Last week, more than 100 cyclists rode through southern Vancouver Island to raise more than $240,000 for Vancouver Island Hospices.
The cyclists were taking part in the seventh annual Cycle of Life Tour, presented by Think Communications.
The riders pedalled across the Saanich Inlet, Cowichan Valley and Salt Spring Island last Saturday and Sunday.
Each cyclist has a story for why they ride, including Beth Harris, Human Resources at Country Grocer.
His mother was a palliative care nurse. Her aunt received hospice care before dying of cancer.
“We always called her ‘Betty Boop’ growing up,” said Harris.
This weekend, she will ride with Betty Boop fabric on her bike.
“It’s on every bike I ride — she’s always with me,” she said.
Community support has pushed fundraising to an all-time high. This year, longtime sponsors Country Grocer donated more than $17,750 to this year’s campaign.
“Making new friends and having a commonality and passion for where the money’s going is one of the highlights of the tour,” said Harris.
Big Wheel Burger, Hansbraun Investments, and 100.3 The Q and The Zone @ 91.3 raised a combined $10,600 in June, with sponsor Think Communications raising more than $100,000 as well.
Funds raised from the Cycle of Life Tour support eight hospices societies on Vancouver Island: In Campbell River, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Oceanside, Pacific Rim Hospice in Tofino, Salt Spring Island and Victoria.
Since 2011, the Cycle of Life Tour has raised more than $900,000 for end-of-life care on the island. For more information, go to cycleoflifetour.ca.
Block party celebrates 50 years of Our Place
Our Place is hosting a belated Summer Block Party to celebrate more than 50 years of service, July 28 on Pandora Avenue.
Our Place has been an inner-city community centre serving Greater Victoria’s most vulnerable for the past five decades.
“When our 50th anniversary rolled in, we were so busy opening a new Therapeutic Recovery Community in View Royal, launching a Next Steps to Employment program, handing over our Overdose Prevention program to The Harbour next door and building a new storage facility for people with nowhere to store their belongings, that we forgot to celebrate,” said Don Evans, Our Place CEO. “But we’re making up for it with a family-friendly block party with music, art, food and so much more.”
They plan on taking the celebration to the street, closing down the 900-block of Pandora Avenue. This will be a family-friendly celebration to bring hope and belonging to people who are experiencing homelessness.
The community is already on board. Save-on-Foods, which will be opening a new location at Vancouver and Pandora in the coming weeks, will be on hand to barbecue burgers.
The Victoria Conservatory of Music is also onboard with special musical guests.
Children get to explore an antique fire truck, Victoria Police Department’s Armoured Rescue Vehicle, get temporary tattoos, chalk art, hula hoops, live music, jugglers, pop-up opera and more.
There will also be guided tours of the Our Place facility for those interested in learning more about this long-standing Victoria institution.
The block party is free to join. It runs 1 to 4 p.m. July 28 at the 900 block of Pandora Avenue.
For more information, go to ourplacesociety.com.
Going to Swan Lake? Leave the pooch at home
Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary has partnered with the Saanich Pound to remind and educate the public to leave their dogs at home when enjoying a walk on its grounds.
Many nature lovers enjoy walks along the trails of Swan Lake and Christmas Hill. But some don’t realize that no dogs are permitted on any of its lands, as per an existing Saanich bylaw (2004 Animals No. 8556).
“The sanctuary is one of the few places where wildlife can rest and feed undisturbed,” said Jay Rastogi, the sanctuary’s site manager. “As the city expands, keeping these small fragments of wild habitat free from stress related to pet activity is valuable to sustaining nature.”
The sanctuary stresses that the bylaw is not to keep people and their pets out or prevent them from enjoying the outdoors, but it is in place to respect the sanctuary’s mission and to ensure that the park’s natural beauty remain intact.
The sanctuary has partnered with the Saanich Pound Department to patrol the grounds of the sanctuary to inform and ticket any dog owners present on the site.
Two such blitz days have already occurred, with more planned over the next few months. Staff and volunteers will also be present on the trails to provide any dog owners with the information on the bylaw and the reasoning behind it.
The Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary is a nature reserve and protected bird sanctuary, rather than a recreational park.
The sanctuary’s mission is to preserve the ecosystems and wildlife that make up its lands and to serve as a location for educating the public on its native species, while enjoying a peaceful natural space. The presence of dogs and other pets poses a threat to the preservation of this natural environment.
The sanctuary urges visitors be open to learning about and understanding the sensitivity of the area and the importance of keeping its grounds free of pets that could impose stress on the species that call it home.
The Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary is home to many fragile and rare ecosystems and species of southern British Columbia, such as the Garry oak and wildflower meadows at the summit of Christmas Hill.
For more information, go to saanich.ca/assets/Local~ Government/Documents/Bylaws~and~Policies/animals-bylaw-2004-no-8556.pdf.
Shawcase highlights performing arts
Three Victoria arts companies will have an opportunity to showcase their new performance work at Impulse Theatre’s inaugural Performance Lab Showcase, Aug. 3 at the Canadian College of Performing Arts.
The theatre’s Summer Performance Lab, a new summer performing arts residency program, is designed to allow Victoria-based companies an opportunity to showcase their talents in a process-driven environment.
Three interdisciplinary companies were given 40 hours of studio time and a small honorarium to develop up to 30 minutes of a brand-new show.
The program culminates with a public showcase, giving these three companies a chance to test their projects in front of a live audience.
The three participants include:
• The Wonderheads, with dynamic duo Kate Braidwood and Andrew Phoenix. Known for their whimsical full-mask, silent, physical theatre performances, will present an excerpt from their full-face mask version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
• Broken Rhythms, a local dance company created to showcase the unique style of rhythmical contemporary, will present Whirlpool.
This solo work by artistic director Dyana Sonik-Henderson explores the connection between body, mind, agency, production and autonomy. Themes of feminism, social messaging, and physical and emotional health are woven throughout.
• Impulse Theatre will present how to pull your heart out through your throat, a visceral how-to guide. Starting with three creatures in a vat of tar digging into their own deep reaches of vulnerability, and expands to explore questions of identity, self-creation and the need to be seen authentically.
Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. The performances run 8 to 10 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Canadian College of Performing Arts Performance Hall, 1701 Elgin Rd. The venue is wheelchair accessible and there is one gender-neutral washroom.
For more information, or for tickets, go to impulsetheatre.ca.
Island artists win scholarships
Two Vancouver Island artists have won art scholarships worth $5,000 each from the YVR Art Foundation.
YVR Art Foundation scholarships are awarded annually to B.C. and Yukon Indigenous artists in two categories: Emerging and Mid-Career.
Joshua Watts, Nuu-chah-nulth from Victoria and Marlo Wylie Brillon, Haida, Cree from Comox both won in the Emerging Artist category for their works of art that reflect B.C. Indigenous culture.
Recipients are selected through a formal jury process and each recipient is awarded $5,000.
The emerging artist scholarship award is presented to B.C. and Yukon Indigenous artists who are looking to further develop their artistic potential. The scholarship enables artists, aged 17 to 29, to study or work with an artist mentor or attend a recognized school of art over a one-year period.
Artists can also exhibit their work at YVR for one year.
“On behalf of YVR Art Foundation, I would like to congratulate this year’s extraordinary group of artists,” said Susan Jackson, executive director of the foundation. “The 2019 YVR Art Foundation scholarship recipients represent a wide range of emerging and mid-career Indigenous artists in B.C. and the Yukon. We are pleased to support their artistic goals and provide them an exciting opportunity to pursue art mentorships, education and community projects.”
Since 2005, the YVR Art Foundation has awarded more than 145 scholarships, grants and awards to B.C. and Yukon Indigenous artists, totalling more than $575,000.
More than 80 recipients have chosen to exhibit their work at the Vancouver-area airport, contributing to the terminal’s sense of place.
The YVR Art Foundation is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that supports the development and advancement of B.C. and Yukon Indigenous art and artists by providing scholarships, grants and exhibition opportunities. YVR Art Foundation is funded through support from Vancouver International Airport, individual donors, foundations and corporate donors. For more information, go to yvraf.com.
Free menstrual products target ‘period poverty’
Greater Victoria residents in need will soon be receiving free pads and tampons, thanks to a pilot project by the province and the United Way.
The United Way Period Promise Research Project, the first research project of its kind in Canada, is backed by a $95,000 grant from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.
“Period poverty renders people vulnerable and isolated in our communities, but now we can be part of the solution. Local donations have made a difference. Organizational policies to provide free menstrual products have made a difference. Now, this innovative pilot to provide pads and tampons will help tackle this issue at the local level, across our province,” said Neal Adolph, one of the organizers of United Way’s Period Promise campaign. “We commend the Government of B.C. for their leadership on this issue.”
The project was announced in April, when the Ministry of Education issued a ministerial order that all schools in B.C. provide free menstrual products to students.
By the end of the summer, community organizations, such as the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society and Society of St. Vincent de Paul, will provide menstrual products for clients in need, thanks to the local expertise and support of United Way Greater Victoria.
Community organizations receiving and distributing donations will also capture information about how period poverty is affecting local residents. This data will be shared with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, to help can build solutions that make vulnerable people’s lives better.
This pilot project is supported by Pacific Blue Cross, Vancity, Always and Tampax.
For more information, go to periodpromise.ca.
