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Free Spirit

Spheres: Modern Treehouses

Painting a Portrait

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Morningstar

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Summer 2014

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PARKSVILLE QUALICUM BEACH LIFE

Summer Edition

got lost in my own backyard while working on this issue. Well not literally, but an area where I spent a fair amount of time growing up and near where I currently live. I was heading out to Free Spirit Spheres to confirm the rumours I’d heard about some remarkable treehouses. Yes I had checked out the website—but after glancing at the address that read Horne Lake Road I assumed, since I had never seen these Spheres, they must be out near the lake somewhere. So off I went down the new highway from Parksville and took a left on Horne Lake Road, with the address scratched on my pad of paper. There aren’t a lot of addresses out that way until you pretty well hit the lake, and it was at that point it dawned on me, “Oh it’s on the other side of Horne Lake Road!” I headed back the other way, late and laughing at myself that I had gotten lost in an area I’d driven through thousands of times. In fact it was about a 10 minute walk from where I used to live. But the entrance signs had been taken down when large numbers of curious passerbys had wandered into the peaceful resort. And I was in for another surprise. How had I not known about these fascinating little houses? Although many of you will will recognize the other subjects in this issue, others will feel the same reaction I had when I arrived at the Spheres. Learn the story surrounding the Morningstar Farm and all it has to offer today, read about the fascinating life of artist Ken Kirkby and enlighten yourself about a rising sport that has a strong connection to Parksville. Also, did you know about the area’s box food programs? (page 25 ) Did you know about Qualicum Beach’s Digital Media Studio? (Inside the Q&A, page 38). Linda Tenney’s column also talks about the idea of the unfamiliar. Read On. And you’ll enjoy some pleasant surprises.

- Lissa Alexander

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Brenda Gough

A journalist for more than 30 years, she’s been in this area for 20 years.

Contributors

Carrie PowellDavidson

A writer, local food advocate, event planner & tireless promoter.

Peter McCully

29 Just Sayin’

Contents

Susan Pederson A local journalist.

Photographer, Publisher & Broadcaster on both coasts.

Lissa Alexander Originally from Qualicum Beach, she completed her journalism training in Calgary.

Peter Leigh Craig Publisher Peter McCully An artist, art McCully publisher@pqbnews.com director Photographer, Editor&Lissa Alexander and designer. publisher reporter@pqbnews.com broadcaster who Steve Weldon hasAdvertising worked on sweldon@pqbnews.com both coasts. Art Director Leigh Craig design@pqbnews.com Circulation Laurie Fairbanks circulation@pqbnews.com

Cover Photo Peter McCully Candace Wu SPRING 2014

A Vancouver Island journalist and photographer.

4-154 Middleton Ave. Parksville BC, V9K 1X3 Brian Argyle FX: Linda Tenney PH: 250-248-4341 250-248-4655

A journalist for more than 30 years, she’s been in this area for 20 years.

Summer The MAC Edition 2014 Tracing the McMIllan Ar

Centre’s history from sch to bustling art centre.

Stuff 2 Do

Great local Summer events TÊTE À TÊTE around the community. Question and Answer wi Phil Dwyer, celebrated Free Spirit Spheres musician and future stu Spherical treehouses suspended in North Qualicum.

17 Just Sayin’

An outlook on life with Linda Tenney, the publisher of Eyes on BC Magazine.

19 Ken Kirkby

Local photographer, A local magazine is published by the Black Press. The points of views and carOasis enthusiast and quarterly editor, opinions expressed herein arewriter, those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the ‘snowbird’. views of the publisher of Oasis.photographer The contents of Oasisand are protected by copywright, including the designed advertising. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the publisher. publisher.

Brenda Gough

An outlook on life with Linda Tenney, the publis of Eyes on BC Magazine.

An extraordinary story surrounding this renowned Bowser artist.

25 Loco 4 Local

Learn about our local box food programs and enjoy a recipe.

26 Skimboarding

oasisli

Young athletes bring the skimboarding culture to Parksville Qualicum Beach.

Carrie PowellDavidson

A writer, local food advocate, event planner & tireless promoter.

32 Little Qualicum Cheeseworks Susan Pederson A local journalist.

Publisher Peter McCully publisher@pqbnews.com Editor Lissa Alexander reporter@pqbnews.com Advertising Steve Weldon sweldon@pqbnews.com

A story about family, agriculture and innovation.

TÊTE À TÊTE

Question and Answer with Patricia Huntsman, cultural consultant in Qualicum Beach.

Design & Production

Peggy Sidbeck, Brad Everest, Leigh Craig Circulation Laurie Fairbanks circulation@pqbnews.com

Cover Photo Peter McCully

Oasis magazine is published quarterly by the 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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Grand Prix d’Art: July 26 around downtown Qualicum Beach. Painting race held by the Old School House Arts Centre. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. St. Mark’s Fair on Veteran’s Way in Qualicum Beach. 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Art in Action situated around TOSH www.theoldschoolhouse.org

Art and Photography in the Garden: August 9 and 10 at Milner Gardens and Woodland. Artists will be painting, sketching, and photographing the garden. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. www.milnergardens.org

Hi Neighbour Day: August 16 around the Errington War Memorial Hall. Parade, arts and crafts, farmers’ market, zucchini races and a dance. www.erringtonhall.bc.ca/events.htm

Coombs Bluegrass Festival: July 31 & Aug 1-3 at the Coombs Rodeo Grounds. Top Notch bands from around North America. www.coombsbluegrass.com

Bard to Broadway Theatre: July 4 through August 14 at the Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach. Three shows plus one junior production. www.b2btheatre.com

Party on the Drive: September 7 on Resort Dr. in Parksville. Art, music, food, dancing.1 to 5 p.m. www.resort-drive-events.ca

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Story by Lissa Alexander and Photography by Brian Argyle

The spheres are a product of Chudleigh’s imagination and he conceived and hand-built each one. He has now built six spheres and he’s managed to shave his time down to less than three years. “The other ones have taken way more than three-man-years, more than 6,000 hours,” he says from his cozy, spherical office at the top of a spiral, wooden stairway. Currently there are three spheres to rent out at the property, along with two bath houses complete with showers, flush >>>

SUMMER 2014

Sleeping Among the Trees

s a child Tom Chudleigh could only dream of tree houses, but today in Qualicum Beach, they are suspended all around him. Chudleigh and his longtime partner Rosey Cowan run Free Spirit Spheres in North Qualicum Beach, where people rent out spherical tree houses that are suspended amongst groves of cedar and maple trees.

>>> toilets and a sauna, and two wooden mushroom-shaped outhouses with composting toilets. Everything is mobile and treads lightly on the environment.

All of the spheres are open-concept, with no walls, giving them a distinctly different energy and feel than traditional spaces. “The rooms we live in are all about separation,” says Chudleigh, “but when you come into a sphere it’s more about unity and oneness.”

EVE, ERYN AND MELODY SUMMER 2014

The first sphere Chudleigh built was named Eve and she stretches nine feet in diameter with a single bed, some shelf space and a quaint little sitting area for two. The second sphere, Eryn, is 10.5 feet in diameter making

her interior almost 80 per cent bigger than Eve, with a double and a loft bed. Melody is the youngest sphere and she’s the same size as Eyrn. Inside two tables fold down making work stations, or a double murphy bed can transform the space into a bedroom. Melody was made out of fiberglass—as opposed to wood like her two siblings—and she has a musical mural on her yellow exterior. All of the spheres have circular windows reminiscent of a ship’s porthole, except instead of gazing out to sea you’re peering deep into the forest canopy. Besides the windows, the spheres have other features in common with sailboats, as Chudleigh was a ship builder and sailor for many years. He says the spherical tree

house concept borrows heavily from sailboat construction and rigging practices, but there’s one clear difference. “It’s like building a boat except you start from scratch and there’s no plan,” he explains with a chuckle. Chudleigh grew up in Bowness, back when it was a small town on the edge of the city of Calgary. There were a few cottonwood trees on the property but nothing that would support a tree house, he says. He studied biology at the University of Calgary and then went into power engineering. He worked in that field and taught the subject later at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Chudleigh started building boats in the late ‘70s and completed his first >>>

>>> steel-hulled sailboat in the early ‘80s. While working as an engineer he learned how to do bronze casting which can be seen adorning the sphere’s doors and windows. Those details were actually the biggest challenge, Chudleigh says, and the detail he is most proud of.

The spherical treehouse idea originated as a concept for a houseboat, Chudleigh explains. The thought came to him one and day and wouldn’t go away. But he thought he better learn how to build a land-dwelling sphere first.

He began working on Eve in ’93 in a shop in Bowser, and managed to hoist the large ball up so he could work on it comfortably from

“Off went this sphere bouncing off the wall and I thought, oh my God it’s damaged! But the tough little ball— it didn’t do any damage at all,” he recounts. And then it dawned on him, why not change the attachment points and sling it up in the trees? “And there’s been no looking back. As soon as Eve went up in the trees, it just became this little publicity magnet.” Free Spirit Spheres has been featured in books, magazines and T.V. shows around the planet. The resort has been featured on Norwegian TV, Dutch TV, Korean TV, Australian TV, Extreme Homes, Amazing Vacation Homes, CTV’s

Daily Planet and CTV News and CBC News. The spheres have been featured in a Land Rover commercial and have been in over 200 magazine articles including National Geographic Traveler. Chudleigh has been approached to build his spheres in other locations, but has yet to accept an offer. To build one for someone else it would cost at least $150,000, he explains. That’s because each one is a piece of art, with every component custom-made, complete with fine craftsman woodworking. “You can’t buy parts for a sphere at any store,” Chudleigh reminds. Cowan watched Chudleigh create his first sphere and says his passion and patience >>>

SUMMER 2014

A RUNAWAY SPHERE

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>>> in completing it was wonderful. She didn’t realize it would change her own life until 2001.

“I never really thought of it as a healing spot,” she explains. Cowan chose to spend some time alone in the sphere with the goal of achieving wellness. While inside she took time to really listen to her thoughts and to her body. “It’s almost like I went in as caterpillar and came out a butterfly.”

GONE WITHOUT A TRACE Chudleigh and Cowan have been running Free Spirit Spheres for eight years in North Qualicum Beach. The spheres are suspended using three nearly vertical ropes which are tethered to three separate trees. The rope is tied and secured so as not to damage the trees at all. When it’s windy the spheres can sway quite a bit, Chudleigh explains, but it’s nothing compared to being on a ship at sea during a storm. Chudleigh says his favourite time spent in the spheres is in the quiet stillness of winter where he ebbs and flows with the weather.

Descriptions in the sphere’s guestbooks talk about the unmatched feeling of waking up amongst the trees, and words like “magical” “tranquil” “peace” and “contentment” seem to resurface regularly. Chudleigh and Cowan will only take reservations at the property in Qualicum Beach until the end of October this year, and are actively looking for another piece of forest where they can expand. Currently their little resort is booked for most of the year and they turn hundreds of people away every season. Chudleigh would like to see a whole trove of spheres in the trees at their new location (10 to 20), ideally in some old growth forest. The move will likely take them out of the area, but they are still hopeful they might find a perfect spot locally. And when they go they will remove their spheres and they will tow away the outhouses and the bathhouses. And instantly, the forest in North Qualicum Beach will look as it did before Chudleigh’s spheres arrived. As if the forest had never shared its wild space with some wondrous, spherical tree houses.

Photos: page 11, Tom Chudleigh and his partner Rosey Cowan. Pages 12-13, inside the sphere Eyrn, outside Eyrn. Page 15, Composting mushroom-shaped toilet, spheres Eve and Eyrn.

SUMMER 2014

For insurance purposes guests must be 16 years old to sleep in a sphere, but a youthful energy still exists throughout the resort. Cowan explains that it’s the adventurous nature of the whole experience that often allows adults to rediscover the child within themselves. All walks of life are attracted to the resort from all over the globe: writers, musicians, people celebrating an occasion, and those looking for

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Story & Photo by Linda Tenney

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. - Douglas Adams

Meditations on a road less traveled

n a sparkling summer day, I found myself roaring down Highway 19A into Qualicum Beach. I was on a mission to find ... well, that doesn’t matter, it’s actually not part of the story. I had driven this highway hundreds of times before, always with single-minded focus on a particular destination, but this day was different.

CHOOSING THE UNFAMILIAR

its dappled light, the variety of mosses and ferns, the thick bark of ancient Douglas Fir, the wavering cries of a Great Horned Owl, and the buzz of a Rufous Hummingbird. I stopped and looked up into the trees and watched as Mother Nature did something truly amazing ... she breathed! It’s a memory that I will long cherish. The experience of that day had been waiting for me all along, all I had to do was make an unexpected turn to find it. I encourage you to explore and discover our region of Vancouver Island this season. I mean really explore it. Choose to move with an air current or a whim. Left or right doesn’t matter. Wherever it may be, if you’ve never travelled down that road before, go there. Your heart and soul might find a joyful adventure just because you slightly altered your course.

Just sayin’

SUMMER 2014

For no reason at all, I made a turn. Suddenly, I had the urge to veer off the trodden path. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t want a plan. I just wanted to explore. The unfamiliar road weaved through a residential community of manicured lawns and flower beds, then poked into a more sparsely populated rural landscape, and finally curled into a cul-de-sac snuggled up against a forest. I couldn’t go any farther ... so I parked. Why hadn’t I explored this road before? That simple question opened the sluice gate on a

flow of thoughts as I pondered the road less travelled, and the philosophy that altered my route that day. I wondered why we so often choose the familiar rather than the unfamiliar. “What next?” I whispered. I was feeling unsure until I noticed a small sign almost hidden by a stand of Wild Rose bushes. “Well, I’ve come this far!” I closed the sunroof, locked the car and set off along a cedarmulched path that transported me into another world – I felt like I had opened the closet door to Narnia. The forest was serene, not unlike the comforting serenity of a cathedral on a Wednesday when no one was there. It was a magical place where fresh green ferns on the hunt for a sunbeam poked through dried leaves, and trickles of cold mountain water scrambled along a creek bed that ultimately lead to the Salish Sea. Sunlight shot through cedar boughs and lit the path before me encouraging a meditative walk. I took the time to ponder this world ...

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BROAD STROKES K Story by Susan Pederson, Photography by Linda Matteson-Reynolds

en Kirkby was but an 11-year-old boy when he encountered an obstacle that would drop-kick him into self-actualization. The headmaster of his school in Portugal, it seems, had it in for Kirkby, inflicting regular beatings on the dyslexic, but brilliant young lad.

“After that first day, when I was beaten for writing the Pythagorean theorem upside-down on the blackboard, I thought, ‘this is war.’ I soon set out to accomplish one thing, and that was to make this man loose his mind, and to have that man sacked.” Within a few months, Kirkby managed to accomplish just that. “That’s when I knew who I was. I went back to running my own life.” That “life” was, and is still, a heady, joyful, dark storm, steeped in raw talent, deep intellect, with curiosity, optimism, pessimism and despair colliding at every turn. Such is the life of a boy, and a man, who is consumed by the need to make markings on canvas and paper. >>>

SUMMER 2014

>>>

CHANGING PEOPLE’S HEARTS AND MINDS

When the first glimmers of artistic genius began to surface in the Kirkby boy, a kindly Portuguese fisherman (Kirkby’s mentor, Francisco) encouraged him to pursue his passion, even offering to pay for all his art supplies. While his also-brilliant and much beloved father wanted to be supportive of his son’s passion, he knew what lay ahead for his son. So he made a deal with him: he allowed Kirkby to paint and draw to his heart’s desire, and each week, he would be required to present his work, after which his father would purchase the boys’ best works. He then proceeded to destroy what he had just bought from his bewildered son. “He didn’t understand art, but told me that this is the way the world treats artists, and I had better be prepared for it,” explains Kirkby. Some might argue that his father was wrong. At sixteen, Kirkby first exhibited his impressive work in Lisbon, which was sold out at the opening and received critical acclaim. Now, over 55 years later, the fertile heart and mind of that boy remains unleashed and undaunted by the constraints of a body that still enjoys a cigarette or six. Just don’t call Ken Kirkby an artist. The complicated sensibilities and holier-than-thou attitudes often attributed to artists make him squirm. SUMMER 2014

“If what you make in life changes the hearts and minds of your own people, then you have made art.”

A DATE WITH THE DALAI LAMA Clearly, one of Canada’s most prolific painters has skipped the class on

self-importance. If his toils in oil and canvas don’t rate, then perhaps his good work as the president of The Nile Creek Enhancement Society, or simply the way he chooses to walk through the world, will count for something. Sit in a room with him for an hour or two, and it’s impossible to leave with a soul unmarked by his propensity to suck the marrow out of life. Equal parts refined artist, ideologist, philosopher, and shit-disturber, one wonders just exactly where he sets the bar for himself. He regurgitates the factoids of his life with patient professionalism, yet it is clear that he would much rather be picking away at the meaning of our existence, than talking about himself, his myriad accomplishments, and his take on the visual world —again. Indeed, his idea of a perfect three-day weekend involves Leonard Cohen, the Dalai Lama, and himself, with nothing but good food, drink, and no sleep, all confined to his understated Bowser home. But hanging with other world-class visual artists? Nah. “Other painters that interest me the most are unschooled—how can you teach someone something that is in their soul?” he ponders. This is a man who clearly listens to his soul, but has no patience for those who allow their soul’s stirrings to blind their view of the every day. To the notion of artists blocked by lack of inspiration he says, “If you aren’t inspired, too damn bad—you can starve to death.” Tough talk from a man who seemingly never lacks for inspiration. Arriving in Canada in 1958, he soon found himself walking, paddling and sledding across the Canadian Arctic with various groups of Inuit.

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His soul was stirred and disturbed by what he saw, namely the rest of Canada’s apathy toward Inuit issues, and he vowed to change that. Most artists would not presume to create the world’s largest portrait and present it to Parliament as just one way of garnering that attention, but to Kirkby, it appears, it was a no-brainer. Even if it did take 12 years to complete, and almost 30 years before its unveiling. “Isumataq” depicts the Arctic landscape and its “Inuksuit” (the plural of Inukshuk, which are stone structures built in the likeness of humans) is the world’s largest oil-on-canvas portrait, at 12-feet-high by 152-feetlong. The painting was unveiled at the Canadian Parliament in 1992. >>>

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>>> Oh, he was working on other things during this time too, mainly establishing himself as a successful artist through the Alex Fraser Gallery beginning in the ‘60s, which Kirkby credits with being instrumental to his success. In 1993, he was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation.

SUSTAINING NATURE & THE SOUL He has an armload of accolades, has hung with, and been shaped by, everyone from Winston Churchill (during a brief meeting) and physicist Niels Bohr (over long visits to his childhood home), to prime ministers and the ordinary humans among us. But to date, no three-day revelry with Leonard Cohen and the Dalai Lama. These key influencers may not be swilling ice cubes at his abode any time soon, but Mother Nature herself has recently taken notice and responded under his touch. “We took a dead river and made it so there are salmon running in it again,” he understates, switching hats to president of the Nile Creek Enhancement Society (and avid fly fisherman). The Society is actively engaged in projects that are bringing creeks back to life and reviving the kelp and eelgrass beds that are critical to the salmon’s ocean habitat. When he took over as president in 2006, he could only promise the members, “It will be a rough ride, but in the end I will bring you home and you will have made a difference in the world.” And that, it seems, is the very marrow that sustains Kirkby.

I live for the sheer bloody joy of waking up in the morning and wondering what’s going to happen? Where’s the hurricane? Let’s get there. SUMMER 2014

Photos: page 19, Ken Kirkby on the beach in Bowser with his painting. Pages 20-21, From left, Kirkby in his studio, one of his paintings. Page 23 Kirkby with his fly fishing hat, his paint brushes in his studio.

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the regular growing season. They do, however, have green houses so they are able to grow fresh food even in the dead of winter. As a result of this extended growing season, their Box Program is offered only during the winter months when their farm market is closed. Whole Hog Farm, probably the most established Box Program in the area, offers their on-line shopping all year round. While they do make their own sausages and other seasonal products such as preserved fruit, they do not actually grow the products used in their Box Program. Instead, they support local food production by purchasing from other farms and providing their customers with a wide variety of locally produced food. When locally grown food is not available, they augment with organic and fair-trade products from as close to home as possible. Often with CSAs you must pick up your order, but Whole Hog delivers to your door every Friday. Nanoose Edibles Farm used to do a box program, but have decided that their energy is better spent doing what they love—growing organic vegetables. Whole Hog Farm has taken over the management and distribution of their box program and their products can be

found on the company’s online store at www. wholehogfarm.ca. Nanoose Edibles Organic Farm also welcomes visitors to the farm where they can create their own box of fresh products from whatever is available at the time. Box Programs encourage us to eat better. Not everyone has the ability to get out to the farms so Box Programs allow easier access to local food. Fresh-picked food tastes so good that meals practically make themselves. There is no need to enhance the flavour with highcalorie, time consuming sauces. Food grown close to home is picked right before it gets sent out to the consumer. This maintains the nutritional value while removing the need for preservatives and ripening agents. The short distance from Coombs or Nanoose beats the long trek some foods take on a fossil-fueled journey. As food sourced from outside our region becomes more and more difficult to secure, insuring our own growing regions remain productive becomes even more crucial. When we buy from our local farmers, we are supporting our neighbours and ensuring there is food on all of our tables.

SUMMER 2014

ox Programs and Community Supported Agriculture Programs (CSA’s for short) are not new but they are just now gaining popularity in the Parksville/Qualicum Beach area. While Box Programs can be defined in many ways, CSA Programs typically begin with a financial commitment between a farm and a community of supporters. In essence, the supporters become shareholders in that farm by purchasing shares in the season’s harvest. For their investment, they receive a weekly box of fruit, vegetables, eggs, herbs, flowers and whatever else is ready at that time. Box Programs can run much the same way or, as seen below, they can be as diverse as the farms that offer them. What they all have in common is that direct link to fresh, nutritious and delicious local food. Some farms offer a Box Program that doesn’t require a commitment to an entire growing season. Rain Barrel Farm in Qualicum Beach, for example charges for the first 10 weeks up front and after that, subscribers can buy a week at a time and they get a discount! PineRidge Farm has a thriving farm market that takes everything they can produce during

OSBC:

Oceanside Skim &Beach Culture Story by By Candace Wu, Photography by Peter McCully

SKIMBOARDING IN PARKSVILLE

SUMMER 2014

A small group of avid young athletes have an ambitious idea. “We want to make skimboarding to Parksville what surfing is to Tofino,” says 19-year-old Ryan Mountain, standing sun-kissed in the midst of Parksville’s iconic beach accompanied by a group of friends who share his passion for the up-andcoming ocean sport. It’s early afternoon, low tide—the perfect

time to skimboard—and Mountain is dressed casually in board shorts and a muscle shirt boasting the acronym “OSBC,” which stands for Oceanside Skim and Beach Culture, a grassroots organization promoting the sport of skimboarding in Parksville Qualicum Beach, started by Mountain and his friends when they were in high school. Since its inception, the group has bolstered in size and popularity and it now hosts one of the biggest skimboard competitions in the country.

According to Mountain, Parksville Beach is “the perfect venue to skim” with its vast tidal pools and seemingly infinite coastline. “The beach here is ideal,” explains Mountain, pointing to the leftover puddles of water from the receding tide. “At low tide these great pools form and that’s basically all we need.” It’s that simplicity—a cornerstone of beach culture—that appeals to Mountain and his friends who have undertaken the task of promoting the skimboard scene in Parksville Qualicum Beach.

SKIMBOARD HISTORY Flatland skimboarding is a sport on the rise in Canada, growing in popularity wherever one can find water. Its origins can be traced back to Laguna Beach, California in the late 1920’s

when lifeguards used large planks of wood to skim the shallow end of the ocean. Since then, boards have evolved immensely but the idea has stayed relatively the same—find a pool of water, take a run at it, throw your board out, jump on it, keep your balance and, if you’re any good, start doing some tricks. Mountain said skimboarders use ovalshaped boards that are one to three inches thick—bigger than a skateboard yet smaller than a surf board. In fact the sport exists as somewhat of a compromise between the two more popular board sports.

BRINGING THE SCENE TO PARKSVILLE QUALICUM BEACH Growing up in Parksville Qualicum Beach, Mountain says young people spend a lot of time near the ocean. And while our eastfacing coast doesn’t afford us the overarching waves of Tofino, it does offer some of the most promising stretches of water for flatland skimboarding—a sport that thrives in less water and wind than the contrary. “In a way we were all kind of raised on the beach,” he says, on behalf of his friends who all seem remarkably at peace holding DB skimboards, standing barefoot on sandy Parksville Beach, waiting patiently in line for their respective turn to take their board for a

skim across a residual pool of water. “It’s great exercise and it gets you outside,” says Mountain, after gliding across a shallow basin of water. He warms up before trying something more technical. “It’s just fun and we can spend the entire day out here doing tricks and skimming back and forth—it’s a lot better than playing video games in the basement.” OSBC was born out of that very ideology and Mountain hopes the idea catches on with other young people.

SPREADING THE SPORT “We want to encourage a younger generation of people in this area to get out and try skimboarding,” says Mountain. “We have one of the absolute greatest beaches for it, so why not?” >>>

SUMMER 2014

“It’s like skateboarding on the ocean,” says Mountain, noting the tricks one performs share skateboard lingo: ollies, shuvits, 360’s and big spins to name a few. “And since flatland skimboarding doesn’t use waves, we usually

bring out rails, ramps and jumps that we’ve put together from scratch.”

>>> After a few warm-up runs, the group unloads a wooden ramp and rail from a truck. They begin to set up what looks like a bike park within the puddles of water left on the beachfront. They look around and make do with what they have; a piece of driftwood turns into an object to skim over.

And then the real fun begins. The boys line up and take turns hitting jumps in an effort to get some air and spin some tricks. They cheer collectively when somebody lands an impressive shuvit; and subsequently erupt in laughter when someone wipes out. Within the first few runs a group of curious passerbys has formed along the boardwalk and people of all ages are suddenly part of this spectator sport. SUMMER 2014

“People love to watch what’s going on,” says Mountain. “I mean, I think it’s a lot more fun to actually be skimboarding but it’s also really neat to watch.”

A SENSE OF COMMUNITY And just like that—with an expansive stretch of sand, a couple shallow puddles of water, handcrafted jumps and the flawless backdrop of Parksville Beach—a few ambitious boys have helped shape our region into a quintessential beach community. OSBC—an informal group dedicated to bolstering beach culture, and specifically skimboard culture—was created in 2010. It started out with a few adolescent boys who just wanted to skimboard and has since transpired into a sophisticated organization who puts on one of the biggest skimboard competitions in Canada. OSBC will host the Parksville Pro/Am Skim Comp July 26, 2014, a competition which has historically brought together international athletes from as far away as Germany. The OSBC team includes Mountain, Ryan Stewart, Peter Christensen, Jesse De Rosa, Cam Montrose, Landon Dziadyk and Justin Tryon. The boys were in high school when OSBC started. >>>

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>>> Now they’re on the cusp of adulthood watching a sport they brought to fruition flourish in their hometown.

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Most of them now work part or full time jobs or are enrolled in university, however, they still find time to promote their favourite sport through OSBC. Additionally, OSBC also offers a summer skim camp for kids aged eight to 14, along with private, semi-private and group lessons taught by founding members. Lessons are provided at either Qualicum Beach, Parksville Beach or Blue Back Beach in Nanaimo depending on the tide. OSBC also holds an annual skim jam at Qualicum Beach’s Beach Day celebration (July 13, 2014). OSBC is operated out of Coastal Style Smithfords in Qualicum Beach where DB skimboard rentals and sales are available through the store. To sign up for lessons, register for skim camp or for general inquiries contact Julie Mountain (Ryan’s mother, affectionately known as “momma skim”.) Julie is an instrumental part of the OSBC administration. Call her at 250-752-3400.

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Photos: page 26, 27, local skimboarders connected to OSBC. Pages 27-28: From left, Ryan Mountain skimboarding with friends, Justin Tryon, Julie Mountain and Ryan Mountain, OSBC Skim camp last year (photo by Brenda Gough). Page 30: Skimboarders in Parksville recently.

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ONCE UPON A TIME The story of Little Qualicum Cheeseworks did not begin on the outskirts of Parksville but rather in the picturesque city of Lausanne, Switzerland. Clarke and Nancy Gourlay worked in humanitarian aid all over the world including several years in this second largest city on Lake Geneva. With the birth of their third son came the time to think about relocating back to Canada. Clarke’s parents had retired and moved to Columbia Beach so visits to Canada always included a trip to Vancouver Island. From those times spent in Oceanside the young Gourlay family came to the realization that this is where they would eventually put down roots.

LITTLE QUALICUM CHEESEWORKS

FROM CURDS WHEY MORE TO

SUMMER 2014

Story by By Carrie Powell-Davidson, Photography by Peter McCully

What was not known for certain was exactly what they were going to do once they got here. During their time in Switzerland, Clarke and Nancy had come to adore spending time with friends in one of Lausanne’s hospitable restaurants. They loved sharing melted Raclette cheese on top of fresh baked bread over a glass of wine at the base of the majestic Savoy Alps. It was during one of those final meals that a light bulb went on and the idea for Little Qualicum Cheeseworks was born. “Someone started making cheese in the restaurant>>>

and I was instantly captivated,” Nancy shares. “I said to Clarke, ‘let’s make cheese in the shadow of Mount Arrowsmith!’” Nancy had said it with such conviction that before Clarke had any chance to protest, she reminded him how much they loved the cheese they were dining on. “I told him that we won’t be able to get the same cheese in Canada as we do in Switzerland so let’s make our own!” And so, in the instant of a lunchtime meal, the long process of becoming cheesemakers was born.

>>>

down to Duncan where Nancy had taken over a licensed cheese making facility that had ceased to operate. “We made our Raclette and curds there and they had a store so we were able to sell a bit.” At the same time, Nancy’s father, who was in sales in Vancouver, left his job and moved over to the Island to become

ing plant.” With business beginning to take off, it was time to find their own farm. In 2004, a farm in French Creek just down the road from the rental farm came available. It had been run as a dairy farm so setting up business on the new property did not require too much effort. “We literally picked up the cheese production plant and plunked it here!” Nancy says in reference to their new location known as Morningstar Farm. An existing building became The Farmgate Store and so began the next phase of the plan. Educational tours and workshops were added to engage the public. The Farmgate Store was intended to be an outlet for the cheese, but soon other local food producers were included. The cheese-making process became a source of entertainment and an educational experience for visitors to the farm.

“What we want to do here at the farm is make this a place where everyone and everything can live in harmony—people, farm animals, wild animals and even the micro-organisms.” - Nancy Gourlay sales manager of the fledgling business. When he was successful in getting their cheese into the Vancouver market, the Gourlays knew it was time to ramp it up a bit.

AND SO IT GROWS “We got more cows and we repurposed a school portable into our own cheese process-

MAKING CHEESE Cheese making is a complicated all-day process that begins at 5:30 a.m. “The milker makes eye contact with the cheese maker and then begins pumping over the cooled milk from the evening before,” Nancy explains. This is gently heated just before the >>>

SUMMER 2014

Upon returning to Canada, the family took up residence in Cloverdale. While Clarke looked after the boys and developed the business plan, Nancy learned about dairy production at farm school in Chilliwack. After a two-year stint at school, which included working on a dairy farm, the business plan was complete and the family was ready to move into the next phase. “We came to French Creek and rented a farm down the road from where we are now and then, I up and departed.” Nancy laughs before explaining that her departure was in the plan. “I went back to Switzerland to attend cheesemaking school.” Once back home in Canada, the farm got up and running. The milk was being transported

>>> warm morning milk is added. Next, a starter culture followed by a natural enzyme goes in and the mixture becomes curd. A special knife with wires gently combs the curd and this allows the whey to drain out. Once the whey is removed, the cheese is molded into shape before being salted—this acts as a preservative as well as adding flavour. Most cheeses are ripened anywhere from 10 days to a year before being packaged and distributed.

Little Qualicum Cheese can be found almost anywhere within 100 miles. There is no need or belief in going beyond that distance. “If I had it my way, I would rather distribute all over Oceanside by horse and buggy!” Nancy says, half jokingly. SUMMER 2014

THEN CAME THE WINE The idea for making fruit wine was born out of the passion of Phil Charlebois, a cheesemaker at LQC turned Master Wine Maker. >>>

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Photos: pages 32-33 from left, Judy and Ray Haynes with daughter Judy Gourlay and son-in-law Clarke Gourlay, inside the milking room, a view of the mountains from the farm. Pages 34-35, From left, Jerrold Paetkau makes cheese with assistant Joshua Lee and Victoria. Below, finished cheeses, Mooberry wine with cheese at the wine-tasting bar, tasting wine at the bar inside the Farmgate store. >>> Nancy explains the reason their wines are not made with grapes. “We only make fruit wines because grapes don’t grow here but blackberries sure do!” She adds that in keeping with their philosophy of working with what they were given, they use the fruit that the soil provides for them and purchase as much fruit from local growers as they can.

“We need to get the peaches, pears and apples from the Okanagan but we buy local for all other berries.” The wines have proven to be a huge hit as consumers adore the light and fruity flavours that make them ideal for summer sipping. The Gooseberry Wine has been a huge seller and the soon-tobe released, Sparkling Rhuberry is destined to be just as popular. Qualicum Cheeseworks may be called ‘little’ but there is nothing small about this operation. Between winning Best Brie

in Canada in 2011 and going through the process to obtain Salmon Safe Certification for environmental stewardship at the farm, this multi-facetted, family-run operation, which now includes both sets of parents as well as all three boys, just keeps ‘mooving’ along. Come for the cheese. Come for the wine. Come and take a honey-wagon tour of the entire farm and enjoy a wine and cheese pairing. From musical events (like the popular Jazz, Tea and Cheesecake) to exploring the natural trails by foot or horse, that well-prepared business plan includes many value-added attractions. “We are a petting zoo and an educational farm but most importantly, we’re about preserving this place in its natural state for future generations,” Nancy declares. Those future generations include human residents as well as the animal variety. Visit www.cheeseworks.ca for more information.

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Raymond James Jim Grant Financial Group ensures that their clients’ investment experiences are positive and successful. See ad on page 3 Riptide Graphics offers screenprinting, embroidery, sandblasting and other promotional products. See ad on page 31 RE/MAX Anchor Realty, Qualicum Beach and RE/MAX First Realty, Parksville - let one of the professional RE/MAX team members assist you with your real estate needs. See ad on page 40

Joe Cunningham Ford treats the needs of each individual

Salish Sea Market where the powerful stories of art are created with “insight” of the Salish Sea . See ad on page 15

KD Air provides scheduled services from Vancouver to Tofino,

Qualicum Beach, Texada Island & Port Alberni. See ad on page 10

Sanitech technicians are trained to provide a carpet cleaning experience that is second to none. See ad on page 37

Lefty’s Fresh Food takes pride in two lasting philosophies: Fresh Food and Great People. See ad on page 6

Smithford’s Coastal Style showcases the style and ambiance thru furniture, home décor and accessories. See ad on page 21

Longevity Medical Aesthetics offers free consultations to discuss your personal aesthetic needs. See ad on page 5

Stanford Place offers residential care and within walking

customer with paramount concern. See ad on page 4

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NIWRA is a non-profit world class wildlife rehabilitation facility that cares for the well being of wildlife and strives to educate the public. See ad on page 6

distance of downtown Parksville. See ad on page 22

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Advertisers’ Index

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Surfside RV Resort offers the security and privacy of a gated community surrounded by natural beauty. See ad on page 31

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Thrifty Foods Parksville is proud to maintain the traditions of

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Vivien Sears is a seasoned, professional Realtor serving Qualicum

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exceptional service and products. See ad on page 24

Beach, Parksville and French Creek. See ad on page 21

Wallpepper Designs can work with your ideas to create company logos, sign layouts, unique artwork, and eye-popping displays. See ad on page 31 Winchelsea Motors offers Used Cars, Trucks and RVs for sale. See ad on page 14

Window Dresser has been providing first-class blinds, draperies

and interior furnishing services for over 15 years. See ad on page 35

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www.sanitechservices.ca

Looking for work? Looking to hire? Visit your one-stop shop for employment related services.

Workshops and Employment Counselling Resume and Cover Letter Assistance Labour Market Information Internet Access for Job Search Local Job Postings and more! Call and make an appointment or drop by and see us: 110-198 East Island Hwy, Parksville www.careercentre.org 250-248-3205 /thecareercentre

All proceeds stay in Oceanside and help to fund Hospice programs and services. Contact Oceanside Hospice for information.

250-752-6227 • info@oceansidehospice.com

SUMMER 2014

@careercentre

TÊTE-À-TÊTE

PATRICIA HUNTSMAN Story and Photo by Brenda Gough

Arts and Culture Consultant for the Town of Qualicum Beach

atricia Huntsman has a love for arts and culture and is devoted to helping the Town of Qualicum Beach nurture its creative heart and soul.

In 2011 she began working with the community on the cultural assessment process that would layout a multi-year cultural plan for the town. Since then she has been assisting the arts and culture community in building on a foundation that will see Qualicum Beach become more widely known as a thriving cultural destination and creative marketplace.

so I feel at home in an arts community. For me, a creative mind is a happy mind. I’m inspired by creative spaces. I love seeing creative production and being part of a creative scene. Even if it means that I am doing an arts organization’s business plan or the “nerd work,” that’s OK. Perhaps it is because I haven’t found my own creative outlet just yet. I attended the Venice Bienale in 2009 and felt absolutely rooted in that intersection of urban planning, public art and architecture. That is where cultural planning fits in. What makes a space more attractive and animated? How can we create public spaces that are inclusive and celebrate place? It is the place-making piece that I am very drawn to and Qualicum Beach is very open to this thinking.

Huntsman certainly has all of the credentials for the job having worked internationally and nationally in senior roles in the creative field. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Visual Perception and a Masters in Business Administration. Question: Qualicum Beach has long been She was head of sponsorship for the National recognized as an art hub on Vancouver Island, Gallery of Canada which exposed her to the work is your goal to take it one step further? of both national and international artists, and Answer: Cultural development is about working bridged her marketing background. Huntsman with a community’s assets and its strengths. It grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick and is about identifying what it is that we have that while it was love that brought her to Vancouver differentiates us from other communities and Island, it is her passion for the arts that has her really playing to those strengths. Qualicum dedicated to her new home. Beach doesn’t have the typical heavy industry Question: When did you realize you were so that other Island communities have. It is one of the oldest tourism destinations on the B.C. passionate about the arts? Answer: I began working at the Beaverbrook coast and is an area that has attracted a lot of Art Gallery in high school and through artists over time.

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university and I absolutely loved it. I realize now how fortunate I was to grow up in that environment. The gallery features renowned collections that include works of major artists like Salvador Dali and Lucien Freud, and important Canadian artists like Mary Pratt, Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak who, at various points, lived in Fredericton. My parents also took me to museums and concerts growing up,

At the opening of the Qualicum Beach Inn, one of the owners commented that they wanted to ‘bring the romance back’ to community. That is right on the money. We have this charming ‘50s, retro vibe, but it is being expressed and reinterpreted in a fun, contemporary way. The more defined community identity and celebration of place, the easier it is to attract new businesses, new residents and tourists—

that is the central idea behind cultural development. We have a lot of creative workers in the area and we want to see them thrive. We want to see that encouraged and developed both for community development purposes as well as economic development. There are big economic impacts to having a vibrant arts and culture scene. Question A recent project of yours is the digital media studio. Do you see that taking off? Answer: There has been a lot of interest in the studio. It is a co-working space designed to attract new creative workers and build on the base of talent already living in the area. We have people working in video game design, apps, web design—all sorts of creative products. We have a lot of talent here. It is a big project but it is great to see the train station being active and used, and that a community of this size is offering this kind of space. The studio is also for mobile workers to ‘hot desk’: if you are between meetings and downtown, you have a space, instead of a coffee shop to come and work, get a few emails done or meet with clients. The hope is that with the right marketing resources, it will be a success. The programming being offered by Innovation Island, is central to marketing the studio to the industry so we are glad to have them onboard.

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Having time for what matters most

What moves you? Whether it’s a place to work, relax or watch your children grow, we can help. At RE/MAX we have experienced Realtors® to help you find the perfect fit, for all the things that move you.

First Realty Ph: (250) 248-1071 • TF (888) 243-1071 #101-897 Island HIghway W, Parksville info@remax-first-bc.ca • Remax-First-bc.ca

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