happening." That might be a direct quote. Prince George thinks the 60 year old icon can bring more tourists into town.
Good Morning #Canada As the popular saying goes, you can't swing a beaver in Canada without hitting a lumberjack statue. But when a 6.5M tall statue starts moving around then it gets interesting. If you can find Iroquois Falls on a map, then you should stop by for a selfie with the tourist attraction known locally as "Storyteller" or "Guy-Paul Treefall". After being all alone on Hwy 11, he's moving downtown for the nightlife.
Good Morning, er... Afternoon #Canada I was saving my first #BigStuffInSmallTowns post of 2025 for mid-May, but the power failure, now over, delayed my "research" into other subjects, so I'm using it early. Today, you get to learn about the 5.8 metre tall Big Joe Mufferlaw statue in Mattawa, Ontario. The hand carved pine statue was erected to honour a local legend whose real name was Joseph Montferrand.
Good Morning #Canada Some mornings, I wake up and struggle to find material for this daily post. I'm sure something or somebody was or is interesting, but maybe the subject doesn't speak to me like beaver stories or #BigStuffInSmallTowns. But then you remember that approx 13,820 days ago, the Montreal band The Box released Closer Together, and it could be our rallying cry in these turbulent times. Or it's just 80s cool.
Good Morning #Canada #Thanksgiving weekend will see a lot of Canadians out sightseeing, and therefore, it's time for our final #BigStuffInSmallTowns post for 2024. In Bonnyville Alberta, you can find the enormous hand-carved statue of fur trader Angus Shaw. The 7 metre high statue welcomes visitors to the Bonnyville and District Museum. BTW, Angus is one of eleven examples of Big Stuff on Alberta's #RouteOfTheGods.
Good Morning #Canada Today is another #golf day for me and therfore I have some related #BigStuffInSmallTowns content. In my backyard, OK 30 minutes north of me, is the largest golf bag on the planet. A local golf course repurposed a grain silo to create a 9 metre tall replica. You would need Paul Bunyan to Caddy for you.
Good Morning #Canada Did you ever wonder where the longitudinal center of Canada is? And when you found it, did you wish for a big comfy chair so you can relax and enjoy your discovery? Well, today is your lucky day because this #BigStuffInSmallTowns post allows you to put a checkmark on your #BucketList. According to the internet, and therefore it must be true, the center of Canada is near Tache, Manitoba.
Good Morning #Canada We are nearing the end of prime #RoadTrip season, so we need to squeeze in a few more #BigStuffInSmallTowns posts. This is a rare example from Quebec (maybe they're more sophisticated than the rest of Canada), an observation platform consisting of huge painted boulders that represent a cow lying in a field. Located in the tiny town of St-Georges-de-Windsor, in the Eastern Township.
@paulbusch Alberta has a BUNCH of #BigStuffInSmallTowns! Highway 28 has something at almost every potential stop. It's fun when a person has to make a #RoadTrip.
Good Morning #Canada Previous #BigStuffInSmallTowns posts have featured monstrous bees and mosquitoes, so I'm obligated to give a giant dragonfly some attention as well. Created by Frank Phaneuf, a structural welder, the 10 metre long statue is located in Wabamun AB. Installed in 2009, it is the unofficial mascot of the village due to the annual hatching of thousands of dragonflies each June.
Good Morning #Canada Today's edition of #BigStuffInSmallTowns is a quirky attraction - the World Famous Torrington Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, Alberta. Created as a way to attract tourists to their shrinking town, it features 77 stuffed gophers posed to resemble townspeople in 44 intricately designed dioramas. It's a little weird, but I think I would stop for a visit if I'm traveling in the area.
Good Morning #Canada There are 80-ish residents of Cheadle Alberta, a town named after Walter Butler Cheadle, a British pediatrician who would be among the pioneers of diagnosing the U.K. epidemic of childhood rickets during the Industrial Revolution. For a short period in 2022, they were discovered by Pepsi and became famous for a 5.2 metre tall Cheeto statue, joining the elite ranks of #BigStuffInSmallTowns. Fame is fleeting.
Good Morning #Canada Some say that the mosquito is the official bird of Manitoba. So it's not surprising that the largest mosquito in the world is located in Komarno, about 70 km north of Winnipeg. Komarno is Ukrainian for ‘full of mosquitos’. Yes, it's another #BigStuffInSmallTowns post that celebrates the world-famous 4.5 metre long statue of the beloved insect. I know you're itching to visit and stop for a bite.
Good Morning #Canada Apparently, Melita Manitoba is just a few degrees warmer, on average, versus the rest of the province. Locals naturally started referring to Melita as the "Banana Belt of Manitoba." The logical progression of that thinking process would be to erect a 2,800 kilogram, 10 meter tall banana in your downtown. Totally normal.
Good Morning #Canada Did you know that Altona, Manitoba, is the Sunflower Capital of Canada? It's also the location of today's #BigStuffInSmallTowns because they have a painting of Sunflowers (duh...) on an easel that stands over 23 meters high. It's not an original Van Gogh but a significantly larger depiction of his work. If you're collecting photos of yourself next to oversized roadside attractions, this would make a pretty picture.
Good Morning #Canada With school out for the summer, #RoadTrip season is heating up, which means you need more #BigStuffInSmallTowns for planning purposes. How about an 8 meter tall Orca near the convention centre in Vancouver, BC. You might think, " I'll wait until it's finished...", but it's supposed to look like that because it's a pixilated Orca. Our west coast has a different vibe, and we love that.
Good Morning #Canada #RoadTrip season has only just begun, and there are lots of freakishly large random objects to take a selfie with. This installment of #BigStuffInSmallTowns takes us to Shediac, New Brunswick, the Lobster Capitol of Canada. This means you won't be shocked to find a 90-ton lobster waiting patiently for a photo op. The sculpture is 11 metres long by 5 metres tall, and attracts 500,000 seafood loving tourists annually.
