CycleArt:Downtown Nanaimo

On Sunday June 9th some fantastic organizers from the Nanaimo Design Nerds and a graphic artist team from Awarewolf Creative organized "Cycleart".  It was great, we met up at Maffeo Sutton waterfront park and painted a mural, decorated our bikes and pedalled through downtown on a scavenger hunt to the downtown businesses and ended at the Nanaimo Art Gallery.  We had a great day at this family event and we're now keen to plan a neighbourhood bike parade on Gabriola. To top it off we won some fantastic prizes (thank you New York Style Pizza & Cayo Fashions) and a huge thanks to all those that made this event happen.

Halloween is in the air!

Everybody enjoys the Halloween holiday whether they are young children looking forward to dressing up as their favourite characters and heading out trick or treating, or as adults getting ready for the big night of festivities. On Gabriola being a smaller community have an amazing Halloween line up for kids of all ages…

FIREWORKS
You may have seen the Gabriola Fire Departments rubber boots on display at various businesses as they collect monies to put on the fireworks display on October 31st 7:30 pm at Twin Beaches. Reminiscing on some of my favourite childhood memories on the island this has to be one of the most spectacular evenings, who can resist – goodies, hot chocolate, fireworks & hot dogs…


Gabriola’s SLEEPY HOLLOW
Halloween night could not be complete without a slow drive down the North Road area referred to islanders as the “tunnel” that comes lit up by the amazing display of carved pumpkins. With the homes on Gabriola being further apart, it’s a great way to display your pumpkin by dropping it off in the tunnel – the spectacular display usually is lit up for a couple of evenings post Halloween.


Trick or Treating
Well, the kids tend to have to put in a little extra effort in trick or treating on the island, with the long driveways and the homes having some distance between them, that said there are some popular areas of the island that kids & parents tend to find a little easier; the Strand, Malaspina Galleries, the Village core, are among some of the popular ghouling areas.



For the ADULTS
The Skol & Silva Bay both have events planned for the Halloween weekend. In addition if you haven’t taken in one of the radio after dark Halloween shows, they are not to be missed and usually tend to sell out quickly!



RADIO AFTER DARK
The Radio After Dark Troupe recreate the classic radio shows of the 1930s and 1940s, capturing the essence of those timeless gems with live sound effects, period costumes, passionate performances and the occasional hilarious blooper

Wednesday & Thursday, October 26 & 27 – Silva Bay Restaurant & Pub, Gabriola 7:30pm
Tix $15- , Gabriola tix available at Artworks,

Radio after Dark's Halloween Show catapults the audience back in time to the golden age of radio, bringing those gripping tales of suspense to bone chilling life. Don't miss this amazing experience!

Happy Haunting!

LasQuirkus Circus sets the stage on Gabriola

Well, my night definitely didn't go as planned. I set off for a quick jog after work and came across neighbours that we're all driving past headed for the Circus. I felt a little guilty about not taking the kids, so when I got back to my house at seven, i said to my husband should i take them to the c-i-r-c-u-s, the circus my daughter yelled and off we went. We arrived to a packed house and tonnes of entertainment, the troop consisted of stilters, clowns, ballerina's, giant puppets, jugglers, magicians, a fantastic band. They we're so engaging, hilarious and just tonnes of fun. I love attending these events and try to as often as I can, I think we're pretty lucky to have such great entertainment here and just want to support it any time I can. Submitted by: Tina Lynch