The Ride to Conquer Cancer: 6 Gabriola Islanders in training!

There are 6 Gabriola residents that are taking an amazing journey. We'll be participating in a two-day major cycling (over 200km) event called The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer benefiting BC Cancer Foundation. We've joined up with a team from Nanaimo called "Nanaimo Rides Again" and are aiming to raise over $100,000 between now and June 16 2012.
Already the experience has been amazing for me, I'm using this to experience to show my kids that you can make a difference and you can be the change. Many of you may know that my dad is battling terminal cancer, so this will be a very emotional journey, but I feel so supported by my family, friends and the community of Gabriola.

We have people joining us on training rides to keep our motivation up, Lesley Standerwick is helping us train, local businesses are supporting us and people chipping in any way they can.

We are planning a Beer & Burger night for the end of Feb, we're doing a bottle drive on Jan 6 (please let us know if you have any bottles to donate), and we'll be spinning in Nanaimo at Walmart on Jan 29 and at the Maple Sugar Festival on Feb 12. This is just the start of our fundraising activities, the more we raise the more we have to find the cure. Right now 2 out of 5 people will hear the words "you have cancer" in their lifetime, we need to change this for my family and for yours.

Please take a minute and visit our personal pages and if you'd like to donate online to either Tina or her husband Guy Parcher or one of the other riders, please do it today so that you can take advantage of the 100% tax deduction for your 2011 taxes, what a way to finish of the year!

submitted by: Tina Lynch

"Shop Local" 2011 Great Gabriola Gift Ideas

Living on Gabriola, known as the Island of the Arts there is never any shortage of great local gift giving ideas... With the holiday season approaching so quickly, here are just a few of our favorite picks for 2011...

New Society Publishing.
New Society Publishers, is now a 20 year old company who’s mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society. They employ approx. 12 island residents. They offer a wide variety of books & some fabulous green building books & cookbooks – that we have in our personal collection. This is an easy shop with their online catalog http://www.newsociety.com/catweb.pdf there is an extensive list of their offerings – making gift giving easy!

Coffee.
Is there anything better than waking up to a coffee on Christmas morning, well only if it’s Gabriola Island’s Red Roaster coffee. Their beans are organic, fairly traded and ethically sourced. The coffee is roasted here on Gabriola in small batches & delivered locally to your door, or pick up your pre-order here at Coast Realty in the village. As a micro roaster they are able to custom craft blends for you!

North Road Sports
A hit for everyone in the family! Great outdoor clothing, shoes and gear, with exceptional quality.

Personal Training
Gabriola has a variety of fitness classes and personal training. Lesley Standerwick is one of the exceptional trainers we have on the island, consider giving the gift of health this holiday season with a gift certificate & help that someone special start out the New Year right!


Childrens Books Illustrated by Gabriola’s own Diana Bonder
Watch your childs face light up as they turn the pages and walk through the land of fairy tales & whimsy in one of the amazing books illustrated by Diana an award winning bestselling Children's Book – this gift is sure to give hours of enjoyment to both parents & children alike. Diana also does commissions, imagine a painting of your kids in a fairytale - it's a gift that will last a lifetime.

Feedlot Studios
For those with a creative flair. Mariko is an exceptionally talented ceramic artist along with a brilliant teacher. In her creative studio, she is offering a variety of workshops and open studio. Having had the opportunity to spend time in this amazing sutdio – I can attest that anyone receiving a workshop this Christmas morning is in for an amazing treat!
For those who are creatively challenged, Mariko is brilliant at getting you past your own clay inhibitions, but the studio also features a wide array of her work available for sale… I have to put a plug in for her very unique & whimsical mugs.

Pages Resort & Marina
With over two hundred titles, our unique book and marine charts store specializes in local Gabriolian writers and illustrators, Gulf Island publications and a wide selection of cruising guides.


Gabriola Elementary School Craft Fair December 3 @ Gabriola Elementary
This is an exciting opportunity featuring a variety of island artists so you can do your shopping all in one place! In addition to the craft fair the famous cookie walk is a great way to support school activities, while avoiding the Christmas baking – but be early the cookies disappear quickly & the doors open at 10:00 am. There is also the very popular silent auction table with all sorts of some of the best the island has to offer, and because the money is going to such a worthy cause, you can feel good about your Christmas shopping!
If you're there please stop by my Knotty by Nature table to see some of the creations that I've been putting together for the Christmas season.

If you have a GREAT local shopping idea to share, please send us an email to: lynch@discovergabriola.com – we’d love to hear about it.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

The Marathon.

It's now been almost two weeks since I ran my first marathon, a goal I've held for as long as I can remember. This year, I knew that this would be the year for me to do it. I've realized over the past few years that life can change in an instant, and I knew that I was in a time of my life when I had the physical ability to complete it.

I joined the Running Room in Nanaimo and completed my first half marathon in the Spring of 2009 and continued the training for the Victoria Marathon.

Some weeks of training went better than others, and there were a few little challenges that would pop up (limited sleep,work,young children, sunshine, camping, life, etc). I really enjoyed the process, and for me the nerves built as October 11 drew nearer, I was lucky enough to have the pressure of creating enough paintings for the Gallery Tour to distract me. On Saturday night, Lesley Standerwick, Keli Stapp and I packed up the car, left Gabriola and headed for Victoria.

My anxiety hit as we we're driving and I realized that I was in the car with two personal trainers- what was I thinking ? I started to relax as they brought out a two pound bag of jelly beans for the drive and told me that we we're going to have dinner at 9 when we got to Victoria, this was more my style.

The three of us completed our first marathons on October 11th. I couldn't imagine going through the process on my own and was so pleased to share this experience with such supportive and knowledgeable friends. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there was no wind, and we had friends and family there to cheer us on along the way. (Submitted by: Tina Lynch)