Into the Depths An underwater adventure with Candace Wu
SCULPTING WITH STONE With Mike Rebar
Inspiring Change
Richard Boyce gives a clear picture of our coast
Layla Zoe: Striking a chord overseas
Summer 2015
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Summer Edition
J
ust when you thought this area couldn’t get more attractive, you find one more reason to brag to your out-of-town friends. I’ve snorkled in some beautiful areas of the world before, but I’ve never found the right opportunity to dive into the depths of the ocean. Candace takes you on her local diving adventure in this issue and we learn that this area is a diver’s paradise. And speaking of pristine waters, you won’t want to miss Linda’s article on talented local filmmaker Richard Boyce and the issues behind his recent profound documentary Coastal Tarsands–Journey to Deleted Islands. During the filming process, he joined forces with powerhouse blues singer Layla Zoe and sound engineer Chris Raines, to produce a music video for their song Our Native Land, in support of Boyce’s documentary. I had the pleasure of watching it in Chris’ Parksville Studio last year. I got goosebumps. How amazing it is to think it was produced here, by our own local talent. You can track it down online. Read all about Layla Zoe in this issue and why she’s currently spending her days in Germany. Another solid reason to celebrate this area is our elite sculptor, Mike Rebar. If you’ve been around these parts for awhile, you have no doubt seen Mike carving sandcastles, ice or stone. Enjoy a feature on Mike and behold some of his incredible stone scultpures inside. And there’s more. Brenda catches up with with Larry Geekie at Coombs Country Market for the Q&A, Madeleine Dwyer sheds some light on the Kwalikum Food Forest, and Linda Tenney talks about the importance of our personal histories and why you should start documenting yours. So I’d say we’ve got it covered. From your outdoor adventure to your inner journey. Make it a good summer.
- Lissa Alexander
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Contributors
Lissa Alexander
Originally from Qualicum Beach, she completed her journalism training in Calgary.
Contents
Peter McCully
Photographer, publisher & broadcaster who has worked on both coasts.
Candace Wu
A Vancouver Island journalist and photographer.
Linda Matteson-Reynolds
Her photojournalism career began while in Kuwait.
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Brenda Gough
A journalist for more than 30 years, she’s been in this area for 20 years.
Linda Tenney
A local writer, editor, photographer and publisher.
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Into the Depths
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Loco 4 Local
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Sculpting in Stone
23
Just Sayin’
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A Clear Picture
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Striking a Chord
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TÊTE À TÊTE
Madeleine Dwyer
Our Summer Guest Food Columnist.
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Summer Edition 2015
Publisher Peter McCully publisher@pqbnews.com Editor Lissa Alexander oasismag@pqbnews.com Advertising Steve Weldon sweldon@pqbnews.com Design & Production
Stuff 2 Do Great local Summer events around the community. Writer Candace Wu takes us on an underwater adventure. Madeleine Dwyer talks local food at the Kwalikum Food Forest. The story behind our iconic local sculptor, Mike Rebar. An outlook on life with Linda Tenney, publisher of Eyes on BC Magazine. Richard Boyce uses visual storytelling to reach Canadians. Layla Zoe takes her music, passion and spirit to Germany. Question & Answer with Larry Geekie at Coombs Country Market.
Peggy Sidbeck, Brad Everest
Circulation Laurie Fairbanks circulation@pqbnews.com Cover Photo Shirley White SUMMER 2015
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4-154 Middleton Ave. Parksville BC, V9K 1X3 PH: 250-248-4341 FX: 250-248-4655 Oasis magazine is published quarterly by Black Press. The points of views and opinions expressed herein are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of Oasis. The contents of Oasis are protected by copywright, including the designed advertising. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the publisher.
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Stuff Do 1.
Coombs Bluegrass Festival: July 31, Aug. 1 & 2. Top notch bluegrass bands from across North America, plus food, friends and good times. www.coombsbluegrass.com
2.
Bard To Broadway Summer Theatre: July 3 through Aug. 15 at the Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach. Three productions rotate every few days and Aladdin Jr. runs Aug. 13-15. www.b2btheatre.com
3.
Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition and Exhibition: July 10 through Aug. 16. Parksville Kite Festival July 18 & 19 Art in the Park July 18 & 19 Quality Foods Fireworks Aug. 15 at dusk Kidfest Aug 16 www.parksvillebeachfest.ca
4.
Jazz, Tea & Cheesecake: July 19, 1:30 p.m. Incredible jazz artists perform in an idyllic farm setting. Plus homemade treats and wine. www.cheeseworks.ca
5.
Grand Prix d’Art: July 25 around downtown Qualicum Beach. Painting race held by the Old School House Arts Centre. 11 a.m - 2 p.m St. Mark’s Fair Veteran’s Way. 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Art in Action Around TOSH 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. www.theoldschoolhouse.org
6.
Art and Photography in the Garden: Aug. 8 & 9 at Milner Gardens and Woodland. Artists will be demonstrating their art skills in the garden while selling their wares. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. both days. www.milnergardens.org
7.
Hi Neighbour Day: Aug. 15 around the Errington Hall. Parade, art, farmers’ market, zucchini races and a dance. www.erringtonhall.bc.ca
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Party on the Drive: Sept. 13 on Resort Drive in Parksville. 1 - 5 p.m. An annual celebration of art, music and food. www.resort-drive-events.ca
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SUMMER 2015
Lighthouse Country Fall Fair: Sept. 5 at the Lighthouse Community Centre. Exhibits, entertainment, food and family fun. www.communityclub.ca 10. Coombs Fair: Aug. 8 & 9 at the Coombs Fairgrounds. Exhibits, livestock, entertainment, arts & crafts. www.coombsfair.com
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Plunging in There’s something enchanting about the ebb and flow of the ocean. Perhaps it’s the vastness of it all; the idea that we are connected in one way or another to the outer edge of the earth. On a calm evening, the waters lining Parksville Qualicum Beach look as delicate as glass. But what lies beneath that seemingly perfect surface is one of the greatest mysteries of all time: a world relatively untouched by humanity; free from wrath, greed, gluttony, Facebook.
SUMMER 2015
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It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to penetrate this fascinating abyss and learn how to scuba dive. And this year I got to scratch it off my bucket-list. One of the most famous underwater explorers of the 20th century Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said: “From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.” >>>
Don’t Walk....
FLY!
Story by Candace Wu. Photography by Peter McCully, Shirley White and Jay Holbrook
into the depths
Lore also has it that Cousteau proclaimed Vancouver Island to have the best cold water diving in the world. That praise has been echoed by scuba enthusiasts all over the place. In 2015 Scuba Diving magazine ranked British Columbia’s coastline as one of the best overall dive spots in North America, taking the top title for Best Advanced Diving, Best Wall Diving and Best Underwater Photography.
FOOTWEAR
DIVE DIARY It only takes one plunge into the depths of the ocean to find out why. The moment I passed my PADI Open Water dry suit course I took to the water for an experience I’d been waiting my entire life to have.
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After the initial panic of being 60 feet underwater with my sole source of oxygen strapped to my back subsided, it was like gliding through a 3D Planet Earth episode without the commentary. Suddenly the extra 30 pounds of weight in my suit disappeared and while I was well below ground level, it felt like I was flying; suspended in a state of fascination. >>>
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>>> On my first dive as a certified scuba diver at Madrona Point in Nanoose Bay, I tackled what is known to scuba-insiders as Main Wall. It was literally crawling with marine life — bright purple and yellow sea stars of all different sizes, rock fish camouflaged into the seafloor, and I even saw a giant Pacific octopus hiding in the crevices of the wall. And just as we were leaving, like a flash of lightning, I noticed a sea lion dart behind fellow divers. In the blink of an eye, the magnificent creature had graced our dive and was gone; and I was left wondering if I even saw it at all. While you never forget your first, my most recent dive is now a favourite memory. Though I didn’t see any particularly spectacular marine animals, the dive itself was surreal. I arrived at Dolphin Beach at high tide in the early evening; sunlight was plentiful, blanketing the ocean’s glossy surface. As I descended into the water, it seemed a bit murky at first, but the deeper I dove, the better the visibility became and suddenly it was like watching high definition television for the first time all over again. I diligently followed my divemaster because I don’t quite trust my underwater navigation skills yet, and he took me through a forest-like trench lined with lush curly ribbons of army -green Bull kelp.
INCREDIBLE VARIETY Shirley White, co-owner of Nanaimo Dive Outfitters, has taught hundreds of people how to scuba dive in the Strait of Georgia — including me. White says it’s the wide array of marine life living along our coastline that’s so enticing for divers. “A couple weeks ago I saw my very first squid (at Neckpoint in Nanaimo),” she says. “I’ve been diving in these waters for 12 years now and that was my very first squid. I see lots of squid eggs, especially in the spring, but I’ve never seen a squid before.” White explains more common marine life to see include lingcod, rockfish, giant Pacific octopus, wolf eels, war bonets, puget sound king crabs, sea slugs and sea cucumbers to name a few. “There’s lots of variety,” she says. “You can go down and look at one spot and if you stay calm and stay quiet and stay still, everything that has hidden while you pass by starts to relax and come out again…then when you’re calm and quiet you start to see >>>
SUMMER 2015
As we passed through the algal beds, I noticed tiny fish and invertebrates peek out from behind the thick curtain of kelp. The kelp provides an important sheltering habitat for a variety of marine life including urchins, sea stars, snails and crabs. Then I looked up and saw an unforgettable vignette: a school of fish, at least 100, swimming in sync
with one another while sunlight shed through the water, dotting the ocean with little marine shadows. We continued on, traveling at a slow pace, being careful to appreciate every breath of oxygen we had left in our tanks. I saw a small jellyfish, not bigger than my hand. I looked out and realized there wasn’t just one, but a minefield of jellyfish suspended in the ocean just like us scuba divers.
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and certainly not the great white shark from Jaws.
>>> the interaction between the life.” While there’s a lot to see, there are some marine creatures you don’t want to run into. But according to White, there’s not much to worry about on Vancouver Island. “Especially diving around here, we don’t really have anything dangerous in our waters,” she says. “The most you might get is a sting from a jellyfish tentacle.” White says we don’t have any predatory sharks in our waters —
We do, however, have six gill sharks which usually come up between May and August. White says she hasn’t seen one yet, but knows many divers who have. Asked if she’s ever felt threatened underwater, White says “sea lions can be intimidating when you have a pack of them all over you.” But she says sea lions and octopus are playful in nature. “You have to remember they are wild creatures,” she says. “As long as you don’t antagonize the sea life it won’t hurt you.”
Photos: pages 10 and 11, top, Candace Wu on a local dive (Peter McCully photo) below, A Blackeye Goby and a Nudibranch (Jay Holbrook photos). Page 13, from left, an Orange Anemone, Green Sea Urchin and a Sea Star (Jay Holbrook photos). Bottom photo, Candace gets suited up (Peter McCully photo). Page 14, from left, image by Shirley White, middle, Feather Duster worm and a Townsend Shrimp (Jay Holbrook photos).
BEST DIVE SITES IN NANOOSE BAY
Avid scuba diver and former instructor Jay Holbrook helped compile a list of the best dive sites in Nanoose Bay. Holbrook, who lives in Nanoose, says he dives once a week in the area — and as an artist, he takes much of what he sees in the ocean for inspiration.
MADRONA POINT Madrona Point is a highly rated dive site
TYEE COVE Tyee Cove, also referred to as Seducers Cove, is a
with a range of opportunity at one location. It’s equipped with shore access and plenty of challenges for all levels of divers. Holbrook says it’s his favourite local spots because you can either do the deep wall (90-95 feet deep) or the small wall (60 feet feet). He say it’s a steep, vertical rock face that attracts a lot of marine life, especially at night.
well known site popular among the dive community for its sheltered location, making it possible to dive despite Mother Nature’s mood swings. Holbrook said it’s his second favourite dive spot for the diversity of marine life it houses, including lots of wolf eels.
WALL BEACH Just down from Madrona is another site called Wall Beach, which also has excellent shore access. Holbrook says it’s a fantastic site and if you “time it just right” you’re sure to run into sea lions coming from the log boom nearby. He says sea lions are “a real treat to dive with” and claims the ones at Wall Beach are much calmer than the ones near Hornby Island, known to be a little rambunctious with divers.
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BEACHCOMBER PARK Just past the Beachcomber Marina in Nanoose Bay, Beachcomber park is a nice dive. Holbrook says the area doesn’t get a lot of traffic and there’s a bit of a hike to and from the dive site but it’s well worth it. He says you’ll find different types of rockfish at the site and deep down there’s some interesting sponge life. Sea lions also frequent this site.
DOLPHIN BEACH Just a short distance from Tyee Cove, Dolphin Beach is a popular site, but shore access can be a bit challenging. You’ll need at least a 10-foot-tide on the rise to get in, so be sure to check your tide chart. Holbrook says there’s a neat trench that runs along the seafloor before you get to the main wall. COTTAM POINT For advanced divers, Cottam point is a great site and sits across from Mistaken Island. However, Holbrook warns there’s often a current if you dive other than a slack tide.
NANKIVELL POINT One of the lesser known sites, Nankivell Point is located south of Schooner Cove. Holbrook says this site was featured in a popular dive book but later taken out in further editions, so it’s waned in popularity. However, Holbrook says it’s a great site with a busy wall of juvenile fish. It has good shore access but Holbrook says divers are more exposed at this site as it’s in the main strait.
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LOCO 4 LOCAL SUMMER CRUMBLE I love to eat local grown and ‘wild foods’. Summer time is berry time, yum! Go out and find some berries (thimbleberries, salmonberries, blackberries, salal, etc. whatever is in season) or grab some fruit from your favourite local farm for this tasty Summer Crumble (Thanks mom for the recipe!)
Guest Columnist MADELEINE DWYER
Fill up a baking pan/deep tray about ¾ full with raw fruit, (optional to add some sweetener to the fruit). If using frozen berries, you may want to cook them for a few minutes on the stove first.
Mix together : 1 part flour, 1 part local honey (or brown sugar), 2 parts oats (I recommend Sloping Hill Farm in Qualicum, you can find them at the Farmers Market in Qualicum on Saturday mornings). Add cinnamon and fresh-grated nutmeg (optional) and a pinch of salt. Melt lard from Ravenstone Farm (also at Farmers Market), or butter or oil, (about a third of a pound depending on how big the pan is) and mix it with the dry ingredients. The topping should hold together if you squeeze it. Cover the fruit with topping and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 to 50 minutes. The top should get crispy and a little brown. Enjoy!!
From left, KSS Food Forest Summer Student Annika Norton with Food Forest coordinator, Madeleine Dwyer. PHOTO: Lissa Alexander
~The Kwalikum Food Forest ~
Connecting school and community, people and nature co-ordinating volunteers, promoting the project and seeking support. And of course, tending to the garden. The food we grow is used at the school and/or donated or sold in the community. Recently, I’ve been able to hire a student to work full-time on the project for the next few months (when she heads off to university) through the Canada Summer Jobs program. Through support from a couple of other funding sources, I will also be hiring one to two part time summer students for July and August. Employing and engaging youth is a goal of our project; we want to see more young people living here and youth leadership in the realms of food and environmental causes! Vancouver Island only produces roughly five per cent of the food we consume and the average farmer in Canada is approaching retirement age. Local food production, with the potential to employ the next generation of food growers, has so much room to flourish dramatically here
on the island with our temperate climate. I encourage you to do what you can to support this amazing possibility. We are always looking for support at the Food Forest to keep us going. If you are interested in visiting the garden, signing up for our mailing list, or making a donation (whether it be financial, time, tools, seeds, plants, etc.) please e-mail kwalikumfoodforest@gmail.com or call me at 250-240-6236. Find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ kssfoodgardens or read more at http://www.mabr.ca/instituteprojects
Keep an eye out for workshops and tours held at the Kwalikum Food Forest. A website will soon be up and running at www.kwalikumfoodforest.com
SUMMER 2015
By Madeleine Dwyer There is a place at Kwalikum Secondary School brimming with new life and ripe with the scent of soil and greens, and it’s doing more than just promoting local food. I work as a coordinator for the Kwalikum Food Forest. This is a large garden area located at Kwalikum Secondary School in Qualicum Beach. The Food Forest is a school and community project that promotes local food, ecological growing practices, hands-on learning, and appreciation of our local environment (e.g. edible native plants). We aim to foster connections between members of the school and greater community, and at the same time, foster connections between people and nature. Part of my work as the coordinator has involved creating and teaching foodgrowing courses to highschool students and the public, offering workshops, engaging with teachers and students at the school,
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Story by Candace Wu, Photography by Peter McCully
Story by Candace Wu Photography by Peter McCully
Sculpting in Stone There’s no money in art. Acclaimed Qualicum Beach stone sculptor Mike Rebar admits he never planned on becoming an artist; and he certainly didn’t anticipate turning into an international sensation, sweeping his work across Europe and Asia. “I never thought I’d be a full time artist,” Rebar says. “I always thought ‘there’s no money in art.’” And while he still believes it’s a tough career path, Rebar has planted roots in Parksville Qualicum Beach where many of his sculptures inhabit the homes of neighbours, friends and fans of his work. Overseas, Rebar’s art is featured in many homes dotted throughout Europe and all over Asia, where he says there’s a higher demand and interest in sculpting. Regionally, he’s best known for his Easter Island Heads, a piece that he credits with starting his career.
AN UNPLANNED ADVENTURE Rebar first began making Easter Island Heads in early 2000, shortly after moving to Vancouver Island from Bridal Falls, where he ran the community’s golf course and campground for 10 years. SUMMER 2015
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Upon moving to Parksville Qualicum Beach, Rebar started taking sculpting more seriously — because, well, he had the time. “I couldn’t get a job,” he says frankly, with a laugh. “There was absolutely no work here.”
Moreover, Rebar says “usually there is one stone sculptor per town but when I got here there were like five.” He says his lack of full time employment, coupled with the thriving sculpting scene in town, bolstered his commitment to the trade. “The art took a few years to get going,” he recalls, noting he found part time projects to delve into like building ponds and minor construction jobs in the meantime.
YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST But it was his famous Easter Island Heads that really took off, fueling and financing the rest of his career. And like all international success stories, Rebar remembers his first sale. “It was going to be a bird bath,” he explains. “I put faces inside the stem of the bird bath and a guy came over, he just dropped by to see my work and I told him I was making a bird bath … He said, ‘Nope, I want to buy it as is, round the top off and I’ll buy it.’” Rebar says, “I didn’t know what to charge because I had never done it before (made a sale) … I looked at him and thought, OK this guy has some money, he’s from Vancouver, so I told him $250.” Rebar’s first customer looked at him bewildered.
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>>> He offered him an extra $100, contingent to him delivering the sculpture to the Lower Mainland.
achieves the finer details with hand files followed by wet and dry sanding to complete the process.
“And that was my first sale,” says Rebar. “Once he said he liked it, I almost just gave it to him.”
Much of his work reflects the ingenuity of the West Coast, but he says his favourite pieces are more abstract.
For the record, Easter Island Heads now sell for around $2,000 — but you always remember your first.
Last September he won the Skoaling Water Award at the Sculpture Splash Macaully Point Esquimalt. Rebar’s sculpture was called “Embrace” and it sold.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Since that fateful sale, Rebar has had many more.
SUMMER 2015
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He sculpts in sandstone, cement, granite and marble — often harvesting material from various sites on Vancouver Island. Rebar works with traditional hand tools, carbide chisels and diamond blades. He
Furthermore, Rebar has taken part in both Fire & Ice and Parksville’s Sand Sculpting competition. And while the events are entertaining for onlookers, he says they are incredibly intense. “It took me a week to recover from Beachfest,” he says of the long hours transforming simple sand into something so much more. “But we’re raising money for a good cause.” >>>
Begin your coastal journey at the Salish Market, where the powerful stories of the art created with “insight” of the Salish Sea unfold.
Photos: page 18 Mike Rebar working in his home studio. Page 20, Rebar at his shared studio at The Old School House Arts Centre. Page 21, Rebar working in his home studio.
Discover west coast expression in all mediums: pottery, wood, glass, metal, culinary, fabric, paint, literature, photography, body care and jewellery.
>>> Last year, more than 90,000 people stopped by Parksville Beach to check out the Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition & Exhibition, and 12 volunteer organizations shared $40,000 raised by gate proceeds.
A DYING ART FORM While sculpting has defined most of Rebar’s life, he fears the unique art form may be becoming antiquated. “It’s a dying art,” he says, noting the decline in sculptors — especially young ones. “Sculptors are a dying breed,” he says. “Nobody has the patience anymore.” In a world driven by instant gratification, it isn’t easy to entice the younger generation. “That’s the thing with the kids, they are used to having things done quite quickly and you’re going to tell them it might take 20 hours to round something off and another 20 hours to polish it,” says Rebar. “Well, that’s forever … they’ve already changed their minds and done something else.”
Mike Rebar has a studio located at his home in Qualicum Beach as well as a space in The Old School House Arts Centre. For more information visit www.bigrockbc.com or email him at mrebar@shaw.ca.
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However, in an effort to keep the art alive, Rebar instructs at the annual Stone Sculpture Symposium, a week-long event in the Cowichan Valley. Additionally, he teaches lessons at local schools in the area and vows to help anybody interested in sculpting.
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Column and photo by Linda Tenney
Ah. Nothing is too late till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Legacy, Truth and Time Travel One of the most thrilling discoveries I’ve made so far, is a book of prose written by my 2nd great-grandfather in 1884. Semiautobiographical, his anecdotes reveal much about his day-to-day life in Brantford, Ontario during the early to late 1800s. His words tell of pioneering struggles and Having a passion for genealogy, I’ve been hardships, but also of happy celebrations. digging into my family history for nearly He sprang to life on those pages. He became three decades. It started one warm, lilac- real. scented day in Toronto when my Aunt His book pushed my research beyond vital Mildred and I sipped tea and talked about statistics. I discovered who he was. His her family; an unfamiliar branch of our hopes and dreams. Things that mattered tree. That afternoon, I scribbled dozens of to him, and how he fit into his community. names and dates in a notebook she gave It’s our stories that make us real, and if me. I still have it, squirreled away with our stories are lost ... we simply fade away, forever forgotten. The reality of our lives other documents that unfold our history. That notebook set me on a winding path become speculation. The space between the past and future is the present, and this moment, a sliding point on the balance beam between our beginning and end. As our present moves into the past, the white space behind us fills in with the adventure that is our life. Rich and colourful stories of us ... you and me.
moment. Then ponder it from the future ... say, 300 years from now? How would you respond? What would you tell them? What truth can you reveal? I encourage you to take the time to document the adventure of your life for those who come after. Allow your story to travel in time. If you’re a writer, grab a pen and put words to paper. If you’re an artist, let your strokes of colour show your descendants what you see. Tell your story in the unique way that only you can tell it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be you. When they look back with questions ... and they will ... your answers will be awaiting discovery.
SUMMER 2015
For now, it’s impossible for us to crack through to the past or into the future. All we have is the present. What happens today through ancestral burial grounds, places my Over the centuries, many tales of our will become your history. What story will family once lived, and surviving buildings ancestors have been lost. I find that sad. your history tell? And who will tell it? I hope they called home. Beyond the names, dates Stories are an important legacy, not so it will be you. and places, I also found their stories. Well, much the material things left behind. Just sayin’ at least some of them, and I long for more. “Who are you?” Ponder that question for a
23
RICHARD BOYCE A Man with a Cause
SUMMER 2015
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Story and photos by Linda Matteson Reynolds
V
ancouver Island cinematographer Richard Boyce uses the art of film as his visual expression to bring attention to his
cause. A 20-year veteran documentary filmmaker, Boyce has shot with some of Canada’s most respected cinematographers.
CAREER BEGINNINGS His passion for film started as a youth when he was involved with a local video organization called Exploring Television with Children. He contributed as a host and cameraman, and he directed two episodes about children with developmental disabilities entering the public school system, and the need for nuclear disarmament — evidence that his political and social consciousness began at an early age.
Upon returning to the West Coast, Boyce attended the University of Van-
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From 2004 – 2009 Boyce published a newspaper column for the PQB News called Island Lens where he gave voice to some controversial environmental issues such as the Lost Trails Wetlands in Dashwood and the proposed governmentplanned parking lot in Cathedral Grove – MacMillan Provincial Park.
THE COASTAL RAINFOREST Boyce’s passion for rainforest preservation led him to take a course through Forestry Renewal BC and he became certified as a Woodlands Manager in Master Woodland Management. Through his company, he regularly guides the public, international production crews and special-interest groups on educational tours deep within the rain forests of our BC coast. In 2011, Boyce released the 51-minute film, Rainforest – The Limit of Splendour. Inspired by Kwaxsistalla, a Kwakwaka’wakw clan chief, this cinematic journey contrasts the treefarms that dominate remote corners of Vancouver Island with the ancient rain forests of Haida Gwaii. >>>
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Upon graduation from Kwalicum Secondary School, Boyce moved to Montreal to study at Concordia University where he developed his craft and vision as a filmmaker. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production, he embarked on a remarkable sixyear project of recording the life of the homeless on the streets of Montreal. The 1996 feature-length documentary The Street – a film with the homeless, launched Boyce’s career as a cinematographer and associate director. The film debuted at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) where it received a special jury award for excellence and was voted the most popular documentary by the public.
couver to obtain his Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Production. The allure of the ancient rainforest on the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island brought him back to his hometown of Errington. Boyce believes that although the technology of filmmaking is certainly important, it’s just a tool. In the end, it’s how one uses the tools to implement change. He is the founder and motivational force behind Island Bound Media Works, a production company that specializes in documentary film, video and photography.
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“Vancouver Island has always been my heart and my home. My passion for ancient trees inspired me to climb high up into the canopy to document the biodiversity of this incredible ecosystem on the brink of extinction,” says Boyce. This film portrays an evocative journey, contrasting forestry as practiced for ten thousand years by First Nation’s people with today’s modern logging operations. Playing at festivals across Canada and Europe, the film has won several awards, notably the 2011 Best Mountain Culture Award at the Whistler Film Festival where the jury praised the film for “re-exposing our most critical environmental issues while at the same time pushing the cinematic experience and limits of storytelling, cinematography and editing.”
Boyce explains, “My personal journey into this remote wilderness focuses on the coastal areas where the Enbridge Corporation is proposing to navigate hundreds of Super-Tankers loaded with millions of barrels of Bitumen from Alberta’s tarsands for export to China. My goal was to document the challenges facing these Super-Tankers by immersing myself in this natural environment where I created a film that conveys the reality of this incredible coast.” Coastal Tarsands – Journey to Deleted Islands examines the details of the proposal with Boyce’s first-hand approach, revealing that many of the facts have been omitted.
In 2013, Boyce began his one-year cinematic journey into the tight channels of islands that dot BC’s North Coast. There he photographed, produced, directed and edited the 78-minute film, Coastal Tarsands–Journey to Deleted Islands. He kayaked the coast and crisscrossed the narrow inlets where super-tankers, loaded with millions of barrels of oil, may soon navigate. Proving the ethical and creative choices he makes as a storyteller,
Boyce toured these waters aboard BC Ferries vessel Northern Expedition on it’s route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and into Haida Gwaii. Invited onto the bridge to interview the captain and crew, he was given a play-by-play description of the route with a personal topside view of the 90-degree hairpin turns these supertankers would be navigating through. >>>
In 2012, Boyce received the prestigious Mark Haslam Award at Toronto’s Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival for “giving voice to individuals, communities, struggles or stories that are under-represented in the media and is made by a filmmaker who is a member or participant in that community, struggle or story.”
SUMMER 2015
NEWEST VENTURE
“The public is not being informed of the reality facing the west coast of North America if the Northern Gateway Pipeline is constructed,” says Boyce. “The Endbridge Corporation is determined to bring Alberta tarsands bitumen by a pipeline 1,170 km long across the Rocky and Coast Mountain ranges into Kitimat.” The film takes a direct look at the fragility of the coastline; its natural features, the changeable and often-hostile weather conditions, currents and rip tides, and the wildlife. The small populace of communities dotting the inner coastline are dependent on this bionetwork for their livelihood.
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>>> Along his journey, Boyce visited Gil Island where in March of 2006, the BC Ferry Queen of the North ran aground in Wright Sound, eventually sinking to the bottom offshore one hour later. The vessel was loaded with 225,000 litres of diesel fuel, 15,000 litres of light oil, 3,200 litres of hydraulic fluid and 3,200 litres of stern tube oil. Wright Sound and the surrounding area is rich in marine life and First Nation’s fisheries depend on these waters for their livelihood. The on-going discharge and remaining oil seepage from the ferry remains an environmental concern. “It’s disheartening to see, nine years later, diesel fuel bubbling up through the ground on Gil Island,” says Boyce. “If the captain of the Queen of the North lost control at night with no other traffic around, how will supertankers fair when faced with high-traffic situations in harsh weather conditions?” Boyce questions.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
A soft-spoken man but passionate and compelling speaker, what is it that gives Boyce hope for the future? “The audiences are having very powerful reactions to the film and the questions and comments
from people after the screening are what give me hope,” admits Boyce. “What has been really unexpected and most powerful is that something in the film has sparked people to want, not only talk about the film, but to open up and share their stories with me,” he states. “It has to rise to the consciousness of the general population and what better way than to use film to bring attention to a cause?” How far the impact of this film will go and in which ways it will help is a little hard to predict, but Boyce hopes we will all be surprised by what it can affect. And while we can’t save them all, we should always look at what actions will help us make the biggest difference. “If Coastal Tarsands – Journey to Deleted Islands can help in some way to empower the movement, then I’ll have reached my goal with this film,” says Boyce. DVDs of Boyce’s films can be found at Naked Naturals (Parksville), Creekmore’s Coffee (Coombs) and Catacomb Video (Qualicum Beach.)
A REVIEW
Boyce’s knowledge of and passion for the wellbeing of BC’s environmentally sensitive central coast is obvious, and Coastal Tar Sands offers some of the most comprehensive first-hand reporting available on the subject of Northern Gateway. Tyler Batten, ‘Oil and Water Don’t Mix’, Alternatives Journal.
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Striking a Chord
Story by Lissa Alexander
Music speaks to our souls. It inspires, it transcend barriers, and it heals. Blues artist Layla Zoe has known that since she was young, and now it’s her music that is penetrating deep into the hearts of music fans in Germany and beyond. “I have had many people, young and old, male and female, cry at my shows,” Zoe explains from her home in Germany. “To know that my voice and words have touched someone so deeply that they begin to cry and get connected with a part of themselves that often stays hidden, means so much to me. I think the best art, is the most honest. It is the art that gets to the places inside of us, that are dark, and need healing.” Zoe grew up in Qualicum Beach. She attended Errington Elementary, Bowser Elementary and PASS Woodwinds, before spending a few years in Vancouver. She returned to the area and attended Malaspina College (now Vancouver Island University), where she took a year of vocal jazz training. Zoe played in a local cover band called Gravy Train for three years, before releasing her first solo album in 2005. In 2006 she won the Compo10 Blues Songwriting Competition in Finland and from there her music began to spread around Europe.
SUMMER 2015
She is now in her mid-thirties and has recently released her 9th solo album in Germany, where she has been living for the past year-and-half. The double album, called Live at Spirit of 66, was recorded in front of 200 awe-struck fans in Belgium. And Zoe’s international touring career is growing swiftly. >>>
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>>> Besides performing around Canada, she has played in Finland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Poland, the Netherlands, UK, Luxembourg, Austria, and for the first time this year, will play in Italy. But her story begins on the West Coast, where music stole her heart when she was but a young, impressionable child.
PSYCHEDELIC ROCK Zoe’s parents both had a deep love of music and her own childhood can be broken down into a series of vinyl sound tracks that were constantly on her mind. Her father played the guitar, harmonica, piano and wrote music throughout her upbringing, including in Bowser and Vancouver, where Zoe later joined him for live performances. In elementary school Zoe sang lead roles in the school musicals, and by her early teens she was turning heads with her talent. She remembers her dad’s vinyl collection fondly and spending days picking through his records. She loved all kinds of music from classic rock, jazz and alternative, to death metal and psychedelic rock.
“She has learned how to dig down and pull this stuff out of her, even if she’s singing others’ songs, she digs down and makes it her own.”
But it’s blues that really spoke to her and found its way out of her when she sang.
And it doesn’t hurt that she’s a fiery red head who’s full of passion.
“The Blues has something so raw and special and heartbreaking, but also beautiful and hopeful in its sound and lyrics,” she explains.
About eight years ago, Zoe decided she needed to put music first in her life and headed to Toronto. It was there she met the late jazz and blues legend Jeff Healey, and played with him at his club in that city. He had this to say about her:
MASTERING THE BLUES Zoe approached local music producer and sound engineer Chris Raines about 10 years ago after doing a bit of recording in Nashville. She was looking to collaborate with him on an album. Raines has been playing and producing music for decades, and has always had a deep love for blues. He keeps busy at his music studio and academy in Parksville, and when Layla contacted him, he decided he’d give her a shot. “I had written a song in 6-8 time and said to her, here’s the music, I’m going to give you a scene, you make up the words and sing it, and if I like it, I’ll work with you,” says Raines. “She blew me away.” The song is called You Won’t Call and it’s on her album Shades of Blue, the first of two albums of which she collaborated with Raines.
Raines says Layla is like a daughter to him and they continue to talk regularly. Now that she’s in Europe, he says there’s nothing stopping her.
Her music then lead her to Montreal, where she gained a strong following and gave a memorable performance at the renowned Montreal Jazz Festival, twice.
JETTING TO GERMANY Until she made the decision to move to Germany, Zoe had been jetting to Europe frequently to play music, and it was getting expensive to book the flights. She has now recorded three albums with the German label Cable Car Records, and her band mates are all German. And although Zoe spends most of her time these days in Europe, she still comes home to Qualicum Beach to visit and occasionally play music. Last year she joined local documentary filmmaker Richard Boyce in his quest to expose the dangers regarding the Enbridge Corporation’s Northern Gateway Pipeline project, which would see hundreds of supertankers loaded with oil navigating B.C.’s North Coast. >>>
SUMMER 2015
Raines says Layla had been through a lot, and she was able to express that deep emotion in her music. “What I saw in her was a real artist,” he explains.
“She has created probably the biggest buzz vocally of any singer I’ve heard about in years in Toronto. All of the comments, compliments and credos going around the city about her are not unfounded. She is wonderful.”
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>>> Zoe co-wrote a song called Our Native Land with Chris Raines and performed the song in support of Boyce’s documentary Coastal TarSands — Journey to Deleted Islands. The song can also be found on Zoe’s website. She says she feels strongly that the Gateway project would have disastrous affects on the beauty of B.C.
Autumn
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In 2013 Zoe released her eighth album, The Lily, which garnered critical acclaim and made the Best Albums of 2014 edition of Downbeat Magazine. It was also listed in German online magazine WasswerPrawda’s Best Blues Albums. Zoe was also nominated as Female Vocalist of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards in 2014. The owner of Cable Car Records, Henrik Freischlader, played guitar on the album and Zoe said his amazing music sensibilities made a clear impact on the album.
Publication date:
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“I was happy with that album because I was able to talk about some things on the record that I have never been able or willing to express or speak about on any of my past records. “
North ntre Recovery Ce
Zoe said it’s nice to have the accolades to remind her that her hard work is paying off, but the most beautiful moments in her career are when a fan approaches her after a show, or writes to her to tell her what her music means to them. Like a young girl from Poland who wrote to her last year while getting treatment at a hospital for bi-polar disorder. She said it was Zoe’s music that helped her to stay strong.
IC MUeSSe a by th
ach in Qualicum Be
Fall 2013 Home + Garden
| Art + Culture
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indd 1
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“It is what my fans and my band think of me that matters most to me. If my band members respect me, and tell me I did a great show, and continue to feel good working with me, then that is one of the greatest awards to me,” she explains. Zoe is currently songwriting and working on demos for her 10th album which will be released in 2016. Join Zoe’s facebook page to keep up with her latest adventures. And help support this Qualicum Beach girl who is following her dreams on the other side of the world. www.layla.ca www.facebook.com/laylazoefanpage
Photos: page 31, Layla Zoe in Germany, taken by Gibson Girl Photography. Page 33, Layla live in concert, taken by Roland Kämpfer. Page 34, top, Layla in Germany taken by Gibson Girl Photography. Left, Layla as a child with her dad. PARKSVILLE QUALICUM BEACH LIFE
SUMMER 2015
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LARRY GEEKIE Still hands on at The Old Country Market
F
or more than 30 years, The Old Country Market in Coombs, with its famous goats on the roof, has been one of the region’s most popular roadside attractions. Its history dates back to the 1950s, when Kristian Graaten and his wife Solveig immigrated with their children to Vancouver Island from Norway. In 1973 Kris started a fruit stand beside the highway. A year later they began selling hot dogs and hamburgers to travellers en route to the West Coast. Two years after that, a market was built, but Kris, who grew up in Lillehammer, Norway was inspired to include a sod roof in his design of the market. Many Norwegian homes and farm structures are built directly into the hillside with the sod roof becoming an extension of the hillside. With the help of sons Svein and Andy, and his son-in-law Larry Geekie, Kris unwittingly began to build what would become perhaps the most famous sod-roof building in the world. One year during the Coombs Fall Fair, several goats were borrowed to ‘mow’ the unkempt roof. Their ensuing popularity have ensured that several goats have been atop the roof ever since. Larry, who is a third generation Coombs resident, is approaching age 70 and is still hands-on when it comes to the daily operations at The Old Country Market.
SUMMER 2015
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I sat down with Larry in the iconic log structure that is now a beloved Vancouver Island destination. He insisted that the credit for the market needs to go to Kris, adding that it was his
all get older. When we started this it was a father-in-law’s vision that resulted in a tourist local project. In those years there was just an stop which attracts more than a million Overwaitea. Now there are farmers markets visitors each year. everywhere. Things have changed drastically Question: When you were building that first in the business. Now that we have become sod roof, did you think your father-in-law was a destination, our focus is on entertainment. off his rocker? Right now I have such a good crew with my Answer: It was his idea and it was so unusual family being involved. I don’t work that hard. but he was so talented. For myself, I am third I am here but I have a hard time keeping up generation here, so I really do think the locals with it truthfully, with the technology and all were wondering what the heck was going on of that. here with this guy. I was ready to soak up Question: Currently there is new construction whatever it was he had dreamt. It was lots of happening. Why did you demolish some of fun. I peeled all these poles actually. They the old buildings and what is in the works? came off the back of the property which was Answer: It was a difficult thing for me with the not cleared. I was just taking it all in. old stores. They were really sinking into the Question: Before the market was built, what ground and I had people there for a long time. was Coombs like? A few were there for 15 years but most of them Answer: This is an old homestead. I think relocated. Change isn’t always accepted but the West family was here many years ago. when you ask people what was it like, say My grandparents lived up the road. I believe ten years ago, they don’t realize the changes there was a fellow named Ford and he had unless you have gone through it. We have to the log house down the road. It was a stage change. The new building is going to be an old fashioned ice cream parlour because I have coach stopping point. learned that kids from six to 60 love ice cream. Kris lived in Port Alberni then, and he worked Some stop drinking coffee but ice cream is in the mill. He wanted to move his family something that is a little hard to give up. here and that is when he bought this place here. He had three beautiful daughters and Question: French Creek runs through the I married one of them. Kris built a roadside property and the Marion Baker Fish Hatchery stand to sell hot dogs. His daughters looked folks tell me you provide them with access so after it. It was a good hangout. All the guys they can get salmon eggs. Has environmental stewardship always been important in your hung around here quite a bit. operations? Question: Thirty years later it is a must-see destination for tourists. Is that a challenging Answer: We don’t have a lot of water so water conservation is important to us. We want to reputation to live up to? provide a positive and respectful environment Answer: Yes … we all have standards and we for our customers and employees.
It’s a path we all walk some day... let’s share the journey
Fundraising Events Summer 2015
Vancouver Island Memorial Trail Ride Saturday July 25 From Craig Creek Ranch in Nanoose
A Two Day Group Cycle Fundraiser July 25–26, 2015
Keeping Vancouver Island Hospice Care In Motion
Support Team Oceanside Hospice by donating online. See our website for details.
Oceanside Hospice 25th Anniversary Golf Tournament Saturday August 15 Eaglecrest Golf Club
For more information visit us at: www.oceansidehospice.com or call 250-752-6227 • 210 Crescent Rd. W., Qualicum Beach
SUMMER 2015
Oceanside Hospice Society welcomes Nicole Dudek back to the hospice team. Nicole will be the Hospice Client Services Coordinator and can be reached at 250-752-6227 or nicole@oceansidehospice.com
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