The Gallery Tour kicks off with a good start !

There is a buzz around the Island as the Gallery Tour approaches. You'll find that the week is filled with events that center around the arts community on Gabriola, we will give you an update on each of the events as they approach.

The Partini Night is a kick-off event which will be held on Fri., Oct. 9, 2009 from 7-10 at the Dragon’s Lodge. This is your chance to get your Tour 2009 martini glass, and mix and mingle with the artists.

Host: Shelagh Rogers. Music by Dinah D and Myles Black. Martinis (virgin and not) by Veronica Holroyd and Jen Demler, Draw for the ArtBucks raffle! Hope you have your ticket, the event has SOLD OUT, let's hope that this is a good indicator to the success of this years tour.

Gabriola 6 yr old hits the pool!

Last year we took our kids to swim lessons at the Beban Pool in Nanaimo, which just happened to be at the same time that the Nanaimo Diamonds Synchronized Swimming Club trains. This year, my daughter talked us into signing her up for the team. The clubs first fundraiser was a swim-a-thon, after only once class I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive about the situation. Bianca, my six year old daughter, led her little brother and dad around the neighborhood and collected pledges, our community is very giving and I’m not surprised that she raised $145 in an afternoon, but I am very thankful. The swim-a-thon went great, she swam with the use of a kickboard for 50 solid minutes and managed to get in 16 laps. Her little brother was kept busy too, he had made up a sign and ran up and down beside the pool cheering her on. Submitted by: Tina LYNCH

We won, everyone's a winner!

The Gabriola Health Care Society collected 3 beautiful handmade glass pieces from local artists to auction off in their Auxillary raffle. Volunteers were busy this summer selling raffle tickets at the Gabriola Farmers Market and at the Village Medicine Center and raised $3,900. We we’re lucky enough to receive a phone call letting us know we had won this beautiful platter made by Jill Adamson. I’m a bit nervous to take home such a beautiful piece of work, but looking forward to enjoying it in our home.

Sunshine in the end of September

We’ve been lucky to have such gorgeous weather this past week, what a nice way to celebrate the arrival of fall. We went to the Gabriola Sands Provincial Park, commonly referred to as “Twin Beaches” on the Northwest side of Gabriola. The kids kept busy in a big pool of water and along the seashore, a great place to enjoy the 27 degree weather. Sumbitted by: Tina LYNCH

Gabriola Wine Festival!

To be honest, I really enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day and I’m still training my taste buds to distinguish a good glass of wine. On Saturday, September 26 the Surf Lodge ( 885 Berry Point, Gabriola Island) is hosting the 6th Annual Wine Festival from 3:30-6pm. You’ll be treated to a selection of over 100 wines to taste, you’ll want to pick up your $30 ticket soon from the Village Liquor Store or Artworks. Submitted by: Tina LYNCH

Hot Meals!

Gabriola Elementary School has been lucky to have Carmen Mattes preparing hot lunches for students twice a week over the past years, and she’s back at it again. The suggested price is $2.50 per meal, and the aromas of home cooking linger around the school hallways on the days she’s cooking. If you have any produce from your garden that you can’t use, they are always looking for donations and the full tummies in the school are always thankful for it!

Local BC Fruit & Veggies for the kids at School!

This year the Gabriola Elementary School has been selected by the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation to take part in the BC School Fruit & Vegetable Nutritional Program. All kids and school staff that wish to participate will receive a fresh BC fruit or vegetable snack twice a week every other week. This will help their health and improve their concentration, with only 20-25% of children in BC eating the recommended daily minimum of 5 fruits and vegetables this seems to be a critical step to better nutrition for our future generation. To learn more about this program or to get an application for your school please visit : http://www.aitc.ca/bc/snacks .

Got Your Number.

If you’re new to the Island, changed your name or your number, or if you started a business you’ll want to make sure that you fill out a business or residential application from the http://gabrioladirectory.com/application/ . Applications, artwork and payment are by October 31 2009. The Gabriola Island Community Directory is the most commonly used phone book on the Island for looking up friends, businesses and services so you don’t want to miss out, we may be looking you up to go for a coffee !

Kicking the can (garbage that is)

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is aiming to divert 75% of the waste in the Regional Landfill by 2010. They have done a pilot project with over 2000 homes and want to implement the program district wide in 2010, Gabriola will be included in this. The idea behind the program is to take items such as food scraps (even cooked meat and bones), soiled paper, and dairy products and turn them into a resource at the International Composting Corporation's (ICC) processing facility, located at Duke Point in Nanaimo. The finished products include compost, fertilizers, and soil amendments. My friend in Nanaimo was one of the participants in the pilot project, she has a family with two small kids and says she's amazed how this has impacted what she takes to the curb. For those already composting in their backyard, you'll want to continue to do that as it is more cost-effective and good for your garden, but for items that aren't suitable to place in your backyard composting bin, this offers an interesting alternative to throwing it in the garbage bin.

Supporting Terry Fox

The Terry Fox run is a great event, and what a way to spend some time with your family. We attended the run on Gabriola which started at the Twin Beaches on Sunday Sept 13. Paul Gray gave an inspiring speech in which he shared his story, it touches home to hear someone sharing their personal experience. Val then led us in a warm-up and we were definately warm enough by the time we started the run. There were two distances you could choose, either the 5km or 10km toward Olebar point. I had a great time on the run, while my 6yr old daughter rode ahead, my 4yr old and I worked hard to catch up.

Gabriola makes it in the New York Times

If you read the New York Times this weekend, you may have seen one of our listings featured in the Escapes section. A few weeks ago we were approached by the New York Times who found our website and wanted to include our listing at 109 Malaspina in their paper. Gabriola is a great place to live and we're proud to have it recognized.

See you at the Fall Fair…

Gabriola’s annual fall fair, is set to take place on 20 September 2009 at the Gabriola Commons, from noon to 3:00. There will be something for everyone this year, from the local musicians, 4-H displays, demonstrations, a petting zoo, quilting bee, & so much more…

For those with a green thumb, there will be competition for ribbons in the agricultural categories & with the summer we’ve been having there’s sure to be some spectacular displays! The scarecrow contest, a competition, that the Lynch family won in it’s first year, is sure to be fierce – we still proudly display our scarecrow in mom’s garden, it’s the perfect perching place for the birds, it’s supposed to scare off!

If your interested in entering into the competitions, entry forms are available on island at Raven Feed, Wild Rose Garden Centre & Wheelbarrow Nursery. (Entries will be accepted on Sunday morning, competition day, from 9:00am to 10:30 am.

Come and find out what’s taking the place of the “recycle” fashion show! See you at the fair…

Never to late to go back to school!

September comes around with a spark, the nostalgia of going back to school and seeing friends after a fantastic summer is never a difficult memory to bring forward. I'll have to stop myself from hitting the stores for a back to school outfit, unless I enroll in a continuing education course quickly. Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina College) offers a variety of choices for those that want to attend, part-time, full time or continuing education courses. You’ll find a variety of choices to fit your lifestyle, some programs they offer are: high school equivalency, certificates, diplomas, bachelor degrees, master’s degrees and continuing education courses.
If you’re looking to go back to school this September, visit their website at http://www.viu.ca .

Back to school !

This year the doors will open at Gabriola Elementary School on Tuesday September 8 2009 and the 166 students in attendance will meet their new principal, Tricia McKay. If you are trying to figure out when to have the kids ready to be picked up by the bright yellow bus, you’ll want to visit http://www.sd68.bc.ca/edocuments/SD68News/busroutes_/route13/content.htm For those students attending high school in Nanaimo, Nanaimo District Secondary School (NDSS) opens on September 8th as well, there are 1078 students that attend from grades 8-12. There is bus service on Gabriola to the ferry and a bus that picks them up at the ferry terminal in Nanaimo and takes them to NDSS.

Trip to OZ

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