Webcams offer alternate reality

One of the gifts of technology is the ability to be in more than one place at a time, at least virtually.

From those of us lucky enough to live in Campbell River but who don’t have the view they’d like from their home or office to our friends and relatives living elsewhere, here’s a variety of webcams featuring our community:

* Need your boat and water fix? Try this view from Discovery Harbour, looking south to Quadra Island:

http://www.marineharvestcanada.com/campbell_river_cam.php

* For a view of Seymour Narrows, give this one a try:

http://www.webcams.travel/webcam/1237482777-Weather-Seymour-Narrows-Campbell-River

* Interested in a view of the Inland Island Highway (and really, who wouldn’t be?!)

http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/121.html

Shoe shopping temporarily halted with Quest’s renos

My heart skipped a beat yesterday and it wasn’t because of post-Valentine’s Day romance. No – I looked in the display window of Quest Shoes on Shopper’s Row and was greeted by – nothing but blank space. Ack! I thought. The demise of my favorite shoe emporium is not a good way to start the week.

But fellow shoe fiends take heart.  Quest Shoes is simply undergoing a freshning up and will be open for business again at the end of the month. Whew. I can breathe again.

Words on the Water offers wealth of words

The days are longer, bulbs are beginning to poke their green heads through the cool soil in some lucky gardens, and Christmas is off the radar for another year. For this avid reader, that combination means only one thing: it’s soon Words on the Water time again. This year’s event is Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 at the Maritime Heritage Centre.

This year’s lineup  promises to be another winner. Campbell River is fortunate to welcome the following authors:

* Annabel Lyon,  author of The Golden Mean, which was a finalist for the 2009 Rogers Writers’  Trust Fiction Prize, the 2009  Scotiabank Giller Prize, and also in 2009, the Governor General’s Literary Awards – Fiction. The interview I heard on CBC Radio in the fall was compelling and I’m so looking forward to hearing about Aristotle and Alexanders the Great from the writer who brought them to life. Oh yeah – The Golden Mean won the Rogers Writers’  Trust for fiction.

* Gabor Mate, author of In the Realm of the Hungry Ghost – Close Encounters with Addiction. It was published in 2008.  He’s a doctor at a harm reduction facility in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

* Children’s author Kit Pearson, who wrote the brilliant Awake and Dreaming as well as the Guests of War trilogy that tells the story of Nora and Gavin, a brother and sister pair who are sent from England to live in Canada during WW2. I can’t wait to meet her.

* Andreas Schroeder has been a freelance writer for more than 40 years. He’s published poetry, literary critcism, and and and. His most recent book is Renovating Heaven.

* Current Haig-Brown Writer-in-Residence Harry Thurston, whose most recent book is A Place between the Tides, A Naturalist’s Reflections on the Salt Marsh.

* Ronald Wright is the author of What is Amerca, a BC Book Prize finalist. He’s published in more tan 15 langueas. His first novel, A Scientific Romance, was a Globe and Mail Book of the Year.

This ninth annual event gets underway on Friday night. Throughout Saturday, enjoy readings by all the authors and ask questions. Books will be available for sale and you can have them signed too! (I love that).  Saturday night is always tons of fun – it’s the literary cabaret, featuring  the guest writers, music by local musicians, laughter, and gourmet appies.

Be sure to get your Early Bird Pass quickly – they’re bound to sell out. At $65, it gets you into all events and is a terrific deal. They go on sale at the Tidemark theatre Tuesday, February 2. Find out more at www.wordsonthewater.ca . Get ready for a literary bounty that Campbell River hasn’t seen since last year’s Words on the Water!

My heart belongs to Quatchi

The 2010 Olympic mascots were introduced in November 2007 and since then, I’ve been enchanted with them. Well, to be honest, only one of them: Quatchi the sasquatch. The other two, Sumi and Miga, the sea bear and animal spirit respectively, leave me cold. Quatchi is, quite simply, pretty keen. His ear muffs crack me up every time I see him and the small Quatchi who lives with me is used to my giggling now.

So, imagine my delight when I discovered that the Campbell River Spirit of the Flame Committee is hosting a Meet Simi, Miga, and Quatchi event this coming Saturday, October 24, 2009, at the Campbell River Community Centre from 12 noon until 4pm!!

The appearance of Quatchi and friends is the lead up to the arrival of the Olympic Torch on Monday, November 2, when a ton of events and entertainment are scheduled for downtown. From the official opening of Spirit Square at 10:45am and Spirit Village at 11:45am , to food and beverage vendors, a parade,  fireworks, and music and art vendors, it’s going to be a unique opportunity to mark the Olympic Torch’s appearance in our community.

But back to this Saturday. In addition to having a chance to meet the mascots, there will be face painting by Magical Faces, mascot-related crafts, a concession by the Salvation Army, and athletic challenges by Bounce a Rama.

And if you feel it necessary to tell me they’re just people dressed up in suits, I’ll sic my sasquatch friend on you.

P.S. I betcha didn’t know that Quatchi’s favorite color is “chill blue” and his favorite sport is hockey.

Tibetan monks offer variety of gifts

Starting next Tuesday, October 27 through to Wednesday, November 4, five exiled Tibetan monks will make Campbell River their home as part of their Sacred Art cross country tour. A variety of community programs are happening during their stay.

Join the monks every day except Sunday at the Art Gallery in Tyee Plaza between 10am and noon and again from 1:30pm to 5:00pm for chanting in the morning and to watch the creation of a sand mandala. The suggested donation is $5.00. Timberline  Secondary is the place to catch them on November 3 at 7:00pm for music and blessings. Call 250-923-9500, ext. 218 for more information.

For those outside of the Campbell River area, be part of this unique opportunity at 7:45pm on Quadra Island, at the Community Centre, for Tibetan music and dance followed by a screening of “Unmistaken Child”, a current documentary. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for seniors and students. If that day doesn’t work for you, how about Saturday, November 1 for a talk and meditation at the Community Centre starting at 11am? Admission is by donation. And for those on Cortes, come on down to Manson’s Hall on Sunday, November 1 at 7:00pm for Tibetan music, debates, and chanting. Admission is by donation for this event too.

The sand mandala the group creates as part of their meditation practice will be dismantled at a ceremony starting at 1:30pm on Wednesday, November 4. Following this, there will be a walk to Discovery Pier to release the sand.

The monks are also available for private blessings of people or places during their stay in our area. Give the Campbell River Art Gallery a call at 250-287-2261 for details or email them at contact@crartgallery.ca.

Monies raised from their time in Campbell River will benefit the monks’ monstery in India. The monk’s appearance on Cortes is sponsored by Hollyhock and the Squirrel Cover Trading Co. Their residency at the Campbel River Art Gallery is sponsored by Klari Varallyai and the Campbell River Physiothearpy Clinic.

Welcome to Campbell River. We are blessed to have you here.

Let Eastern Star ready your reading for fall

It would appear the rain, wind and cooler weather has arrived. The five day extended forecast is for a Campbell River-typical fall so haul our your umbrella and boots (and maybe even your duck feet).

Despite the gloominess, one of my favorite events starts tomorrow and will certainly brighten my week: the annual used book sale sponsored by the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. The selection is broad – from a variety of fiction to non-fiction with kid’s books too. There’s an exciting selection and it’s sure to satisfy the rabid readers in Campbell River.

Funds raised go to towards fighting cancer.

Please note: the location has changed. The sale is no longer happening at Campbell River Common but on Shopper’s Row, in the former location of Inner Odyssey, beside San Marcos.

The bibliophile can browse for three consecutive days starting tomorrow, Thursday, October 15 from 10am to 5pm. On Friday, October 16, hours are 10am to 6pm. They’re  back to 10am to 4pm on the final day, Saturday October 17th.

Gather together and be thankful

With the economic difficulties many in our community are facing, along with hard decisions about what the future may hold, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we all have things to be thankful for. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year and gather around tables, we need to remember there’s much to appreciate.

Campbell River has business owners not only committed to remaining in town but who are taking a deep breath, hoping for the best, and opening their doors for the first time. As you notice these new businesses, please do your best to support them. I’ve written about some of them here but there are many I haven’t mentioned yet. Thank you for your communal belief in Campbell River.

Campbell River has a huge number of volunteers who do a regular shift in a variety of places or who help out here and there as their schedules permit. Some volunteers are more public than others – in the Auxiliary-run gift shop at the hospital, for example, while others we don’t always see or are conscious of, such as those individuals who answer the phone at the crisis line to those who teach Sunday school in our local churches.  But if they didn’t honour their commitment, we’d know notice when the gift shop was closed or the phone at the crisis line simply rang and rang without being answered. Thank you for your skills, the hours you give, and your dedication.

Campbell River has the water. It helps to define who we are while providing opportunities for recreation, relaxation, and livelihoods.

Campbell River has a terrific library. The hours mean it’s accessible to just about anybody and the variety of services it offers is something to be proud of. 

Campbell River has councillors who stepped up when there was the opportunity to serve their community through local government. Maybe you don’t agree with the decisions they make. I don’t always agree but I do value the commitment they’ve made to chart the direction for us. They attend more meetings than either you or I can possibly believe. They sacrifice family and personal time. They need to invest considerable time into understanding the myriad of issues that come before them weekly - the issues that are important to not only us but also to them. After all, they live here too.

Campbell River has you and Campbell River has me. We have each other. Happy Thanksgiving.

Local author debuts book with morning reading

 Looking for a fun way to spend time with your kids or grandkids, or just in the mood to listen to an author read her own words, mosey on down to Stillwater Books on Saturday, October 17 at 10:30am. 

That’s where and and when Campbell River author Kristin Butcher will be reading from her newest book, Zach and Zoe Bully and the Beagle. Word has it that the beagle from the book’s title may be there too, though that’s unconfirmed at this time.

Visit Kristin’s website at www.kristinbutcher.com and visit Stillwater Books and Art’s website at www.stillwaterbooksandart.ca.

Stillwater Books is located at #120 – 1260 Shopper’s Row, between Photo Tech and the Royal Bank. Look for the book tables outside. Call 250-850-3103 with any questions. Everyone is welcome.

Downtown movie theatre era ends

Before the end of October, the Galaxy Theatre will be no more. Listing agent Roy Grant, of Coast Realty, confirmed today its sale.  The new owner is the Mennonite church.

Watch for the changes sure to take place on 10th Ave.