With Glowing Hearts...

The Island was full of Canada day events and activities yesterday, there was a band playing and a bbq in the Village parking lot, the Potato Gun Contest at Brickyard beach and in our own neighborhood we had a party.

In my eyes a great country starts with good families, and neighbours that stick together, and yesterdays gathering at Spring Beach with more than 100 neighbours was evidence that Gabriola is on track. It was a heart warming event to watch the kids dance around and dip into the ocean, neighbors catching up with each other and trying to answer the local trivia quiz and it ended with the most delicious cake I've ever had!

The day was capped off by a friends & family BBQ with the little ones still active, from the cake they at the events they had travelled to that day... Just another day of glorious island living! Submitted by: Tina LYNCH

Gabriola Elementary Schools Year End Assembly

Once again the Gabriola Elementary School gym was full as the community was invited to celebrate the Year End Assembly.

We sat excitedly, watching the kindergarten class decked out in their graduating caps, carefully created by Mrs. Ellis, Kindergarden teacher extrodinaire, as they received their certificates. They were escorted into the assembly with their Grade 7 buddies, who have served as role models throughout the year and have definitely set them down the right path.

It was a very supportive environment with many feelings flowing throughout, lots of joy, some tears, a lot of recognition for teachers, students, the PAC and our retiring principal. For both Tina & I, having gone through the school system on the island, it sure brought a lot of fond memories back...

Congrats to all the students, and the beautiful "Blues" send off to Principal Rooney, who is retiring...

A nice beginning for summer and a tribute to those leaving the school.

Gabriola - Going the Distance

Here's a useful tool that will let you know how much of Gabriola you've seen in a trip.

If you sign up for a free membership you can mark the roads that you'll travel on the Island and get your distance in either miles or kilometers. It's great for those who are walking, running or biking to know the distance you've gone and if you time it you can work out your pace.

Find the website online at: www.mapmyrun.com .

The Empty Bowl Project Part Two

On May 30th, we took the opportunity to drop into Sunstone pottery, on Gabriola to create our bowls for Hunger in support of People for a Healthy Community's Emergency Food Depot.

On walking into the pottery studio, we felt fortunate to have the talent if many exceptionally tallented local potters who came out to lend their support and guide us in molding, creating & glazing our bowls for hunger. We spent time sculpting, creating & re-creating the bowls - trying to get them just right, only to look at Emma & Jane (4 years old) and realize who had created the master pieces!

The bowls are now finished, thanks to Potter Graham Sheehan and his colleagues, and will be on display at Artworks from 18 June to 24 June, 2009. The bowls are up for silent auction, so you can bid on your favorite bowl (or for those who just want to donate bid on bowls 37 to 40 - they may not be beautiful but they were created with joy!)

All proceeds from this event go to Gabriola's Emergency Food Depot - so it's a great cause, & helps our community locally.

Fish ON!

If you are looking for something to do this weekend on Fathers day, then the Silva Bay Salmon Derby, on Gabriola, comes at the perfect time... Held from dawn till dusk Sat. June 20th, and dawn until noon the June 21st, they are anticipating 75 or so participants, with all the nice weather we've been having in June hopefully even more than last year! We will be out there with our Dad fishing on Ship's Point - look for us reeling in the really big one...

Bob Meyer, of Silver Blue hints that, "fish have returned to their normal haunts off the Grande & the structure off Thrasher. Depths range 85 to 180 feet, Rhys Davis teasers in clear green scale for whole or strip baits, Coyotes in glow green/silver, green/white, or black white or the green spackleback hoochie are top producing lures." Bob Meyers fishing charters can be booked through Bob@SivlerBlueCharters.com .

Against Bob's best advice, and I give him full credit as the local fishing expert, I'll be fishing with some unidentified pink lure - for those that know me that's no surprise :), (I'm not sure my Dad will be impressed.)

Tickets are $25 per rod, $50 for immediate family.

Tickets are available at Village Paint and Hardware, or Silva Bay Marina, Harbour Chandler or Pages Resort & Marina.

Prizes on lower deck at 1 Sunday, and includes some great stuff, combo GPS/sounder, portable VHS, etc. $1,000 for largest Chinook. $1,000 donation to the Nanaimo River Hatchery. Good luck!

Gabriola's First Theatre Festival - August 21 - 23rd, 2009

What a weekend it's going to be... 7 main stage productions, the launching of a young peoples theatre company & so much, much more! With so much local talent on display, you'll want to get your tickets early so as not to be disappointed - ticket information as well as information on the festival and the 7 main stage shows can be found by visiting: www.gabriolatheatrefestival.ca .

Alongside the productions to be found on the main stage, the weekend will be jam packed with additional activites in the Village area including;

Razberry's Jazz Cafe - in between theatre shows look for the open stage between Rasberry's & Artworks where you'll find a variety of local musicians and entertainers.

The Gabriola Lions - legendary pancake breakfast will be served on Saturday the 22nd between 9:00 - 11:00 am.

Street Art - come by and be enthralled and inspired by the work of more than 50 local island artisans who will be displaying their work.

Take home a piece of Gabriola History!

As a movement to protect the many petroglyphs on the Island, the Gabriola Museum decided to make reproductions of the petroghlyphs. They encourage rubbings and photographs of the reproductions, and if you go during museum hours you can buy a rubbing kit which includes the cloth and special wax crayon. There are over 30 reproductions to take a look at here, and you can choose from a variety of animal and human shapes.

This is a great outdoor activity for those that want to learn a bit and take home something unique, I took my 5 year old daughter and she loved the process, learning about the petroglyphs, looking at each one and doing the rubbing.

May - June 21: Sat to Sun: 10 am to 4 PM

June 25- Sept 7: Thur to Mon: 10 am to 4 PM

September 12 : Sat to Sun: 10 am to 4 PM

Admission
Adults: $2.00
Children (under 12): Free

For more information on the Gabriola Museum visit their website at : http://www.gabriolamuseum.org/ Submitted by: Tina LYNCH