Gabriola gets her vote on!!

Congratulations to all Gabriolan's and beyond who voted daily to ensure our place in the semi-finals for the Aviva Community Fund. We are in need of a permanent emergency health care facility and we are now one step closer to realizing that need. Daily we voted, reminding each other at the end of the day to vote became an evening ritual. This evening my husband asked if I had voted yet today because we only had 14 minutes left, I had. So wonderful to see what can happen when something so valuable is needed by all. But remember we are not done yet, voting resumes on December 2 so please vote! What a great challenge and community building activity this is, keep up the good work everyone.

The Roxy Theatre

A girlfriend of ours had a great birthday celebration idea, she is hosting a wedding party. Come as a bride or groom, bridesmaid or groomsmen, wedding crasher or such. The question of course when you have young kids is were will you host such an event...The Roxy.

We are very lucky on Gabriola to have many venue all of differing size and location. The Roxy is a great 50-seat theatre, located centrally in the village area, showing a regular schedule of movies and offering a venue for lots of other events. A perfect place for a intimate birthday gathering such as this one.

For rent at a affordable $20 per hour it is a great venue for many parties, young and old! Happy birthday to the birthday girl, have a fabulous time! For more info about renting The Roxy please email them at theroxy@shaw.ca

Beach Access

There are a great many public beach accesses on Gabriola, this one is at the end of Malaspina Drive where there is a little park and the point separates the beach in Taylor Bay from the rock shelf of the Malaspina Galleries. This is a great swimming spot in the summer for teens and adults, a good spot to watch the yearly bathtub races, and an attractive place to hang out on any nice day.

Sunny Sunday

After what seems like weeks of rain it was a treat to enjoy a beautiful and sunny Sunday. It is amazing how a little bit of sun lifts your spirits and encourages outdoor activity. I was able to finish my fall garden chores and then I was off to the park for a good long walk. There are lots of puddles on the trails, each with a little trail around it!

Official Community Plan

It is time for Gabriola to review the Official Community Plan. The review will be made up of a 15 person volunteer group who will look at both the OCP and Land Use Bylaws. There were 29 applicants in total with 15 members appointed by way of Local Trust Committee motion on Friday November 13th. The full membership of the Volunteer Review Committee is as follows:

Carly McMahon
Bill Pope
Tom Kirchmayer
Kees Langereis
John Peirce
June Harrison
Daniele Rudischer
Adam Velsen
Sara Brockelhurst
Susan Yates
Melanie Mamoser
Kathryn Molloy
Robert Ferris
Lisa Webster-Gibson
Randy Young

I am excited to have been chosen to be on the review committee. It will be exciting and a fabulous learning experience.

Lunch and a project

With winter coming on and the family needing to exercise but not wanting to be out in the pouring rain we decided to share on the purchase of an eliptical trainer. This is a very easy thing to do, you order it from costco.ca and it arrives at your door. Putting it together was a bit more challenging but we managed it in about 4 hours. We had pizza for lunch, whole wheat naan bread, sauce from scratch, back bacon and jalepenos, topped with mozarella and avocado, all ingredients from our local grocery store.

Joy of Cooking

I don't remember when exactly I became interested in cooking but I have been asked many times by friends why I don't cook for a living. My answer to that is that I do it for the love of it and want to keep it that way. I had considered taking some classes to learn some new skills and tackle the dishes I have shied away from in the past. Now I can do that thanks to Gabriola chef Double Dave. He will be teaching the lucky class how to prepare a sensational yuletide feast using local Gabriola fruits, nuts, wild mushrooms, vegetables, seafood and free-range meats. Classes are to be held at Jupiter Ranch. select either the session on Friday November 13th from 6 to 10pm, or the session on Saturday November 14th from 6 to 10pm. Cost is 120.00 per evening. For more information visit Jupiter Ranch.

Poetry Gabriola Festival

Plan to come to the 6th Annual Poetry Gabriola Festival, a wild West Coast celebration of literary performance. For four days, November 12-15, the Surf Lodge on Gabriola Island will be filled to the rafters with poets, musicians, storytellers, sound artists, and other special guests. Enjoy an off beat weekend of unconventional performance, remarkable readings, Round Table talks, and four captivating workshops sponsored by The Poetry Gabriola Society. This group has provided a forum for great poetry and extraordinary performance since the year 2000. Tickets should be bought in advance; on line at poetrygabriola.com, in person at Artworks, or by phone 250-247-7604.

Raising Timber

A timber frame raising took place at the Gabriola Commons, the result of a huge volunteer effort. The timber frame structure was donated by the Island School of Building Arts and will house farming equipment at first. The plan is to finish the building using a number of green building techniques such as strawbale, cordwood and rammed earth and alternative power. This will be an interesting project to observe, complemented by a recently built cob wall.

Final Rest

We went to a memorial service at the United Church to say good bye to a lovely person. This beautiful church with contemporary stained glass windows and a shining cross is located at the south end of Gabriola Island beside centuries old petroglyphs. The service was touching and afterwards the burial took place at the Gabriola Cemetery overlooking the Narrows and Pylades Channel. What a beautiful spot for a final resting place with graves dating back to the 1800's. If you would like to know more about Gabriola's history, click on the history label below.