Altona

It was nine o’clock at night but the mid-July sun had just barely begun to set. Everything smelled like sunflower oil, and I found myself standing in a remote field, gazing up at the largest replica of van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ in the world.??

I was supposed to be in Winnipeg, but through a series of transportation mishaps, wound up in Altona, Canada, the home of that enormous work of art. I was immediately struck by several things: the wide-open spaces, the small town charm, and the distinct scent of sunflower seed oil that seemed to envelop everything.??

This being my first trip outside of the United States, I quickly concluded that all of Canada must smell this way. Once you’re over the border -- bam! -- even the smells are different.??

Seeing as Altona is the only Canadian town I’ve visited to-date, this theory of mine still stands.??

Through the guidance of some friendly locals (the town only had one hotel, but no shortage of hospitality), I learned that the source of what I believed to be the Canadian National Smell was the large sunflower seed oil factory that employed most of the 4,000-person town, hence Altona’s nickname: the Sunflower Capital of Canada.??

Which brings us back to their local ‘Sunflowers’ landmark.??

It wasn’t difficult to spot. Most of the town was completely flat, and the 76-foot-tall, Guinness Book of World Record-holding easel stuck out like, well, a very tall thing in a very flat town.??

Staring up at the van Gogh likeness, I suddenly felt very small, but in a great way. I began to imagine all the other peculiar fly-over towns most people don’t ever see, and all the sunflower-like treasures they might hold. ??

Of all the things I expected to find in this tiny, funny-smelling town, an affinity for local oddities was not one of them.