Fernie Fix July 2019

JULY 2019 | ISSUE 151

TH E Our newest and youngest columnist, Amy Attalla shares her thoughts on potential

Jesse Bell is back with her popular “Never Have I Ever� column!

POT E NT IA L Roman Rybar provides guidance on potential in saving vs. investing

IS S U E Summer is here, and Michelle Senior has Art Adventures for you to explore with kids

Dr. Taina Turcasso discusses the challenges of infertility, and the potential it holds FERNIEFIX.COM

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Celebrating 152 Years At Teck, we are proud to be at the forefront of Canada’s mining innovation, sustainability and evolution. Most of all, we’re proud to call Canada our home.

With glowing hearts, we wish you a Happy Canada Day. Learn more about Teck at www.teck.com

JULY 2019 ISSUE 151

THE POTENTIAL ISSUE

EDITOR’S FIX | 5

COMMUNITY AND EVENTS | 26

HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE | 46

BUSINESS IN THE VALLEY | 7

Feature Resident – Doug Feely

by Krista Turcasso City Corner with Ange Qualizza – The George S Majic Spiritus Award Planning Ahead - Teenage Potential

by Kerri Wall Family Stoke – Let’s Get Crazy

by Shelby Cain

Fundamentals: The Potential in a Small Smoked Chicken Wing by Lacey Wilson, Recipes by Barrie Elliott A Look Down Second Ave – Summer (Dress) Lovin’ by Emma Polit Health, Naturally - Tools for Your Fertility Journey by Dr. Taina Turcasso, N.D., R.M.

Business News/New Business It’s in the Numbers by Roman Rybar, CFP - Saving is Good, But it’s Not Investing

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT | 14 Feature Artist – Katriona Drijber Preserving the Past: Building For the Future - Holy Family Catholic Church

by Elana Zysblat and Rebecca Hall Summer Art Adventures: Colour Clusters and Simple Camping by Michelle Senior ArtBeat - The Pioneering Spirit of Art

by Michael Hepher At Peace and Yet On Fire – Probably You

by Sadie Rosgen and Benji Schmitt Rental Fix – The Highwaymen

by Andrew Vallance

RECREATION AND OUTDOOR LIFE | 37 Fernie Mountain Mammas – Potential Gold by Yvonne Prest Beneath the Mountains We Grow The Freedom of Potential by Amy Attalla Never Have I Ever - The Garden

by Jesse Bell Hitting the Trails: The Potential of Connectivity and Ben Emmett

by Julie Kelly, FTA Elements of Movement – What If I Fall? with Maddy Alaric

BITS AND BYTES | 52 The Answer Guy – Presentation

by Kevin McIsaac Astrology – July 2019 by Ashley Kristina

FERNIE FUN | 50 Fix Trivia COVER: What goes up, must come down.

Photo by Jordan Boratynec, @alpine_forestry_co THIS PAGE: Maiden Lake Fishing. Photo by Emily Park, emilyparkphotography.com

Learn to teach yoga and deepen your practice in Fernie

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EDITOR’S FIX

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think a lot about potential. Surprisingly, not related to my kids. I know one day I might worry more about how we can positively influence them to achieve their hearts’ desires and follow their passions, but for now I’m still in survival mode. Like, yes you are going to bed. And yes, today you have to go to school. And yes, I need a glass of wine.

on the secrets of success when it comes to working together.You can even purchase the 10 Must Reads on Collaboration by HBR!

the efficiencies, innovation, and long-term stability created by collaboration.

Sometimes I can’t help but feel like it’s going to be challenging to get there.

I mean, mostly this is volunteer based and everyone has a family, business and hobbies outside of this committee or board.

But mostly, I feel excited… about the possibilities, the opportunities, the potential.

And I pick up that HBR, keep the creative juices flowing, and take a look up and around. We’ve got this.

Fernie is full of people who are very connected to this town, passionate about its community, history, arts and culture, recreational opportunities, business environment, education, amenities and services. They feel strongly, work hard, and get things done. And it’s truly inspiring, and the potential is huge. With My thoughts on potential are more related this in mind, how can we learn from top to Fernie. I have been sitting on committees Krista Turcasso, performers and analysts in the business and boards for some amazing, communityEditor world? One of the hardest thing for many minded organisations, and am so very proud companies and organisations is engaging of the work being done. But when I move employees… we already have this magic from one to the next, sometimes I can’t FERNIE FIX | FERNIEFIX.COM with our army of volunteers. I think the help but think… how could we be doing Published monthly by Claris Media. To advertise and for key is finding partnerships across sectors. general inquiries: info@clarismedia.com this better?

Instead of working with our heads down, Box 1124, 361A 1st Ave. Fernie, BC V0B 1M0 p: 250-423-4062 www.clarismedia.com let’s encourage people at the table to look Collaboration has been a hot topic in the Editor | Krista Turcasso up. To be open about what is happening business world for as long as they’ve been Creative Director | Vanessa Croome in our area of the community, and to trust Associate Editor | Kevin McIsaac publishing articles. Pick up a Harvard Business Review (HBR), and you’d be hard others in what they are doing. Acknowledge All content copyright Claris Media. The views expressed in common goals, and surprise ourselves with this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publisher. pressed not to find a compelling article

CONTRIBUTORS AMY ATTALLA is a 12 year old writer who attends the Fernie Academy. She has two sisters, a puppy named Rossi and enjoys biking, skiing, public speaking and writing.

ANDREW VALLANCE is a cinophile nerd who currently lives on the west coast.

Girlfriendless, he spends his time going to movies, buying DVDs and flirting.

ANGE QUALIZZA is a nutty economist who has a passion for policy, governance and everything to do with municipal government! Let’s lift up the carpet and take a closer look inside City Hall.

ASHLEY KRISTINA has studied astrology for over twenty years and has been reading/teaching for five. For an in depth natal chart reading, email mountainashastrology@gmail.com.

BARRIE ELLIOTT and LACEY WILSON are the talent and inspiration behind Fernie Catering Co., specialising in family style dinners, casual fine dinning three-course dinners, passed canapés, charcuterie boards and anti-pesto platters.

EMMA POLIT likes to wander the world, swim in the seas and ride in the mountains.

You may also find her sipping margaritas and eating tacos.

JESSE BELL wanders through her favourite garden in town, and wonders at the significance of poppies, peonies, pumpkins, and a lovely man named Ralph.

JULIE KELLY is the Manager for the Fernie Trails Alliance and loves spending time on the Fernie trails.

KERRI WALL specialises in group facilitation, mediation, parent coaching, and leadership training. She welcomes inquiries at kerriwall.ca.

KEVIN MCISAAC haunts the coffee shops and streets of Fernie to find his column source material.

MADDY ALARIC is a lover of putting things down and picking them back up again, whether it be weights or her two year old daughter. She loves inspiring people through her classes at Soar Studios and looks forward to sharing this love through her column, “Elements of Movement.”

MICHAEL HEPHER is a painter, printmaker, sculptor and musician living and working in Fernie. His work is collected internationally and can be seen locally at Clawhammer Press and a variety of galleries in Western Canada.

MICHELLE SENIOR has operated the Cottage Daycare for the last two years as well as running children’s summer camps with Jodie Parker. She loves

children’s creative process and the endless opportunities to explore and learn together.

REBECCA HALL works at the Fernie Museum. She loves Fernie’s architecture and hopes that the Heritage Master Plan will help to spark joy in the hearts of Fernie’s residents.

ROMAN RYBAR has worked in the financial industry since 1996. He became a Limited Partner with Edward Jones in 2004. When he is not helping clients he can be found enjoying bike trails or manning the bbq for family and friends.

Every month SADIE ROSGEN teams up with some of Fernie’s brightest young writers collaborating on a given theme.

If you are reading this and think that you are that person, drop her a line at sadiepumps@gmail.com.

SHELBY CAIN has lived in the East Kootenays most of her life. She’s a fulltime writer and musician, her first novel, Mountain Girl, is available at a book store near you. Her second? Any day now…

DR. TAINA TURCASSO is a naturopathic doctor and midwife practicing in Calgary, Alberta. She spends most of her time catching babies, and is inching her way back to Fernie.

YVONNE PREST wears a lot of hats: New mom, writer, teacher, councillor, chips and salsa fanatic. Her favourite hat is being a Fernie-ite.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Elk Valley - where your next adventure begins!

ELK VALLEY REALTY Each Office Independently Owned and Operated

Register Now! The 8th Annual

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Sunday August 11th 11 am - 3 pm To register go to: www.ferniechamber.com/carshow Or Call 250-423-6868

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Your adventure starts at

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We are much more than a fly shop, come check out our gear for all your Fernie Adventures!

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Business in the Valley

BUSINESS NEWS

The Arts Station Wednesday Socials theartsstation.com

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he Wednesday Socials have become an iconic event during summers in Fernie, taking place every week in July and August starting at 5:30pm. Everyone meets downtown in Station Square (outside the Arts Station) to enjoy live music, refreshment garden with Fernie Brewing Company beer, art displays, food trucks and a kids activity tent.

Drawing close to 500 community members and visitors weekly and in its 8th year, this free, fun, family-friendly event showcases talented musicians covering different genres including Bluegrass, Folk, Reggae, Rock and Roll and more. It’s a great chance to hear something new or listen to an old favourite.

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To Social like a local, bring a chair, small parasol and water bottle, eat at one of the local food trucks, and bring cash for a cold beer at the refreshment garden. Head downtown early to check out local stores and the new Mountain Market on 2nd Ave. Afterwards, hit up the restaurant and bar scene!

Fernie Alpine Resort skifernie.com 250-423-4655

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his summer, Fernie Alpine Resort (FAR) is changing it up! With its Timber Chair maintenance projects, they will be offering a Summer Community Appreciation Program which will run mid-week vs. the Community Day they have hosted in past.

This July 2-5 and 8-12, FAR is offering locals the following specials: Complimentary single-ride lift ticket, 25% off bike rentals, 50% full day or twilight lift ticket, 10% off Aerial Park, and a special Enduro Peak to Park to Pint Package. These offers are open to residents of the Elk Valley (Fernie, Elko, Jaffray, Sparwood and Elkford). Each resident can redeem each special offer one time during these dates. Bring proof of residency when claiming, and enjoy summer at FAR! NICK NAULT PHOTO/FAR

FERNIEFIX.COM

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I DESIGN TRIANGLE INTERIOR DESIGN IDesignTriangle is an interior design firm driven to create thoughtful spaces, unique kitchens and bathrooms to provide functionality and connection to our clients needs.

IDesignTriangle creates timeless, stylish and comfortable spaces to be called Home.

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Open until 10pm • 7 days a week

Check our facebook page for opening hours The Curry Bowl Fernie B.C.

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Camping, Hiking, Lake & Travel Gear Outstanding Nutrition Self Serve Dog Wash ~ Open 7 Days A Week

791 A 2nd Ave, Fernie 250-423-4332 www.barkside.com

Business in the Valley

BUSINESS NEWS

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Fernie Mountain Market

Raging Elk Hostel

mountainmarket.ca

892 6th Ave 250-534-2019

New for 2019, the Mountain Market will be launching the Wednesday Night Downtown Street Market.

Local farmers, bakers and artisans will bring their unique handcrafted and locally grown products to the streets of downtown Fernie this summer. This new farmers’ market event will join the success of the Wednesday Night Social which hosts weekly live music, food trucks and beverage gardens at Station Square in the heart of downtown Fernie.

For those who head to the lake on the weekends, this will provide the opportunity to access locally grown produce and handmade goods mid-week throughout the summer.

The Wednesday Night Downtown Street Market runs 5 to 8pm weekly in July and August. The Mountain Market in Rotary Park will continue to run each week on Sundays from 10am to 2pm. To learn more about these markets and other events, visit mountainmarket.ca.

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- Best of Fernie Survey, guests can enjoy three different type of accommodation options, large spacious kitchen, public laundry, relaxing areas and both the morning sunrise and evening sunset from their two large patio areas.

Begin your day on the Kodiak Lounge patio. Enjoy epic Ghostrider views, fire pits, Jam night Mondays, BBQs and your favourite Kootenay beers from Nelson and Fernie Brewing companies.

If you are planning an exciting trip or having a staycation in beautiful Fernie, have a pint and ask the Raging Elk’s friendly and knowledgeable staff about local fly fishing, mountain biking and hiking trails, and more.

he Raging Elk Hostel and Kodiak Lounge staff are super excited to reopen and are ready to host your summer Fernie experience.

Voted Fernie’s best place to send friends on a budget since 2010 in the Fernie Fix

Thunder Meadows Health and Wellness 632 2nd Ave 250-423-7776

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hunder Meadows is now offering direct billing for all ICBC claims.

This established clinic includes Registered Massage Therapists, an Acupuncturist and Physiotherapist. Bring your claim number to the clinic and they will take care of the rest.

For Massage Therapy, ICBC provides 12 treatments, with the first treatment being 60 min and subsequent treatments 45 min.

For Acupuncture, ICBC provides 12 treatments. The first treatment for 60 min and then subsequent treatments 60 min.

For Physiotherapy, provides ICBC will give you 25 treatments. The first treatment for 60 min and subsequent treatments for 45 min.

Thunder Meadows also offers online booking at thundermeadowshealth.ca.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Kodiak Lounge “Fernie starts here!”

See what polarized sunglasses can do!

With great clarity and glare reduction, along with the added health benefits of full UV protection, polarized lenses are a great choice.

happy hour 4:20-6pm $4.50 pints & drinks

Photo Credit: Maui Jim

FERNIE 250-423-4467 • BLAIRMORE 403-562-7144 • ELKFORD 250-865-2022

join us on the deck: weekly bbq’s • live music 892 6th Avenue, Fernie BC

Fernie’s trails

For the Month of July use Debit at the Fernie Cardlock and 4 cents per Litre will support The Fernie Trails Alliance

no membership required • easy to use 24/7 support available Premium off road gasoline • Regular gasoline • Diesel • Marked Diesel www.ferniecardlock.com 250.423.7205 • 1592-9th Ave., Fernie

Book online www.sparrowhair.ca 250-423-7175 | 641 7th Avenue

Business in the Valley

NEW BUSINESS

Mountain Fuel 522 2nd Ave 250-423-2181

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ountain fuel is inspired by an active lifestyle community where health and fitness top the charts. The products and services they offer range from delicious proteinpacked smoothies made with quality ingredients and vegan options, to protein-packed snacks and indulgences to KRISTA TURCASSO PHOTO keep your body energised and satisfied while helping you to build more muscle and repair tissue.

Mountain fuel is stoked to be exclusively carrying Magnum nutraceuticals line of proteins and supplements. Not only is Magnum a Canadian company out of White Rock, BC but their products are one of the highest quality pharmaceutical grade supplements. Mountain Fuel is the place to go to ramp up your strength and fitness to play harder and longer.

Whether you need a pre-workout post-workout or a nutritious refreshment and snack, their smoothies and supplements have you covered. Located downtown at No. 3, stop by and see what they can do for you.

WINNER ’Best New Business 2018’ fernie Business excellence Awards

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Taking your dreams and making them a reality Custom Sheet Metal AND FLASHINGS Available

Tim Popowich 250-423-0292

tim@ferniecopperworks.ca www.ferniecopperworks.ca

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Scoop Dog Affordable ice cream and hotdogs coming to Fernie’s downtown core!

Fernie’s newest and youngest entrepreneurs, brother and sister duo Zeth and Avaya are opening an ice cream and hot dog food trailer in downtown Fernie at the Huckleberry Plaza, Scoop Dog. With the help of friends and family, they are serving up Chapman’s Ice Cream and Schneiders hot dogs at a price kids their own age can afford for lunch or a quick snack.

The trailer was purchased from Saskatchewan where it had been operating as Granny’s Cones and Dogs - you may already have noticed the dancing Granny painted on the back of the brightly painted trailer downtown! Local artist Joey Kosolofski will be converting this trailer to Scoop Dog’s new design onsite at Huckleberry Plaza.

Open seven days a week, June 29 to September 8 from 11:30am to 5:30pm, we wish Zeth and Avaya all the best in their new adventure.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Building a Sustainable Future in the Elk Valley North Coal is committed to working with the Ktunaxa Nation Council and local communities on goals and targets for mine reclamation and restoration that support social and environmental needs. in fo @n o rt hc o a l.c a | 7 7 8 .5 1 8 .0775

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Business in the Valley

Saving is Good, But it’s Not Investing

by ROMAN RYBAR, CFP

I

t’s a good thing to have some savings.

When you put the money in a lowrisk account, you can be pretty sure it will be readily available when you need it.

Nonetheless, “saving” is not “investing” — and knowing the difference could pay off for you far into the future.

Think about it this way: Saving is for today, while investing is for tomorrow.

You need your savings to pay for your daily expenses, such as groceries, and your monthly bills — mortgage, utilities, and so on. In fact, you might even want your savings to include an emergency fund containing six to 12 months’ worth of living expenses to pay for unexpected costs, such as a new furnace or a major car repair.

These are all “here and now” expenses — and you could use your savings to pay for them. But in thinking of your long-term goals, such as post-secondary education for your children and a comfortable retirement for yourself, most individuals typically can’t simply rely on their savings — they’ll need to invest. Why? Because, quite simply, investments can grow — and you will need this growth potential to help achieve your objectives.

To illustrate the difference between saving and investing, let’s do a quick comparison.

Suppose you put $550 per month into a savings account that paid hypothetical 2% interest. After 35 years, you would have accumulated about $330,000. Now, suppose you put that same $550 per month in a diversified investment portfolio that hypothetically earned an average of 6% a year. At the end of 35 years, you would end up with about $785,000. (These hypothetical examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the

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...investments can grow — and you will need this growth potential to help achieve your objectives.

IT’S IN THE NUMBERS

to do both. But you do need to decide how much of your financial resources to devote toward savings and how much toward investments. By paying close attention to your cash flow, you should be able to get a good idea of the best savings and investment mix for your particular situation. For example, if you find yourself constantly dipping into your long-term investments to pay for short-term needs, you probably don’t have enough money in savings. On the other hand, if you consistently find yourself with large sums in your savings account even after you’ve paid all your bills, you might be “sitting” on too much cash — which means you should consider moving some of this money into investments with growth potential.

Saving and investing — that’s a winning combination.

performance of a specific investment. They also do not include any transaction costs or fees.)

This enormous disparity between the amounts accumulated in the two examples clearly shows the potential difference between “saving” and “investing.” Still, you might be thinking that investing is risky, while savings accounts carry much less risk.

And it is certainly true that investing does involve risks — investments can lose value, and there’s no guarantee that losses will be recovered.

Nonetheless, if you put all your money in savings, you may actually incur an even bigger risk — the risk of not achieving your financial goals. In fact, a low-rate savings account might not even keep up with inflation, which means that, over time, you will lose purchasing power.

Fernie’s Childrens Festival

free

bu

dancebble party

Thursday, July 25 1 to 3pm at the Fernie Aquatic Centre Splash Park

Ultimately, the question isn’t whether you should save or invest — you need FERNIEFIX.COM

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Arts and Entertainment

FEATURE ARTIST

Katriona Drijber Patterns hold a seductive beauty in both their production and consumption. We surround ourselves with repeating patterns in our dwellings and on our clothes; speak of patterns of weather, behaviour, and thought; and often conceive of the sacred and its affiliated institutions through infinite patterns. Pattern-making and pattern-finding are inherent human compulsions. I am obsessed with pattern-making in my work; I cover the surfaces of my functional pots with patterns and create installations of repeating decorative motifs using modular ceramic tiles.

The infinite is often tied to our sense of the sacred; when each unit of a pattern interlocks perfectly into place it is easy to see pattern as a reflection

of sacred connectivity. Yet, our conception of the world and its resources as infinite has led to collapse of animal and plant ecosystems around the world many times over. The animals I paint onto the ceramics disrupt the sense of the infinite created by the formal patterns. The ephemeral and realistic paintings of animals that live, or in many cases used to live, in the Intermountain West disrupt and melt in and out of the infinite patterns that cover the pots and grow out from the walls. They appear upon and inside of objects that normally reside in the domestic space such as cups and bowls, functional objects that themselves are central to many everyday patterns of human behaviour. The animal depictions are a reminder

that we share this world with other beings who we so often forget about.

I first started making pots half a lifetime ago, still in high school in Elkford. Growing up as a bit of a misfit in such a small town, I was so lucky to have both the outdoors and the arts as outlets and places where I could find some sense of belonging; these two things have continued to hold huge importance for me all through art school, university, and now as a professional ceramic artist, teacher and maker.

I was only sixteen when I left Elkford and decided to pursue a diploma in studio arts at Kootenay School of the Arts in Nelson, BC. I took a clay class

and was totally hooked. In the years that have passed since that first clay class, I have taken a bit of a circuitous journey with clay, leaving and returning, going to university for several years, wandering the west in my beat-up Toyota, and living in Fernie as a housekeeper at Island Lake Lodge; however in 2011 I decided that working with clay was what I really was meant to do, and I returned to school obtain my degree in fine arts specialising in ceramics at Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary (ACAD).

From when I started at ACAD until now, clay has opened doors to me that I didn’t even know existed. I have worked in clay in Denmark, China, and around the USA, and have just completed my

Masters in Fine Arts degree in Utah. I have always loved travel and clay has made it possible for me to work in and experience many far away places; in fact, this summer I will be travelling to Korea for a two-week-long ceramic conference.

However, I am more excited in this moment to be able to spend the summer back at home here in the Elk Valley. Noticing and appreciating the small wonders of the natural world has become more and more central to my ceramic practice, so I am so grateful to be back in the place that started my fascination with the outdoors. I look forward to reconnecting with the patterns and forms of this place and this environment; I am excited to develop patterns and motifs to make my ceramic

work more place-specific. I am also delighted to be teaching two classes in Elkford, one in introductory ceramics and one in ceramic surface decoration. I want to give back to the community that so shaped me and also, hopefully, help provide a creative outlet to some people who might be like I was back when I was growing up in the Elk Valley.

Join Katy in Elkford Tuesdays and Thursdays for her Pottery Wheel Classes, running July 9 - August 1 from 6-9pm, or for the Pottery Decorating Workshop July 24 from 6-9pm and July 27 and 28 from 9am to 4pm. Visit elkfordarts.ca for details, or kdrijber.com to learn more about Katy’s pottery.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Arts and Entertainment

PRESERVING THE PAST: BUILDINGS FOR THE FUTURE

Holy Family Catholic Church

by ELANA ZYSBLAT AND REBECCA HALL

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s introduced in the June edition, the Built Heritage Grants, funded by Columbia Basin Trust and administered by Heritage BC, are helping to restore some of Fernie’s most significant and historic buildings. One of these is the Holy Family Catholic Church.

Constructed in 1911 and 1912, the church is valued as the finest religious building in Fernie. Located on the corner of 4th Avenue and 5th Street across from the equally majestic Fernie Court House, the brick building’s high, distinct bell tower is visible throughout the city and against the dramatic mountain setting.

The church was constructed to replace its wooden predecessor, lost in the 1908 fire. The church’s brick design reflects the city’s conscious decision to rebuild using non-flammable materials in response to a series of major fires in its early days.

The optimism and ambition of Fernie’s early residents is expressed in the size and grandeur of the Holy Family Catholic Church, the largest church in the BC Interior at the time of its consecration, with seating for up to 700.

The building was designed by Vancouverbased architect, Henry Barton Watson and adapted and constructed by local builder, Robert Kerr. The interior is ornately decorated with a sanctuary fresco, an altar of imitation marble and gold filigree, and a series of fourteen iconographic paintings.

Perhaps the most striking interior features are the twelve art-glass windows made by the Luxfer Prism Co. of Toronto. Each window, which cost $200 to produce, features significant figures and events from Catholic history including The Last Supper, Delivery of the Keys to St Peter, Christ and the Angel at the Garden of Gethsemane, St Ann, and St Patrick.

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Current restoration work is focused on the diamondpattern windows situated around each corner of the [Holy Family Catholic Church.]

Eleven of these windows date to the original building, with an additional threepiece window installed around 1980 in the bell tower replacing a former diamondpattern window. This bell-tower window depicting the institution of the Eucharist — although blurred by a protective covering — is the only one that can be seen from the exterior, with the remainder covered by protective vacuum-formed panels. It is hoped that in time, these panels can be replaced by clear coverings so they can be enjoyed from the exterior. For now, the panels have served to preserve the windows — which underwent extensive re-leading and reglazing in 1963 — in very good condition.

Current restoration work is focused on the diamond-pattern windows situated around each corner of the building. It was established that these windows were in need of careful restoration by a professional historic glass conservator, and it cannot be understated how fortunate it is that Fernie

has one of Canada’s few appropriately experienced artisans in Stephanie Rogers, of Stephanie’s Glass and Art Studio.

Stephanie is overseeing the meticulous removal of each window for repair work.

Each window is transported to her studio on 2nd Avenue, where she is carefully repairing the leading and cracked panels, and re-attaching the supporting re-bars to the window leading and frame. Being able to work on the windows on a flat surface is essential so that the solder doesn’t drip down the glass; it is a painstaking process as her professional soldering gun needs time to cool in between applications. Once complete, each window is reinstalled and secured. The work is expected to take several months; drop by the studio to chat with Stephanie about her progress.

Stephanie Rogers studied at the world renowned Pilchuk Glass School. Since moving to BC, she has been selected three times as a finalist and received an honourable mention at ‘Artsaround.’ Her work has been exhibited at Images and Objects, the Canadian Craft Museum, the Bowman Arts Centre, and The Annual BC Art Association/Simon Fraser University Glass Exhibit.

The Holy Family Catholic Church continues to be valued as a sacred site serving Fernie’s Catholic community since its construction.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Arts and Entertainment

SUMMER ART ADVENTURES

Colour Clusters and Simple Camping

by MICHELLE SENIOR

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he seemingly endless energy of young children to both create and destroy throughout their day can make the clean up crew (parents) a little less than inspired. Sometimes process art can feel like an exercise in mess making. But these moments of experimenting are often a child’s beautiful way of seeking out answers, every time they create… and destroy.

“When children explore art ideas, they are testing possibilities and working through challenges much like a scientist who experiments and finds solutions. Art allows children to make their own assessments while also teaching them that a problem may have more than one answer. Instead of following specific rules or directions the child’s brain becomes engaged in the discovery of ‘how’ and ‘why.’” Mary Ann Kohl.

July’s art project, Colour Clusters, has two simple parts. So you can gather up the supplies and watch your child engage in their own “how” and “why.”

Part One The base of this project is cardboard, cut to whatever shape you choose. We have cut out cardboard squares but cardboard rainbows are always a hit! Each square needs to be painted in a different colour.

If your child is interested, they can create custom paint colours by blending different colours. They can even label their custom paint.You may get some pretty ‘colourful’ paint names from your child. Some of my favourite paint names have been “T-Rex Skin,” “Sad Blue” and “Bedroom Pink.”

MICHELLE SENIOR PHOTO

Part Two Decorating the squares with like colours.

Loose, leftover craft supplies or recycled materials are perfect for this stage. I bought a bag of plastic butterflies (Amazon) to bring a unifying element and I thought the children would love them! Other items to use may include plastic lids, magazine scraps, paint swatches, yarn, pompoms or stickers. If your child can’t wait for the paint to dry on the cardboard squares, just add the decorative items with liquid, white glue. Display the completed squares together for the most impact.

Things to talk about while making art together.

What colour is this?

How does this colour make you feel?

Where should I put this piece?

I like creating with you!

Bonus: Simple Camping Art Activity For a very young child, bring a variety of different sized paint brushes and a pail for water.Your child can enjoy the freedom of painting anything (truck tires, tree trunks, the road in front of your site etc.) as they use water instead of paint.

For a slightly older child, hunt for natural treasures such as large pinecones to bring back to camp. Wrap a piece of wire around one end of the pinecone and let the remaining wire length stick straight up.

Your child can then paint or add chalk to the pine cone as well as add beads and ribbon to the straight wire. Once it is decorated, add a loop in the wire top so you can hang your beautiful, colourful pinecone.

FERNIEFIX.COM

19

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Arts and Entertainment

The Pioneering Spirit of Art

it or around it—and you make the thing anyway.

by MICHAEL HEPHER

The artists’ path is akin to holding a ball of exposed nerves in your hand, wandering through a crowd, inviting strangers to poke and prod your nerve ball. It’s a very vulnerable feeling to expose your heart’s work to the public day after day. It can be very rewarding and gratifying, but in my experience there is this parallel feeling of fear or dread that is not very pleasant.

Putting ourselves out there is a thing that we have to do in order to make our art a sustainable practice. Gratefully, it’s also a way of teaching ourselves to see beyond the visible and to reach deep into our potential and take hold of some amazing things. To make our best art we also have to face our greatest fears.

H

aving grown up in Southern Alberta the rugged and terrible beauty of the Rocky Mountains and their slow march across the horizon have always been a fixture in my psyche. Now a resident of the Elk Valley, I make a regular pilgrimage to the prairies to visit those wide open places. Returning West towards the mountains always transports me back a few generations to the wagon trains of settlers that rolled across the plains. What would they have thought about this wall of rock rising from the sea of buffalo grass? I imagine that some stopped short, not wanting to tackle the mountains, not knowing what’s on the other side of that range.

Art is not a linear path. It can start out in one direction, and end up somewhere completely unexpected. We yoke ourselves daily with the mantle of pioneers and forge out across the plains to some distant haven.

Humans seem to have this vague but ideal picture of what could be, and we set out to find that place. Every day my job is to prop up a blank canvas and set to work turning it into a piece of art. My sketchbooks are full of little thumbnails and ideas—each has so much potential. As I flip the pages trying to choose a direction, the terror of committing to an idea stretches out before me like a rickety footbridge over a raging river canyon: will I make it across or will I fall? What is it that propels us across the bridge?

Conversely, what stops us from moving forward? For me it’s fear. Fear of rejection, fear of being vulnerable, fear of failing, fear of succeeding... so much fear. I think that the only quantifiable way to measure artistic success is not your bank balance or multi-page resumé, it’s that you get up in the morning and make another piece of art.You walk through your fear—or over

American novelist Jack London wrote: “You can’t wait for inspiration.You have to go after it with a club”. If there’s art in you trying to force its way out it rarely comes easy; you still have to find a crow-bar and jump up and down on it to free the goods.

That pioneering spirit is admirable, regardless of where the settlers finally laid down their burdens and built a home.

Before they set out across Western Canada they had to believe that a better life was just over the horizon, and they reached out to grab it despite having to face incredible struggles and hardships. I work

ARTBEAT

ca. 1890-1920 | Photo: collectionscanada.gc.ca hard to preserve that spirit in my own life by forcing myself out the door every day, down the steps, across the yard, and into the studio. I throw a canvas on the easel and push myself to reach through the gauntlet of uncertainty to pry fresh art out of the ether.

I do all this knowing I may never reach my potential or get used to the ongoing feelings of vulnerability, but still I put one foot in front of the other—and in the process I trample my worst fear of all: the fear of not trying.

FERNIEFIX.COM

21

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Arts and Entertainment

Probably You

Stories on paper, in favour of each other.

MOTHERS FATHERS sisters brothers

In the realm of possibility, I draw pictures in my mind.

Through my hand, I find the time to make them real.

by SADIE ROSGEN and BENJI

SCHMITT

The creativity I feel is being freed.

W

hen Benji Schmitt swam over to me at the Fernie Aquatic Center and asked if he could write with me, I was flattered. He is a keen and wonderful young man. All of eight years of age, he is filled to the brim with whimsy and curiosity.

I obliged his earnest request and together we created a piece that examined our full potential. Thank you for swimming over to me that day! Enjoy.

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Welcome to your classroom.

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Arts and Entertainment

The Highwaymen

Woody Harrelson, on the other hand, is excellent as Gault. He is a wonderful actor and great at playing the comic relief, but also manages to inject pathos into his performance. It is an odd thing to say considering that the Highwaymen is a historical drama, but the movie would have been better if Harrelson had been given a more dominant role.

by ANDREW VALLANCE

D

uring the Great Depression, the exploits of a pair of young criminals captured the imagination of the American public. Between 1931 and 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow travelled the central US, robbing banks, stores and rural gas stations, killing at least nine police officers and several civilians. Myths were created about the couple, and they were glamorised in the press as they gained public enemy fame. Arthur Penn revived interest in them, and gave them a romantic aura, when he made the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The couple were eventually killed in May, 1934, during an ambush by law officers in Louisiana.

Given their fame in American history, it is not surprising that Netflix has now picked up their story and has included it in their ever-growing catalogue of films. It gives, however, a refreshingly new take on the story, revolving around Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, the retired Texas Rangers tasked with hunting down our pair of villains. Bonnie and Clyde aren’t featured in the story, instead taking a secondary role, appearing only occasionally as a backdrop to the story of Hamer and Gault. The film features Kevin Costner as Hamer and Woody Harrelson as Gault.

This is a decent movie, but it has its limitations. Sad to say, Kevin Costner’s performance is rather wooden. Costner first came to the public’s attention with Silverado (1985). This was soon followed by a series of successes (The Untouchables, Bull Durham) culminating in Field of Dreams (1989) and Dances with Wolves (1990). In 1995 he starred and coproduced Waterworld, which was the most expensive film ever made at the time, but it was a major box office disappointment and marked a downturn in Costner’s career. Nevertheless, since 1999 he has had supporting roles in many excellent

THE RENTAL FIX

films, culminating in the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012), which won him a Primetime Emmy Award; and since 2018 he has starred in the drama series Yellowstone. He has also won two Academy awards, three Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He is definitely not lacking in talent, but in this film he fails to impress.

Also featured in the film is Kathy Bates, who plays the Governor of Texas. Bates, probably best known for her terrifying performance as the vengeful nurse in Misery, gives an excellent turn as a hardbitten southern politician. John Carroll Lynch, prolific actor and son of director David Lynch, is very good in the minor role of one of Bates’ close advisors.

This film has its imperfections, but is absolutely worth a look, and is a must see for all true crime enthusiasts.

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Community and Events

FEATURE RESIDENT

Doug Feely

by KRISTA TURCASSO

T

he first time I visited Island Lake Lodge was on a class trip in Grade 6. Jen McDonald was a classmate and at the time her dad was one of the owners of the property. I remember sitting in the Bear Lodge, where we were served lasagna and salad, and then taking an interpretive walk to a nearby meadow in the Old Growth Forest. It left a lasting impression, not surprisingly. I am still struck by its beauty every single time I visit. Whether Nordic skiing, snow shoeing, trail running, mountain biking, taking a snowcat or driving… it’s hard to avoid your jaw dropping as you approach this majestic and expansive property.

28 years has passed, and while a lot has changed at Island Lake, one thing has remained the same - they are dedicated stewards of this land, and passionate about what they offer to the community.

Recently, I sat with CEO Doug Feely for coffee to catch up, learn more about what is going on at the lodge, and to see what the future holds. Even though I’ve known Doug since he first moved to Fernie, I had no idea of his background in this industry.

Doug began as CEO at Island Lake Lodge in 2010, after working extensively in the ski industry since 1979. “I initially worked at Copper Mountain Colarado,” he tells me. “As Interwest started acquiring resorts in the US, I moved into a new role managing their business interests in the US. It took twenty years off my life.”

Eventually Doug moved to the Interwest corporate office in Vancouver as CIO, and was involved with the entire portfolio.

“And then I left Interwest for Canmore to take a year off to climb, ski and play,” he tells me. It was during that time that a friend of Doug’s heard that Island Lake was looking for a CEO. “I had been to Fernie as a guest, so came for an interview… and the rest is history.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Over the nine years Doug has lived here, we agree that summer tourism has grown extensively. “I took my friend biking the other day, and he stopped downtown and said, ‘there’s nothing else quite like this.’

And he’s right. But having said that, the overall look and feel has not changed at all.

Which I think is awesome, and is part of the reason I moved here,” Doug shares.

Island Lake has seen weddings increase exponentially with it being 50% of their summer business. Bed and breakfast and the restaurants make up the remainder. “It’s quite strong, and can be stronger,” he tells

me. On any given summer day, the Lazy Lizard Trail which connects the Mount Fernie Provincial Park to Island Lake is busy with bikers heading to the Lodge for lunch, to take in the views and enjoy a refreshment. The full parking lot is a representation of guests enjoying amenities such as an overnight stay, spa treatment or hike on one of the trails accessed from the Lodge. Throughout the summer, the resort hosts weddings averaging 90 people, with roughly 40 able to stay at Island Lake and the remainder in town. “This is part of the socio-economic impact we have on Fernie. These guests stay at hotels, dine out

at restaurants, shop in stores along main street,” he says. Island Lake is also one of Fernie’s biggest employers, after Teck and Fernie Alpine Resort, employing roughly 80 staff in summer and winter who contribute to our community.

What is amazing is that the staff at Island Lake still see opportunities for growth.

For example, the original plan for the Lazy Lizard was for there to be a phase two, with an official ‘down.’ “It’s one of the most popular, heavily used single track trails in Fernie. Phase two would be built for safety, but also finishes a trail that was always meant to be two-parts in a beautiful area.” Additionally, they have multiple visions on what will be their next hiking trail. “Hiking is a huge deal up here, we’ve been actively looking at opportunities focusing on the Lizard Range, whether that heads to Big White or in the other direction we don’t know just yet.” Have you heard of Via Ferrata? I hadn’t either, but it’s another awesome adventure option being explored by this crew… and it looks pretty exciting.

And while adventure is very popular, Doug is quick to say that there is also a huge demographic of people who, “come to just take it all in and relax. To spend some time with family and get away from it all.”

When it comes to winter, they are focused on taking advantage of their assets. An example is their lunch and spa days. “It gives people the opportunity to come and experience winter at Island Lake,” he says. Originally it was a way to deal with leftovers from dinner and filling lodges, now it has grown into a popular option especially when guests are visiting. Doug is also very proud of their Nordic trails.

“We get the best snow up there, because of the elevation but also because we get a lot of it,” he says. “And we maintain the trails every single day. The team is diligent to make it as nice as possible.” And Cat skiing? While they sell out a year prior, with over 85% repeat cliental, they see an opportunity in the European market which largely is unaware of Catskiing. They also want to eliminate any barriers for those

intimidated by the sport, particularly women.

5. Do you have a favourite Fernie memory or pastime?

After speaking with Doug I recognise one of the things I love most about anyone I know who works or has worked at Island Lake - their passion for this place. “We see ourselves as the custodians of the land, as does the owner (Patrick Callahan). We know how important this place is to all of us and to this community,” Doug says proudly. He also adds that they are heavily invested in the community, as volunteers on various boards, at events, and giving back to organisations that align with their mandate to support families and children within the community.

Hard for it not to be ski oriented. The day my guide manger called me in the morning and said we got over 100cm overnight, unsure whether we’d be able to run the cat - just so much snow, and so light. He was worried about keeping track of our guests. I scurried up there, and we skied on Mount Fernie exclusively, it was so fun and I had never seen as much snow in my life.

As always when I do this feature, I’m struck by the care and dedication Doug has for Fernie and its community and all of the things that make this place special - one of which being Island Lake which has definitely reached a potential I didn’t realise possible on that class trip in 1991.

“I just became a Canadian citizen in January,” he tells me. “It’s kind of cool and you can’t kick me out now!” We wouldn’t dream of it, Doug! You are more than welcome.

1. When did you first arrive in Fernie and what brought you here?

For this position with Island Lake in 2010.

2. Who did you first meet?

Probably Sue and Eric Boyd quite early on.

3. Do you remember your first general impression of Fernie?

I think it was the quaint, historic downtown, with the mountains in your face. The two things that jumped out at me when I was first here as a guest fly fishing in 2002 and 2003.

4. What keeps you here?

My partner, Bernie Palmer. We’re together here. And the job… and it’s home now.

Whether working at ILL or not, I’ll be in Fernie.

6. What time of the year do you love most in Fernie, and why?

I love all seasons. I don’t have a special one.

In every season there are activities I enjoy doing.

7. Where do you see or hope to see Fernie in five years?

Kind of what I said earlier, the same in many ways but I would like to see the changes be around things that are really necessary. So, maybe an example would be safer access across the main highway. Things that need to change for the city to grow in a safe way.

8. How do you start your day or what is one of your daily rituals?

Coffee. In the winter it’s weather and avalanche forecast with coffee. Summer, checking out the fire danger across the province… and coffee.

9. Tell us something people might be surprised to learn about you.

I guess that I was a 2009 Ironman Finisher.

I swam as a kid, but when I first went back into the water I had to “learn” to swim. Always been a jock, but realised I had to learn to run again once I got a coach. I finished 11th in my age group, and attribute that to learning.

10. Quote to live by: I really don’t!

FERNIEFIX.COM

27

July 2019 MONTHLY EVENTS MONDAY 1.7.2019 Cardboard Boat Race @ Maiden Lake, 11am Fernie Mountain Market @ The Aquatic Centre, 12-5pm Canada Day in Fernie @ The Aquatic Centre, 12-9pm. Live music, mountain market, food trucks, kids games and crafts, splash park, free swim 1-3pm and more. fernie.ca Naturalist Canada Day Space Disco Party @ The Royal TUESDAY 2.7.2019 Community Appreciation Week Begins @ Fernie Alpine Resort TUESDAY 2.7.2019 - THURSDAY 4.7.2019 Performing Arts Camp @ The Arts Station, ages 6-11. Drama, singing, movement and writing.

WEDNESDAY 3.7.2019 Wednesday Socials with Mitch Belot Band @ The Arts Station, 5:30pm Summer Dance Camp @ SoleBeats Dance Studio, running until July 14 featuring talented artists and choreographers, includes a week of classes, exposure to world-renowned artists, and a unique opportunity to learn.

THURSDAY 4.7.2019 Tony Sorvello Senior Open @ Fernie Golf Club, 10am The North Face Trail Race Series @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 6:30pm FRIDAY 5.7.2019 Delicious Design with Tess @ The Arts Station.

Focus on ideas such as colour, texture and pattern to create delicious collages. Ages 8-12, 9:30am Busy Patterns @ The Royal SATURDAY 6.7.2019 Experience Kirtan: Yoga and Live Music @ Essential Yoga, 10:15am 16th Annual PDGA Disc Golf Tournament @ Lizard Range Disc Golf Course Aurora @ The Royal SUNDAY 7.7.2019 Specialty Hike - Fossils and Geology @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 11am From Geisha to Diva: Sushi Rolling Demonstration @ Fernie Museum, 1pm MONDAY 8.7.2019 Community Appreciation Week Two Begins @ Fernie Alpine Resort Club Cre8 @ Fernie Arts Station, 9am-4pm ages k-G6. Register via Eventbrite.

MONDAY 8.7.2019 - THURSDAY 11.7.2019 Abstract Lion Outdoor Summer Art Camp @ Annex Park with Brina Schenk and Raegen Etue, 9am

MONDAY 8.7.2019 - FRIDAY 12.7.2019 Teen Play Build Theatre Camp @ The Arts Station, 11am-3pm WEDNESDAY 10.7.2019 Wednesday Social with Chain Station @ The Arts Station, 5:30pm THURSDAY 11.7.2019 Beers and Queers @ The Valley Social, 6pm THURSDAY 11.7.2019 - FRIDAY 12.7.2019 BC Enduro Mountain Bike Race @ Fernie Trails Kid Freeride Mountain Bike Camp @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 10am-4pm FRIDAY 12.7.2019 Negative Style Acrylic Painting @ The Arts Station, 9:30am ages 8-12 Blue Tansy Live @ The Loaf, 6pm The OM Sound @ The Royal, 9pm FRIDAY 12.7.2019 - SUNDAY 14.7.2019 East Kootenay Open Tennis Tournament @ James White Tennis Courts SATURDAY 13.7.2019 Sole Survivor Trail Race @ Pass Powderkeg, Blairmore. 11am Art of the Geisha: Music @ The Museum, 1:304pm Kenny Hess @ The Fernie Community Centre, 7pm The Hillties and the Shawn Lightfoot Band @ The Northern, 9pm MONDAY 15.7.2019 Club Cre8 @ Fernie Arts Station, 9am-4pm ages k-G6. Register via Eventbrite.

WEDNESDAY 17.7.2019 Wednesday Social with Hamsa Hamsa @ The Arts Station, 5:30pm THURSDAY 18.7.2019 The North Face Trail Race Series @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 6:30pm FRIDAY 19.7.2019 Let’s Talk Science: Hydration Nation @ Fernie Heritage Library, ages 10+ 11am Torn Paper Mosaics with Tess @ The Arts Station, 9:30am ages 8-12 Live Music with Hartt and Zac @ Loaf, 6pm That Dog Was a Band Now Live @ Infinitea, 8pm Wam Bam Dirt Jump Jam Fundraiser @ The Royal SATURDAY 20.7.2019 Griz Kids Summer Carnival @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 11am Gentlemen’s Club @ The Royal

CHECK OUT THE FERNIE FIX EVENTS CALENDAR ONLINE AT FERNIEFIX.COM

SATURDAY 20.7.2019 -SUNDAY 21.7.2019 Fernie Golf Open @ Fernie Golf Club SUNDAY 21.7.2019 Specialty Hike - Mountain Wildflowers @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 11am From Geisha to Diva: Shibori Workshop @ Fernie Museum, 1pm MONDAY 22.7.2019 Club Cre8 @ Fernie Arts Station, 9am-4pm ages k-G6. Register via Eventbrite.

WEDNESDAY 24.7.2019 Summer Pottery Decorating Class with Katy Drijber @ elkfordarts.ca, 6-9pm Wednesday Social with Revel in Dimes @ The Arts Station, 5;30pm THURSDAY 25.7.2019 Splish Splash Sploosh Children’s Party @ Fernie Aquatic Splash Park, 1-3pm Exhibit Opening: Out of Range by Lindsay Dew @ The Arts Station, 7pm Param-Onewsia and Omniarch @ The Royal FRIDAY 26.7.2019 Maddisun Live @ The Loaf, 6pm SATURDAY 27.9.2019 Lost Elephant Ultra Mtn Bike Race Start @ Cranbrook, BC Third Annual Elk Valley Ultra @ Annex Park, 6am - 7pm Artikz and Obediah @ The Royal SATURDAY 27.7.2019 - SUNDAY 28.7.2019 Summer Pottery Decorating Class with Katy Drijber @ elkfordarts.ca, 9am-4pm Kid Freeride Mountain Bike Camp @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 10am-4pm SUNDAY 28.7.2019 TransRockies Classic Finish @ Downtown Fernie MONDAY 29.7.2019 Club Cre8 @ Fernie Arts Station, 9am-4pm ages k-G6. Register via Eventbrite.

TUESDAY 30.7.2019 Forage in the Forest @ Elk Valley Wildsight Office, 891 2nd ave. 6pm WEDNESDAY 31.7.2019 Wednesday Social with Josh David @ The Arts Station, 5:30pm

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CONTACT INFO@CLARISMEDIA.COM TO SHARE YOUR EVENTS, BOTH ONLINE AND IN PRINT. IT’S FREE!

July 2019 WEEKLY EVENTS

DINING, NIGHTLIFE and SPECIALS MONDAYS Gourmet Pizza Night @ Boston Pizza Pool Tourney Mondays @ The Pub Lasagna Specials @ Elk Valley Pizza Shoppe Wing Night @ The Fernie Hotel $8 Meals @ Infinitea Ladies Night @ The Northern Local Jam Night @ The Kodiak Lounge Monday Mayhem with Goffles @ The Royal Store and Tasting Room Open @ FBC Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Pizza Specials @ Fernie Pizza and Pasta Kick Off the Week Americano Specials @ Freshies Mojito Mondays @ Smokehouse, Red Tree Lodge Date Night Mondays @ Island Lake Lodge

Wing Night @ The Northern Wax On Wednesday @ 901 Spa Store and Tasting Room Open @ FBC Zak’s Jam Night @ The Royal Half Price Ice Bar @ Lizard Creek Lodge Ice Bar Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Coffee With a Friend @ Freshies, two for one coffee Wine and Beer Specials @ Sushi Wood Taro Readings from 7pm @ Infinitea Featured Burgers @ The Pub and Bistro Restaurant Wine and Beer Specials @ Sushi Wood Wine Tasting Wednesdays @ Island Lake Lodge

Fish & Chip Night @ The Pub Live Music @ Loaf, 6-9pm Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Live Music @ Infinitea Prime Rib Night @ The Old Elevator Chinese Restaurant Rib and Wing Night @ Smokehouse, Red Tree Lodge

TUESDAYS Pasta Night @ Boston Pizza Wing Night @ The Pub Bar & Grill Pizza Night @ Elk Valley Pizza Shoppe Beer, Burger and Bingo Night @ The Northern Cheap Night @ The Vogue Theatre Karaoke @ The Royal Curry Night @ The Fernie Hotel Store and Tasting Room Open @ FBC Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Toonie Tuesdays @ Freshies Pizza Specials @ Fernie Pizza and Pasta

THURSDAYS Buy Two Appies, Third for Free @ Boston Pizza Jam Night @ The Brickhouse Featured Pub Burgers @ Max Restaurant & The Pub Bar & Grill Burger and Beer Special @ The Fernie Medium Pizza Special @ Elk Valley Pizza Store and Tasting Room Open @ FBC Pub Team Trivia @ The Pub Bar & Grill Thirsty Thursdays @ Kodiak Lounge Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Create Your Signature Mocha @ Freshies Cocktail Specials @ Infinitea Brisket and Beer Night @ Smokehouse, Red Tree Lodge Fundamentals of a Wellness Lifestyle @ Infinitea, 7pm

WEDNESDAYS 1/2 Off Wings @ Boston Pizza Wine Evenings @ The Brickhouse All Day Happy Hour @ The Fernie Hotel

FRIDAYS Rib Night @ Boston Pizza Fish & Chips @ The Pub Bar & Grill Meat Draw and Members Draw @ The Fernie Hotel

OUTDOOR & FAMILY MONDAYS Dominoes, Duplicate and Mahjong @ The Seniors Drop in Centre Pickleball @ Fernie Community Centre Indoor Walking @ The Community Centre Ladies Only @ Fernie Old School Boxing Parent Tot Funtimes @ Fernie Family Centre Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Drop-In @ Elk Valley Gymnastics, 11-12pm for ages 0-4 Early Twilight @ Fernie Golf Club, 1pm Club Cre8 @ The Arts Station. 9am-4pm. Register via Eventbrite. Starts July 8.

TUESDAYS Crib/Whist, Chess and Drop In @ Seniors Drop in Centre Storytime Ages 3-5 @ Heritage Library Ladies Archery @ The Elks Hall Junior Boxing @ Fernie Old School Boxing Club Indoor Walking Program @ Fernie Community Centre Open Climbing @ Evolution English Conversation Cafe @ CBAL Office Drop in Climbing @ College of the Rockies Free Guided Meditation @ Soar Studios Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Teens Drop in @ Elk Valley Gymnastics,7:45-8:45pm Early Twilight @ Fernie Golf Club, 1pm Ladies Night @ Fernie Golf Club Group Run @ Stag Leap Fernie Summer Reading Camp @ Library, 1-3pm ages 7-11 Two-Knee Race Series @ Fernie Trails, bikefernie.ca Summer Pottery Wheel Class with Katy Drijber @ Elkfordarts.ca WEDNESDAYS Crib, Gentle Exercise and Tai Chi @ Seniors Centre Adult Badminton @ The Community Centre AA Meetings @ The Anglican Church Basement Competitive Boxing @ Fernie Old School Boxing Club

Summer Outdoor

Seniors Programming

SATURDAYS Kids Pool Party, BBQ and Movie Night @ Lizard Creek Lodge Meat Draw & Bar Quiz @ The Legion Coffee and Baileys Special @ The Bridge Bistro Pint Night with Overtime Beer Works @ Infinitea Rib Night @ The Pub Open Mic and Live Music @ Fernie Hotel Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Large Pizzas for the Price of a Medium @ Boston Pizza Early Bird Breakfasts @ Freshies Dragon Cod Fish Night @ The Old Elevator Chinese Restaurant SUNDAYS Kids Meal Specials @ Boston Pizza Caesars on Special @ The Brickhouse Mini Jugs and Caesars @ The Fernie Hotel Off the Grill Sundays and Caesar Specials @ The Pub Caesars Special @ The Bridge Bistro Happy Hour @ Loaf, 3-5pm Pizza and Beer Specials Dinner Buffet @ The Indian Kitchen Fernie, Stanford Inn 4-9:30pm

Early Bird Breakfasts @ Freshies BBQ and Beats @ Infinitea, 6-9pm

Kids Programming

Toddlertime Ages 0-2 @ Fernie Heritage Library Indoor Walking Program @ Fernie Community Centre Open Climbing @ Evolution English Conversation Cafe @ CBAL office Celebrate Recovery @ Mountainside Church Drop-In @ Elk Valley Gymnastics, 11-12pm for ages 0-4 Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Adults Drop in @ Elk Valley Gymnastics,7:30-9pm Yoga @ Lizard Creek Lodge The Abstract Lion Visual Art Club @ The Arts Station, 3:45pm Fernie Women on Wheels @ Bike Trails, 6:30pm.

DH Trail Work Party @ Bike Trails, 6:30pm, FMBC.ca Yoga for Mountain Bikers and Trail Runners @ Essential Yoga Studio, 6:30pm Men’s Night @ Fernie Golf Club Summer Reading Camp @ Library, 1-3pm ages 7-11 Wednesday Social @ Station Square, 5:30-9pm Fernie Mountain Market @ Downtown Fernie, 5-8pm THURSDAYS Morning Yoga, Drop in, and Canasta/Cards @ Senior’s Centre Pickleball @ Fernie Community Centre RC Club @ Fernie Community Centre Mixed Senior Recreational Boxing @ Fernie Old School Boxing Bellies to Babies @ Fernie Women’s Centre Open Roller Skating @ Max Turyk Gym Indoor Walking Program @ Fernie Community Centre, Free Guided Meditation @ Soar Studios Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Kid’s Cafe @ Mountainside Community Church, 9:3011:30am. Everyone welcome!

FMBC Work Party @ Bike Trails, 6:30pm, FMBC.ca Seniors Day @ Fernie Golf Club

Swim

Library Program

Other

Summer Pottery Wheel Class with Katy Drijber @ Elkfordarts.ca Little Sprouts @ Fernie Eco Garden, 9:30-11:30am Mountain Kids in the Park @ Fernie Rotary Park, 9:3011:30am Scott Race Series @ Fernie Alpine Resort, 7pm FRIDAYS Cribbage @ Seniors Drop in Centre Jitney Darts @ Fernie Legion Toddlertime Ages 0-2 @ Fernie Heritage Library Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Storytime Social @ Library, 11:15-12:45pm ages 0-5.

Adult Heels and Pump @ Solebeats, 8pm for 18+ Yoga for Mountain Bikers and Trail Runners @ Essential Yoga Studio, 10:15am Fernie Women on Wheels Ride @ Bike Park, 9:30am Summer Reading Camp @ Library, 1-3pm ages 7-11 SATURDAYS Karma Meditation Class @ Essential Yoga Studio Open Climbing @ Evolution Prenatal Yoga @ Essential Yoga Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Historic Walking Tours @ Fernie Museum, 11am, 1pm and 3pm SUNDAYS AA Meetings @ The Anglican Church Basement Public Swimming @ The Aquatic Centre Guided Meditation @ Soar Studios Drop-In @ Elk Valley Gymnastics, 3:45-4:45pm ages 5-12’ Yoga for Mountain Bikers and Trail Runners @ Essential Yoga Studio, 6pm Fernie Mountain Market @ Rotary Park, 10am-2pm Historic Walking Tours @ Fernie Museum, 11am, 1pm and 3pm FERNIEFIX.COM

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Community and Events

CITY CORNER

The George S Majic Spiritus Award

by ANGE QUALIZZA

I

t is hard to walk around our community for even a brief amount of time and not be aware that there are community builders all around us, leaning in and supporting whatever they are passionate about. They are community coaches when their children are young, they support festivals and events, they work on boards, and sometimes as my friend Sadie laughingly said to me at a Museum opening - they volunteer because they couldn’t get a ticket.

I was sitting at the Regional District a few days ago listening to my colleagues discuss how hard it is to get volunteers to support community events, and I couldn’t help but think of my last two months. I’ve been to dozens of events all supported by an army of volunteers. In fact, our volunteerism in Fernie never ceases to surprise me.

My time on Council introduced me to the George S. Magic Spiritus Awards, an award that according to Anne Magic came as a surprise to her. This award was created by George’s family and friends in Sault Ste. Marie as a way of honouring his community contributions and life in service. The hope was to recognise people for their commitment to our community through service, the unsung heroes that largely go unnoticed.

I would say those characteristics sum up Jim and Alice Booth perfectly, their indefatigable commitment and service to Fernie while remaining largely in the shadows. If you don’t have the good fortune of knowing them, you wouldn’t even be aware of their contribution.

The Seniors Centre is celebrating a 60th birthday this year, and while there has been many people working hard to support the

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ANGE QUALIZZA, ANNE MAGIC, ALICE BOOTH, PAT GRIS, JIM BOOTH, REMY GRIS, ANNA GRIS | TROY NIXON PHOTO

Centre over 60 years, it certainly would be appropriate to acknowledge that when Jim and Alice joined the executive in 2012 as President and Secretary, they really started transitioning the Seniors Centre towards a high capacity organisation with a multitude of programming, a much needed community asset.

As Canada’s senior population is growing, supporting the health and well-being of older Canadians is a priority. The Centre is positively bustling with use, from rentals, to programming, community groups making use of the space and a bustling lunch scene - it is a hub of activity.

Jim and Alice with support of their team, have spent the past ten years chasing grants to replace floors, bathrooms and build a new kitchen. They essentially remodelled the building. Eventually they saw the need for an administrator and applied to the City of Fernie for an operational grant so they could hire someone to help them run the building.

People who know Jim and Alice have seen them volunteer through every sport their kids were involved with; minor hockey, figure skating, and the Ghostriders. They then went on to volunteer at the Golf Course until they found their latest passion, the Seniors Centre. When I interviewed people for this piece, everyone said the same thing, if you need a hand just call Jim and Alice. We’ve never seen them say no, they are tremendous volunteers.

It is with tremendous pleasure that we get to acknowledge the George S. Magic award, and Jim and Alice Booth are certainly standing in good company. Please join the community in celebrating 60 years at the Seniors Centre, my advice is to drop in for the best lunch in town and buy yourself a commemorative cook book - proceeds of the cook book are going to a scholarship awarded to a student graduating from FSS and entering into a field of study that benefits seniors.You won’t regret it.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Community and Events

Teenage Potential

exists for all of us, every single day. As a parent, what does the word ‘potential’ mean to you? What unspoken, perhaps unconscious, expectations of greatness do you hold in your heart for your teenager?

You could ask yourself, ‘what does greatness even mean?’ Maybe you think of university degrees, fat bank accounts, or sporting wins. These ideas can be a burden on our teens even if we never say them out loud and don’t think our kids can read our minds. Children sense their parent’s emotional field, so they will know if we are pleased or disappointed in them even if we are secretive about our feelings.

by KERRI WALL

W

e focus a lot on what young people could do or will be in the future.

We look forward to when our babies sleep through the night, use their words, and become potty trained. I know a dad who can’t wait until his son is big enough to golf with. But putting so much attention on what lies ahead can leave our children wondering if they are good enough right now.

Parents, teachers, and coaches talk a lot about ‘potential.’ They envision a future version of the kid in front of them as more accomplished, more confident, faster, or stronger. These adult guides may help young people develop skills and encourage them to keep trying. They might also compare kids with each other using phrases like, “how come Anna’s room is so much tidier?” or compare kids with themselves: “you are smarter than this report card shows.”

Leaders and influencers have been talking about potential for years. Sheryl Sandberg advised, “Being confident and believing in your own self-worth is necessary to achieving your potential.” Barak Obama said, “It’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realise your true potential.”You might like these inspirational quotes if you’re an ambitious person and not overly selfcritical. It’s important to balance messages like, ‘you could be more!’ with messages of ‘you’re wonderful the way you are’ for both ourselves and our children.

Instead of what teenagers ‘could’ be, focus on what they are right now.

It’s easy to get drawn into the cultural story of children ‘growing up’ because we hear it all the time. From the ubiquitous ‘look how tall you’re getting!’ to the pressure of ‘what will you do when you graduate?’

PLANNING AHEAD

V. CROOME PHOTO

As long as you are alive you are continuing to change.

The possibility of making different choices and trying new things exists for all of us, every single day. young people are constantly reminded that they are a work in progress. Childhood is indeed a season of change, but time doesn’t actually stop for any of us. For a teenager living their life and enjoying themselves in the moment, they are a full person experiencing the complexities of human existence – it’s wrong to reduce them to a traveller on the road from here to there, not yet at the proper destination.

Potential may bloom in unexpected ways.

As long as you are alive you are continuing to change. The possibility of making different choices and trying new things

Everyone has potential.

When the gifts within our children emerge it’s as miraculous as the big bang itself.

This young person, who never existed just a few years ago, begins to reveal interests and talents and perspectives that are completely unique in all of the Universe.

That is something to appreciate! How do you nurture potential? Remember that each person – each child and teenager - is an expression of ultimate creativity. We get to celebrate that and demonstrate to our young people that we warmly support them.

What about your own potential?

If I hold a limited mindset about what’s possible for me that is the example I’m setting for my children. As a parent, how can I expect my teenager to reach for the stars if I hold myself back? Young people are always watching us; they automatically pick up on our view of reality. Adult attitudes get passed on to our kids, so concepts like ‘people can do amazing things’ or ‘the most important thing is to try’ will live in our children’s minds.

Just because you’re grown up doesn’t mean you’re done growing. Adults can create and relish personal and professional development opportunities for their whole lives. What untapped potential lives within you?

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Community and Events

FAMILY STOKE

Let’s Get Crazy

by SHELBY CAIN

“

It’s only crazy until you do it.” This is Nike’s new campaign slogan. The add is voiced by Serena Williams, and features women in sports. Women of all ages and ethnicities striving to burst through the ceiling of archaic expectations for what they can achieve. How they should handle stress and competition on the playing field. Where they belong and where they DON’T. Nike is trying to send a new message. Encouraging young girls to rage against mankind’s threshold for just how tough women can actually be. To raise the level of fierce that is permittable for females. If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, I recommend you give it a Google.

This is a new chapter in the story of women in sports, and I’m immensely proud of anyone willing to stand strong with the courage to demand change.

We are a generation of reinvention. The moulds that rigidly held our mothers and grandmothers from imagining more, from being more, are splintering. Exploding.

Despite efforts by the short-sighted and the fearful to keep these limitations firmly in place, I’m happy to report it’s too late.

We can’t go back and we won’t. Roles and stereotypes are being questioned.

Restructured. And when this awareness of new and exciting opportunities is presented to our youngest female athletes, it can’t be rescinded. It sticks in their impressionable minds like the incessant melody of Baby Shark. Do do, do do, do do.

It seems there’s no limit to what can be placed on the table for challenge, from gender roles to gender itself. It’s a beautiful time to spread your wings, or just tear those suckers off and leap into the air with reckless abandon. Imagine the absolute limits of who or what you can be, and then go screaming past them with your hair on fire. Truly.Your potential is limitless.

My daughters are eight and ten years old.

They are growing increasingly curious

SUBMITTED PHOTO

about the world that lives outside what they are presently comfortable with. They ask thought-provoking questions about ideologies and morality. About religion and our place in the universe. They ask me questions I have to think hard about before I respond, because my knee-jerk answer may no longer be true. I find their questions both opportunistic and terrifying. I want my girls to grasp that a change has occurred. Things are different than when I was their age. We are moving in a direction of real equality. A direction that opens up doors previously unavailable to women. Maybe they’ll coach an NHL team or compete at the masters. It was just recently, in August of 2012, that Augusta National Golf Course allowed the first female member. Talk about crazy.

Not long ago the main question asked to children was, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” The encouraged answer was a one word, well respected profession. Doctor. Nurse. Fireman. In the span of the last twenty years I feel this question has become limiting and riddled

with pot holes. What about who you want to be? What kind of person. Or what don’t you want to be? What makes you excited or happy? What do you like to surround yourself with? I could write a long list of job titles I’ve had since I was eighteen. I currently oscillate between four different employers. The titles I associate with are more numerous than I ever imagined possible, but in no way do those titles define who I actually turned out to be, or the fact that I am definitely still a work in progress. I know I have the potential to be better than I am today. Every day.

I have the opportunity to be something else. Try something new. It’s the striving for improvement we should be aspiring to.

That’s the way we begin to settle into our possibilities in this life. Stretch out in all directions. With your art and your career and your friendships. With compassion and with generosity. With love. Push yourself further and surprise yourself with where you end up. What do you want to be today? Tomorrow? It’s not crazy. If you do it. Go ahead, surprise yourself. I dare you.

FERNIEFIX.COM

35

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Recreation and Outdoor Life

FERNIE MOUNTAIN MAMMAS

Potential Gold

by YVONNE PREST

I

n each person’s brain there are 100 billion neurons firing, full of information, at any given point. Even in utero, our minds react, change and grow as a response to stimuli. Therefore, our environment is truly our first and our greatest teacher. Human potential is then sparked into high gear at birth. Our senses come alive as we begin to explore what is possible through sensory exploration. Fernie Mountain Mamas understand the importance of exposing their children to new environments to increase their potential for progress. Adina Koran is one such Mama.

Hailing from the medical field, local bee keeper and entrepreneur, Adina Koran, has a thirst for adventure and a passion for the outdoors. Since day one, her daughter Quinn has been exposed to the joys of mountain life. Time outside is refreshing for Koran. “Nature is a space to recharge and put everything into perspective. I still feel very humbled by our mountains.”

From paddle boarding in utero to hiking and cross country skiing in her first few months, Quinn is all smiles in the fresh Kootenay air. Nature has a calming effect on children and the outdoor exposure is crucial for one’s cognitive development.

Human learning yearns for paths of positive interaction and our brains seek to create and repeat such patterns. By Adina sharing what she loves with her daughter, Quinn in turn is forming tremendous brain synapses at a rapid rate due to the richness of the sensory environment surrounding her.

Each mother and parent wants to give their children the best possible beginning in life. When discussing human potential, Koran stated that her “biggest wish for Quinn is that she feels confident and free enough to pursue whatever she wants to, and that she is able to feel fulfilled and balanced in her life.” Adina believes that by teaching Quinn to find solace in the outdoors, she too in future will be able to

ADINA AND QUINN KORAN | YVONNE PREST PHOTO

escape to nature as a healthy stress release.

Adina and her husband love to take Quinn panning for gold. The sport has received a resurgence in the last few years and is a fun activity for individuals and families alike.

On top of enjoying a summer’s day by the river, there is also a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air as one could potentially strike it big! In BC today gold is worth $1600 per ounce. Panning is also an opportunity for young ones to get their hands dirty, to run through the river, and get their feet wet. The sport also teaches children to find their own flash in a pan by following their intuition and being patient.

All you need to pan for gold is “optimism, a gold pan, a bucket, a shovel, and preferably some delicious snacks.” The Korans pan for gold at Gold Creek located in the south country, an hour’s drive from Fernie. A day of quality time is a win whether you find a nugget of gold or not. Koran says that panning is light hearted fun for all. Bottles full of flecks of gold line their window sills.

Not one panning trip has left them without a fleck or two. This summer, I encourage

you to pack up the family, dip your toes in potential and search for gold!

Just like a panner’s loot, each child’s potential success will look differently as “reaching one’s full potential is defined by the individual themselves.” I asked Koran if she ever worries about Quinn’s potential being stifled as a woman in today’s world.

Adina quickly brushed the idea off. “I hope that Quinn does not even have to think about her potential being any different than anyone else’s. She should harness her feminine energy to kick some serious butt!”

I couldn’t agree more.

Are you also a Fernie Mountain Mama?

Please feel free to share your outdoor adventures, family stories and photos by writing to ferniemountainmamas@gmail. com, or hashtag #ferniemountainmamas to encourage more parents to take their little ones outdoors and share in all the fun that Fernie has to offer.

Happy panning!

FERNIEFIX.COM

37

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Recreation and Outdoor Life

BENEATH THE MOUNTAINS WE GROW

The Freedom of Potential

by AMY ATTALLA

“

Potential...” I ponder this notion at my school desk and beg the question, “what is potential?” Let’s start here, at my school desk.

Potential could be the freedom to do your best. The things we take for granted like going to school or having the ability to read a book are what some kids around the globe are praying for. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Prize winner, hails from Pakistan and has made it her life’s work to educate girls and in turn, discover their potential.

So what does potential mean to me?

Potential means the ability to run on a trail in an Old Growth forest. Potential means the opportunity to ride the Polar Peak chair lift, yelling, and hearing my echo bounce back to me. Although both of these provide an increasing sense of potential, to me the real sense of potential is deep within yourself. Take a moment and think about who you are in your community. I am a biker, skier, student, friend, daughter, sister, performer, writer. Now imagine if you had to hide all those traits; exactly who you are and your belief system? We all have different beliefs, some may range in size or importance like religion, whether you are for or against logging, or a political matter that is of importance to you.

But all of these beliefs tie back to our potential. Take a moment and imagine a world with only war, no beliefs, no religion, no democratic rights. In Fernie everyone is allowed to be themselves.

You can bike down the street and have a conversation with someone who’s belief system is completely different than your own. To me, this is what makes Fernie so incredibly unique. Sure, we may have our differences but we know how to connect with differences aside.

V. CROOME PHOTO

Potential could be the freedom to do your best.

The things we take for granted like going to school or having the ability to read a book are what some kids around the globe are praying for.

Here in Fernie we don’t box ourselves into groups because of our differences, we blend ourselves together in our similarities. For example, maybe you and your neighbour have different religions but you find similarities because you both have kids at the same school. I believe that other towns, cities, maybe even countries, could learn from our small mountain home. We not only provide sport, love, and a view outside your window, we provide the potential to be exactly who you are!

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Recreation and Outdoor Life

NEVER HAVE I EVER

The Garden

by JESSE BELL

I

f I were a bird, I’d be a bird in Ralph Stadnichuk’s garden. I’d choose the birdhouse near the raspberry patch, and as the sun lapsed west across the squash, carrots and kohlrabi, I’d sing morning songs and dance between the yellow Iceland poppies.

I’m no bird, though, so I settle for admiring.

I walk past Ralph’s garden along the Annex Park every day. Purple lupins, fuchsia peonies, rhubarb in the spring, a rainbow of tall gladiolus in mid-summer. Cement garden gnomes hide slight in the grass. His garden occupies his front and back yard, and the embankment of the dike; its subtle fragrances spice the crisp morning air.

There’s tomatoes in barrels, pumpkins in bins, cabbage and cauliflower, an old soup Ralph’s garden is a gardener’s dream; wellpot for a planter. Ralph can’t say for sure established, metamorphic, an enchanted how many hours he spends out here. yard full of za za zoo. And so, one sunny afternoon in June I join Ralph for homemade iced tea under the shade of an umbrella to talk worms and dirt. To talk about how I can get my garden to look like his.

“The dirt, it’s my addiction,” he says.

“Everybody’s got one, mine’s the dirt.”

Ralph and his wife Margaret moved to Fernie in 1972 from the flat prairies of Saskatchewan. The Annex neighbourhood backed onto thick bush back then, with no flood dike nor manicured pathways— just woods. When the dike was built, Ralph tossed various seeds into the ground over his fence line.

“I got tired of looking at the dandelions.”

Over the years creeping thyme spread along the garden pathways, peonies flowered, poppies reseeded, and today Ralph and Margaret’s garden is home to at least 20 different vegetables and fruits, and more than 30 species of flowers and plants.

“I’m still on the right side of the ground, might as well garden.”

“How old are you Ralph?” I ask.

“We used to tell my grandson I was as old as dirt,” he replies. “I’m 82.”

Ralph tells me about his elaborate composting system. He grinds veggie scraps and collects leaves from his “wonderful neighbours” to make a rich, worm-infested soil. My mom, who lives just around the corner from Ralph and Margaret, is one such neighbour. She’s from Saskatchewan, too; he tells me I laugh like her.

When it’s time to harvest, the pair take any remaining vegetables and fruits they can’t use to the Lutheran Church uptown.

“You were baptised in that church,” he says, smiling. I sip my iced tea, and though I don’t say it aloud, I’m flooded with a tenderness for this man I know nothing about, a man in a bucket hat who lives in his garden, and who seems to know a whole lot about me.

JESSE BELL PHOTO

He tours me through the paths of his garden, past a faded painted rock in the dirt; Grama’s garden, Grampa’s weeds, it reads. We laugh. Ralph digs through a compost bin and pulls out dark, rich soil, his hard work tangible between his aged hands. He points to each flower varietal with conviction: Shirley Double poppies, Primrose, Sweet Williams.

When we reach the back fence near the Raspberry patch I notice the birdhouses— from one flies a barn swallow, its baby left inside to peer out. The baby bird watches us, then tucks out of sight. When we finish the garden tour, Ralph assures me humbly he really has no idea what he’s doing in his garden.

“If you think you’ve got it figured out, think again,” he says. It’s the best advice he can give new gardeners, and invites me back to collect flowers for my own garden next week.

I go home and dig in the dirt, pull weeds and wonder at the creature eating my kale.

Suddenly, though, gardening isn’t about how large my strawberries grow nor how many carrots I harvest in the fall. Gardening is just about gardening.

If I were a bird.

FERNIEFIX.COM

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Recreation and Outdoor Life

The Potential of Connectivity and Ben Emmett

HITTING THE TRAILS

S

by JULIE KELLY, FTA

T

he Fernie Trails Alliance (FTA) is working hard on Fernie’s potential as a world class trail network. We currently have over 300 kilometres of trails plus the trail network at Fernie Alpine Resort (FAR).

Our trails have a variety of terrain and are suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities.

But how can we grow and improve our current network and strive to be a better community for locals and visitors? One example is working with FAR to improve connectivity of trails between Mount Fernie Provincial Park and the ski hill.

Currently Ben Emmett connects to the hill but watch for further trail connectivity.

In addition, one of our community event organisers is hosting its annual event at FAR, celebrating ten years of the Fernie Tears & Gears September 7. This is the first time this trail running and mountain biking event will take place here.

Further improvements are happening on the Trans Canada Trail/ Elk Valley Trail.

The FTA has hired Backcountry Trail Experts to conduct trail reconstruction and maintenance of 1km of this trail from Loose Change intersection northward.

As well, signage will be completed in this area. The project should be completed this month.

This summer also watch for work on Fairy Creek/Mount Proctor Trail and Heiko’s Trail. A new picnic table will be installed at Fairy Creek Falls. In addition, brush work and debris removal and improvements to route marking on Mount Proctor Trail is planned. On Heiko’s Trail, ladders will be replaced, a toilet will be installed and the trail will be widened to improve accessibility.

Finally the Fernie Valley Pathway 2020 project is moving along nicely. This is a multi-use, paved pathway that connects the communities between Fernie and FAR. A number of partners are involved including the City of Fernie, The Regional District of the East Kootenay, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Columbia Basin Trust, Fernie Alpine Resort, Fernie Snow Valley Community Association, BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and Tourism Fernie. Recently, The City of Fernie received $70,540 from the BC Bike Grant for a paved pathway connecting Fairy Creek Bridge and Fernie Visitor Centre. This project ties in with pathway project.

Thank you to all of our funders, volunteers, landowners and community supporters to help us grow and reach our true potential.

As we continue to work on enhancing the connectivity within Fernie, take advantage of a great option already on hand - Ben Emmett, connecting two FTA partners, the Fernie Nordic Society and Fernie Alpine Resort, to enhance amenities and trails available at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre,

Provincial Park and Fernie Alpine Resort this summer.

Ben Emmett Distance: 5.5km one way Time: 1 Hour Difficulty: Green/Blue Starting from the Elk Valley Nordic Centre, pass the Nordic Hut (available to rent for gatherings and events - fernienordic. com) and continue along the Nordic Trails, veering to the right and taking the bridge across Lizard Creek. Stay right on the Runt, and you will see a trail sign on the right of the left turn/switchback. Take this to connect to Ben Emmett, turning left and continuing along this trail as it meanders alongside the Nordic trails until it reaches Boom Creek, then take Hobbits Trail to the base of the ski hill. From here, you can buy a pass and ride the lift for some fun descents on the Elk Chair, cross over to enjoy the Cross Country Loop - Double Creek, or have a coffee and snack before heading back! Consider climbing View Trail to Mega Hurtz/Old Goat/Happy Gilmar for a fun descent on the way home.

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Recreation and Outdoor Life

ELEMENTS OF MOVEMENT

What If I Fall?

by MADDY ALARIC

‘

What if I fall?’

‘Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?’

~ Erin Hanson Okay, real talk. I just gave birth to my second child about a month ago. Life is currently crazy in the most amazing, love filled, want to cry at times kind of way.

We are now a family of four. Holy crow, somebody pinch me. I am constantly looking at these two little humans of ours in total awe thinking to myself, these are our children. How we raise them, the experiences we give them, the morals and values we instill will shape who they become. Real life parenthood right here, right now.

As a mother, there is nothing more that I want to give my children than for them to see their full potential. To be fully aware that they truly can achieve great things with hard work and dedication. Children are products of their environment, they learn from example and I want to be a role model that they look up to who inspires them to become the best version of themselves.

Having just had a baby, I literally feel that my body is in a perfect place to rediscover its potential and ability. Is this going to take a lot of time and work? Yes. Will there be set backs and struggles? Absolutely. Do I feel completely excited and motivated to get back to lifting weights, riding bikes, getting on my yoga mat, picking heavy things up and putting them back down just because? You better believe it.

For some of us it’s about rediscovering potential, for others it’s about finding it.

Wherever you are in your journey, I have one piece of advice I’d love to share: Enjoy the process. Figure out what lights you up, gets you going and gives you something to look forward to. This will play a huge role in long term success and goal crushing.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Do things because you want to, instead of feeling forced to, you know? Remember that it takes about three months to create a habit, and that sticking with your choices might just lead you to discover what really fires you up. The special thing that makes you say “Yep, this is my jam.”

We all hold this potential within, but it takes a little commitment to discover it.

Unsure where to begin? No problem.

Living in a town that is bursting with support and community makes it relatively easy to start the journey. Fernie WOW (Women on Wheels), the Guides Hut group rides, Stag Leap running club, or group classes at Soar Studios, to name a few.

Resting when possible, fuelling my body with healthy food, and taking time to ease back into strength training. How are you starting yours?

This month I challenge you to: • Get 7-9 hours of sleep per night when possible.

• Get your heart rate up for a minimum 30 min/day.

• Try a new physical activity.

“Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking your potential.” ~ Winston Churchill.

For myself, this journey of rediscovery begins with acceptance and self-love.

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Health and Lifestyle

FUNDAMENTALS

The Potential in a Small Smoked Chicken Wing

by LACEY WILSON, Recipes by BARRIE ELLIOTT

W

alk down any residential street in Fernie in July and you’d be hard pressed not to smell the charring of meat on a grill or hear the cheers and laughter of people in their backyards. With the backdrop of the mountains, bright summer nights and generally cool evenings, what better way to enjoy these elements than with the company of friends and family?

Gatherings around food always have the potential to cultivate new opportunities whether it be new relationships, job opportunities or just great conversations.

BBQ season with its relatively low impact for preparation and laidback approach to food and drink, provides the perfect environment for this. How much more laissez-faire can it get when dinner invites involve the acronym BYOB (bring your own bottle) and BYOM (bring your own meat)?

Five summers ago, I was invited to a smoked meat BBQ. I had just moved back from living in Calgary for the past 11 years, I still had a few friends from growing up here but this would be a great opportunity to meet new people and potentially new friends. Previous to coming home I had spent a casual year researching the fun and fine art of smoking, I say art as there is an art to understanding how too much or too little smoke can affect your final product. Too much and you are left with an overwhelming acrid taste. This is quite common for beginners and I’ve fed a lot of acrid cheddar cheese to my friends.

Too little and what you have is a flat bland flavour with none of the smoky wood flavour that makes BBQ what it is. There is a sweet spot in the low and slow cooking method and a controlled amount of white

MATT KUHN PHOTOS

smoke that renders juicy, beautiful flavours that resonate something primal in your senses.

This BBQ in particular had quite a few of Fernie’s most talented young Chefs in attendance and I decided to go with the K.I.S.S method and chose the humble and very cost-effective chicken wing. I used my Fathers spicy BBQ wing recipe and smoked them for about an hour. The result was awesome, taking something so ordinary and turning it into something that exceeded my, and others’ expectations. What blossomed from that BBQ were a few of my closest girlfriends and eventually a little start up that could be called Fernie Catering Co. Never underestimate the potential of an invite to a BBQ or the small things, in this case it was the potential contained in a small smoked chicken wing that did more than just taste good.

WDR’S Spicy Chicken Wings 1 to 2lbs of chicken wings 3 tbs Cajun Spice ½ cup Louisiana Hot Sauce Woodchips Cherrywood Pat chicken wings dry and toss in both hot sauce and Cajun spice, wings should be evenly coated. If the mixture seems to wet adjust with spice to dry it out.

Set wings into preheated smoker at 250F, smoke wings for 45 mins to an hour or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Eat with generous amounts of fermented mustard and refresh your palate with our Gin and Tonic with Cucumber, Watermelon Popsicles.

Lacto-fermented Mustard 1 cup Mustard Seeds 1 Tbsp Turmeric 1 Tbsp Chili flakes 3 Tbsp Salt ¼ cup Raw Honey

½ cup Raw Apple Cider Vinegar 2 cups Raw Kambucha Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse a few times. Place in mason jar and store in cool dark space. Stir once or twice a day for three to four days. Store in refrigerator and enjoy within six months.

Lacto-fermentation, Lactobacillus organisms convert lactose and other sugars present in food into lactic acid. This results in an acidic environment.

Gin and Tonic with Cucumber, Watermelon Popsicles 3 oz Fernie Distillers Gin 2 oz Simple syrup 2 oz Lime Juice 2 oz tonic water Diced Watermelon Diced Cucumber Lime Zest

MATT KUHN PHOTOS

Add diced watermelon, cucumber and lime zest to a popsicle tray or six solo cup shot glasses. Combine all other ingredients, mix well and pour into popsicle trays and freeze. Use the popsicles in place of ice in your next Gin and Tonic.

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Health and Lifestyle

Tools for Your Fertility Journey

will be times during certain treatment protocols when vigorous exercise is not recommended so take advantage of the rest of the time and stay active.

by DR. TAINA TURCASSO, N.D., R.M.

W

hile considering the idea of potential within one’s health, it occurred to me that one area of health that is riddled with the idea of potential is the area of fertility and, of course, infertility. For most, the potential of our future family is sprinkled across our lives at various points, impacting decision making around our career, relationships, financial decisions and so on. It is taken for granted that we will find the right partner and we will effortlessly activate this potential into a baby but maybe we don’t find the right partner, or we do and it doesn’t just “happen” on its own, or we are in a relationship that requires a little (or a lot of) extra help and a donor. Whatever the case may be, for some of us the leap from potential family to actual family can become a Grand Canyon-sized obstacle that we are not equipped to tackle without guidance.

The world of artificial reproductive therapy (ART) seems to operate in its own language and once you enter it the learning curve is steep. Things are always changing with different protocols, different doctors, blood work, and ultrasound investigations. Beyond the stress of the unknown we are also faced with the cost; the financial cost as well as the emotional cost.

All of that being said, we can acknowledge that trying to actualize your family is hard while also acknowledging that we can do hard things and we can maybe even do them well if we are prepared. So, how can you prepare your body and your life for your fertility journey? Here are five ways to start: Diet It cannot be overstated that diet is crucial

FAMILY WELLNESS

S. PULLEN PHOTO

It cannot be overstated that diet is crucial to successful fertility treatment and a successful pregnancy. to successful fertility treatment and a successful pregnancy. True, millions of people get pregnant every year with a completely inadequate diet but we are not talking about those people, we are talking about people who are on a path that has veered off of what the body was designed to do. There will likely be many medications, physical and emotional stress, and hormone fluctuations and all of these will be aided by a healthy diet. This means low-caffeine, low-alcohol, high-protein, low in dairy, high-fibre, and high in nutrient dense fruits and vegetables with a good multivitamin and a folate supplement.

The ideal time to shift into this is three months before starting any treatment but even if you are in the middle of a cycle, it’s not too late to change your habits.

Exercise Keep your body moving. It’s going through a lot and the exercise will help in many ways, particularly when it comes to your emotional well-being and stress management. If you are overweight, exercise will have the added bonus of helping you lose some weight which will increase your chance of success. There

Study Do some research on all of the different potential treatment options your clinic offers (and also what some alternatives are) before you go in so you can spend your appointments having discussions with your doctor instead of trying to understand everything he/she is saying. Appointments are quick and to the point and can leave you feeling confused and unheard.

Gather Tools This journey can be tough for people in surprising ways so put together some tools to help you cope. Start meditating a little bit everyday (there are many apps geared towards coping with the many challenges of infertility), speak to a counsellor, join an online fertility group (IVF.ca is a good one), journal, take the time to work on your relationship if you’re in one, and have some good books on hand and TV shows in your queue for the “two-week wait.”

Boost Your Treatment Consider additional supplements and therapies to boost your chance of success.

Acupuncture for fertility has some good research behind it and can also help with side effects, stress, and insomnia. Consider adding in some Omega-3 fatty acids, high dose CoQ10 for egg quality, and zinc. Ideally, see an N.D. to put together a treatment plan that addresses your specific needs.

All of these tips will not only help you conceive but will help you to get there a little more easily and have a healthier pregnancy. Truly, though, the best advice I can give is to stay in touch with yourself and ask for what you need.Your family and friends will likely be happy and honoured to support you on this journey.

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Health and Lifestyle

A LOOK DOWN SECOND AVE

Summer (Dress) Lovin’

by EMMA POLIT

I

t’s finally here - the season of the summer dress. The time of the year when you can slip on one item of clothing, pop on some shoes, and away you go. After the many layers of winter, it’s like a breath of fresh air.

So, dresses! You’ve got sundresses, tea dresses, maxi dresses, party dresses, cocktail dresses, t-shirt dresses, slip dresses, baby doll dresses, denim dresses, sporty dresses – you name it, whatever dress you need, for any occasion, you can find it in Fernie.

No 3. Boutique

Do you have a wedding coming up this summer? No. 3 Boutique has some gorgeous dresses that would make you look like a summer dream. While there are many, I have a favourite. It involves aallll the right words – pleated, wrap, tea length (which is a few inches below the knee), v-neck, and it is in the most perfect dusty sage colour. It is THE perfect dress for weddings, parties or anything.You can find it at N0. 3 Boutique (and it’s only $70!).

If it’s an easy-breezy maxi that you see yourself floating through summer in then

Freyja has some fantastic options.

Free People has a great choice of colourful prints – most with buttons all the way down the front, which I love. If you’re looking for something that can be worn with sandals, sneakers, boots or heels, dress up or dress down, the Vero Moda Garden Midi dress Freyja is a dress you won’t want to take off. I got myself one in lilac. I just couldn’t help myself.

no exception.

Luckily, Commit has some of the best ones.

RVCA may be my favourite skate brand for women’s clothing and their dresses are

In Ski Base, I was surprised to see a large range of Fig clothing. Haven’t heard of Fig? I hadn’t either, but my eyes were drawn

If your version of summer is sitting by the lake on a sunny afternoon with snacks, drinks and your friends, then we’re on the same page.

You should Commit visit Elevation Showcase and get your hands on the Kavu La Paz striped dress. It has buttons all the way down so I can even see it undone over your swimsuit.

in by the elegant cut of the dresses.

Not something you see so much of in Fernie. Fig is lovely clothing designed for those who want their clothes to be comfortable, ethical, yet have a sophisticated look.

Elk Chairlift Open Daily ∙ 10am - 5pm (Open until 7pm on Thursdays)

photo: Nick Nault & Mark Eleven Photography

Last month I talked about how influenced fashion is by the ’90s at the moment and, summer dresses are no exception.

T-shirt dresses are in almost every clothing store in Fernie.

You can’t go wrong if it’s in stripes or a solid colour! While we’re throwing back, the RVCA ‘90s Baby Halter dress in Commit is the perfect lightweight, relaxed dress to get you through those hot days.

It’s mustard with a tiny floral print, which is the ideal mix.

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Even though I love the simplicity of a dress, don’t miss the opportunity to think creatively. Mix it up. Add layers! Necklaces, a silk neck scarf (Freyja has some of these too!) or, tie a shirt around your waist (bonus points if it’s plaid!).

As always, this is just a small selection of the inspiring amount of dresses available in Fernie. Get out and support your local stores.

Long live the summer dress!

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51

Bits and Bytes

THE ANSWER GUY

Presentation

Now we get to slides. Once you know your story and created the language for your story, at this point you want to add images or messages to support your story. If you are doing a presentation at a wedding, or anniversary, or retirement, the slides are likely to be photos. They may have simple captions only, and that’s perfect. Because you want everyone to look at the slide, but listen to you, not spend time reading the slide.

by KEVIN MCISAAC

T

his past week I helped Mrs. Answer Guy put together a PowerPoint presentation. We did it using LibreOffice, but OpenOffice will also produce a PowerPoint presentation. I’m going to say PowerPoint throughout the article, but you can use almost any compatible tool and only key-presses and shortcuts will likely be different.

With summer coming up, most people are not thinking about this kind of thing, unless you’re building a presentation for a wedding or other event. These tips mostly apply regardless of the end goal.

I like to start with an outline and conveniently PowerPoint has an outline mode. In outline mode, it works like bulleting mode in a Word document except that the outermost number is a slide and sub-numbered items are slide contents.

Type out your presentation as if you were just creating a series of bullet points and sub-points for everything. Then when you feel you’ve told your whole story, you can go back and look at the titles and contents to see where you’d like to enhance your story. But you don’t do that yet.

First and foremost, it’s not about the slides. This is where most people start and where they create way too much work for themselves. They start adding images, and pie charts and rearranging them endlessly.

It’s a natural starting point because it appears to be the endpoint, and probably because many of us think visually so that seems like the right place – but it’s not.

The next step is the notes. All good presentations have a lot more information than is on the slides themselves. I’ve seen excellent presentations where the slides were just a series of photos to look at while the presenter educated us on a subject. That’s a very high level of presentation skill, so we’re not looking for that yet.

When you’re creating a presentation, you’re creating a story. The story might be to amuse, or instruct, or honour, or any of a myriad of other reasons, but ultimately you are telling a story. Your story needs a beginning, middle, and end. And your story needs a plot, point, or moral.

Each slide can have notes attached.

This area is just for you as the presenter.

Depending on your comfort level you may just make a few bullet points, or write out exactly what you’d like to say. For now, just go through each of the slides you’ve created in the outline and write what you’d like to say. Note that what you’re saying may actually be unrelated to a specific slide, or may take several slides to cover a single point. That’s okay. Just make sure that the presentation works for you from beginning to end with what you want to say.

During the process of putting it together, I was giving Mrs. Answer Guy some guidelines and hints I’ve learned from a couple of decades of creating presentations and I thought I’d share some of them with you.

So, don’t start your presentation by thinking about a flow of slides from beginning to end. Start by thinking about the story as if you’re creating a children’s storybook or a graphic novel. First, you have a story, then you add images or pullouts to support the story.

If you’re educating people then the slides should focus on key ideas or features of your story. These may be photos, pie charts, graphs, or one to three key messages that you want your audience to take away from your discussion, but if you’re reading the slide you’re doing it wrong.

Finally, check your order and run through it from beginning to end out loud. Use the timer feature when you do the Show Slide Show option. Note how long it takes you to get through it. Does this match your time slot?

Now that that’s all done, you can start to look at how you want your presentation to look. There are a zillion templates that make it easy to give your presentation a nice professional and/or fun look depending on what you’re shooting for.

They can easily be tried on like dresses to see what’s going to work for you. And don’t be afraid to tweek the Master Slide where the template is styled.

Keep fonts large and simple, people are reading from a distance.

Choose colours that match your presentation. Bright colours for fun. Muted for professional.

Check your spelling.

And finally, rehearse. A good presenter with a bad presentation wins out over the other the way around every time.

Bits and Bytes

July 2019

by ASHLEY KRISTINA

J

uly is a month of incredible potential and as potential energy builds to transform into forward momentum, this transformation has been building for a long time.

This month begins with a partial solar eclipse at the new moon (July 2) and then a partial lunar eclipse on the full moon (July 16) creating a theme of opportunity.

We continue along this great transition of the divine dance, the interplay of the feminine and masculine: matriarchy vs. patriarchy, home vs. work, mother vs father, nurturing vs. toughening, fluidity vs. solidarity, emotional vs. mental…

The stars align to bring us ‘home’ and change takes place for higher order.

There is a major theme around reconciliation of sexual energy so it seems that the biggest theme is around partnership and divine connection.

Listening deeply to our inner voice, heart and guiding compass can be difficult however if we keep aiming for truth and weaving our honest story, coming more and more into our authentic selves, one thing is certain: truth provokes a confrontation with truth. That which is concealed will be revealed and as the end of the month nears, the planetary Leoparty brings brilliant esoteric light.

Aries You show up in your entirety. While each Aries is slightly different one thing is the same: when you do something, it’s with your entire being. Change is always transitional and know the past comes up either as guidance or hinderance.You know the way.

Taurus Eclipse season changes us dramatically and although it might have been foreseen, in actuality the real change happens at one

very specific point in time so all you must do is ‘go through.’ Hindsight brings the wisdom in the mean time: trust.

Gemini Opportunity to create a new life is strong this month however you must decide what that is, feel it to its entirety, believe in it and then let go. Do not let yourself think of what you do not wish for. Manifestation occurs in alignment and solidarity. Do not give the universe two different messages.

Cancer Happy birthday to you! This month is huge for you and ascension is for certain. Try to see beyond, to recognise the patterns and hear the messages and blessings for guidance. The Crab does not like change but believe in the alchemical transformation of this month, go with it and let negativity wash away.

Leo Wild winds blow you along your path.

There is an ancientness at play here - a past is here to guide you. Mars is in your ruling sign all month giving you extra power to move with these times. Trust your heart and a happy birthday to some of you.

Virgo Practicality will guide and anxiety hinder you this month. Choose to walk the path that feels good and anxiety, nervousness or tiredness tells you that it is the wrong path.

Listen to your inner child and take care of yourself. The oldest teaching of being a healer or a helper: you must take care of yourself first.

Libra There is a theme of fate this month and a deeply spiritual momentum as the guide. Make a choice to not balance with everyone, choose to let only those who feel of a higher frequency come within your orbit. Do not connect with the denser and darker karmic connections.

ASTROLOGY

Scorpio Transformation is your magic. Ascension, light realms and the dream state are strong this month and you have the most power of the Zodiac to reach the greatest heights. Use your faith, inner guidance and intuitive sight to climb the invisible stairs leading to higher realities.

Sagittarius Archer of Truth! Divine love is what you search for and yet it resides deep within you. It is sacred knowledge that there is a tune within your heart, a way that your heart strings sing a song. Tune in there, do not look without and then watch what happens as the outer reality transforms to match your inner frequency of divine and holy love.

Capricorn The momentum up the mountain to the higher planes of existence along with the movement from the past does not have to be as tedious as you know it to be. The laws of energetics can actually happen in a split second once you master that level of spirituality. Attune this month!

Aquarius Thank God for our soul contracts: these people we can barely know yet feel immediate closeness and comfort, the ones that direct us when we can’t spiritually see, somewhat similar to the missing piece of the puzzle or the seeing-eyes to the blind spot in the retina. Be wise enough to know when to let another lead.

Pisces You hold all the teachings and knowledge innately so it always feels silly to write your astrology. At times you might have forgotten though, or felt lost or far away… from God, the Creator, Spirit. This is not the case and July will show you that.

Blessings come to those who stay true to their heart.

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Fernie Fun

FIX TRIVIA

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE Can you find ten differences between these two pictures?

Have a picture to submit for Fernie Fun? Send it to info@clarismedia.com.

ferniefix

FernieFixMag

ANSWERS JUNE SPOT THE DIFFERENCE FIND THE Somewhere in this issue is a little maple leaf. Can you find it?

NAME THE BUSINESS/ BUILDING These businesses or buildings are located in downtown Fernie, can you name them?

Answers: Name The Business/Building June The Vogue Theatre, College of the Rockies. Coal Town, Freyja

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Your Happy Place Awaits...

Monday Date Nights - All Summer!

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