When the government of British Columbia announced health orders to curtail the spread of COVID-19, life changed quickly. Families isolated. Schools closed. Businesses disinfected doorknobs. New expressions became commonplace: social distancing, mask mandates, Zoom invites.
In Prince Rupert, on B.C.'s north coast, representatives of the high school Interact Club gathered in the lobby of the Lester Centre of the Arts for an impromptu meeting. The student-led service organization, run under the auspices of the city's Rotary Club, was barely a year old. There was an urgent sense among its teenaged members that they should do something to support the community as it grappled with imminent restrictions.
What was conceived that afternoon — an informational web broadcast — was launched that night and would ultimately run continuously over 100 daily episodes. It took its name from the school's celebrated sports teams, the Rainmakers.
The show became a creative community for students grappling with the seclusion of distance education. It linked Prince Rupert residents to vital facts and youthful optimism. As the public turned inward, Rainmakers Now presenters reached outward. They interviewed entrepreneurs and political leaders, connected with other Interact clubs, and shared their zeal for culture, food and sport.
Preserved here, Rainmakers Now is ultimately a rollicking history of a small Canadian population in the pandemic's early, tenebrous days. With courage and charisma, Rainmakers used the power of imagination to countermand the darkness.
© 2020–2023 Rainmakers Interact Club
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