Barkerville is a gold rush town full of history and fun things to do. It is set in the interior Cariboo region, 88 km (54.7 mi) east of the city of Quesnel, at the end of Highway 26. Barkerville was founded in 1862 and is the largest historical site in British Columbia. Unlike many gold rush towns from this era – which have long disappeared – Barkerville remains a thriving place, rich in history and full of life. You can tour the town with one of the colourful characters from Barkerville’s past, watch the notorious Judge Begbie strike fear into […]

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I have had the opportunity to travel back and forth from Vancouver Island many times, but I mostly found myself in the heart of Victoria. There are many smaller towns which have absolutely charming attributes, and nooks and crannies waiting to be discovered. My parents took me to Tofino many times as a child, and as I venture back there as an adult, the outward appearance may have changed a little, but the spiritual heart of the town never escaped me. Tofino is an absolutely picturesque, healing and calming place. It is located on the tip of Vancouver Island, and […]

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I had house guests this past weekend. They arrived late Friday afternoon, and flew out Monday morning. One is my cousin, whom I don’t see very often, but grew up with and have always been close to. The other is one of her girlfriends. They live in a small city in Alberta and had both been to Vancouver once, as children, and didn’t really remember any details. They came for a “Girl’s Weekend Get-away”, leaving their partners and children behind. It was my birthday last week and I had planned a night out on Friday, to celebrate with several of […]

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After spending four years going to school at the University of Victoria, I would like to share with you a little bit of “city information” regarding the live music scene in Victoria. I’d like to talk mostly about classical, but also about jazz and pop. While I was attending UVic, I was pursuing a degree in Classical Voice Performance. Every Friday, the Phillip T. Young Recital hall hosts a “Friday noon-hour concert series” featuring younger and older Undergraduate or Masters students alike. The recital starts at twelve noon, and is by donation. Many instruments are featured like violin, cello, string […]

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The Children’s Festival is coming!  Located at Vanier Park, on the shores of English Bay in Kitsilano, it runs for a week starting the Monday prior to the May long weekend, and ending on the Victoria Day holiday Monday.  This year (2010) it’s May 17 – 24.  The website is www.childrensfestival.ca  I’ve been taking my daughter to the festival since she was two years old, and she just turned eight.  We usually buy tickets to a show, which is the best deal because the admission price to the site is included.  We’ve paid just the gate admission a couple of […]

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If you have only one day, or even one afternoon to spend in Vancouver, go to Stanley Park.  It is one of the largest urban parks in North America, with 1,000 acres of woodlands, gardens, trails, flowers, lakes, beaches and wildlife. I’ve lived one block off of Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park for the past seven years.  “The park is like our backyard” is a common saying among apartment-dwellers in Vancouver.  In our case, we live by this statement.  Even in the winter months, we regularly walk around Lost Lagoon to see the different animals and birds.  We also go […]

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April 6, 2010 – Cranbrook, British Columbia The year 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the golf course at the St. Eugene Golf Resort Casino. What many people are not aware of is the work and dedication to an ideal that transpired years before the first golfer took the first swing at the course. “The first year I was here was in 1995,” said Graeme Douglas, CGSA, manager, golf and hotel facilities. “I had been working on courses in Europe and Les Furber wanted me to come see the project. The Mission building was a shell, but […]

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After compiling a couple of articles concerning Victoria B.C. and things to do, museums, shopping and dining, I thought it would also be interesting and entertaining to address Victoria’s ghostly nature. Victoria is the second most haunted city in North America, New Orleans being the first. As I was on one of Victoria’s “Ghostly Walk” Tours (leaves from the tourism building across from Empress Hotel), I learned that Victoria’s Inner Harbour, back in the 18th, early 19th Century, was the site of a huge First Nations burial ground, along with long-drowned totem poles built for elders who had passed on. […]

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Living in the West End means you can easily live without a vehicle.  I should know, my family has existed without one for more than ten years.  We brought a car with us when we first moved to Vancouver, and for our first couple of years living in Kitsilano.  We gradually realized that we were not using our car nearly enough to warrant the expense, and that we could easily live without one. One of the most challenging aspects of life without a car can be getting to the big box stores when you need to.  I am not a […]

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Upon glancing through “Victoria: Secrets of the City,” a funky,  well-written, succinct manual on modern-day Victoria, B.C., many memories came flooding back into my mind from my time in Victoria, from 2001 to 2005. I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Music at UVic and I thoroughly enjoyed both the University itself, and Victoria as a city. My four years attending UVic ignited a life-long love affair with the city, and, even  after living “on the mainland” (Vancouver) for many years now, much of my heart still belongs to the island, and I’d like to share with you some of the […]

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