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HOW DID WE GET HERE? Digging into the community centre history PAGE 3
Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A1
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LYSISTRATA 2020 Review of an ancient play for the modern age PAGE 8
Soccer returns BIFC WELCOMING PLAYERS BACK AS OF SEPT. 14
BRONWYN BEAIRSTO
Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com
UNDERCURRENT PHOTO
BUBBLES: Katrina Smith of Bowen Island Horse Owners and Riders Association scratches her horse’s muzzle before
the pop-up Bowfest parade at Bowen Court last Saturday. The parade was recorded and put online instead of having live spectators. Fittingly, this year’s parade theme was bubbles. BIHORA’s entry won first place in the parade. See more photos p. 7.
Bowen Island Football Club is getting back in the game. After limited summer activities, the soccer club will offer comprehensive island-only programming this fall. The move comes as BC Soccer enters phase two of its return to play plan. (The plan allows for limited league play and minimal contact.) “[Phase two] gives us a little bit more flexibility,” said BIFC’s general manager Morgan Quarry. “There will be minimal contact at times because of regular play,” said Quarry. “But we do not create any drills where there’s repetitive contact in a small space for a long period of time.” No teams are entered in league play on the mainland this fall due to the travel and uncertainty involved, instead, the players will take full advantage of the grass field and the brand-new turf field. “[Given] all the decisions that parents are being forced to make in regards to return to school and perhaps other programming other sports…we wanted to try to make it as clear as possible,” said Quarry. Beginning in the week of Sept. 14 the club will offer several programs. For youth there’ll be: Mini-house for the U5 to U8 crowd. There’ll be one training session during the week and small games Saturday mornings. Youth teams for U9, U11, U12 boys and U12 girls. There’s training once or twice a week with teams and then games Saturday afternoons. The size of games will vary week to week based on discussions among the coaches. Sunday morning drop-in soccer but players must pre-register. CONTINUED ON P. 11
Time for a change? Let's chat. SHANA RICHMOND SHANA@SHANARICHMOND.COM
604.338.3072
A2 • Thursday, September 3, 2020
Events September 12, 2020 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Municipal Referendum Voting Day @ BICS
September 14, 2020 6:15 pm Regular Council Meeting All meetings are online via Zoom and
open to the public, unless noted otherwise.
bowenislandundercurrent.com
We’re hiring: Roads Crewperson Bowen Island Municipality seeks a qualified permanent full-time Roads Crewperson. The Roads Crewperson is an outside labour position. This person will primarily be responsible for assisting with the maintenance of the Municipality’s roads and drainage as well as some labour tasks related to other Municipal infrastructure. In addition, winter maintenance requirements would consist of snow clearing from roadways and applying anti-ice material amongst other duties. This position is full time at 35 hours per week normally from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday; these times may be adjusted to meet specific requirements.
www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs
BIM increasing level of BC Energy Step Code to Step 3 Did you hear? Starting October 1, 2020, all new construction and substantial renovations on Bowen will need to meet Step 3 of the BC Energy Step Code.
Help slow the spread of COVID-19:
Stay home if you’re sick
Community Centre Referendum Vote in Person
The BC Energy Step Code is the new provincial standard to reduce building energy use and to prepare for net-zero building energy use. Buildings have already been required to meet Step 1 for the last year.
General Voting Day Saturday, September 12, 2020 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Bowen Island Community School 1041 Mt Gardner Rd, Bowen Island, BC Resident Electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature). Picture identification is not necessary. The identification must prove both residency and identity. Non-Resident Property Electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature) to prove identity, proof that they are entitled to register in relation to the property, and, if there is more than one owner, written consent from a majority of the property owners to appoint one owner voting. A person may only register as a nonresident property elector in relation to one parcel of real property in a jurisdiction. Only those individuals who own property may register as non-resident property electors – corporations do not have the right to vote.
www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/referendum-2020
Step 3 is the third step in the system, and involves modeling and testing the building’s energy use to demonstrate that the design and construction go beyond BC Building Code. To comply with Step 3, builders will need to create and adhere to a whole-building energy model, then test the building enclosure on the ground for air tightness. The building’s performance will need to exceed the Building Code by 20% (or no more than 45 kWh/m2 annual energy use).
Please wear a mask when you come to vote
bowenislandmunicipality.ca/step-code
Vote by Mail Ballot Mail ballot packages are available from Municipal Hall. Electors may vote by mail if they: • •
2 m or 6 feet
Keep a safe physical distance
Wear a mask in spaces where you can’t safely distance
Municipal Water Information Meetings
Complete an Application to Vote by Mail Ballot and submit it by 4:00 pm on Friday, September 11, 2020 to Municipal Hall. Bowen Island Municipality will hold information meetings for Mail Ballot packages must be claimed by 4:30 pm on Friday, water users in each Municipal water system in September, 2020. September 11, 2020 at Municipal Hall. All meetings will be held via Zoom. Water system users in their To be counted, your mail ballot must be received by the respective neighbourhoods are encouraged to attend. Please join Chief Election Officer no later than 8:00 PM on Saturday, us for this opportunity to learn about your water system and ask any September 12, 2020 (General Voting Day). questions you may have about the utility.
www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/water-and-sewer
Contact Us Phone: Fax: Email:
604-947-4255 604-947-0193 bim@bimbc.ca
•
Feel more comfortable voting this way because of COVID-19; Have a physical disability, illness or injury that affects their ability to vote at another voting opportunity; OR Expect to be absent on General Voting Day.
Questions? Please email referendum2020@bimbc.ca
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Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A3
How did we get here? Unravelling the community centre’s early roots BRONWYN BEAIRSTO
Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com
In the late ‘80s, a hundred people would fill the Behm family’s Hummingbird Lane home to take in a classical music concert. Often the performance would require a grand piano. “We had to push it uphill, in through the back door, up some stairs, through the dining room, down some stairs and then position it and make sure it was tuned right,” recalls H.C. Behm. A monstrous task but well worth it. With a view at their backs and two floors of audience members before them, renowned musicians brought the world to Bowen Island. The task of creating a community hall is embedded in one of Bowen’s best-known non-profits. One of the founding mandates of Bowen Island Arts Council–– rebranded as ‘the Hearth’ a couple of years ago––was to see a dedicated performing arts space built on-island. That was 1987. Behm was a founder. The idea was not new then. A community centre was percolating as far back as the mid1950s when Leslie Wallwork proposed turning the former Union Steamship General Store into
“The Shakespeare Arms,” a sort of English tavern to have “community, good conversation and theatrical and musical performances,” says granddaughter Sarah Haxby. Union Steamship’s dominance on Bowen faded as the ‘50s wore into the ‘60s––the company closed and demolished its hotel and tore down the lower dance hall. And communities built other spaces: Collins’ Hall was built in 1964 and Legion Hall came a few years later. It was Union Steamship’s abandoned clubhouse Evergreen Hall, though, that in the ’70s set the stage for Theatre on the Isle’s (TOTI) first play––the five-person melodrama The Drunkard. No one in the cast had theatre experience except TOTI founding member Martin Clarke but the enthusiastic crew put on three shows in 27 hours performing for nearly 200 of the island’s few hundred inhabitants. Dances, plays, potlucks and Bowfests found a place at Evergreen Hall. “It was a community centre,” said Clarke. When the property was up for sale for $30,000 in about 1978, a crew of islanders wanted to buy it (there was no municipality at the time), but no one had the money. “It was a lot of money,” said Clarke. “And most people who were interested in buying it still had mort-
gages.” In that era, Bowen Islanders voted in a referendum to contribute $180,000 toward a new community school. (The Greater Vancouver Regional District entered the agreement with the school district). With a gym, library, multi-purpose room, the building was promoted as a recreation space for all. “Bowen is well-known for its creative and artistic people––get to know them at classes and meetings at the centre,” read a referendum fact sheet. The school was built in 1978 and paid off in 2000. “That was a good stopgap measure but then the programming became so intense,” said Behm. With priority going to school and recreation programming, there was little time for arts and culture. Community centre studies and reports of the ’90s note the community use of the school waned as school use, function and population grew. Haxby, now community school coordinator at BICS, was a teenager in the early ’90s and was inspired by the legacy of the grandfather she’d never met. “I joined the Bowen Island Arts Council as the youth representative and volunteered to be part of Paul Hoosen’s Dream Team to envision what a
OPEn
long-needed Community Centre could look like.” Paul Hoosen is another founding member of the arts council. He has a sturdy black briefcase that won’t fully close packed with reports, studies and notes he’s gathered since taking on the community hall cause in the early ’90s. In those decades since, committee after committee has set its sights on building a community-owned centre or hall on the island, citing rising population and lack of adequate recreation and culture spaces. Committees have originated from the Arts Council, the Recreation Commission, the GVRD and Bowen Island Municipality. In 1995, the Nicholson Tamaki Bowen Island Community Centre Feasibility Report (which came following the 1993 ‘Direction for a livable Bowen Island’ Parks and Recreation Task Force report) proposed a $4.8 million, 26,400 square foot centre including a library, flexible activity space, multiuse hall and auditorium. It didn’t proceed. In 1997 the community turned down a relatively slap-dash proposal for a 4,500 square foot community building on Cates Hill (Bowen’s then GVRD director Richard Littlemore told the Bowen Breeze that the design was
THURS. SEPT. 3 I 5-7PM SAT. SEPT. 5 I 12-3PM
drawn up “in two or three weeks in May”). The community asked if it was willing to borrow $750,000 for the “temporary” space, meant to suit the island’s needs in the short term, and voted 536 to 446 not to proceed. Proponents of the time pointed to an island-wide mailout of an interview between Breeze editor Sandi Whyte and Littlemore in which Whyte criticized architect selection, public process and questioned the tax implications for the failure of the referendum. In December of 1999, Bowen Island Municipal Council gathered in another unofficial community centre of the era––the Old General Store––for its inaugural meeting. The building would later become the public library and see the addition of Cove Commons. Yet. Behm and Clarke put the Bowen’s population in the ’70s in the 600 range. A 2003 study from Bruce Howlett on the BIM website put the island’s 1981 population at 1,125. In 2001 it was 2,957. In 2019, Statistics Canada put Bowen’s population at 4,000. In its 2019 Island Survey, BIM found that nearly 40 per cent of respondents had moved to the island in the past decade. Have islanders’ priorities changed? Read part two next week.
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A4 • Thursday, September 3, 2020
bowenislandundercurrent.com
VIEWPOINTS POEM
Grandmother’s gift
My grandmother used to grow a garden of sweetpeas, each plant twisting round a string. The perfume of this flower’s scent has stayed with me in my summer memories... Sweetpea confabulation remembers the aproned light, of a dusky summer evening. White gloves, the clink of china, and silk hatted heads, dipped in pink fragrance. Exclamations of wonder at the delicate profusion of pastel colour and sweetness, and the random offering, of scent to form. —Jude Neale
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Proposal doesn’t resonate with current community
‘THE PERFORMANCE HALL FEELS LIKE THE DREAM OF A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE ISLAND, WHO HAVE BEEN ADMIRABLY ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS’ DEAR EDITOR: On Sept. 12 we’re being asked to vote about raising property taxes to pay for the new community centre. It’s critical that you show up. Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time trying to understand what’s going on with this project. I’ve talked to folks on muni council, muni staff, and many community members. As usual, there are lots of conspiracy theories, as well as some very confusing communications that leave a lot of questions
unanswered. I can’t help but feel we’re being marketed to rather than engaged with, which is why so many are unhappy with the current plan. Lots of communications urging us to vote “yes” to the community centre (and higher taxes). No communications asking for meaningful engagement on what we’re actually building. I can imagine that the muni wants this to be done with after decades of debate, consulting, and reports. The problem is that most
of the community engagement pre-dates the large influx of new residents on the island. One-third of the island is new since 2015. Yet, many of the ideas baked into this plan are 10-20 years old and don’t resonate with the current community. We need to ask ourselves a critical question: is this the community centre we want? When I dug into the cost of the building, I realized we’re spending a tremendous amount of money on the performance hall. No one from the muni would or could tell me what percentage this part of the building accounts for, but I was told it was the “lion’s share” of the budget. I heard this exact phrase more than once. There’s a $14.5 million budget with $2.2 million
going to municipal offices, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to what the performance hall will cost. This is going to be a “state of the art” facility with serious investments in acoustic treatment, highend lighting and sound system, a fully sprung floor, and very expensive retractable seating. This performance hall is why the building is so expensive. We could replace it with a number of amenities like courts, or an indoor climbing wall, or a skate park, or whatever, and avoid having to borrow money or raise taxes. The performance hall feels like the dream of a very small percentage of the island, who have been admirably engaged in this process for years. I’m an artist and musician. I love the arts. I still can’t
make sense of how we’d use this performance hall. We need to ask ourselves if this plan represents the interests and needs of the broader community. How would we know if the community hasn’t been asked in a meaningful way? It’s disappointing to hear we’re so far down the path with this government grant. It puts us in a tough spot. That said, without meaningful community engagement, I don’t believe this plan represents our community, and I can’t in good conscious vote “yes” to raising taxes to pay for it. The small group of folks who have been pushing this plan for years will be out to vote. Will you? —Steve Rio
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EDITOR BronwynBeairsto editor@bowenisland undercurrent.com
ADVERTISING Tracey Wait ads@bowenisland undercurrent.com
CARTOONIST Ron Woodall
PUBLISHER Peter Kvarnstrom publisher@bowenisland undercurrent.com 2011 CCNA
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2011
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Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A5
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / OPINION
Community centre a vision 30 years in the making A life in the day of the community centre DEAR EDITOR, Could anyone on Bowen Island still have any doubt regarding the Community Center Project Bylaw No 477, 2019 and not vote “yes” in the next referendum? It is the achievement of more than 30 years of community vision and effort to own a central location for the multiple artistic and recreational activities of Bowen Islanders all year round. To date organizing any public event (musical, visual, book launch and conference) has always been a challenge as no private setting has been designed for that; space is limited, time setting is awkward at best, acoustics poorly suited, sitting comfort a wishful thinking, ventilation or air conditioning not performing. The present community center project is to settle definitely those challenges and as it was indicated by our chief administrative officer Liam Edwards, it caught the attention of the federal and provincial representatives
of the Canada Infrastructure where municipal, arts and recreation were to be profiting from an investment grant; from the hundred of applications Bowen Island was selected and received $7.9 million of the $14.5 million budgeted for the project. The community has already raised close to $1.5 million and the municipality has $1.2 million held in reserve. The present rental accommodation of the municipality will cover $2 million of the remaining $4 million needed (for the project to go ahead), the latter of which is to be obtained with a 30-year bank loan. How could anyone object to such a proposal? A “yes” to the referendum will confirm the capability of success of our community in realizing its vision for the future well being of all young and old. It will encourage the potential funding of eventual projects in the years to come. Yes indeed. —André Chollat, Anne Franc de Ferrière
‘Let’s find our heart as a community’
DEAR EDITOR: Community. That’s what we are. By a simple definition, a community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. As much as we identify with our common values, we are also diverse. Some of us have already raised our children and are empty-nesters, while many are just beginning their families. Some of us spend our weekends on the soccer pitch, while others gather for a performance of our local thespians. We sing in choirs, practice yoga, lift weights, pore through archives, exchange seeds, search for lost cats, sort our recyclables, count birds, cheer on the spawning salmon, and complain about the ferry. We are a community, without a community centre - a heart. Our need for connection has never been so apparent as in these covid times. What do we miss most? Each other. I will be voting “yes” in the referendum. I have seen this project take its shape over nearly three decades. In that time, my own needs, wants, and desires have shifted, but my need for community has not. It may not be the perfect model for such a diverse group of people, but there is something for everyone in this design. Let’s find our heart as a community, and come together to support this community centre. —Cindi Keep
Note: Last week’s page 12 Bowen Beat photos were by Stefan Kowalski of the Hearth (they were incorrectly attributed.) They were such delightful photos. Sorry Stefan for my error. ––Bronwyn Beairsto
What’s your opinion? With just over a week until the community centre referendum, we want to hear what you have to say. Next week’s edition will be the last before islanders cast their votes. Send in thoughts to editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com.
SHARI ULRICH
Contributor
July 2021 - My wife and I just moved to Bowen Island. We’re hoping to start a family in this more rural lifestyle that’s still close to the culture of the big city. We’re excited to take a break from unpacking to attend a “TOTI - Theatre on the Isle” play at the community centre. It may be a good way to meet people. October 2021 - We are over-the-moon excited: we are expecting a baby in May. Mary and I start prenatal classes in November at the community centre. In September Mary took her first watercolour course from Liz Watson and discovered she has a knack for it. She’s also joined a group of expectant and new moms that has gone a long way to calm her nerves. Since I have the car in town three days a week it’s great that the bus can drop her right in front of the centre. July 2022 - It’s a girl! Fortunately there’s a support group for nursing mothers at the community centre, which has been really helpful in these early days. On the weekends I meet with the men’s group that the health centre started as a way to support new fathers. Plus, we take regular Pilates classes (that offer childcare – whoo hoo!) to work on our strength. August 2024 - In July we moved Mom to Bowen Court. She was lonely and wanted to be close to two-year-old Emma. Mary coordinated Emma’s playcare on Tuesdays with both her drawing class and Mom’s bridge at the community centre, so they all meet after for tea and treats in the community living room. It is Emma’s favourite time. December 2029 - We are very sad to realize that Mom is starting to experience dementia. On Tuesdays and Fridays Emma walks over from BICS and meets Mom in the living room for tea before her dementia support group that the health centre offers and Emma’s children’s choir rehearsal. On Thursdays Emma has violin
class and Mom has “mindful movement” classes to help with her balance. Mom’s pottery class at the community centre has led to little plates and bowls filling the house. On Saturday night we’re going to a Marty Joseph and Barney Bentall concert, a fundraiser for a community centre extension. April 2031 - Mom’s health suddenly deteriorated and she passed away. It’s heartbreaking but we are so happy she was nearby these last seven years. Since she made so many friends on Bowen we’re planning a memorial in the performance hall. Emma and the children’s choir will sing Mary Frye’s “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep,” one of Mom’s favourite pieces. September 2037 – Emma turned 15 this year. The teen centre has started a theatre program that meets once a week in the performance hall. The coaches are professionals – three actors, a sound tech and stage manager. Emma is loving learning about lighting, sound and stagecraft and the teens are writing a musical together. We’re so thrilled she has access to such a program on Bowen. December 2042 – We’re so happy Emma’s able to come home from Stratford for Christmas. She’s been in three plays there over the season. Mary just got her four-year check-up and is still cancer free. The health centre’s support group still meets every week at the centre and it’s been a key part of her healing. As have her ongoing art classes. (Oils now!) I’m directing a TOTI play – a great new challenge. The town hall meeting at the community centre last night about the swimming pool was a success. Surprisingly little controversy. Since we were able to build the community centre in 2021 with the help of the infrastructure grant, we have received ongoing support both federally and provincially. Every so often Mary and I shake our heads in disbelief that we made the move to this remarkable island. We are already putting our name on the waitlist for Snug Cove House!
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A6 • Thursday, September 3, 2020
bowenislandundercurrent.com LOGAN E.
Photo entries in this year’s virtual Bowfest country fair
REBECCA ANDER
CAROLYN MCDONALD
A larger than usual entry pool made for some tough decisions on the part of photo judges.
Bowfest country fair
REBECCA SMITH
AWARDS ANNOUNCED
SARAH HAXBY
Duchess of Slug Racing
It was the first time ever that the contest was held online and this had some interesting side effects. It was easier to submit photo entries and more challenging to race slugs but it was great to see how people embraced racing slugs at home (some people even built their own slug racing tracks and had the whole family racing slugs, and then photo documenting their races. It was wonderful how many people participated by emailing and posting their photo submissions. The thoughtfulness that went into the photo contests and was truly heartfelt and the judges were deeply moved by the many submissions that showed the many ways in which people love Bowen Island. A long philosophical debate ensued about the Best of Bowen photo category. There were more entries than ever before in the photo contests and the judges had a really hard time deciding and the judging went into overtime. There are many professional photographers on the island who produce amazing imagery, as well as incredibly talented amateur and beginner youth photographers. The array of incredible entries made judges exclaim aloud with appreciation and dismay at having to choose one image over another, but by reviewing the theme, the judges agreed that the Best of Bowen is found in the island’s community and natural environment and our sense of humour and quirky individuality and made their final selections based on a mix of community spirit as well as photographic technique. Winners of all the contests will receive
their ribbons in the mail, with thanks to all who participated in keeping this annual all-for-fun Bowfest tradition alive. A special thanks to all the hardwork behind the scenes by all of the Bowfest Board and the Country Fair Contest volunteers! The largest zucchini winner this year was Madison’s 765lb zucchini, an unbelievable record-breaker! 2nd place: Stevenson Family. Slug Race: #1 Silver, Beals Family, #2 Strang Family, #3 Stevenson Family Lego Contest : #1 Robot Dog –Alex S. This entry from a young robotics engineer came with photos and a video. Check out the video of the Lego robot dog moving and making sounds on the Bowfest Facebook page. #2 Large Landscape –Denis C. #3 Rapid Rex Raptor -Zac M. Rapid Rex Raptor Deployer Ship with micro scale ships and tools. This ship has many play functions- open the cab, shoot flick fire missiles and stud shooters at front of ship, drop tool and raptor pods on the back. “The Best of Bowen” Photography Contest: Adults: #1 Heron –Rebecca Smith, #2 Tunstall Spirit view & Children in the Sand –Rebecca Ander, #3 Whale -Diana Izdebski Honourable Mentions: Snowmen on the Railing by Penny White, And Jimmy and Tobie by Tanya Voormeij-de Zwart Youth: #1 Porthole view –Logan E., #2 Trees -Greta S., #3 Abstract –Obi S. Farm Fun Photos! #1 “.... and on the farm they have a Sonny, the pony. Beanu, the Bengal and Bubbles, the pony . EIEIO. McDonald’s Farm” – Carolyn McDonald; #2 Horse and Child – Seonaid Hayes; #3 Malcolm and Cucumber at the Farm–Shannon Strang Youth Entry: Honourable mention: Geese –Holt E.
bowenislandundercurrent.com
Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A7
BOWFEST BEAT Celebrating in bubbles
It was like no Bowfest before it Aug. 29 as islanders rallied to put on a parade, country fair and concert, mostly all online. The parade at Bowen Court Saturday morning saw a few groups of islanders decorate their vehicluar or equine mounts in the bubbles theme. Tristan Deggan filmed the festivities and the video is now available in the Bowfest Facebook group. PHOTOS BY BRONWYN BEAIRSTO
The Black Sheep Morris Dancing group made a rare appearance at the parade––they paraded in support of Snug Cove House. (Left – Dwayne Matthews, right – Bob Doucet).
Bowfest judges Cpl. Adam Koehle, Adele Turner and Jerica Dempsey.
Al Vyner
Tristan Deggan and Sheana Stevenson
Robyn Fenton
The parade-winning BIHORA crew
Ryley McLeod
Makai and Daxon Jacquet with Tyler driving.
A8 • Thursday, September 3, 2020
bowenislandundercurrent.com
REVIEW / OPINION
Box-office winner of 411 B.C.E. a hit in 2020 LYSISTRATA DELIGHTS SOLD-OUT AND SOCIALLY DISTANCED AUDIENCE
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Go back, waaay back, way to the other side of the zero, back to 411 years before the zero. Athens is the superpower, the sparkling gem of the Mediterranean, the glorious democratic founder of western civilization. Except that, in 411BC, things were not at their best. Athens had just been horrendously defeated by their arch-nemesis Sparta and the Syracusans of Sicily. Really horrendously. It’s entire army and navy was snuffed out of existence in a nightmare of massacre, starvation, humiliation and slavery, removing a huge proportion of the males of Athens from the face of the earth. It was so unthinkable that the unfortunate soul who was the first to bring the news to Athens was tortured on the rack for so obviously dealing in fake news. It was a turning-point in the long-running war with Sparta, leading not too long after to the end of democracy and the final invasion of high-cultured Athens by the uncouthly spartan Spartans. And just to ensure the extermination of any last remaining vestige of Athenian happiness, the city had been visited three times by disastrous plagues. Obviously when things are this bad the thing to do is go to the theatre. In 411 B.C.E. the box-office winner by a wide margin was Lysistrata, penned by Aristophanes, a Greek Benny Hill specializing in lavatory humour and low-browed and seriously below-the-belt sexual innuendo. His play is probably the best example of how low Athens had sunk, having the storyline of women taking over political power. Yes, I know, but remember that Athenians were not in a good mental space then. So, the women of Athens, fed up with the forever war, occupy the Acropolis, capturing the state treasury and ruining the tourist industry. In the absence of real men, their only opposition is a chorus of withered and wrinkled old curmudgeons, played brilliantly convincingly by Peter Frinton, Doug Elliott, Martin Clarke and Frazer Elliott. Davin Killy well played The Magistrate, the only spellable character in the cast. But it was the women who owned the story and the show.
Places of Worship Welcome You BOWEN ISLAND UNITED CHURCH
FOOD BANK DROP-OFF
ST. GERARD’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Masses are live streamed every day. Times posted at holyrosarycathedral.org
Administration Office: 604-682-6774
CATES HILL CHAPEL
www.cateshillchapel.com 604-947-4260 (661 Carter Rd.)
now offering worship services via Zoom. a link available on website.
Pastor: Phil adkins
Kudos (meaning glory or fame, from the Greek word kudos meaning glory or fame) goes to Amanda Szabo’s heroic Lysistrata and her fellow-plotters Jackie Minns, Annabelle Coon and Kat Stephens. The chorus of withered and wrinkled crones was played brilliantly convincingly by Aubin van Berckel, Heather Hodson, Silvaine Zimmermann and the silver-tongued Maggie Brockington. The women’s real mistress-stroke is to combine forces with the women of Sparta and stage a sex-strike to force their men to sue for peace A nicely-played pas-de-frustration by Annabelle Coon and Frazer Elliott showed how they pulled off this feat. And kudos to director Bronwyn Churcher. She was the one who came up with the idea of thrusting an ancient Greek play upon an unsuspecting Bowen populace, was confident enough to take the courageously outrageous step of editing a masterpiece, and musically imaginative enough to add the lovely Seikilos Epitaph Song, billed as the world’s oldest surviving complete composition. The plague played a leading role in the creation of Lysistrata, and pandemic played a leading part in Theatreon-the-Isle’s setting of the play. In wonderful evocation of the ancient Greek theatres, it was played outside in Veterans’ Park. Amusing but firm instructions warned in advance against mingling before and after the production. The audience on blankets and folding chairs looked like sudoku numbers in their taped-out socially-distanced squares, matching covid-masks with the Greek masks of the actors. Opening night had no rain but just enough of a coolness for the audience to worry about the thinly-clad actors surviving the evening. Apparently they all did, and will live to play again in the warmth of the new Community Centre’s performance space, which will be built after you vote for it on Sept. 12.
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BOWEN ISLAND Snug Cove 5:20 am* 6:20 am 7:20 am 8:35 am 9:35 am 10:40 am 12:05 pm 1:15 pm 2:40 pm 4:00 pm< 5:10 pm 6:15 pm 7:20 pm> 8:50 pm 9:50 pm 10:50 pm
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Now offering a youtube channel of reflections and hymn/songs with Reverend Lorraine Ashdown and Lynn Williams. youtubewatch?v=tejV7Y6jo
EMILY VAN LIDTH DE JEUDE PHOTO
Aristophane’s Lysistrata at Veteran’s Park.
Schedule in Effect: August 5, 2020 to September 7, 2020
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Theatre critic to the Athenians
Crossing Time: 20 minutes Distance: 3 nautical miles Note: This is a non-reservable route * exCepT SuN aND SepT 7
> exCepT SaT
< exCepT WeD are (DC) DaNgerouS Cargo SailiNgS. No oTher paSSeNgerS permiTTeD.
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Next up at the Hearth: Dialogue
Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A9
FROM THE SUNSHINE COAST’S JENNIFER LOVE & KIM LAFAVE
JENNIFER LOVE
The Hearth
Jennifer Love and Kim LaFave, artists from the Sunshine Coast, present an exhibition of paintings and collage works created independently but speaking to shared inspirations drawn from the diverse worlds of boats, marinas and harbours, children’s book illustration, libraries and bookstores. You may remember Jennifer Love as a founding member of Foxglove Fibre Arts on Bowen Island. Since moving to Pender Harbour in 2005, she has exhibited work on the Sunshine Coast, Bowen Island and in Vancouver. Influenced by issues of memory, the loss of memory and its effects on personal communication and connection, her work utilizes the world of letters, words and numbers and in particular women’s names. The curvaceous letterforms in themselves create beautiful abstractions while also suggesting other levels of meaning - perhaps fragments of memory. Kim LaFave may also be familiar, as a freelance artist illustrating such books as Amos’s Sweater by Janet Lunn and otherf beloved children’s books. His Harbour series of paintings grew out of research for a book project, Fishing with Gubby by Gary Kent. As a children’s book illustrator he was interest-
KIM LAFAVE ARTWORK
Kim LaFave is one of two artists featured in the Hearth’s next exhibition.
ed in describing the way of life of a commercial day fisher. In his painting practice the focus shifted to a study of the boats themselves, which became the source material for an exploration of colour, texture, light, shadow, rust, water, reflection, rhythm and pattern. He is represented by the Kurbatoff Gallery in Vancouver and exhibits widely elsewhere. In the works of both artists, complex layers of paint, paper and fabric reorganize, magnify, fracture or obliterate shapes, words and numbers — creating and uncovering new meanings. The ordered worlds of boats and harbours, letterforms and numbers become unpredictable and surprising. DIALOGUE: Paintings & Collage by Jennifer Love & Kim LaFave. Sept. 17 to Oct. 19. Opening reception: Saturday, Sept. 19, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hello Bowen We are professional pet care providers who offer a variety of programs and services to fit the needs of all your canine and feline personalities. To build a relationship with your pet and insure Bark is a good fit we offer a ‘complementary meet and greet and first walk or drop in’. Some of you may remember Leila from last year on the trails with our dogs or working at the Dog Ranch. This is when we fell in love with the island and chose it to be our home. Warm Wags, Gord & Leila
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Dallas came to us a little while ago to get a wellness check and update all his vaccines. He was a perfect boy for his appointment and left happy and healthy. Bowen Vet currently is able to perform wellness appointments, however we do have a waitlist. If your animal is due for vaccines, please call us and get added to the waitlist. We are getting through the list as quickly as we can!
NEW COVID HOURS OPEN: 9 - 5 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday* OPEN: 9 - 1 pm every second Saturday (closed Sat. Sept 5) *Please note: Friday medical appointments will be available on alternate weeks. The clinic will be open for prescriptions and food pick up only on those Fridays.
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A10 • Thursday, September 3, 2020
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STOKES, Shirley Ann (nee Croll) August 24, 1934 - August 8, 2020 Shirley passed away peacefully at Lions Gate Hospital the morning of August 8, 2020, from pneumonia, following surgery a week earlier. During the last year of her life, with dementia, Shirley received loving, excellent professional care at Berkley Care Centre. Shirley was born to Nora Roberts and James Croll in the small town of Lutterworth, England, four years after her sibling brother James. Her young life, and that of her family, was no doubt impacted by the Great Depression and the years of the 2nd World War. At Rugby High School she excelled in academics and in competitive sports, grass hockey being her favorite. She followed her mother’s path into nursing, graduating from Guy’s Hospital in London in general nursing, midwifery, and finally as a Registered Nurse. In 1961 Shirley emigrated to Canada with two nursing colleagues, who were ‘adopted’ by Felicia and George. Shirley soon formed lifelong friendships with Marian, Elizabeth, Alex, Sui, Gladys, Jeri, Sheila, Phil, Henry, Grace, Sally, Jim, Pauline, Brenda, Carol, Robin, Fran, Peter, Emma, Katy, Cassandra, Eve, Glen, Ender, Becki, Sandra, Jill, Louis, Carole and many more. She met her future Australian husband Russ on the ski slopes at Whistler. They spent a ‘working holiday’ for a few years in Australia, where Shirley made firm friends with her sister-in-law Marlene, and got to know other family members including numerous nieces and nephews. She loved nature, was a generous supporter of many charities, including the popular “Variety - the Children’s Charity”. Shirley lived in Lions Bay for more than 50 years, a strong quiet voice in the community. Her husband and life-partner died in 1997. Shirley lived on in the home they had built together so many years before. She moved to her ‘paradise sanctuary’ on Bowen Island in 2013. Until recently, she was an active member of the Irish Wolfhound Club of Canada BC Branch. Her passions were her succession of hounds Misty, Georgie and Bellagh, and special friendships made through the Club. Shirley showed a superlative dedication to her nursing career at Vancouver General Hospital, for which she was recognized on many occasions. Shirley was active, productive and full of energy. As a nurse educator, she was a volunteer medical trainer for the volunteer firefighter and ambulance teams in the early days of the new Village of Lions Bay. She was always a friendly, helpful neighbour that new and established residents could count on in times of need. Donations as a Memorial in Shirley’s memory may be made to the Bowen Island Health Centre Foundation, PO Box 316, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0, or on-line: https://bowenhealthcentre.com/donate-online/
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C A L E N D A R
THURSDAY SEPT. 3
Bowen Island Library seniors’ hours 10 a.m. - noon
SATURDAY SEPT. 5
BAA Farmers’ Market BICS parking lot 10 a.m.noon “Shop from the local, seasonal bounty. Please bring cash and a mask, and stock up because there’s no market Sept. 12 due to the referendum.
SATURDAY SEPT. 12
General voting day: Community Centre Referendum 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. at BICS. See more information at bimbc. ca.
MONDAY SEPT. 14
King Edward Bay Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 9 am Hood Point Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom, Noon Regular Council 6:15 pm
TUESDAY SEPT. 15
Tunstall Bay Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 9 am
WEDNESDAY SEPT. 16
Climate Conversation:
Transportation Zoom 4-6 p.m. “Metro Vancouver staff will present the key elements of the Discussion Paper and seek feedback through discussion and questions from participants.” Bluewater Park Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 7 pm
Community Information Meeting Zoom 9 am
SATURDAY SEPT. 19
Dialogue: Paintings & collage by Jennifer Love & Kim LaFave opening reception The Hearth Gallery 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
MONDAY SEPT. 21
THURSDAY SEPT. 17
Bowen Bay Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 3 pm
FRIDAY SEPT. 18
Regular Council 6:15 p.m.
Cove Bay Water System Community Information Meeting Zoom 3 pm
Eagle Cliff Water System
MON. SEPT. 28
Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A11
BIFC launches new adult soccer league CONTINUED FROM P. 1
For adults: Adult recreational league: registered players will be selected in a blind draw and assigned to a team with an assigned captain. And the new adult five-a-side league geared toward intermediate and advanced players looking for a “slightly more competitive - but equally safe and enjoyable – environment.” Teams will be assigned the same way as the rec league. The adult league teams also have new uniforms this year. Adults can register for both leagues, but Bowen Island FC may need to restrict players to one league as the phase two return to play regulations limit ‘soccer cohorts’ to 50 players. In the event of forced cancellations, members will have the option for either a prorated refund or credit for future programming. Registration for all programs are currently open and available at Bowenfc.com. For more information you can email info@bowenfc.com.
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Thursday, September 3, 2020 • A12
What you learn about life when you’re struck by lightning CAL MISENER RECOUNTS HOW HE WAS HIT BY LIGHTNING AT HIS BOWEN ISLAND HOME ON AUG. 17
MARTHA PERKINS
Local Journalism Initiative
Time did not stop for Cal Misener when he was jolted by lightning. But it did slow down to the milliseconds it took his brain to process an entire realm of information before he was, quite literally, blown off his feet. First, there was the awareness of the lightning itself. “I was terrified but just in awe of the sheer magnitude and power and volume and brilliance of the light,” he says. “The decibel level of that thunderclap was louder and more violent and more concussive than anything I’ve ever heard.” Misener looked down at his feet. His right foot was on the running board of his camper van. His left foot was on the ground. But the ground wasn’t the way the ground should look at midnight outside his home on Bowen Island. “The undercarriage of the truck and the whole road basically became this bright orange colour. It was like someone had put orange lights underneath my truck.” And that’s when his body caught
up to his brain. He could feel an electrical current go up his right leg and down his left. Time and reality get a bit fuzzy after that. The way he remembers it, he was able to crawl back to his house — and even back into bed — after the blast of electrical currents threw him to the ground. The way his wife Jane remembers it, she came outside and found him on the road. All of this happened in the middle of the night on Aug. 17. Misener was awoken by thunder and thunder is usually accompanied by rain. He had left the windows of the camper van down. Wearing nothing but his underwear — “Yeah, I know that’s quite a visual” — he put on his Crocs and headed out to the van. He was just about to turn on the ignition to power up the windows when lightning crackled across the sky and into his body. Misener isn’t sure where exactly the lightning hit. There are no burn marks on the van, the ground or his body, although for a brief time he did smell something burning. He does know that he had
unwittingly become a conduit for Mother Nature’s power. “I couldn’t use my legs,” he said. “The pain was so intense, I thought my legs were broken.” Additional evidence of the electrical current’s force is that it blew his Crocs off his feet. One of the rubber shoes flew about four metres before hitting a wall. After accepting his wife’s help into the house, Misener calmly asked his wife for a couple of pillows to prop up his legs and get as much ice as she could find. He declined her entreaties to go to the hospital because a) it isn’t easy to get from Bowen Island to Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver in the middle of the night; b) hospitals had a higher risk of getting the novel coronavirus; and c) why ask a doctor to tell you what you already knew? “I wasn’t trying to be flippant or be a tough guy,” he says. “I really felt like ‘I know what’s going on here. I just got hit by lightning.’” He finally relented to her request to call the paramedics. “I forget the actual reading but they took my blood pressure and it was pretty high. It was like 180 over 90 or something and I said, ‘Yeah, because I was scared shitless, so I’m not surprised it is pretty high.’ And then he took my pulse and it
was pretty high and I said, ‘Yeah, that falls into the same category. I think that would be the same root cause.’” Once again he told everyone that he didn’t want to go to the hospital. “By the time the paramedics left, my legs had both relaxed, a bit. “I started to walk around a little bit and basically went back to bed. By the morning it was pretty good. My right leg/right ankle still was a little stiff but, by the following day, I would say I was 100 per cent.” One hundred per cent, maybe. But not the same as he had been before the lightning strike. Misener is “chief happiness officer” at High Performance Culture. He works with business leaders to help them create happy workplaces. So that gives you a bit of an idea of his approach to life. “I’m not a religious man but I’m a deeply spiritual man and I believe that everything happens for a reason. I like to learn from every situation, no matter how drastic or nasty or negative. “So I’ve now learned a few things, like: don’t go outside in a lightning storm. That’s a pretty basic one. I also think that, while they’re not fashionable, Crocs have their place in this world. And I know that we like to think we’re
in control of the way things are going to go on any given day. This, to me, was just a reminder that we’re not in control. “You don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next, from one moment to the next. I know this sounds cliché but, yes, I feel like I’m cherishing every moment. I feel like I’m more awake and more alive. As chief happiness officer, my job is to look for the good in situations and try to remain positive. That’s exactly what I’m doing in this case. “I often talk about something I call ‘meaningful alignment.’ What I mean by this is, in simple terms, is doing more of the things that serve you or that you love and less of the things that don’t.” This philosophy just became a lot more real for Misener. “This isn’t a theoretical thing. This is true — moments are fleeting in our life so let’s just get on with it, get on with the things that need to happen. The way to do that is not to live in a place of fear. I really want to choose to live in a place of courage and just do the things that scare me even when you don’t know exactly how they’re going to work out. It’s OK to take that one little step today; maybe that can get you towards the things that you want for tomorrow.”
OPTIMIZING YOUR IMMUNE HEALTH
Are you feeling concerned about the upcoming school year? If you answered yes, you are in the norm! Please join Dr. Catherine and Dr. Alea for a discussion focused on what you CAN do to optimize your immune system function for the approaching cold and flu season. During this talk we will discuss lifestyle, stress reduction, nutrition, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine approaches to prevent and treat common respiratory infections.