Colourful convoy
GARDEN: Foraging for seasonal foliage /A6 Lighted trucks come to ARTS: Two takes on a holiday classic /A9 Oak Bay Saturday night Page A3 SPORTS: Castaways take aim at Barnard Cup /A12
OAK BAYNEWS Friday, December 4, 2015
www.oakbaynews.com
Brand embraces eccentrically friendly Oak Bay Christine van Reeuwyk Oak Bay News
that fled to Turkey two years ago, a professional couple and their three children. “They have been waiting a long time to restart their lives and the lives of their three children,” Vibert says. While transitioning to a new community can be challenging, a friend living here already is helping, so “they have some community when they arrive, which really helps.” At more than $25,000, the group is just over half-way to their fundraising goal and the committee recently received word that an anonymous donor has offered matching funds for donations received now, Vibert says.
Oak Bay is set to embrace and promote its exclusivity to just the right visitor after extensive branding work. The Oak Bay Tourism Marketing Committee shared its vision Monday (Nov. 30) developed after a session last spring with stakeholders. At that time "friendly" was the overall word stakeholders determined describes the community. Afterward, the tourism committee sought the views of outsiders, said committee member Angus Matthews. The words they heard then were polar opposite: not friendly; stuck up; expensive; and old, rich and nothing to do. It confirmed the need for work, with a goal to “refresh, refocus and deal with the fact we don't have a great purple cow.” “Summer's pretty good around here. Fall, spring, Christmas, these are seasons that need a shove,” Matthews said. By distilling information from Destination BC and occupancy statistics they found that 62 per cent of visitors to south Vancouver Island stay with friends.
PlEASE SEE: Public forums planned for new year, Page A8
PlEASE SEE: Oak Bay offers visitors many draws, Page A3
Jennifer Blyth/Oak Bay News
Theresa Gallant, left, UVic history department administrative officer, and professor Elizabeth Vibert sort the many items donated for a coming fundraiser for the History Refugee Committee’s efforts to bring a Syrian family to Victoria.
UVic auction event supports refugees Public forums in the new year will explore the refugee crisis and the Canadian and European response to it Jennifer Blyth Oak Bay News
The University of Victoria History Department invites the community to enjoy an evening of appies and holiday shopping Dec. 9 and in the process, help support a Syrian refugee family on its way to Canada. The History Refugee Committee hosts a live and silent auction Dec. 9 in the UVic Student Union Building, a way to continue toward the
$50,000 needed to needed to help resettle the family of five in Canada in the coming year. “The immediate impetus was the same for us as it was for so many others,” says history professor Elizabeth Vibert, pointing to the poignant image of the young boy drowned, alongside his mother and siblings, while trying to flee the violence in Syria. However the Syrian refugee situation is also reflective of a mounting global refugee crisis, notes Vibert, who specializes in colonial history and in particular southern Africa. “We decided we want to do something.” What started as a faculty project, working through the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, quickly expanded to include students, staff and others, both inside and outside the department. The group is sponsoring a Syrian family
Select Boxed % 50FF Christmas O Cards & Wrap (BETWEEN DEC 4TH - 9TH)
We have a full service post office for any mailing needs!
For Everything You and Your Family Need to Live Well • FREE local prescription delivery • Blister packing service • Postal outlet
• Full Service Cosmetics • Transit passes • And MUCH MORE!
PHARMASAVE Pharmasave Oak Bay PHARMASAVE 2200 Oak Bay Avenue ®
®
(250) 598-3380 oakbaypharmasave.com
Mon - Fri: 8:30am - 8pm. Sat: 9am - 6pm. Sun: 11am - 5pm