Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Interior semifinals

Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Interior semifinals

The Enchanted Forest faces Sparwood's Giant Truck while Penticton's giant peach faces Keremeos fruit stands

What draws hundreds of people to stop every day in front of a seven-metre high truck that used to take in ore from a mine, or a forest full of slightly off-brand fairy tale figurines?

In the case of Sparwood’s Terex Titan or the Revelstoke area’s Enchanted Forest, the technical reason is fairly straightforward — they’re both pretty interesting to look at, interesting to children, and a nice respite for anyone making a long trek along Highway 3 or Highway 1.

But that ignores the more emotional reasons why both have advanced to the final 16 in our Search for B.C.’s Best Roadside Attraction.

“I hear kids coming out to see it yelling and screaming, because obviously to them it's like the biggest Tonka truck they've ever seen,” said Nicole Latka, executive director of Sparwood’s Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre, which oversees the Terex Titan.

“We have families that this truck has been here for 30 years now, and so they've been using it as a measuring stick. They came with their children and now are coming with their grandkids.”

It’s a similar story of family connection at the Enchanted Forest, which has been run by various families since its inception in 1960 as a retirement project of artist Doris Needham.

Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Round 1, Interior

“We don't have any mobile service here,” said operations manager Jeremy Peck.

“Families feel very alive when they're here, they’re very much present with their kids and the charm is nobody's sitting on their phones. They're all very much engaged.”

There are dozens and dozens of trolls and princes and bears and everything in between in the Enchanted Forest, a tourism byproduct of Highway 1 opening up a central route between B.C. and Alberta decades ago.

There’s only one giant truck at the centre of Sparwood, a municipality incorporated around the same time to create a more centralized community — and one free of coal dust — for workers in the nearby mines.

Both keep people engaged with their unique connection to the history and geography of this province — but which one is the best?

After determining the best small town, lake and symbol, the Search for B.C.’s Best Roadside Attraction continues our summer tradition of asking CBC British Columbia readers to vote in a bracket and weigh in on an aspect of the province's identity.

In today's matchups, beyond the Terex Truck and Enchanted Forest, the Keremeos fruit stands face off against Penticton’s giant peach in the round of 16, with the winners meeting each other in the Interior final next week.

Voting takes place every week in August from Monday to Thursday, with one region represented on each voting day.

A champion will be crowned from the final four before Labour Day.

Voting is open until 8 p.m. PT on Wednesday. Cast your ballot — and may the best roadside attraction win.

Justin is the Municipal Affairs Reporter for CBC Vancouver, covering local political stories throughout British Columbia.