May 29, 2026

GETTING SET FOR STRAWBERRY TEA PAGE 3

$1.50

inc.

GST

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2026

VOL. 52 NO. 22

‘HELLO, MY NAME IS...’ ART EXHIBIT PAGE 9

BowUndercurrent www.bowenislandundercurrent.com

ARTISTS TAKE CENTRE STAGE This year’s Bowen Arts Tour featured 19 art studios and hubs and 130 artists showing their work. At Hub #1 at The Hearth Gallery on Saturday, May 23, after the local vocal consort, Carmina Bowena sang renaissance songs a cappella, young Will McKercy played songs from Peter Pan. In the audience was the piano virtuoso’s amusing brother, T. Tommy Thomas McKercy. And at his Josephine Drive art studio, Hub #17, Andrew Plewes (right) was joined by family as the veteran artist showed off his paintings and illustrations - the house itself is a work of art too! You can find more photos from the Arts Tour weekend on Page 7. / Marcus Hondro photo (left) & Darryl Deegan photo (right) SPECTACULAR WATERFRONT PROPERTY

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A2 • bowenislandundercurrent.com

Check Your Mailboxes! Property Tax Notices Arriving Next Week 2026 Property Tax Notices will arrive next week.

Property taxes are due by 4:30 pm on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Events All Council meetings are open to the public to attend in person or electronically, unless noted otherwise.

June 8, 2026 1:00 pm Regular Council Meeting June 15, 2026 1:00 pm Committee of the Whole Meeting

2026 OCP Feedback: Survey Now Open

Don’t forget to claim your Home Owner Grant!

Home Owner Grants need to be claimed by the property owner each and every year. You do not need to wait until you receive your 2026 Property Tax Notice to submit your claim. Use the QR Code to submit your claim or visit:

Bowen Island Municipality is updating our Official Community Plan. An Official Community Plan, often known as an OCP, is a local government’s overarching guiding document.

gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/annual-propertytax/home-owner-grant/apply

The Draft OCP is available for public review. This community helped shape this draft and now we’re asking you: did we get it right? Complete the survey before June 22, 2026, to let us know.

In order to avoid penalties and interest, your Home Owner Grant application MUST be received by the Province before the tax due date.

Scan the QR code or visit:

Any property tax amounts, including unclaimed Home Owner Grant, that remain outstanding after 4:30 pm on Thursday, July 2, 2026, will be subject to a 10% penalty.

bowenislandmunicipality.ca/ocp-update/

Are you ready to vote this October?

If you require access to, or assistance using, a computer to complete your Home Owner Grant claim, please call us at 604-947-4255 ext 8 and we will assist you.

The local government election will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Bowen Island Municipality will use the provincial list of voters prepared by Elections BC for this election.

You can conveniently register to vote online by using the QR code or visiting: elections.bc.ca/register-to-vote Register now and save time at the polls in October!

National Accessibility Week 2026 In recognition of Accessibility Awareness Week (May 31 to June 6, 2026), Bowen Island Municipality (BIM) is highlighting recent efforts to improve access, inclusion, and participation across the community.

Since adopting its Accessibility Action Plan in July 2025, BIM has taken steps to reduce barriers: Council Chambers upgrades: Improved AV systems and Auracast enhance participation (supported by a $25,000 SPARC BC grant).

Theatre access: Portable railings improve seating access; Auracast hearing technology, donated by Seniors Keeping Young (SKY), further boost audio accessibility.

Priority parking: Available by request at the Community Centre for those with mobility challenges.

Inclusive recreation: Customized fitness orientations, including for Blind and DeafBlind community members.

These actions reflect BIM’s commitment to inclusion. Learn more or provide feedback: bowenislandmunicipality.ca/our-community/accessibility/

Contact Bowen Island Municipality PAID ADVERTISEMENT May 29, 2026

Phone: 604-947-4255 Bowen Island Municipal Hall Fax: 604-947-0193 580 Bowen Island Trunk Rd Email: bim@bimbc.ca Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2 Website: www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday Closed statutory holidays

Find us on Facebook Bowen Island Municipality

Subscribe to our mailing list bowenislandmunicipality.ca/subscribe

Friday, May 29, 2026

bowenislandundercurrent.com • A3

The Strawberry Tea: Celebrating Tradition and Community REV. LORRAINE ASHDOWN Bowen Island United Church Bowen Island United Church warmly invites you to save the date for our annual Strawberry Tea on Saturday, June 13 from 10 am to 3 pm.

This year, in addition to the traditional Strawberry Tea delights - strawberry shortcake, tea, sandwiches, BBQ burgers and hot dogs, pies for sale, raffle baskets, a silent auction, and more - we will be celebrating the completion of our Collins Hall Upgrade.

Please join us for this joyful community event. And please read on for a bit of background about the upgrade project.

Collins Hall (the building beside the Little Red Church on Miller Road) has been a community asset since it was constructed in the 1960s on land donated by the Collins family. Over six decades, the building gradually became rundown and less comfortable for the groups gathering in its space.

The old furnace was noisy and the space was often too cold or too hot. Single-paned windows leaked heat to the outdoors. The front entry ramp was deteriorating badly.

An engineer’s report revealed that the building did not meet seismic standards and that a corner of the foundation was in urgent need of repair. In addition, the community Food Bank operated by Bowen Island United Church needed more space for storing supplies.

Thanks to a generous Community Prosperity Fund grant of $115,000 from the Government of BC, administered by the Bowen Island Community Foundation, the United Church has been able to not only spruce up the aging Hall but also carry out much-needed structural improvements.

Our Collins Hall Upgrade includes: a new Food Bank storage extension with two freezers, seismic structural reinforcement, a safer and more secure rear entrance, and the installation of an energy-saving heat pump for year-round comfort.

We have repaired the kitchen foundation, renovated the women’s washroom, replaced the front entry ramp and handrail, and added new double-glazed windows in the main hall, kitchen, and washrooms.

Alongside these major projects, a number of additional enhancements have also been completed.

Dressing up is highly encouraged for the annual Strawberry Tea at Bowen Island United Church. / Submitted photo This work has been made possible through the dedication of local workers — both volunteer and professional — and we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to this remarkable community achievement.

Collins Hall is now ready to hold and host events for the next 60 years! Please join us at the tea as we celebrate tradition, community and the completion of our upgrade and all of the amazing people who contributed to it.

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A4 • bowenislandundercurrent.com

Friday, May 29, 2026

VIEWPOINTS

Mark your June calendars June is always a very busy month on Bowen with major events including Strawberry Tea, the Round Bowen Race, and the Undercurrent Grad Issue (coming out June 19, please make your submissions

by June 15!) to name a few. Recently Bowen Pride has also become a June staple, and it’s fast approaching next weekend. Featuring an always colourful Pride Parade, and following it up with a community party - this year at Snug Cove Pier - you won’t want to miss the festivities of this spirited and uplifting day. See you there!

- Alex Kurial, Editor

Let’s chat OCP JUDITH GEDYE Bowen Island Municipality Councillor My next Open House, I invited a member of the Official Community Plan (OCP) Steering Committee to join me and help explain details and answer questions about the draft OCP revision that has just been released.

Bowen is a well-educated and well-read community so there is a higher than average likelihood of community involvement in responses to the draft plan, and that means a higher than average reflection of what will work best for our beautiful, wonderful, unique and precious place as we live and prosper for the next 10 to 20 years.

Please take the time to read the draft plan, available on the Bowen Municipality website, and join a casual, comfortable conversation about any questions or suggestions you may have on Saturday, June 6 at 3 pm at Collins Hall. Everyone welcome.

THE WRITE STUFF. The Undercurrent encourages reader participation in your community newspaper. You must include your full name and a daytime phone number (for verification only).

The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, legality, brevity and taste. Please limit to under 500 words. HERE’S HOW: To submit a letter to the editor, fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to PO Box 130, Bowen Island, BC, V0N 1G0 or email editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com All Advertising and news copy content are copyright of the Undercurrent Newspaper. All editorial content submitted to the Undercurrent becomes the property of the publication. The Undercurrent is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, art work and photographs.

#103–495 Bowen Trunk Road, PO Box 130, Bowen Island BC, V0N 1G0 Phone: 604.947.2442 Fax: 604.947.0148 bowenislandundercurrent.com DEADLINE for advertising Monday, 4 p.m.

DEADLINE for editorial Tuesday 5 p.m.

Bowen Island Undercurrent Subscription Rates: Mailed 1 year subscription on Bowen Island: $62.50, including GST. Within Canada: $85 including GST Newsstand (Single Copy) $1.50 per copy, including GST

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EDITOR Alex Kurial editor@bowenisland undercurrent.com

ADVERTISING Tracey Wait ads@bowenisland undercurrent.com

CARTOONIST Ron Woodall

PUBLISHER Sarah Strother publisher@bowenisland undercurrent.com 2011 CCNA

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2011

The Undercurrent is a member of the National NewsMedia Council of Canada, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please email editor@ bowenislandundercurrent.com or call 604-947-2442.

If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

Friday, May 29, 2026

bowenislandundercurrent.com • A5

VIEWPOINTS

United Service REV. LORRAINE ASHDOWN Bowen Island United Church

Sometime around this time, last year, Bowen Island United Church and Cates Hill Chapel had a first annual Gospel Service. It was lively and fun and spirited and we decided that since it was well received and made people happy, we’d do it again this year.

Please join us on Sunday, June 7 at 10 am at Cates Hill Chapel, 661 Carter Rd, as The Chillbillies offer up some traditional gospel tunes and we all sing along. Who are The Chillbillies you may ask? Liz Watson on bass and vocals; Susan Munro on fiddle and vocals; Dyan Spear on mandolin and vocals and Lorraine Ashdown on guitar and vocals.

Suzanne Allan will be our worship leader.

This year it will be lovely to have our three congregations, Bowen Island United, Cates Hill Chapel and St. Gerard’s Mission join together to make a joyful noise. Please plan on being with us and help to raise the roof - although it’s quite high just as it is - let’s make it higher!

After the service, we will all enjoy a meal together. A blessed time will be had by all.

Thanks to the Community Foundation BILL GRANGER Letter Writer For 24 years a small group of dedicated folks have been providing Community Impact Grants, the Neighbourhood Small Grants program, Scholarships and Bursaries for students and trainees, and also funds that help those in the community that need crisis assistance.

This past Friday evening the hard working volunteer Board of the Bowen Island Community Foundation hosted their Annual General Meeting in a pleasant indoor/ outdoor function at Cates Hill Chapel.

Kate Thomas-Peter, current Chair, recognized the past Chairs present, especially Bruce Greyell, Founding Chair of the Board and Murray Atherton, second Chair who along with Anna-Marie Atherton, both consummate community supporters, are retiring off Bowen Island after many decades of community volunteer contributions.

The work of the Community Foundation touches virtually every person on Bowen Island in some way, with $134,180 provided in community grants and $74,500 in scholarships in 2025 alone!

This work is only possible because Bowen Islanders contribute generously when asked. Please consider your own contribution to this great opportunity to care and share within the Bowen community.

ED WEISMILLER MAY 27, 1945 – APRIL 1, 2026

Having called Bowen Island home since 1968, Ed was a well-respected and longtime member of the community. Over nearly six decades on the island, Ed built a strong reputation through his excavation business, and the well-known “Eddies Pit”. Ed helped countless people over the years and was instrumental in creating Bowen’s baseball field and helping bring the local baseball league to life, a legacy that continues today.

Ed worked hard and lived a life filled with many passions. He was a logger, boxer, stock car racer, motorcyclist, fisherman, hunter, and a proud baseball man for most of his life. His passion for cars and racing was another defining part of who he was.

Through his hard work, generosity, and dedication to his community, Ed accomplished a great deal and touched many lives. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. To many, Ed was a true Bowen Island legend who leaves behind a lasting legacy.

Please join us for Ed’s Celebration of Life on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at the Bowen Island Royal Canadian Legion from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Everyone who knew Eddie is welcome to come, share stories, and raise a toast in his honour.

A6 • bowenislandundercurrent.com

Friday, May 29, 2026

Bowen student filmmaker captures passion & angst of bleaching coral reefs MICHELLE PENTZ Contributor You can’t love something if you don’t understand it, and you won’t protect it if you don’t love it, ocean scientist Dr. Holland Elder tells Duncan Glave, a first-time documentary filmmaker, at the AIMS National Sea Simulator on Australia’s East Coast.

Then 19-year-old Glave, a Studio Arts university student, travelled 7,500 miles to meet the scientists at the research centre and on Heron Island to learn about the unprecedented bleaching and decimation of the Great Barrier Reef, a direct result of climate change, the world’s science community confirms.

The just-released, full-length documentary, “Moonflower,” is Glave’s passion project — and ocean love story. His aim is to inspire other youth, and in particular artists, to rally others around climate solutions.

Storytelling remains one of the most powerful, yet under-utilized, tools in climate action, communications experts say. And despite repeated calls from the global scientific community, climate solution narratives that shape public understanding and catalyze change have remained large-

ly ineffective: fragmented, overly technical and far removed from the lives of the average citizen. While technical solutions exist, the challenge lies in communicating them clearly and credibly to investors, policymakers and the public.

“I want to start a wave of optimism,” Glave says. “I want to tell this story in a way anyone can understand. People in my generation feel hopeless, angry, anxious and frustrated at the lack of action from our leaders. We want to see policies and legislation protecting our environment, combatting pollution, cutting carbon emissions and supporting renewable energy — and we want to see it now.”

Glave worked construction gigs for several summers to self-fund his film. The project started with a coral bleaching experiment in his dorm room, progressed to interviews with leading global ocean scientists and culminated in a 33-hour flight to Australia to meet the experts in-person and document their research.

In “Moonflower,” Glave details in relatable narrative how coral works, using his hand-drawn animation to illustrate the sophisticated animal’s biology and lifecycle, its crucial role in the world’s oceans, the cause of widespread bleaching which

leads to coral reef death, and why it matters.

Ultimately, it’s a story of hope — and how every person can do their part to make a positive difference.

The beginnings of the project started with a 10th grade, year-long, self-directed project. Glave experimented with growing coral from “frags” in a home tank and interviewed climate scientist Dr. Simon Donner, a University of British Columbia professor, about the outlook of the world’s coral reefs.

“Moonflower” includes a cameo from that high school project. Glave’s objective now is to spread the word and get his documentary

screened, spur action and start a new genre of climate storytelling that resonates with the average person.

As Dr. Elder puts it: “We can’t overstate the need for good science communication — because if people don’t love something, they’re not going to care enough to save it.”

Moonflower will screen at the Bowen Theatre on Monday, June 8 - World Oceans Day - at 6 pm. Duncan will be available for a Q&A with the audience following the film. Tickets, available by donation to Ocean Wise, can be found on the Bowen Recreation website.

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RECYCLE NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Eagle Cliff Community Association (ECCA) Saturday, May 30, 2026 at Collins Hall, 1120 Miller Road 10:45 a.m. Doors open for membership sign-up and renewal 11:00 a.m. Annual General Meeting including election of Board members Refreshments will be provided.

ECCA welcomes everyone who lives in Eagle Cliff, including long-term renters, to join. Please come to our Annual General Meeting if you would like to learn more about ECCA, what we do, and what is going on in our neighbourhood.

Questions? Contact us at eccabowenisland@gmail.com

Check us out online: bowenislandundercurrent.com @BowUndercurrent

THIS NEWSPAPER.

Friday, May 29, 2026

bowenislandundercurrent.com • A7

All smiles on the Bowen Arts Tour

Participants in the Bowen Arts Tour, artists and spectators alike, included (above, L-R) Heather Doherty, Jean Bradbury, Marie Neys, (below, L-R) Jeanette Langmann & Benjamin Johnstone (and Pasquale), Kami Kanetsuka & Judi Gedye, and Valentina Gabinyetova. / Darryl Deegan photos

SIGN UP

Hub 11 on the Arts Tour at the Bowen Cider House featured music from The Howe Sounds, Matthew Harrison and Peter Parkin. The hub showed the work of artists Paul and Basia Lieske, Mumtaz Bandali, Bean Benson, Bogdan Gheorghe and Russell Hackney. / Marcus Hondro photo

Jackie Minns & David Cameron taking a bit out of the Arts Tour. / Darryl Deegan photo

A8 • bowenislandundercurrent.com

Friday, May 29, 2026

Do you want the house tour?

MARCUS HONDRO Contributor ‘The Open House’ is coming to Bowen Island and no, it’s not a real estate kind of an open house but a play titled ‘The Open House.’ Winner of a host of prestigious theatre awards, Will Eno’s play is about a house, the less-than-functional family inside of it and a bevy of self-serving interlopers.

Directed by island theatre veteran Heather Hodson and produced by Theatre on the Isle, a year shy of their 50th anniversary, the play features a cast of experienced local thespians and will be mounted at the shiny new (ish) Bowen Theatre on June 5, 6 and 7.

At once mordantly funny and painfully tragic, there is rather a good chance we will see a dose of ourselves and our families in Eno’s play. The size of the dose will vary of course but suffice to say that theatre-goers who see a massive dose will surely be hesitant to make that public knowledge.

Replete with awkward pauses and lines and actions that may cause you to wince, all of that interspersed with a darkly delicious humour, that connection to us, to how we behave, played a big role in Hodson wanting to direct ‘The Open House.’

“I think Eno is saying, yeah, let’s laugh at the outrageous actions we see up on stage,” Hodson said in a recent email interview with the Undercurrent. “But we would be foolish, and smug, to think of these lunatics as so very different from ourselves.”

No stranger to awards, an early play of Eno’s, ‘Thom Pain (based on nothing)’ was a 2005 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (edged out by a John Patrick Shanley play), while ‘The Open House’ won the 2014 Drama Desk Award, and other awards.

A former competitive cyclist, Eno’s work inclines toward showing life as a difficult journey that suffers from a lack of meaningful connections. He’s been compared to both Beckett and Ionesco and like Beckett, he is drawn to monologues. In ‘Thom Pain’ a man, Thom Pain, talks about a bee sting, a boy’s dead dog, a woman and the futility of existence. The play was cited by some critics as among the best monologues written, ever.

The playwright, who has lived for decades in New York where his work is celebrated off-Broadway, says his attraction to the monologue form relates to his childhood in Massachusetts.

“I’m probably drawn to the monologue because I was a pretty quiet kid as there wasn’t a lot of emphasis on talking in the house I grew up in,” Eno told The Guardian.

“So a lot of the conversations I had were in my head, or to rocks and dogs.”

There is a dog in ‘The Open House,’ or there may be, you’ll have to see the show to find out the details. There is also more than one character, five in fact – or no, actually more – and they’re a family… but that changes so, again, you’ll have to see the show to find out the details.

Collectively Hodson’s cast has appeared in dozens of plays, on Bowen and elsewhere. Doing non-professional theatre does not provide the amount of rehearsal time an Equity show affords but that hasn’t stopped Trevor Campbell, Annabelle Coon, Tina Overbury, John Parker and Calder Stewart from seeking to mine all that their characters, and the play, has to offer.

The cast’s willingness to work, and play, has been a highlight for Hodson.

“I’m thrilled the cast has really dug in and are committed to The Open House,” she said. “All of us are continually amazed by the complexity of Eno’s writing, at

The Open House cast is made up of (back, L-R) Annabelle Coon, Calder Stewart, John Parker, (front, L-R) Tina Overbury & Trevor Campbell. every rehearsal we keep finding new stuff!

Eno has given us a map and it’s our job to find the buried treasures – and they are everywhere.”

Tickets are available at eventbrite.ca and the door and to help you decide whether to go we end with an Eno quote from an interview in the magazine Believer. The quote (slightly abridged) isn’t really germane to this play (or maybe anything?) but does provide an introduction to the mind you will encounter should you be seated in the new (ish) Bowen Theatre as the curtain opens on ‘The Open House.’

“My first dog had the name Bobby.

Bobby, or sometimes Bob, got hit by cars and attacked porcupines and skunks. He

was wild, he was really great, a real prince.

Roberto. He just threw himself into every situation. Yelping or growling or sound asleep, whatever the circumstance dictated. Ears back or teeth bared, he always knew how to be. Sometimes he’d just lie there. That was understandable. I remember he was always eating something dead; a weird squirrel or something you couldn’t even tell used to be an animal. After, he’d quiet down and have this great kind of look of – if you can believe it – remorse. Sick as a dog is the only way to describe it. Sick as a human could also work. He needed so many shots, all the time. Fleas, heartworm, different kinds of ticks.

“He just ate life up.”

Bowen Island Seniors’ Housing Cooperative (Bowen Court) is accepting housing applications until June 15, 2026.

Check the website at: bishc.org

3-4PM Saturday, June 6th | Collins Hall A monthly open house sponsored by Judi Gedye, BIM councillor and Islands Trustee.

Friday, May 29, 2026

bowenislandundercurrent.com • A9

Hello, My Name is...

ART EXHIBIT CENTRES QUEER VOICES MADY BONIFACE Hearth Gallery Art is freedom. An externalization of internal colours and patterns. It is both individual and deeply communal.

Bowen Island’s own Hearth Gallery is spotlighting queer voices this June with their inaugural Queer Arts Show, ‘Hello, My Name is…’ A show platforming 2SLGBTQIA+ voices from June 3 till June 15. The Artist pArty will take place Saturday, June 6 from 6 to 8 pm.

In tandem with Bowen’s other Pride festivities, the Art Gallery will have chalk art outside all day on June 6. We invite you to express yourself with the community. Chalk is provided, just bring you and be you!

The exhibit title, Hello, My Name is…, functions as an open-ended introduction to provoke critical questions about the relationship among identity, art, and community: How do you feel when self-identifying or labeling?

What are the comforts and challenges of labeling and identity categories?

The exhibit also focuses the conversation on issues of gender and naming. This enables the public to consider why we should have conversations about gender expression and sexual identity in Canada; how we can give voice and offer space as a form of activism during precarious times

for marginalized gender and sexual identities; and most pertinently, what can queer-identifing artists tell us about our world.

All the art work in this event centres queer voices and bodies. The show serves as not only a celebration of queer joy, but an exploration of gender, love and diverse identities. The Hearth encourages you to reflect internally and externally about how we humans self identify and how we identify others.

To explore this, the Hearth Gallery is featuring 10 artists, both from Bowen and off-island, to lead this visual dialogue: Hannah Michelle, Jasper Berehulke, Josh and Jeremy Keyzer (Ladies Who Branch), Lilla Mihalik, Lynne Hulbert, Mads Woodfield, Nic Peerson, Shel Stefan, Willy-O and Winter Woodfield.

In times of hardship we turn to the Arts, to reflect, to react, to celebrate and to illuminate the ever changing world around us.

The Hearth invites you to enter this space with an open mind and heart. While in the space, be mindful of yourself and others. Question emotions that may arise and how you feel in relation to the dialogue of identity and labels in your life.

Our hope is that you walk away from this show with a deeper awareness of the spectrum that gender and sexuality encompasses and maybe some art as well. Come and join us to celebrate our diverse identities and expressions!

‘Double Incision’ by artist Jasper Berehulke, from his ‘Held in Colour Series’.

DELA & LOLA This week we are thrilled to feature Dela and her adorable dog Lola as our Patients of the Week! Dela has been making a big difference in our community by running a lemonade stand to raise money for our Linus Fund, a foundation dedicated to helping families facing unexpected veterinary bills.

Her kindness, generosity, and

Thursday June 4 at 7 PM Bowen Island Library Annex Free, drop in, bring your friends!

Use Annex entrance Ques�ons? info@ccbowen.ca Presented and hosted by

Concerned Citizens Bowen.ca

Sponsored by Bowen Island Library

love for animals truly embody the spirit of compassion we value so deeply. Thank you, Dela and Lola, for supporting pets and their people in such a meaningful way!

REGULAR HOURS Mon-Fri 9-5

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Friday, May 29, 2026

A10 • bowenislandundercurrent.com

YourCommunity Community Your

BOWEN ISLAND UNITED CHURCH www.biuc.ca | 1122 Miller Road

FOOD BANK

Sunday Worship 10:30 am Rev. Lorraine Ashdown

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OFFICE HOURS WEDNESDAY 10-4 OR BY APPOINTMENT

ST. GERARD’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Sunday Mass at 10:00

Contact Angela Powell 604-947-2515

CATES HILL CHAPEL

Sunday Worship 10:00 www.cateshillchapel.com 604-947-4260 (661 Carter Rd.)

office@cateshillchapel.com SHIRAT HAYAM (Song of the Sea) BOWEN’S JEWISH COMMUNITY Shabbat Gatherings ~ Holidays Contact aryana.rayne@gmail.com • www.shirathayam.ca

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QUEEN OF CAPILANO FERRY SCHEDULE UNTIL MARCH 2027

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Friday, May 29, 2026

bowenislandundercurrent.com • A11

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g Sea to S

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Tim Rhodes REALTOR®

MONDAY TO FRIDAY

Call 604-947-9703

tim@rhodesonbowen.com 604-341-9488

bowenislandfreight@gmail.com

Andy Rainsley: 604-947-0674 • CELL 778-231-7283 Bowenshirelandscaping.ca • info@bowenshirelandscaping.ca

live the life you love To reserve a spot on this page, contact us at 604-947-2442 or ads@bowenislandundercurrent.com

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Friday, May 29, 2026

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Friday, May 29 Hemlock Hill Village Groundbreaking Ceremony We invite the public on Bowen Island to attend this celebration of a new affordable housing development from BIRCH and Lookout Society. At the Hemlock Hill site (1033 Miller Road) from 2 to 3 pm, remarks at 2:05.

Saturday, May 30 French Connections at the Library Drop in and join us to practice your conversational French, and get to know other French language learners on Bowen Island! Free, 10:30 to 11:30 am. bipl.ca/French Saturday, May 30 Youth Pride Party at the Library For teens and pre-teens age 11+. Get ready for Pride with crafts, pizza, snacks, and more! Hosted by the Library and Bowen Pride, begins at 1 pm. Register at bipl.ca/ypp Saturday, May 30 Garden Club AGM & Open Garden Bowen Island Garden Club welcomes you to their Annual General Meeting, held in tandem with an Open Garden.

Taking place at 331 Josephine Drive from 2 to 4 pm.

Saturday, May 30 Bowen Nature Club Evening Owl Walk, led by local naturalist & wildlife photographer/ bird watcher Charlotte Gruneau. Email bowennatureclub@ gmail.com for membership options & registration. 7 pm.

Sunday, May 31 Community Sailing Day People are welcome to come for snacks and conversation on land, investigate boats on the beach, or even try heading out on the water. Tunstall Bay Beach from 10 am to 2 pm.

Thursday, June 4 Climate Café at the Library Drop in for a hot beverage and to connect with other locals concerned about the climate crisis. We are stronger together. Starts 7 pm, free. Library-sponsored program, hosted by Concerned Citizens Bowen. Website: ccbowen.ca Saturday, June 6 Bowen Pride Celebration The annual Pride celebration begins at 11 am with the Pride Parade, starting at the Bowen Island Community School field and making its way down the hill into Snug Cove. Followed by an all-ages Pier Party at Snug Cove Pier (Dock Dance) from Noon to 3 pm.

Saturday, June 6 Men’s Shed Meetup Bowen Island Men’s Shed gathering at Island Pacific School (behind the school) from 10:30 am to Noon. All ages of men welcome. Complimentary coffee/tea/cookies and great company.

Saturday, June 6 MLA Meet & Greet at the Library Meet & Greet with Jeremy Valeriote. Jeremy is our member of the BC Legislative Assembly for West Vancouver - Sea to Sky. Bring your questions and comments. No need to register in advance, open to all ages. From 1:30 to 3 pm. Learn more at bipl.ca/meet Saturday, June 6 Judi Gedye Open House Come chat about Island issues with Bowen Councillor Judith Gedye. All welcome, Collins Hall from 3 to 4 pm.

Tuesday, June 9

Speak the Spark Storytelling Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community will share 10-minute true stories from their own lives. Theme: Out of the Blue. Admission by donation. 7 pm at the Library Annex.

Saturday, June 13 Strawberry Tea Silent auction, BBQ, sandwiches & strawberry shortcake.

Cash/debit at the door. United Church from 10 am to 3 pm.

SATURDAYS Farmers Market The annual Farmers Market returns with a new home at Davies Orchard. Come see all your favourite food, arts & craft vendors. From 10 am to Noon.

MONDAYS Happy Mondays!

Meditations & Buddhist teachings on “Inspiring Solutions for Difficulties”. $12/class, everyone welcome. Community Centre from 7 to 8 pm. Runs thru June 22.

WEDNESDAYS Family Storytime at the Library A free 30-minute drop-in program of stories, rhymes, and songs for children age 0-6 and their caregivers! From 10:30 to 11 am, families are welcome to stay after until 11:30 and socialize in the cozy Annex, read books, and hang out!

OCP Engagement Opportunities Learn more about the Official Community Plan Review and how you can contribute at the following events: May 30 - OCP Steering Committee & Mayor Andrew Leonard talk w/ Don Shafer (CFRO 100.5 FM at 9 am), Farmers Market; June 6 - Bowen Pride (at the Library), Jeremy Valeriote Meet & Greet, Judi Gedye Open House

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Bowen Collective