Gabriola Island Lifestyle Blog

Island Artist - Sheila Norgate

2010-02-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

I visited Sheila Norgate's Heartspeak show on February 13th and while I fell in love with a few of her paintings there I also came across an album featuring pieces she had created on commission, most of them portraying the commissioner's four legged friend.I decided our beloved Boxer, Optimus Prime, would make a perfect model so I picked out a photo for Sheila to use, told her a bit about his

Gabriola Bottle Drive Fundraiser

2010-02-25T11:40:00.001-08:00

This Saturday February 27th on Gabriola there will be a bottle drive fundraiser to help raise money for the Higgins family while John Higgins is in treatment for cancer. This fundraiser is being put on by the Gabriola 4-H Club and will take place at The Gabriola Commons on North Road across from the Elementary School. Please bring down all your bottles on Saturday starting at 10 am or call

A Boreal Ballet on Gabriola

2010-02-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

We were treated to a wonderful performance from the dancers of Gabriola Dance School. Owner and instructor Mara Brenner choreographed a lovely production complete with exquisite costumes, beautiful voices and smiling faces. The youngest dancer (who happens to be my youngest daughter) at only 2 1/2 all the way up to dancers who are 16 years of age made this such a fun and entertaining show. The

Day Trip to Duncan

2010-02-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

A friend and I were looking for something a little different than the usual trip to Nanaimo so decided to check out what Duncan has to offer. Duncan is about a 45 minute drive South of Nanaimo just off the highway. We went to Imagine That!, a local artisan run cooperative store; Trendy Tots, where we both bought gifts to bring home to our little girls; Radway, a fairtrade and eco fashion boutique

Gabriola to Host Radio Conference

2010-02-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

Gabriola Radio Society has been selected to host National Campus Community Radio Conference from Monday June 7—Friday June 11th 2010. This premium conference, taking place at Camp Miriam, will be open to all NCRA members as well as anyone interested in expanding their radio skills and knowledge. Gabriola Radio Society will be creating “Camp Radio”, an atmosphere with a total 5-day immersion in

Yummy Cupcakes!

2010-01-30T22:32:00.001-08:00

A childhood friend of ours has recently opened a cupcake shop called "A Wee Cupcakery" in the Old City Quarter in Nanaimo, just a hop from Gabriola. We had the chance today to swing by for a visit during our eldest daughter's ballet class. She has a fantastic shop with many different choices ranging from mexican chocolate to pineapple and red velvet. All made in shop from scratch, are

Full day Kindergarten at Gabriola Elementary School

2010-01-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

It was announced back in the fall that the province would be introducing full-day kindergarten for the September 2010 school year. What was not announced at the time was which schools would offer the full-day for the first year. Yesterday we found out that Gabriola Elementary would be one of the schools that will be participating in full-day kindergarten in September of 2010. I was ecstatic to

A Windy Night

2010-01-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

Gabriola experienced strong winds with gusts around 100 km/h last night and early this morning. The power flickered many times before finally going out at around 5am (where we live anyway) and was out until the early afternoon. We went for a short drive and saw lots of trucks and workers out wrangling branches out of power lines and getting the electricity flowing again - THANK-YOU!!Our "white

Gabriola vs. Quadra!

2010-01-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

It's competition time! Gabriola and Quadra Island are competing to see who can be the most active and in turn help prevent cancer. It begins January 16th and runs until February 26th when one of the 2 islands will be crowned Most Physically Active. The challenge is $10 and you are to keep track of your numbers and call them in every week. Kids are only $2 and thanks to Arbutus Building Supply

Happy Birthday Gabriola Artworks!

2010-01-10T08:49:00.001-08:00

This past Thursday was the midnight birthday bash for Artworks here on Gabriola, 14 years, hard to believe! It was a great time with door prizes, champagne, food and cupcakes. Many items where marked down substantially with some being on sale until the 11th of January and a few straight through the month. We got there around 7:30 and had a nice evening sipping champagne while chatting with

What a year!

2009-12-29T14:18:00.000-08:00

Well the year is winding down and it is time to look back and remember all the days sunny or rainy, happy or sad. The girls are another year older and our oldest will be registered for Kindergarten in the coming months. The younger will be starting pre-school this year and so begins the yearly adventure of another grade, another teacher and so much to learn for both them and us. We added a

Gingerbread Cottage

2009-12-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

Last year we picked up a gingerbread house kit from Costco with everything you need to make a house. The problem was the ingredients were so awful the girls were not allowed to eat it. This year we decided to do one from scratch and it was much easier than I had anticipated. I used the gingerbread recipe from Martha Stewart, recipe here, and then cut out the shapes needed to build it. Once it

We Did It!!

2009-12-16T22:48:00.001-08:00

Congratulations Gabriola, we did it. After making it to the semi-finals for the Aviva Community Fund we have moved on to the finals for Gabriola's Emergency Care Facility. The 25 favourite ideas are currently being reviewed by the competition judges. The competition winners will be announced January 25th, 2010. So with our fingers crossed and thinking good thoughts we enter into the holiday

First Gabriola Snow!

2009-12-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event"It is the first Gabriola snowfall of the season and as always it is beautiful. The kids were so excited when I got home from work. We quickly got dinner started, got dressed and headed outside. Snowballs and snowmen and snow angels were made by all. Snowflakes were caught on tongues and much laughter and giggling came from

Dance Recitals

2009-12-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Miss Mara's dancers will be performing for free this week at their dance recitals. The kids love to have a big crowd to cheer them on and as an added bonus they are free. The Kinderdance recital is Wednesday December 9, 2009 at 11:30 pm at the Gabriola Commons, the Grade 1-2 class is

Gabriola Street View

2009-12-02T12:12:00.000-08:00

This past year you may have seen the Google Street View vehicle making its rounds around Gabriola. Well it is now official, visit Google maps and you can take a lovely tour of Gabriola on what looks to be a warm spring day. It covers every road on the island and does a 360 degree view from the road. See the ferry in dock, people on the streets, gas at $1.06/L, and many other things. A very

Gabriola gets her vote on!!

2009-11-29T22:02:00.000-08:00

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

The Roxy Theatre

2009-11-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

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

Beach Access

2009-11-26T19:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

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 McMahonBill PopeTom

Lunch and a project

2009-11-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

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

Joy of Cooking

2009-11-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

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.

Poetry Gabriola Festival

2009-11-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

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

Raising Timber

2009-11-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

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