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RIVENDELL’S NEW VISION: Bowen’s retreat centre evolves
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THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2021 BIRD CALLS OF BOWEN
VOL. 47 NO. 18
BIUndercurrent
BowUndercurrent www.bowenislandundercurrent.com
The Nature Club separates the birdsong from the noise PAGE 3
Paint the wall WHAT’S IN STORE FOR BOWEN’S BIGGEST EYESORE?
BRONWYN BEAIRSTO
Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com
CHARLES MCNEILL PHOTO
OTTER PREDATOR: A few weeks ago the Undercurrent published photos of an eagle attempting to hunt an
otter. Last week Charles McNeill looked out his Mt. Gardner window to see an otter having a snack of its own. Acquatic wildlife – such as fish, crabs, frogs, reptiles, birds – and sometimes acquatic plants and small mammals make up the river otter’s diet according to the National Wildlife Federation. See more photos of the otter at bowenislandundercurrent.com.
Queen of Cap off for repairs Saturday eve BRONWYN BEAIRSTO
Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com
Get any mainland errands done early Saturday. The Queen of Capilano is heading off for repairs for the second time in a month.
The last Queen of Cap sailing of May 8 will be the 6:50 p.m. from Horseshoe Bay. A water taxi service will replace the final five sailings of the evening, starting with the 8:30 p.m. from Snug Cove. BC Ferries is providing complimentary Horseshoe Bay surface lot
parking for those having to take the water taxi after 6:50 p.m. For this, one must get a temporary parking pass from the customer service office. Saturday evening ferry cancellations a couple of weeks ago caused some chaos in the Cove as unsuspecting tourists were stranded on Bowen.
PARK ROYAL CONSTRUCTION Home Renovations & General Contracting Water ingress • Dry rot • Mould removal Decks • Docks • Ramps
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Bowen Island is no fortress but one might think otherwise after crossing a moat and arriving at an unassailable mud-brown concrete wall. But, the ugly 50-metre stretch of lock-block wall on the north side of Bowen’s entryway is set to get its Cinderella moment. Bowen Island Municipality’s Public Art Advisory Committee is soon issuing a call for artists’ proposals for a series of panels along the wall. Traditionally, the island’s kids have painted the wall, and the committee had planned on keeping youth involved in a public art project, but given the pandemic the committee shifted its attention. In the meantime, Sangre de Fruta Botanicals approached the committee about making a donation toward public art. “The committee decided...this is a great opportunity to really do something spectacular for the lock-block wall with unexpected and substantial funding,” says Scott Massey, chair of the public art committee. The committee was able to match the local business’ funding. “The lock-block wall itself as a substrate for art, it’s fundamentally a disaster,” says Massey. “If you want the finished product to actually look professional, painting directly on the lock-block wall, unless you are some incredibly experienced muralist,... it would just end up looking really quite awful.” Instead, the committee is providing four-foot by eightfoot panels of medium density overlay board (used for making highway signs) to be delivered right to artists’ studios. This also solves the problem of artists trying to paint along the Cove’s bottleneck pathway during a pandemic. “The beauty of these [panels] is that they can be removed and repainted and reused at any time in the future or swapped out,” says Massey. CONTINUED ON P. 6
LIONS GATE ROOFING ROOFING & REPAIRS
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