Mr. and Mrs. Yukon 2019 ready to 'go with the flow'

Local legend and singer Hank Karr will swap his cowboy hat for a top hat this year, as he and his wife Pam take up their duties as "Mr. and Mrs. Yukon."

"The cowboy hat I think would have done [it]," Hank said, laughing. "I'll deal with it."

Every year, the Yukon Order of Pioneers selects a couple to represent the organization as ambassadors at the Sourdough Rendezvous festival and through the rest of the year — and this year, it's the Karrs.

Hank is no stranger to the spotlight as he's been performing regularly since the 1960s. But Pam said she's always been more comfortable sitting in the back watching.

Hank wasn't sure Pam would agree to be Mrs. Yukon, but it turned out she didn't need much convincing.

"Should be interesting. Should be fun," Pam said.

The couple has fond memories of the Sourdough Rendezvous in years past. The mid-winter festival was always a major event on Yukoners' social calendars.

"It was awesome," said Pam. "And I'm talking about the '60s and early '70s — and any time we were away from Whitehorse ... at Rendezvous time, I was homesick."

Hank — who won't actually be performing at this year's event — thinks the festival has been "losing its flavour" through the years.

"I miss the acitvities that were happening on Main Street. And now we find out that the [snow] carvings are not going to happen," he said.

"As every year goes by, it seems to lose something."

Still, the Karrs said it's an honour to be chosen as Mr. and Mrs. Yukon.

"Once we threw our hat in, I thought, 'Oh, we'll just go with the flow. And now I'm kinda looking forward to it and think I might have a good time," Pam said.