Bikepacking for beginners. p · 14. Overdose crisis in Revy. p · 20.
Masquerades unmasked. p · 24 . Revelstoke's road ahead in the COVID-19 era. p · 40.
SUMMER/����
SUMMER 2020 REVELSTOKE RECOVERS
revelstokemountaineer.com
FREE
Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine is a free monthly publication featuring the best of Revelstoke outdoor life, food, style, visitor experiences, lifestyles, entertainment, home style and healthy living. We are an independent, locally owned publication dedicated to showcasing our amazing mountain town and the great people who create the stoke. Each month we distribute over 3,000 free copies to over 200 public venues across Revelstoke, including hotel rooms, shops, restaurants, cafes, community centres — everywhere people meet. For all enquiries, including details on our surprisingly affordable advertising rates, please contact us at info@revelstokemountaineer.com For Revelstoke daily news online, please see our sister publication www.revelstokemountaineer.com · 250 814 8710 info@revelstokemountaineer.com 606 Railway Avenue. Revelstoke, B.C. P.O. BOX 112 · V0E 2S0
COVER PHOTO: For our Summer 2020 Revelstoke Recovers cover contest, we invited public submissions, and received some great shots. We chose Adam Whittingham's image of an osprey returing to its nest, with the majestic Mount Begbie in the background. In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the image is a great juxtoposition of things eternal and the temporal. See our other finalist images on pages 28 and 29. Photo: Adam Whittingham
Winds of change Photo: Demonstrators gather at a Black Lives Matter protest in Centennial Park in June. Over 300 people joined the protest held in solidarity with BLM protests across the US. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Orlando aaron@revelstokemountaineer.com
EDITOR Aaron Orlando aaron@revelstokemountaineer.com
STAFF JOURNALIST Melissa Jameson melissa@revelstokemountaineer.com
EDITORIAL DESIGN/ADVERTISING DESIGN Sonia García sonia@revelstokemountaineer.com
WEBSITE Chris Payne chris@revelstokemountaineer.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vilja Arnsteinsdatter, Emily Beaumont, Sheena Bell, Roberta Bobicki, Bryce Borlick, Alex Cooper, Amaris Bourdeau, Cathy English, Dylan Hardy, Heather Hood, Shannon MacLean, Charlotte Sit, Sarah j Spurr, Peter Worden
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ryan Creary, Keri Knapp, Jessica Milaney, Robert Sim, Daniel Stewart, Laura Szanto, Matt Timmins
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Sonia Garcia, Benji Lowclass
There's a revolution happening right now, but what do you call it? That was the question posed to me a couple weeks ago, and deinstitutionalization was what I came up with on the spur of the moment. Now, it may not be the best word to describe what's happening — decolonize is pretty similar and prevalent in the contemporary conversation — and it's certainly not my grand manifesto, but I turned my impromptu word over in my head for a couple days, so I'll share my thoughts. It's not as in being deinstitutionalized from a mental health institution, but actually, yes, quite literally in a sense. Another way of putting it is setting yourself free from institutions that no longer serve you, and breaking free from those that won't let you go. Since we published our climate crisis-focused issue in March, the world has notched up the crisis level with COVID-19, an economic crisis, and with mass protest on the streets, including a Black Lives Matter protest here in Revelstoke. And the climate crisis hasn't gone anywhere. For me, COVID-19 has been a crucible for what works and what doesn't in our society and in our community. It showed us what institutions serve us when it counts, and those that need reform, replacement, or abolishment. One institution that worked was community. Even though everyone was constrained by
physical distancing rules, the stories that mattered in Revelstoke were about people coming together to help one another, sometimes on their own, sometimes with the help of existing institutions. We are happy to share some of those stories in this issue. In B.C., our response to the pandemic stands in stark contrast to the failure south of the border, a reminder of the fundamental differences in how our two countries choose to organize our health care institutions and society, an opportunity to pause for reflection. On a personal level, many had new time to reflect on their lives and what really matters, while others faced tough, harsher new realities. Some faced both. It's a chance to look at the institutions we have put in place, and question whether they serve us, and if they will help or hinder our recovery. Support those that matter to you. Most everyone is facing a difficult road to recovery ahead; it's an opportunity to think about which institutions — social, economic, political, or personal — will serve us in the coming years, which ones will help with our recovery, and which ones to leave behind. —Aaron Orlando, BA, MJ; Creative Director, Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine, revelstokemountaineer.com
WELCOME!
YOUR HEALTH IS OUR TOP PRIORITY. WE ARE ASKING BOTH LOCALS & VISITORS ALIKE TO FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE GUIDELINES SET OUT BY THE PROVINCE OF BC TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE AND HEALTHY:
THE RULES - PRACTICE 2 METRES PHYSICAL DISTANCING. - KEEP YOUR GROUP SMALL. - WASH OR SANITIZE YOUR HANDS WELL & OFTEN. - COVER YOUR COUGHS & SNEEZES. - AVOID TOUCHING YOUR FACE. - STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK OR HAVE SYMPTOMS.
REMEMBER, WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. KINDNESS ALWAYS MATTERS.
*Additional health protocols may apply for certain services or places of business
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CONTENTS 8
NEWS BRIEFS Our Summer 2020 news briefs distill key Revelstoke news from the past month.
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CALENDAR Check out Summer 2020 events in Revelstoke and beyond. Don't forget to get your event included in our print calendar by adding it online at revelstokemountaineer.com/events
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FEATURE: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BIKEPACKING Veteran bikepacker Alex Cooper shows us the ropes, including tips on some local routes that will keep you distanced from the crowds this summer.
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REVELSTOKE'S ASIAN HERITAGE CELEBR ATED Revelstoke Museum & Archives Curator Cathy English shares how residents of Asian descent contributed to Revelstoke and Canada.
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REVELSTOKE'S SILENT OPIOID EPIDEMIC A B.C. Coroners Report shattered Revelstoke's healthy outdoors image, finding we are the third worst in the province for per capita opioid overdose
deaths. We explored what's happening behind the scenes to address the issue, and asked if it's enough.
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MASQUER ADES UNMASKED We asked the always exuberant Peter Worden to check into Revelstoke's long history of masquerade balls. In our era of social upheaval, he found racism, gender identity questions, colonialism, international crime, taboo sexuality, and managed to wrap it up into a rollicking story. We're done explaining — just read it.
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A STONE IN FOCUS A brutal, misogynistic murder in Revelstoke of a recent migrant from Japan over a century ago stoked racist sentiment in the community, and is the subject of a new collaborative art experiment that will explore racism in the historical and contemporary.
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PHOTO CONTEST Laura Szanto and Daniel Stewart present our runner-up summer cover contest photos.
REFLECTIONS ON PANDEMIC IN OUR INTERCONNECTED WORLD Revelstoke resident Trish Khan works abroad with people affected by some of the most desperate humanitarian crises in the world. She shares her reflections on the experience of pandemic there, and here.
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JUST THE STATS! Emily Beaumont looks at the quarterly real estate stats, finding a busy market driven by refugees from big cities and other provinces seeking mountain refuge and a better place to work remotely.
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MAN OF INSPIR ATION In the COVID-19 era, Revelstoke downhill mountain biking pioneer Chris Miller shares his words of wisdom about dealing with the adversity and disruption we're all experiencing.
REVELSTOKE RECOVERS: THE ROAD AHEAD Revelstoke community leaders share their perspectives on our challenging path to recovery in the COVID-19 era.
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GREEN THUMBS UP The pandemic has brought food security issues to the front of mind for many, spurring a back-to-thegarden movement in search of sustainable solutions. Bryce Borlick explores developments on the local food-gardening scene.
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ROCK SOUP FOR THE SOUL What's up with all the little rocks painted with messages of hope?
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SUMMER AND FALL ARTS COVID-19 has certainly put a crimp in the live arts calendar, but there are still events to enjoy. Here is a preview of some.
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SLOW DOWN Illustration by Sonia GarcĂa.
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THE STOKED PALATE Revy chefs come together to give back during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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FOLD-IN Our homage to Mad Magazine illustrator Al Jaffee, who just retired at age 99!
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NEWS BRIEFS
PROPOSED 56 ROOM HOTEL DEVELOPMENT
NOTES:
1859 TRANS CANADA HIGHWAY, REVELSTOKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA PROJECT INFO CIVIC ADDRESS 1859 TRANS CANADA HIGHWAY, REVELSTOKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA
APPLICANTS: 1087107 BC LTD. 3140 Juniper Drive, Pentincton, B.C.
ZONING SYNOPSIS EXISTING ZONE : PROPOSED ZONE :
C4 C4
SITE EXISTING DEDICATIONS NET
44,593 SQ.FT. (4,142.69 SQ.MT) (1.02 HECTARE) - SQ.FT. 44,593 SQ.FT. (4,142.69 SQ.MT) (1.02 HECTARE)
: : :
2020 / 05 / 25
DEVE
2020 / 03 / 05
DEVE
ARCHITECTURAL A - 001 A - 002 A - 003
COVER PAGE SITE CONTEXT AND ZONING INFORMATION SITE SURVEY
A - 101
SITE PLAN
A - 201 A - 202 A - 203 A - 204
MAIN FLOOR LAYOUT SECOND FLOOR LAYOUT FOURTH FLOOR LAYOUT ROOF LAYOUT
A - 301 A - 302
ELEVATIONS ELEVATIONS
A - 400
SECTION
A - 600 - 602
RENDERINGS
Is Revelstoke getting hosed? A government investigation seeks anwers.
AR CH
1205-4
RICHMON
CA
T (604)284
PROPOSED HO 1859 - TRANS C REVELSTOKE,
A new Holiday Inn is proposed for the Trans-Canada Highway area. PROJECT TEAM CLIENT:
1087107 BC LTD.
Revelstoke’s high auto fuel prices under investigation BC UTILITIES COMMISSION TASKED WITH FINDING REASONS FOR SEVERAL COMMUNITIES PAYING “SIGNIFICANTLY MORE COMPARED TO NEIGHBOURING REGIONS” IN THE PROVINCE.
The BC Utilities Commission is looking into unexplained high gas prices in several communities in the province, including Revelstoke. In a statement, Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, said the provincial government is taking action to determine why the communities of Revelstoke, Powell River, Port Alberni, and Squamish are “still paying significantly more compared to neighbouring regions.” “People deserve transparency and fairness when it comes to gasoline prices,” said Ralston. In early April regular gasoline prices in Revelstoke cost up to 109 cents per litre, while a short drive away in Sicamous prices were starkly different with regular gas as low as 87.9 cents per litre. A 2019 investigation by the BCUC found lack of competition and substantial mark-ups of up to 13 cents per litre on premium on gasoline prices the fuel industry was unable to explain. The unexplained results saw British Columbians paying an extra $490 million each year. After the investigation, the provincial government created the Fuel Price Transparency Act, which requires companies in the fuel industry in B.C. to report information and data on their activities. The provincial government designated the BCUC as administrator of the FPT act in March 2020. As administrator of the act, the BCUC is responsible for collecting data to “promote market competitiveness, and public confidence in the competitiveness of the market.” In his statement, Ralston said the BCUC has the power to collect and publish information on refined fuel imports and exports, fuel volumes at refineries and terminals, and wholesale and retail fuel prices and that, “this will help to ensure companies are held publicly accountable for unexplained markups and price increases.” The BCUC is collecting and publishing additional data for the four communities where gas pricing is under investigation on the website gasprices.bc.ca.
CONTACT: GARY JOHAL 568 JUNIPER DRIVE, PENTINCTON, B.C. T 604 307 2135 mailgaryjohal@gmail.com
SURVEYOR:
PIN POINT SURVEYING LTD. 260 22 ST. NE, SALMON ARM, B.C. V1E 1Z1 CONTACT: RANDY MURRAY T 250 832 6220 randy@pinpointsurveying.com
Holiday Inn proposed for Revelstoke
ARCHITECTURAL:
DF ARCHITECTURE INC.
1205 -4871 SHELL ROAD, RICHMOND, B.C. V6X 3Z6 CONTACT: JESSIE ARORA, T 604 284 5194 jessie@dfarchitecture.ca info@dfarchitecture.ca
1087107 BC LT 3140 JUNIPER PENTICTON, B
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT:
L.A. WEST ASSOCIATES (KAMLOOPS) INC.
104 - 147 VICTORIA STREET, KAMLOOPS, B.C. V2C 1Z4 CONTACT: RAY VISSER T 250 374 9831 rvisser@lawest.ca
THE PROPOSED 56-UNIT HOTEL INCLUDES A WORKOUT ROOM, BUSINESS CENTRE AND THREE ELECTRIC-VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS.
COVER
CIVIL ENGINEER:
MAINLAND ENGINEERING DESIGN CORPORATION 206 - 8363 128TH STREET, SURREY, B.C. V3W 4G1 CONTACT: RAJEEV MANGLA T 604 543 8044 civil@mainlandeng.com
Revelstoke could soon see another hotel along the Trans-Canada Highway. In early June, the city’s Advisory Planning Commission (APC) reviewed a development permit application for form and character of a proposed new Holiday Inn. According to a report from the city’s planning department, the property, which is located at 1859 Trans-Canada Highway, across the highway from the existing Tim Hortons restaurant. The zoning at the property and in the area around the Trans-Canada Highway is named ‘highway commercial,’ which is intended to foster development that serves highway travellers, including things like fast food restaurants, motels and hotels. The report notes the property, “does not fall within any identified hazard areas that would inhibit future development.” The planning department sought to have the APC review the proposed hotel for compatibility “within the Scenic Corridor area of the city.” The developers are proposing a four-storey hotel with an elevator mechanical room rising above the fourth storey. The building would be situated to the northeast of the property. The proposed building includes 56 accommodation units, a workout room, a business centre, and a breakfast room for hotel guests. Materials proposed for the building include a black veneer (black glazed brick) facade, arctic white and pearl grey Hardie panel facade, metal flashing, dark knotty-pine wood panel siding and metal awnings. Landscaping and plans for three electric vehicle charging stations are also included as part of the proposal. In its report, the city’s planning department said two loading stalls are required, but submitted drawings from the proponent only show one loading stall. According to the report, staff is, “currently working with the applicant to determine if the land can accommodate another loading stall, or, if a variance to reduce the number of required loading stalls from two to one will be submitted.” The application includes 60 parking spaces, of which three are electric vehicle charging stations. Recommendations from the APC are provided to city council for review.
A-001
T:\REV-001 1859 Trans
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Proponents of a Mt. Begbie heli-access lodge say they are still proceeding. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine
Now in its second year, Revelstoke Mountain Resort is adding to its MTB trail network. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine
Province rejects Mt. Begbie protection plan request
Revelstoke Mountain Resort expands MTB trails network
THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HAS REJECTED A REQUEST FROM THE CITY OF REVELSTOKE AND THE COLUMBIA-SHUSWAP REGIONAL DISTRICT TO CREATE A MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION PLAN FOR MOUNT BEGBIE, CITING LIMITED RESOURCES.
REVELSTOKE MOUNTAIN RESORT IS EXPANDING ITS MOUNTAIN BIKING TRAIL NETWORK THIS SUMMER WITH THE ADDITION OF MORE THAN 15 KILOMETRES OF LIFT-ACCESSED TRAILS.
The Revelstoke Mountaineer was first to break news about a proposed high-end, helicopter-access resort in the alpine area of Mt. Begbie, Revelstoke's iconic local mountain. In late June a representative for the developers said the organization is still moving ahead with development plans, although Covid-19 has delayed progress, said Nick Holmes-Smith, who is the owner and operator of Mustang Powder, a CAT skiing company. Former spokesperson Ian Tomm said he is no longer with the development group and is now president of Eagle Pass Heliskiing. After news of the proposed heli-access resort were made public, the group held a public meeting in Revelstoke, but faced a largely negative response from the public, who criticized development plans on the mountain, which is currently accessed in summer and winter by backcountry enthusiasts. The provincial letter rejecting the request came from Kevin Eskelin, regional manager for the Southern Interior Recreation Region, on behalf of forests minister Doug Donaldson. It said that the province had updated its land use planning procedure, but was busy with several other plans, including Qat'muk, where the now dead Jumbo Glacier Resort was to be located, and backcountry land use plans in the Columbia Valley and the Golden area. The letter also said the B.C. government is focusing on "projects identified as a high priority by First Nations to further the government's commitment to Reconciliation." Kate Borucz, executive director for the North Columbia Environmental Society, said the NCES had received a similar letter from the province, and expressed disappointment. She noted an effort starting in 2012 that had brought many disparate backcountry user groups together to push for a land use plan to settle issues created by expanding backcountry use.
New trails include a 5.4-kilometre machine-built, blue flow trail named Bagful of Boogie, a 4.6-kilometre (one-way) out-and-back cross-country trail to Greeley Bowl, two black single-track trails named Fish Bonker and Pipe Wrench, and a 1.6-kilometre multi-use, out-and-back trail along Mackenzie Ridge. In addition to these new trails, a new connector trail named Guilt Trip will also be constructed at the top of the Revelation Gondola to provide riders with easy access to the downhill network after a 1.8 kilometre traverse. Last season, the resort entered the bike scene with its debut trail, Fifty-Six Twenty, an enduro-style, blue flow trail descending the resort’s entire vertical offering (5,620 feet). Starting in the alpine, the trail follows 15 kilometres of machine-built berms and jumps to the base of the village. Wet weather and a deep snowpack will play a large role in determining exactly when the trails will be ready to ride. Early season riders will be able to access the lower section of Fifty-Six-Twenty from the top of the Revelation Gondola. Additional trails will open gradually as conditions allow. All trail updates and closure details can be found at www.revelstokemountainresort. com/bike. Revelstoke has experienced a very wet late spring and early summer, causing challenges on the new trails, which do take time to set. The RMR mountain bike trail network opened in late June and will be open until September. The resort will continue to follow the BC Restart Plan closely and is urging all visitors to follow provincial updates and guidelines.
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News Briefs
Revelstoke Mountain Resort has received conditional approval to clear 120 acres near the resort for a new golf course. Photo: RMR
Parks Canada is opening a new, $6.1 million camground in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Photo: Parks Canada
Revelstoke Mountain Resort golf course gets go ahead
Snowforest Campground to open mid-July
PHASE ONE OF THE GOLF COURSE PROJECT INCLUDES CLEARING 120 ACRES OF MOSTLY FORESTED LAND, SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS.
PARKS CANADA’S NEWEST FRONT-COUNTRY CAMPGROUND IS LOCATED NEXT TO SOME OF MOUNT REVELSTOKE NATIONAL PARK’S MOST POPULAR FAMILY-FRIENDLY AREAS.
Revelstoke city council approved phase one of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort golf course in late May. Details of the resort’s plans were revealed in a development permit application that appeared on the City of Revelstoke’s Advisory Planning Commission (APC). The development permit outlined phase one plans. The development includes land on the east and west boundary of Camozzi road that spans from McInnes Road to Nichol Road, as well as a parcel adjacent to Airport Way. In total, the land is about 138 acres in size, and the resort plans to harvest about 120 acres of it in preparation for construction. Much of the property is currently forested and the resort has submitted a private timber application to the provincial forests ministry. According to a report prepared by City of Revelstoke senior planner Paul Simon, city staff, RMR and a third party consultant reviewed relevant development policies and guidelines, given that a portion of the lands contain steep slopes and environmentally sensitive areas adjacent to Williamson’s Lake. Planned construction activities for phase one include clearing, grubbing and preliminary grading to prepare the land for construction of the golf course The approval is subject to a number of pre-conditions. They include: · RMR to providing confirmation of final acceptance of the Riparian Area Assessment Report from the Ministry of Forests · RMR to providing confirmation of approvals for any complex changes in and about a stream from the Ministry of Forests as may be required under Section 11 of the Water Sustainability Act. · RMR to providing clearance from Fisheries Oceans Canada with respect to any required approvals due to potential harm to fish habitat, or, provide confirmation that approvals are not required for the proposed activities. Plans for the golf course were included in the resort's master development agreement, but the golf course stalled out after the 2008 financial crisis. Part of the fallout was a contractual legal dispute between RMR and a landowner who owned a large tract of land slated to be part of the course has led to a reconfiguration of the course.
Parks Canada’s newest front-country campground officially opens in mid-July. Located in Mount Revelstoke National Park, Snowforest Campground is the first new campground in the Mountain National Parks since the 1960s. The campground is located next to hiking and biking trails that connect the Nels Nelsen Historic Area, Beaver Lodge Kids’ Bike Park and the start of Meadows in the Sky Parkway. “It provides opportunities for visitors, including families, youth, and newcomers, to stay longer, experience the diverse natural and cultural heritage of Mount Revelstoke National,” Parks Canada said in a statement. The $6.1-million campground features 62 campsites, including pull-through serviced sites for large motorhomes, unserviced back-in sites for smaller campers and tents, and walk-in tenting sites. There is also three MicrOcubes offering alternative two-person accommodation. Amenities at Snowforest Campground include a new washroom and shower building with outdoor dishwashing stations, visitor services, and group campfire area for interpretive programs. In its statement, Parks Canada said design of the new campground minimized environmental impacts by using a previously disturbed area at the base of Mount Revelstoke, and renovating the former superintendent’s house into the new welcome centre. Snowforest Campground opens for camping on July 15, 2020. The campground will operate at a 50-per cent capacity, with 36 sites open, in order to ensure COVID-19 physical distancing measures and the health and safety of visitors and Parks employees. New universal access washrooms will be available, but shower facilities will remain closed. Reservations for the campground will be available on the Parks Canada Reservation system starting July 7, 2020 at 8 a.m. The campground is Scheduled to open for full capacity in 2021.
News Briefs
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CALENDAR SUMMER 2020 ALL SUMMER RCA PANDEMIC PEDAL VIRTUAL FIVER SERIES
distancing. The Revelstoke Farm & Craft Market can be found in the community centre parking lot. You’ll find the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative Market just down the hill at Centennial Park.
@ Various locations · All Day Every 1-2 weeks the Revelstoke Cycling Association will release a different course on Trailforks as a ride badge. Get each week’s Trailforks badge by recording and completing the course marked within the week. For more information visit bikerevelstoke.org.
DANCE CHURCH
SUMMER 2020 WRITE-OFF
JULY EVENTS
@ Okanagan Regional Library, Revelstoke · Until August 31 The Revelstoke Library is seeking submissions of previously unpublished written work in any genre for a digital time capsule and chronicle of the Spring of 2020. Submissions can be emailed to jstuart@orl.bc.ca up until August 31. Complete details of the Write-Off can be found at orl.bc.ca/hours-locations/revelstoke
WEEKLY EVENTS WEDNESDAY GUERILLA GIGS
@ Various Locations · 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. The Revelstoke Arts Council presents Guerilla Gigs, a concert series of secret shows held at some of Revelstoke’s most iconic location. Shows are announced a week before with a limited number of tickets released. Tickets $10, visit revelstokeartscouncil.com for more information.
@ Alchemy Studio · 7:30 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. An evening of dance, music and community with guest DJ’s and facilitator. For more details visit www.1300.ca.
FRIDAY, JULY 10 ATV CLUB GPS RIDE
@ Three Valley Lake · All Day The ATV Club hosts the Three Valley GPS ride. For more information on the GPS Ride visit the ATV Club’s website at revelstokeatvclub.com.
TUESDAY, JULY 14 MY FATHERS DRAGON VIRTUAL PUPPET SHOW
@ Okanagan Regional Library (online) · 2 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. A family-friendly library puppet show for you to enjoy at home. Visit orl.bc.ca and select “what’s happening” for more information.
SATURDAY, JULY 18 RBC PGA SCRAMBLE
SATURDAY
@ Revelstoke Golf Club · 10:30 a.m. Open to everyone 19 years and older! Get your friends and register for the RBC PGA Scramble. For more information visit rbcpgascramble.com.
REVELSTOKE FARMERS MARKETS
TUESDAY, JULY 21
@ Revelstoke Community Centre · 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. The weekly Farmers Markets in Revelstoke are still happening, just at a new location to allow for physical
SUMMER ART FAIR
@ Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre · Until August 28
Local. Independent. Get in the magazine: info@revelstokemountaineer.com
The Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre reopens starting July 21. Photo: Aaron Orlando/RMM
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VISIT REVELSTOKEMOUNTAINEER.COM/CALENDAR TO SUBMIT YOUR EVENT FOR FREE. WE INCLUDE A SELECTION OF THOSE EVENTS HERE IN OUR MONTHLY PRINT CALENDAR. *Please check the event online on the day of the event as details may change*
Celebrate the re-opening of the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre with The Summer Art Fair. The fair runs July 21 to August 28, there is no opening event due to COVID-19. The centre is open from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
THURSDAY, JULY 23 ASL BASICS FOR TEENS AND ADULTS
@ Okanagan Regional Library (online) · 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Learn the basics of American Sign Language and gain exposure to Deaf culture in a fun, engaging, creative way. Classes also July 30, Aug. 5, 12. To register orl.bc.ca and select “what’s happening” to access the events calendar.
AUGUST EVENTS TUESDAY, AUGUST 4 The Revelstoke Wildflower Festival takes place August 8 to 16.
PROTECT OUR WINTERS MONTHLY MEETING
@ Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre Garden 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. An opportunity for new members to learn more about POW Revelstoke. Learn about new projects, previous achievements and discuss new ideas. Visit protectourwinters.ca for more info.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 REVELSTOKE WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL
@ Various locations · Until August 16 Take in the wonder of Revelstoke’s alpine meadows. Learn about our environment, take that perfect wild flower photo and enjoy all that Revelstoke has to offer. Visit seerevelstoke.com for details.
COLUMBIA BASIN CULTURE TOUR @ Various locations · Until August 10 This self-directed culture tour is a unique
opportunity to meet people behind the scenes, visit studios and venues, and shop for original art. Full details at cbculturetour.com. The RBC PGA Scramble takes place at the Revelstoke Golf Club on Saturday, July 18. Photo: Kestrel Collison.
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OUTDOORS
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BIKEPACKING BIKEPACKING: LEARN ABOUT REVELSTOKE LOCAL ROUTES TO GET YOUR WARMED UP FOR POST-COVID INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURES. By Alex Cooper.
The first person to bicycle around the world was Thomas Stevens, in the mid-'80s. On April 22, 1884, he strapped some clothes and a bed-roll to his penny-farthing (those bikes with the giant front wheels), holstered up his pocket revolver, and headed east from San Francisco. He crossed the United States, took a steamship to England, biked across Europe to Constantinople (now Istanbul), made his way to Iran, and then pedalled through India, China, and Japan. He caught a ship home in January 1887. When you look at pictures of his gear and consider the roads at the time, Stevens is the world’s first bikepacker. Of course, people didn’t call it that at the time, or really any time until recently.
Today, bikepacking has become a buzzword, a way for companies to sell more bikes and specialized gear. It’s also a way of exploring, it’s “go light, go anywhere” ethos adopted by thousands of hardy cyclists to reach remote regions no matter the condition of the road or trail. Some even bring packrafts along to extend their adventures onto rivers, lakes, and seas. Bikepacking has supplanted bicycle touring as the terminology of choice for travelling by bicycle. You’ve probably encountered the term somewhere. You may have dove in, or you might have wondered what’s wrong with your Surly Long Haul Trucker, rack, and panniers.
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Iohan Gueorguiev, whose I Want to See the World video series is worth watching, rides up to the Portachuelo Llanganuco at 4,750 metres above sea level in Peru's Cordillera Blanca. Photo: Alex Cooper.
The author's Salsa Fargo somewhere deep in the Kootenays. Photo: Alex Cooper.
Alex Cooper is the former editor of the Revelstoke Review. He quit that job to bikepack in South America for six months and has done several trips in B.C. since then. He’s now addicted and spends his time dreaming up new routes when he’s not at work for Avalanche Canada and the Canadian Avalanche Association.
What is bikepacking? To some people, bikepacking is about the terrain. It involves dirt roads, rough ATV tracks, singletrack, and maybe even a little bushwacking. The rougher, the better, and pushing is only an inconvenience. Pavement is only ridden as a necessary evil to connect sections of dirt. If the majority of your route is on pavement, then you’re bicycle touring. For others, bikepacking is about the gear. These people eschew traditional rack and panniers to soft bags that you strap to various parts of the frame. These bags include oversized saddlebags, frame
bags, handlebar rolls, and others like feed bags, top tube bags, gas tanks, and cargo bags. Generally all your gear is minimalist because space is at a premium. For these types of bikepackers, it doesn’t matter if you’re on pavement or dirt, but how you carry your gear. Of course, that leaves tons of grey areas. Like what if you set out on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route — the world’s most famous bikepacking route — with panniers? Or if you ride the Trans-Canada from Victoria to Newfoundland with bikepacking bags? Personally, I lean towards the first definition of bikepacking, which is that the terrain matters more than the gear. I did a sixmonth trip in South America that was largely on dirt roads, but I used panniers to carry most of my gear. Of course, lightweight
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LIFE equipment definitely makes life easier when pedalling steep mining roads and navigating singletrack, and panniers get in the way when you have to push.
The gear As bikepacking has exploded in popularity, so has the number of companies making bikepacking bikes. These can either have drop bars like a road bike or flat bars like a mountain bike, but what they tend to have in common is they generally use mountain bike tires, or at least wide road tires. Most use rigid frames, but people do bikepack on front suspension and full suspension bikes, particularly those aiming for primarily single-track trips. The rise of bikepacking has also led to an explosion in companies making bikepacking bags. Most are small shops selling bespoke gear that is hand-sewn in North America, like Porcelain Rocket in Calgary and Thief Bikepacking in Jasper. Generally, the gear isn’t cheap, but the quality is high and it is Canadianmade, which is always a bonus. There are three main pieces of gear associated with bikepacking: · The frame bag fits inside the large triangle of your bike frame. The benefit is that it allows you to keep gear low and centred on your bike, which helps with handling. It’s the place to carry heavier items. The disadvantage is that it takes up space where you’d normally carry water. · Handlebar rolls are basically dry bags that you strap to your handlebar. People generally use them to carry bulky but light gear like sleeping bags and clothing. · Over-sized saddlebags are attached to the seat and are used to carry other lighter gear like your tent, air mattress, and clothing. They stick way
Mindy Skinner rides across the flats on an overnight bikepacking trip to 12 Mile. Photo: Alex Cooper.
out behind your seat, which makes it harder to get behind the bike on steep descents, but they do make for a streamlined profile. There’s lots of other smaller bags used for bikepacking and what you end up with depends on how much space you need. If you go for a bikepacking set up, you also need to invest in other ultra-packable gear because you don’t have much space to work with. Bikepacking in its purest form is not luxurious.
Bikepacking routes The best source for bikepacking routes is Bikepacking.com. That website has helped turn bikepacking into what it is today, and it hosts a library of over 100 ridden and researched routes, along with a tonne of other information. The routes range from overnighters to cross-country epics like the Great Divide. At home, the Bikepack Canada website, has several route guides, and they will be publishing a guidebook to bikepacking in the Canadian Rockies by the late Ryan Correy. Gravelmaps.com is another great source for those seeking out dirt road routes. If you want to make your own routes, check out Ride With GPS and Komoot. Both contain route=planning software that lets you connect the dots using a variety of online mapping software, such as Google Maps and Open Street Maps.
Where to bikepack around Revelstoke? Here’s three trips near Revelstoke to get you started:
Green circle: 12 Mile Riding out to 12 Mile via the Columbia River Flats in spring is one of the most beautiful bike rides you can do in Revelstoke. With the reservoir low, you can follow old farm roads from Kovach Park all the way to 9 Mile. The open landscape provides perfect views of Revelstoke’s iconic peaks, and few creek crossings make it feel slightly adventurous despite being so close to home. At 9 Mile you have to jump on Airport Way the rest of the way, but that’s no big deal. This is a great option for families or if you just want a quick escape while leaving the car at home.
Blue square: The Galena Loop This is beautiful, 300-kilometres loop combines highways, dirt roads and rail trails south of Revelstoke. Starting at the Shelter Bay ferry, it takes you through Nakusp, New Denver, Kaslo, Meadow Creek, and Trout Lake. There’s many great camp spots, quaint cafes, cooling swim holes, and bits of history along the way, making this a fantastic long weekend ride and a great way to explore those bits of the Kootenays you’ve probably blow by many times in your car.
Black diamond: The Perry-Gorge circuit This loop starts at the old Skyline Gas Station on the Trans-Canada Highway 50 kilometres west of Revelstoke. Follow the Perry River north to the power lines, turn west, then head back south via the Gorge Forest Service Road. This 100-kilometre loop offers numerous glacier views as it passes along the western flanks of the Monashee Mountains. Frequent rough surfaces and a decent amount of climbing make this a tougher route than it seems. If you’re up for it, a 35-kilometre detour (each way) will take you to Seymour Arm, where you can camp on the lake.
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Congratulationns Congratulatio TO THE CLASS OF You worked hard to reach this very unique graduation day, and now it’s time to celebrate your accomplishments. We wish you a happy and successful future. A message from your teachers, members of the Revelstoke Teachers’ Association
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FEATURE
REVELSTOKE LOCALS REVELSTOKE MUSEUM & ARCHIVES CURATOR CATHY ENGLISH SHARES REFLECTIONS ON HOW PEOPLE OF ASIAN DESCENT CONTRIBUTED TO REVELSTOKE AND TO CANADA. By Cathy English, Curator, Revelstoke Museum & Archives.
Sawmill workers from Japan, South Asia, and Europe at Comaplix sawmilll, on the north-east arm of Upper Arrow Lake, circa 1910. The different ethnic groups were all housed in segregated housing. Image: Courtesy of Revelstoke Museum & Archives.
In May, the Government of Canada marked Asian Heritage Month. On the Heritage Canada website, it states, “Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity for all Canadians to learn more about the many achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian descent who, throughout our history, have done so much to make Canada the amazing country we share today.” To mark Asian Heritage Month, it is important to recognize and commemorate Asian people in our own community and region and to recognize the struggles they had to find their way in a society that was openly racist. Heritage Canada speaks about the achievements and
contributions of Canadians of Asian descent, but even today, those contributions are not always well recognized. Several thousand Chinese men helped to build the western portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway between Vancouver and Craigellachie in the 1880s. They were subjected to sub-standard working and living conditions, and were given about half the pay of Caucasian workers, and that they were often given the most dangerous jobs. Many Chinese men died, but we don’t know how many, because records of their deaths were not registered with the province, unlike those of Caucasian workers who died. In the iconic Canadian photograph of the Driving of the Last Spike at Craigellachie on November 7, 1885,
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“If we really want to celebrate Asian Heritage Month, we need to do more than just think happy thoughts about our diverse and tolerant country. We need to do more than just congratulate ourselves on not being racist. We need to be actively anti-racist.”
there is not a single Chinese worker in the crowd. They Chinese workers were seen as a necessary evil to get the railway completed, but their accomplishments and their contribution were not acknowledged, and they were not made welcome. This story is still not as widely known as it should be. Instead of recognizing the contribution of the Chinese workers, the government pandered to the widespread racism against them and conducted a Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration. This is a chilling document to read. It exposes the racist attitudes towards Chinese people at the time. The Commission resulted in the creation of the Head Tax, which was imposed only on Chinese immigrants. This is only one example of the institutionalized racism against people from Asia. Wong Kwong and his wife Yee Von immigrated to Canada in 1907. Wong Kwong was well-educated and literate, and had the means to bring his wife with him. They settled in Revelstoke and raised their nine children here. They were respected in the community for their strong work ethic and for their kindness towards everyone, but they still faced discrimination. The oldest daughter, Jean Kwong, was the first Chinese-Canadian woman to graduate as a nurse in Canada. That one act broke a huge barrier for Chinese people in Canada, but it came with a cost. Her younger sister told me that when Jean graduated, she was the top student, but was denied the award that she should have received. It was given to the second-highest achieving student, who was Caucasian. The sister still felt bitter about this when she told me about it more than 50 years later. Immigrants from Japan and India were also met with racism when they came to Canada. The newspapers are rife with racial slurs and derogatory stories about Asian settlers and labourers. On March 4th, 1910, a crew of railway workers were clearing the tracks after an avalanche came down at Rogers Pass. Where they were working, a second avalanche came down and buried 58 men. Thirty-two of the men who died were Japanese. Most of them had lived in Canada for several years, and they worked hard as labourers at sawmills and on the railway. All of the men’s bodies were recovered, and all of the Japanese men were sent to
Vancouver for burial in Mountain View Cemetery. Buddhist ceremonies were held for all of them. In Revelstoke, a community Memorial Service was held. All of the men’s names were included on the memorial program, but a black line separated the Caucasian names from the Japanese names. Even in death, the racial divide was present. Thanks to the tireless research of Tomoaki Fujimura, we know now a lot more about each of these men: when they came to Canada, names of family members, ages, and other details. Tomoaki was able to trace some of the descendants of these men, and some traveled to Canada to take part in commemorative events held in 2010. Everyone who participated in the commemoration still feels a sense of awe at the power of the remembrance. We felt that we were honouring the memories of all of those who had lost their lives. The museum has several hundred pages of original documents relating to the 1910 slide. One of these is a letter written by Mehar Singh, the crew boss of a group of South Asian workers who were helping with the recovery and clean-up efforts after the slide. Singh complained of poor treatment by the road master, and said they were left without blankets for three days while they were working at the site. He also cited verbal and physical abuse against his crew members, who were just trying to do their best to help at a difficult time Over the years I have worked at the museum, I have come across incredible stories of some of the Asian settlers who came here. Not everyone treated them poorly, but racism was so ingrained in society that they faced considerable barriers just to live their lives. A balanced view of Asian settlement is hard to find because of the racism and skewed views presented in the media and even in government records. Sometimes we have to dip below the surface to get a glimpse of the truth of people’s lives. It is easy for us to congratulate ourselves on how much better society is now, and even justify the racism of the past by saying that it was long ago, and that was just the way it was, and that they didn’t know better. We can be thankful that we now have anti-discrimination legislation in our country, and that our parliament is more diverse,
and that we have hate laws in place. We live in a much more tolerant society than the early settlers of our country did. Or at least we think we do. The racism may not be as blatant as it was in the early 1900s, but it still exists, and is still entrenched in our systems and our governments. There has been a rise in racist acts against Chinese people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people from visible minorities are expressing fear, for good reason. Recent events in the United States have shown how deep racial divisions still are. If we really want to celebrate Asian Heritage Month, we need to do more than just think happy thoughts about our diverse and tolerant country. We need to do more than just congratulate ourselves on not being racist. We need to be actively anti-racist. We need to call out racist “jokes” and language and acts at every opportunity. When the closures came into effect in March, someone on social media criticized a local Chinese restaurant for being open, even though they were following protocols and were open for take-out only. The post was openly racist against Chinese people. Another restaurant owner shared her sadness and disappointment over the post. Many, many local people responded in solidarity, letting her know that most of us here do not share those racist views. The restaurant owners and their families were assured that they belong here and are appreciated and valued as members of our country and our community. I was proud of the people who quickly jumped in to call out the racism, and to support our fellow citizens, but sad to see that someone in Revelstoke felt that it was okay to express that kind of racism, and even denied that it was racism. Canada is a diverse country. There is much to celebrate in our diversity. We can and should celebrate it, but we must also be strong in our fight to end racism. People who tell us that they are being treated in a racist and discriminatory way need to be believed and validated without being made to feel that they have no right to protest blatant racism or even micro-aggressions. Let us celebrate Asian Heritage Month by recognizing the wrongs of the past, by identifying the wrongs in our current society, and by diligently working to end racism.
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FEATURE
A single mom juggling the demands of parenting with a full-time job, you’d never guess Lisa (not her real name) is a recovering heroin addict. Born and raised in Revelstoke, she began using cocaine and crystal meth while still in high school. She didn’t even try heroin until she was well into her 30s. “Drugs have been around [Revelstoke] for a long time. I think a lot of people started getting into them in high school, and I know that’s still true to this day,” said Lisa. “When I was in high school, drugs were really big.” Lisa says she wasn’t even aware heroin was in Revelstoke until someone she knew had some, and offered to let her try. Three weeks after using heroin for the first time, Lisa says she was hooked. At first, she was able to maintain her regular life — picking her kids up from school, attending
parent teacher association meetings and showing up for work. All while using heroin. All day. Every day. “Nobody knew. It’s not what people think. It’s not that junkie sitting on [East] Hastings. It’s soccer moms. It’s every day people, and they’re completely functioning addicts. I couldn’t even have a shower until I had my shot, but once I had it, BOOM!, I’m on top of the world. I could do anything.” Lisa says a point of heroin costs $20. At the height of her addiction she was spending a minimum of $100 a day on heroin. “It got to the point where I needed way more than (a point) to do in one shot. It gets pricey fast. I know a lot of friends that turned to prostitution. I know people who have committed robbery here to get their drugs.”
A LOOK INSIDE REVELSTOKE’S OPIOID EPIDEMIC A RECENT BC CORONERS SERVICE REPORT LISTED REVELSTOKE AMONG LOCAL HEALTH AREAS WITH THE HIGHEST RATES OF DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS. WE SPOKE WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO FIND OUT WHAT’S BEING DONE TO COMBAT A DRUG PROBLEM THAT REMAINS LARGELY UNSEEN BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC. By Melissa Jameson.
Revelstoke Emergency Health Services, RCMP see rise in drug-related calls, investigations In the first six months of 2020, BC Emergency Health Services paramedics in Revelstoke responded to a total of 10 overdose calls. By comparison, BCEHS paramedics responded to 10 overdose calls in Revelstoke for all of 2016; 17 calls in all of 2017; 18 calls in all of 2018; and 16 calls for all of 2019. According to BCEHS communications officer Shannon Miller, when BCEHS paramedics respond to a potential overdose patient, that patient has a 99 per cent chance of survival. “While tracking this BCEHS overdose data can be useful to identify trends, it’s important to consider that it may not capture all opioid overdoses and also includes alcohol intoxication and poisoning ingestions,” said Miller. For context, said Miller, there were a total of 24,166
potential overdose or poisoning events in all of B.C. in 2019. This means BCEHS paramedics are responding to an average of 66 potential overdose/poisoning calls per day in the province. Vancouver, the largest centre for overdoses, averages about 23 overdose calls a day to BCEHS paramedics. Similarly, the Revelstoke RCMP has also seen an increase in statistics, in this case for illicit drug related offence investigations and impaired driving offence investigations. The RCMP provided first-quarter statistics for 2018, 2019 and 2020. According to those statistics, Revelstoke RCMP conducted 10 impaired driving investigations in the first quarter of 2018, 11 in 2019 and 45 in 2020. There were 18 drug-related investigations during the first quarter of 2018, six in 2019 and 18 during the first quarter of 2020. The statistics don’t necessarily provide the whole picture, said Revelstoke RCMP Sgt. Chris Dodds, because police can only report on actual investigations that have corresponding file numbers. Dodds told the Mountaineer there are a number of ways investigations can be initiated including through calls for service, Crime Stoppers tips, spin-off investigations from other calls for service and selfgenerated investigations by RCMP officers.
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In early June the BC Coroners Service published a report listing Revelstoke among local health areas with the highest rates of illicit drug toxicity deaths in the province. Revelstoke was third worst in the province, behind only Hope, B.C. and Vancouver. According to statistics provided in the report, there were a total of nine overdose deaths in Revelstoke between January 2018 and the end of May 2020. Of those fatalities, six happened in 2018 and the remaining three occurred in May 2020. The Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine, and its sister publication revelstokemountaineer.com, has followed Revelstoke’s opioid crisis since breaking the story of the 2018 overdose deaths. Following news of the most recent deaths, revelstokemountaineer.com reached out to stakeholders to try and get a sense of what’s being done to combat the ongoing crisis. In an attempt to dive even deeper into the conversation, Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine has reached out to a broader range of stakeholders, including a recovering heroin and opiod addict, in an effort to better understand the impacts the ongoing opioid epidemic is having on the community, and what’s being done about it. Here’s what we found out.
“As an example, our impaired driving has increased this quarter, and the increase is likely tied to specific [police officers] receiving training in impaired driving enforcement and detection. The spike may not directly correlate to an increase in impaired driving by the public, but due to increased enforcement as a result of training,” said Dodds.
Despite potency and risk of overdose, drug users want fentanyl Lisa describes Revelstoke’s drug scene as huge and scary. Even more so now, says Lisa, because no one knows for sure what’s in the drugs they’re consuming. “Everything’s being cut with fentanyl. It’s intense what goes on in the background,” said Lisa. “There’s drug wars, and for a small town you wouldn’t think that’s happening, but it is. People have territory, but pretty much you can find anything you want here and that’s the scary thing. It’s really scary because now you don’t know what it’s being cut with.” Lisa says while there are numerous people selling cocaine and meth in Revelstoke, there are only a handful of heroin dealers. In her opinion, the overdose deaths in 2018 and May 2020 were likely the fault of “bad batches” coming into town. The limited number of people selling heroin. or ‘down,’ meant the potential for overdose increased because essentially everyone was purchasing drugs from the same batch. Despite the potential for overdose and even death, Lisa said drug users actually want fentanyl, because it’s far more potent than heroin. “It was, ‘The more the better.’ You get into that head space of, ‘if you OD and die, well, oh well.’ You don’t care. I know that was my mentality for a long time. It didn’t matter if I died from the next shot, I was OK with that. Part of me wanted to, because it’s so hard to get out of it. It starts to control your whole life. The fentanyl doesn’t scare people when they’re using it, not at all. I mean, I’ve done plenty of fentanyl and I’ve never died.” In a story published on the revelstokemountaineer.com, Chloe Sage, a drug checking coordinator with ANKORS in Nelson, said fentanyl isn’t the only dangerous opiod showing up in the drug supply. On May 26, 2020 ANKORS released a community-wide warning for the Nelson area after drug testing showed yellow samples being sold as ‘down’ were found to contain benzodiazepines and fentanyl. “People are getting knocked out. They’re not only dealing with an overdose, but they’re also doing their shot and then blacking out for hours. They’re getting robbed, getting assaulted, sexually assaulted … It’s very concerning for us to be seeing this in our
region,” said Sage. “To do a shot and think you’re just going to carry on and then to wake up two hours later in an alley, that’s really scary.”
Impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing on opioid epidemic still unknown April 2020 marked four years since now former provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall declared a public health emergency due to the significant increase in drug-related overdoses and deaths being seen across B.C. Roger Parsonage, executive director of clinical operations for Interior Health, said prior to the onset of COVID-19, the health authority had started seeing gains in its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. That was before the BC Coroners Service released its most recent reports, showing a spike in the number of overdose deaths. Those most recent overdose deaths took place during a call for provincial-wide physical distancing due to the coronavirus, which saw many people self-isolating in their homes. Parsonage said it’s still unknown what impact COVID-19 may have on efforts to reduce opioid-related deaths and overdoses in the province. “We don’t know for sure if control measures like physical distancing may have had a negative effect on people who are already isolated and stigmatized due to substance use,” said Parsonage. Jennifer Brunelle, project lead for the new Shared Car BC Adult Mental Health and Substance Use project in Revelstoke, told the Mountaineer that the pandemic has amplified some root problems that lead to overdose deaths: “In Revelstoke and elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased isolation for individuals and complicated access to health and social services for many.”
How Revelstoke is working to reduce stigma, provide help The judgement and the stigma, says Lisa, are the hardest parts of being an addict. Talking to stakeholders in the community, it’s obvious they all want to help. Getting a clear idea of what that help looks like, however, is a bit more complicated. There appear to be many moving parts, but it’s not always clear how each piece fits together to foster a sustained systemic response.
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Feature
Interior Health Parsonage said Interior Health is continuing to provide harm reduction services along with treatment and support. This includes a drug and alcohol counsellor through Revelstoke Mental Health and Addictions, access to Opioid Antagonist Treatment, and a harm reduction nurse who is able to provide naloxone kits. Recently, in light of the numerous warnings about illicit drug contamination, IH began including drug testing strips with the naloxone kits. Asked about IH’s decision to include the testing strips, Lisa says she isn’t sure it would make much difference for drug users. “I think it’s great they’re doing that but I don’t know how effective it will be because by that time you’ve already paid for your drugs. You get them tested and ‘oh, there’s something in it,’ but these are all the drugs I have, so I’m just going to do them anyway. I just can’t see people doing it and then not consuming the drugs anyway,” she said. In addition to providing naloxone kits and testing strips, Interior Health is also actively promoting Lifeguard, an app that, when enabled, connects a user to emergency responders if the user becomes unconscious or unable to function. Parsonage said IH is even going as far as providing people who are using substances alone with phones, in order to ensure they remain as safe as possible.
The City of Revelstoke In a statement emailed to the Mountaineer, Revelstoke Mayor Gary Sulz said the city recently awarded two contracts to Community Connections. The first is $35,000 funded by Columbia Basin Trust, and is to support Community Connections and the Revelstoke Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Collaborative with their early intervention initiatives and harm reduction. The second contract is for $33,789 through funds from the Canadian Mental Health Association. These funds are dedicated to the Community Action Initiative, which will support development of harm reduction strategies. Sulz said this funding is on top of on-going projects in partnership with the CYMHSU and the Opioid project.
Local physicians & Shared Care BC Brunelle says although asking for help can seem daunting, those struggling with substance use can discuss support or treatment with their family physician, or through the walk-in clinic, where treatment options and care plans can be created based on individual needs. “Revelstoke is fortunate to have a network of health care and social services providers and administrators who are actively working to enhance pathways to efficient and effective substance use and care within the community,” said Brunelle.
An example of this is a new initiative through Shared Care BC, which began locally in May 2020. The project will focus on adult mental health and substance use populations and bring together stakeholders from both local medical practices, Interior Health and Community Connections. The first phase of the project, which will focus on community engagement, patient journey mapping to help the working group better understand gaps in care, is set to begin this summer.
Revelstoke RCMP In an email to the Mountaineer, Dodds said the Revelstoke RCMP continue to take action to reduce the supply of illicit substances in the community. From a broader, community perspective, when it comes to addressing the issue of substance use in the community, Dodds says Revelstoke RCMP have partnered with different agencies and organizations to collaboratively deal with the ongoing opioid crisis. “Revelstoke RCMP will continue to take actions in an effort to reduce the supply of deadly illicit substances to our community, by targeting those who traffic drugs in our town,” said Dodds.
Revelstoke Child and Youth Mental Health & Substance Use Collaborative The Revelstoke Child and Youth Mental Health & Substance Use Collaborative began its work in the community back in 2015. An initiative of Shared Care BC, the CYMHSU brought together a variety of local stakeholders from a broad spectrum of the community, including School District 19, local physicians, RCMP, the Ministry of Children and Family Development and parents. Stacie Byrne, who was CYMHSU project lead from April 2017 to December 2019, said the work done by the group has helped to identify and mitigate many gaps in service for youth struggling with mental health and substance use issues, but says there is still work that needs to be done. “It will never end because new drugs will appear, and new problems will be presented. If we keep educating ourselves, meeting and sharing our knowledge, and building relationships with those individuals directly affected and their families and friends we can stay ahead of the need and work to be proactive as well as reactive,” Byrne wrote in an email to the Mountaineer. Lisa’s message to those who struggle with substance use and addiction is simple: Don’t give up. “People need to know you’re not always going to get it right on the first try. It’s [recovery] not always linear or easy. Walking into [a Narcotics Anonymous meeting] for the first time can feel really scary, but people there will welcome you.”
Information on Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, along with other local supports for those struggling with substance use, can be found by visiting revelstokelife.ca.
Feature
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HISTORY
MASQUERADES UNMASKED WRITER’S NOTE: The following is a true(ish) story based on an assortment of newspapers articles, obituaries, and biographies It is not in any way a definitive historical account as I make many assumptions.
Guy Barber appears in many photographs in the Revelstoke Museum & Archives. Many of them are sports pictures, such as the 1891 ski club and the 1909 curling club and the snowshoe club; others show Guy in front of his jewellery store. He also appears in several photographs of local entertainment, such as the 1911 Fireman’s Masquerade Ball. Image courtesy of Revelstoke Museum & Archives
Guy is unmissable in a Who’s Who of Revelstoke’s early days. Image courtesy of Revelstoke Museum & Archives
Part I: Unmasked “The scene was one of fascination, the effect being heightened by the fact that few of the dancers could be recognized behind their masks … Soldiers mingled with oriental beauties, coy peasant girls made eyes at dashing cavaliers and cowboys, while clowns, fairies, mythical goddesses, Scotchmen and Turks, suffragettes and statesmen, took life together as happily as could be.” — Revelstoke Herald-Review
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
Revelstoke New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball — December 31, 1896 Dancing started at 9 p.m. sharp. By then the gallery was packed to capacity with masked faces framing a perfectly conditioned dancefloor. The Devil was there along with a Foxy Grandpa and Cupid who stood by a Butcher, Jester, Sailor, Gambler, a couple courtiers, numerous knights, a mix of Spanish, Egyptian and Italian royalty, plus at least three of the four seasons — Winter, Spring, Summer — congregating naturally while Fall was conspicuously absent. It was “the event of the season” according to the HeraldReview, out of which some had used copies to fashion papier-mâché masks. It was one of the most elitist nights in Revelstoke during one of the most elitist ages; anyone who was anyone was there. All the Revy ‘bluebloods’ along with historical heavyweights Anne Boleyn and Madame de Pompadour, mortals and immortals, and local flora Scotch Thistle and Wild Rose. Outfits varied in degrees of today’s standard of racist-ness (Hindoo Prince, Gypsy, Chinese Lady) and at least a few wore blackface and brownface. A few noisey minutes pass as Flirt and Folly compare dance cards and Dutch Peasant whisper-shouts something to the Goddess of Liberty. Scotch Lassie and Western Girl mime with Pierrette and Pierrot. Yellow Primrose fixes Fortune Teller’s feathers, and Miss Columbia holds hands with Viking Chief. Amid it all, nearby Prima Donna and Mother Shipton, speaking mightily with Helen of Troy, somehow always the center of attention, stood a tall, handsome and gregarious local man named Guy Barber, sophisticatedly dressed as a Gentleman of the 21st Century, and waiting like everyone else for the six-instrument orchestra to strike up.
GAY AFFAIRS Newspapers reported on such soirées as the night of December 31, 1896 in great detail, even describing the musical finesse of the Reverend Paton who played flute “with a master hand” and Mr. Coursier “au fait with the cornet” while the organ, violin and concertina “helped swell the chorus.” It raved about the “gay costumes” and the hall’s “very gay” decorations — with ‘gay’ of course meaning something quite different 123 years ago. ‘Gay’ in Guy Barber’s day was fine in the ‘Gay Parisienne’ sense. (GP, by the way, also there.) Such gay affairs made for jollity in the local newspaper; gay or homosexual affairs, however, were an inprisonable offense. This was an age when musicians hit their notes, dancers knew their steps, and people played their parts whether in public or private, knowing that certain social missteps simply would not be tolerated.
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LIFTING THE VEIL FROM ONE OF REVY’S OLDEST AFFAIRS. By Peter Worden.
ANOTHER WRITER’S NOTE: I feel like more than a tux came out of Guy Barber’s closet that night. While no one should insinuate anyone’s sexuality (even — or especially?— a century or more after they lived) I do only to make a point, which I’ll get to.
COSTUMES & CUSTOMS Minutes before midnight the Master of Ceremonies asks the gentlemen to choose a partner. Guy looks across the room. Italian Dancing Girl. Shepherdess. Rosalind. No, no, no. Squire's Daughter. Tyrolienne. No, no... Then a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turns to face Colonial Belle. Yes. All night long he was 99-percent sure the beautiful 20-year-old donning an orange seersucker skirt and white blouse, shielding her face with a large fan and feathery chapeau was Lyda. Now he was certain. At the stroke of midnight, all were given the signal to unmask and voilà, Lyda, beaming and fanning herself lightly to cool the swelter of the hall and blushing a little. The hall erupted in laughter and chatter. Guy, Lyda and everyone joined hands to sing Auld Lang Syne. The two stood next to each other by now perhaps a little tipsy, holding hands and when they finished singing everyone clapped and Guy and Lyda sealed the new year with a polite kiss. SORRY, ANOTHER ONE: By now, I imagine Guy has a) either confided in his friend Lyda or b) she suspects/knows the secret of his sexuality. What is known however is that night they danced, and they spoke, and traded silent know-all looks that hid a thousand secrets.
DON’T DANCE, DON’T DATE Masquerades and fancy masked balls go back to the early-1890s in Revelstoke. Back then, being adroit with ballroom dancing was the custom and a major part of local culture. Dancing at this time meant opportunities to meet the opposite sex. Courtship. Romance. Marriage, possibly, and babies. In other words, in Revelstoke’s earliest days, dancing was life. Most dances would begin with a formal square — a quadrille. This was perhaps followed by a crowd-pleasing fast waltz. Then maybe a slow waltz, French minuet, and round dances to spiral away the night until as late as three in the morning or whenever the MC might ask the band to play one final bittersweet home waltz. While masquerades were popular affairs, far more important were the sheer scores of other dances — not just masked balls but fancy dress balls, annual Fire Brigade balls, Oddfellows dances and regular dances at the Masonic Temple. St. Patrick’s Day dances, New Year’s Eve dances, and dances for every day of the week that end in ‘y’ at either the Quadrille Club or the Columbia Club or the local opera house. One January, the Ladies of St. Peter’s
parish gave a dance in Tappings Theatre the week following the New Year’s dance and the week before Fire Brigade No. 2’s ball in the same hall. Sure, much ado was made about fancy schmancy masquerades that the local bluebloods did once or twice a year. But they weren’t generally how young people met. Back then, almost everyone belonged to a church— Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican, Catholic or Baptist — along with a number of clubs. Since ladies and bachelors couldn’t meet in bars or online like today, when it came to socializing and courtship, they relied on many annual events, church socials, coed clubs and, of course, dancing to form pairs. WRITER’S NOTE: Did these people ever stop dancing?
NEW GUY IN TOWN Enter Mr. Guy Barber. John G. Barber moved to Revelstoke in 1889. Amid the network of culture that was sports clubs, dancing, shooting, mining, and business, Guy was soon at the center of most of it. He was an interesting guy at the intersection of interesting times. “[He was] one the best known and most highly esteemed citizens … a man of great personal popularity … one of the mainstays of Revelstoke’s commercial and civic prosperity and substantiality,” writes Jan Feldinger who biographied Barber and researched his genealogy. His newspaper ad read: “Barber the Jeweler and Optician. Repairing a specialty.” But he also coowned real estate and substantial shares in a silver mine at Trout Lake, and later expanded into retail and wholesale business. His obituary recounted: “Mr.
Barber was very popular throughout his career … an enterprising man in all departments of his activity … who made Revelstoke the center of his prosperous and constantly expanding trade in this line.” He was also the tonal core of the local musical and choral scene, and was called to entertain at many — practically every — public event, or at least so it seemed. “Early newspapers are full of write ups telling of Guy Barber’s talent as an entertainer,” writes Revelstoke Museum & Archives curator Cathy English. Barber would sometimes perform as a soloist or as part of a quartet. He had a good voice and played both the banjo and harmonica. He even helped form Revelstoke’s first brass band, in which he played alto. He could certainly hold a room with his music. The question is could he dance? For a man who fixes timepieces, he of course kept perfect time.
Part II: Dance, Dance, Revolution Way before the Dougie and long before the Slide, before the Worm, the Moonwalk, Mashpotato, Locomotion, and Twist, before the Cha-cha-cha and even the Rhumba — there was the Quadrille. Quadrilles date back to the mid-18th century in France, and require two couples, so four people, hence ‘quad.’ Couples can add themselves to form sides and repeat the dance while others rest. (See YouTube for an example.) Quadrilles were all the formal rave right up to around the 1900s. Some quadrille clubs used a dance card programme for efficiency. If you weren’t on anyone’s dance card, however, you weren’t on the dance floor. You waited
What the Revelstoke Herald for headlined simply in typical all-caps: THE FANCY DRESS BALL.
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History
Masquerade balls have been a thing in Revelstoke for 130 years or so. To say dances were an important social event is an understatement. Dancing meant meeting people of the opposite sex, courtship, romance, and possibly marriage. Image courtesy of Revelstoke Museum & Archives
until the end of a square (or squares) for your chance at a round. Round dances were choreographed with an outer ring of men and an inter-rotating inner ring of women, and usually kept to simple foxtrots and two-steps. (Ah, old trusty round dance!—the surest hope for a bachelor who’s not too sure on his feet.) Depending who was calling the dance, however, the tempo may be quick and difficult — a tricky three-step, for example. Theoretically, someone like Guy calling a dance could get in as much action as he liked, filling out every square and making rounds as hard to keep up with as possible. And that’s exactly what he did.
THE GREAT COMPLAINT Revelstoke has a long history of dancing and, unsurprisingly, a long history of public griping. A dance in January 1893 at the Revelstoke Quadrille Club sparked quite the kerfuffle, resulting in a classic local war of words. “Great complaint was made at the late fancy dress ball that the programmes were entirely filled by the first-comers, and those gentlemen who came late could not get a dance,” read the Star newspaper whose editor preambled he “cannot be responsible for the opinions expressed by correspondents.”
FAINT HEART NE’ER WON FAIR LADY A letter writer lamented the “novices in the terpsichorean art” who had to sit out the dances, watching the “creme de la creme of Revelstoke’s bluest blood.” “Although last night may be considered a successful one numerically, several things
marred its success as a pleasant gathering. Most, if not the whole, of the twenty ladies present were at the commencement, engaged for several dances ahead by the “rustlers” who are always “in it,” leaving those gentlemen who are not blessed with so much brass in their composition to sit out the first hour ... It requires a great deal of ingenuity to secure a partner ...until the ‘rustlers’ are tired out.” He referred to Guy as “Adonis” ( lover of the goddess Aphrodite), adding: “...One would as soon think of asking the regal Cleopatra or the chaste Diana for a dance as one of them. Our Adonises had managed to secure the jolliest partners, as usual, right through to the end of the programme, without giving a thought to those who are not Adonises, and who would have to take their leavings or go home.” The anonymous letter writer accused the Quadrille Club of operating to suit itself while there were “many gentlemen unable to find a partner.” He called out the dance caller (Barber) for swinging his partner with his back to the crowd, fuming: “Surely all the round dances should satisfy him. If he desired to take part in a quadrille there was a gentleman present who could have relieved him.”
J'ACCUSE! Being unduly lambasted, Adonis (almost certainly Guy speaking in first-person) retorted: “Neither do I consider myself blessed (or otherwise) with more ‘brass’ than the average young man of Revelstoke, and yet, despite these lamentable deficiencies, I somehow manage to be ‘in it’ with the best of them.” He dismissed such buncombe, scolding, “the gentlemen foolish or unfortunate enough to come late.” And continued: “Mr.
Barber danced only to make up the set, and not even until after he had endeavoured to wake up one or two anti-rustlers (who appeared to be in a comatose state at the far end of the hall) to a sense of their duty to the Quadrille Club in general and the ladies in particular.” He finished by sticking it to the haters : “There was a time when I would sit quietly (possibly as your correspondent does now) and wait till the majority of the ladies had been taken up, and then try to engage partners for the balance of the programme, at which stage of the game I was usually greeted with the customary “I’m engaged.’ … Now I can always or nearly so, get all the dancing I want … even the creme de la creme of Revelstoke’s bluest blood are not above giving me a dance occasionally,” —mic drop*— signed, ONE OF THEM. The newspaper shut it down once and for all, stating “The Star will receive no more letters on the subject.” WRITER’S NOTE: Mic drop added for effect.
BELLE OF THE BALL! Lyda Edwards was 17 when her family moved to town. She moved along with her mom Mary, father Charles, and two brothers James (Jim) and Edward (Eddie). It was the year following the Great Complaint. Luckily they skipped all that hullabaloo, as one can imagine arriving in a rough n’ tumble railroad town dominated by horny pioneer men in a well articulated age of systemic racism and intellectual snobbery. But the Edwards were far from guppies in a shark feeding frenzy. Her father, was a fugitive. Five years earlier, he disappeared after robbing the US government.
History
WRITER’S NOTE: True story.
MISSTEPS Records show Lyda’s father, Charles Edwards, was actually one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives at the time. His real name: Craven Silcott. Silcott was a cashier for the House of Representatives Bank in Ohio who basically bamboozled the American government of nearly two million (by today) dollars. His fast-paced lifestyle of having a mistress and gambling debts at the horse track finally caught up with him. On November 30, 1889, he pulled off the heist of the century, embezzling the entire congressional payroll from the House Bank — $75,000 at the time — fleeing from the United States with a huge sack of cash. He went to Canada with a FrenchCanadian paramour, leaving his family penniless pariahs back in the U.S.. Final mention of Silcott on the public record was a single line in a Victoria newspaper The British Colonist, stating: “Silcott, the defaulting cashier of the U. S. House of Representatives is said to be somewhere on the [Howe] Sound or in British Columbia.” When Craven’s family moved to Revelstoke, rumors ran wild. Guy had heard them of course and knew enough to know that they were, at least in part, true.
GUY MEETS GIRL In her article What a Guy! Cathy English notes: “In the mid-1890s, Guy Barber’s name was often linked with that of Lyda Edwards.” Guy and Lyda met in the spring of 1894. Maybe she brought in her timepiece to his shop. One can imagine a ‘So, you’re from Winnipeg? My father’s from Winnipeg ...’’ sort of perfunctory conversation. Or maybe they met in April at the Christian Endeavor Society where “Misses Boyd and Northey played the pianoforte while Guy sang,” or at another church evening program later that spring. They certainly saw each other throughout the summer of 1894, first at a three-legged race and later at the Gun Club opening shoot when the weather was perfect for clay-pigeon shooting, and Guy hit four out of five in the 50-cent sweepstakes. In August, he and Lyda, now well acquainted, entered a tennis tournament together and won in the doubles category. They were gifted a racquet, and Lyda was presented a huge bouquet of flowers tied with club colours. The years following her arrival to town were a fastidious few for Guy. In spring 1895 the Mail recapped local renovations around town in The March of Improvement, writing: “Guy Barber the Front Street jeweler has caught the spirit of improvement. He has had the finest job of artistic painting done in his store that has ever been executed in Revelstoke.” Later that year, as the captain of the Snowshoe and Toboggan Club, Guy, Lyda and others went up the Jordan to a cabin. They stacked their snowshoes in one corner while nearby a fire was stoked, and everyone
danced to harmonica and banjo, both of which Guy and others played. Ladies and bachelors made turkey sandwiches and coffee to refresh everyone before going home.
GETTIN’ THE BAND TOGETHER Clubs and dancing were important and of course so was music. Yet Revelstoke didn’t have a proper band. So, in 1896, Guy and a few other notable pioneering Revelstoke musicians petitioned their fellow merchants for money in order to buy instruments to form one, and set to perform on New Year’s Day 1897. One of Barber’s bandmates was Charles Holten, an equally well-known businessman who at the time co-owned Enterprise Brewery on Charles Avenue, and was already fabulously rich. He made a small fortune with a silver mining claim in the Lardeau. Guy and Charles became more than acquaintances; they were good friends.
FRIENDS VS. FRIENEMIES Financially, Charles was more in his professional prime than Guy. Sociallyspeaking, it’s hard to imagine ever outperforming the Great Guy Barber. (How could anyone compete with a guy like Guy?) Guy was popular and instantly respected as an indispensable part of the community, both as everyone’s clock-fixer as well as life of the party. He had panache. Charles on the other hand could hardly hold a candle in conversation. Being newish to North America, English rolled off his tongue less easily, and feeling a little too foreign, he set to reinventing himself by changing his surname to a more English-sounding Holten, from the original Hultengren, and ditching his Swedish heritage in the census records. Nevertheless while English wasn’t his mother tongue, he spoke the international language of dance.
TRIPPED BY THE LIGHT FANTASTIC Charles Holten liked Lyda — loved her in fact. Lyda had befriended Guy but Charles was formally courting her. Holten, about the same age as Barber, both 30-somethings, single, in full-rut, rather fetching and known for social probity were each exceptional dancers, too. Back at the 1897 New Year’s Eve masquerade dance, while holding Guy’s hand, Lyda and Guy both knew she had given her heart to Charles. The morning after the masquerade on January 1, 1897 the band that Barber helped create performed for its first time to the public. Lyda was there. Everyone was there. Members of the band included her brother James, playing snare, and her soon-to-behusband Charles Holten. Guy, one of two alto horns, seated next to the two tenors, an E flat bass, a clarinet, and a bass drum, help swell the chorus. He and Lyda caught eyes, and they smiled. WRITER’S NOTE: Part II coming soon.
Why Masquerades Mattered Combing through 100-year-old newspapers researching masquerade balls in Revelstoke, one thing is apparent: they were racist AF. Some of the more racist outfits worn were African Trader, Oriental Priest, “Coon,” many a “Coloured Gent” and best comic one year went to the uncomfortably racist Jewish Peddler worn by Mr. Monk who the newspaper noted “played the part to perfection.” Aye, aye ... Like all social affairs of that day, there was an inherent class structure that fancy masked balls propped up. Revelstoke’s elite were a deeply-seeded classist, British upper crust. The early Italians for example were mostly labourers—they didn’t speak English and were Catholic (gasp!). So, except for a notable few (such as Anselmo Pradolini who built the courthouse and became Mayor) Italians weren’t part of the Revelstoke elite. Nor were early Chinese, Japanese or other non-European residents. But people of course didn’t see masquerade balls as reinforcing classism and racism; more likely they saw them as shaking things up. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victorian era, and the early 1900s through about 1916 was considered the Progressive Era. This was a pseudo-Golden Age at the tail end of an Industrial Revolution. People were riding high. Around the world was political reform, scientific discovery and social change. Charles Dickens. Charles Darwin. A railway boom. The first telephone and telegraph. In Revelstoke, one of the biggest cities in interior British Columbia, C.B. Hume’s department store had the only passenger elevator in a retail store between Winnipeg and Vancouver. Pretty spanky, right! Masquerades allowed Revelstoke to mix it up and offered a much needed distraction. These were hard times especially during the Great War. Newspapers recounted dances alongside stories of soldiers having their hand shot off and dangling by two strands. People needed this. This was one of the major sources of entertainment. Especially in December, a dark month in Revelstoke, one paper captured the local buzz: “The town is behind it, the dancing populace has been talking greater part of the immense sums of nothing else for the last week, but "masquerade" ..."Have you got your costume? I wonder if the hall will be warm? Who is going to play the music? I wonder if the floor will be in good: condition"... That is the general topic around town.”
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PHOTO CONTEST
DANIEL STEWART As the summer melt nears an end there is a sweet spot for running Sutherland Falls at Blanket Creek Provincial Park. Too high and the falls and water below are too powerful, too low and it turns into a very technical line with shallower water. Pierce Huser and I went out one July afternoon and it was too high due to too much rain. With the weather clearing, we decided to wait. The next day the levels dropped down, so I set up a flash above the falls to make for dynamic light and got in position to take the shot. With a safety team standing by in case something went wrong, Pierce went ahead and dropped the falls perfectly! — Daniel Stewart, photographer
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LAURA SZANTO Carol Prince navigates through some technical trails on a Macpherson trail as her Husky, Lola, charges ahead. Last summer, I decided to buy my first mountain bike. The transition was easy since most of my friends here are enthusiastic mountain bikers and there is a broad range of trails to choose from. For this particular shoot, I wanted to highlight how much of a positive impact dogs have on our active lifestyles and that there is a big, empowering community of mountain biking women out there. As Nicole Larson puts it, 'I love riding with other women because of the huge amount of encouragement, lack of judgement and overall desire to just have fun. -Laura Szanto, photographer
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REAL ESTATE New landscaping has just completed a total renovation of the Minto Manor, one of Revelstoke's most iconic historic residences. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine
JUST THE STATS!
THE PANDEMIC CAUSED DISRUPTION IN THE REVELSTOKE REAL ESTATE MARKET IN THE FIRST QUARTER, BUT PRICES ARE STILL TRENDING UPWARD, PARTIALLY DRIVEN BY MORE PROFESSIONALS SHIFTING TO REMOTE WORK. By Emily Beaumont
The Revelstoke real estate market is vibrant as we head into summer, after one of the most unusual second quarters in history. We are still reeling from this almost surreal pandemic, which no one saw coming, but statistically many knew to be inevitable. There has been a steady stream of inquiries by buyers from larger centres, as they are all realizing what’s important in life — fresh air, fresh water and, for many of the new remote workers making a home here, fibre Internet. Working remotely has been figured out and is now widely attainable and acceptable, something the pandemic has reinforced. Problems create new and improved solutions, or as they say, necessity is the mother of invention! Buyers were already hesitant to pay the higher prices being asked this past fall and winter. Prices continue to be at the top range, however, and can be achieved if the property is buttoned up and
ready to go. When renovations are required, we are seeing more of a negotiated reduction, which on average has been approximately 3%. As of June 30, 2020 there were just 26 Single Family Residential (SFR) sales, as compared to 42 in the first half of 2019. Of these, five of the 26 homes sold for less than $500,000; 21 sold for more than $500,000; four were in the $1 million-plus range; and in the same period for 2019, 16 of the 42 homes sold for less than $500,000. The average Revelstoke SFR sale price in 2019 was $585,000. The 2020 average to date jumps to $836,000 if the home sales valued over $1 million are included. However, removing those sales over $1 million, the average is $599,000. As of June 30, 2020, there are just 50 singlefamily residential properties on the market. The average number of days-on-market-to-sell has been 92, statistically the amount of exposure
needed to determine fair market value. This is slightly longer than the 70 days it took an average SFR to sell in 2019. There have been seven land-only sales so far in 2020 compared to 21 during the first half of 2019. The average sale price for land in 2019 was $251,000, but to date in 2020 it’s at $293,000. By mid-April this year, sales volume was down by 62% — but as many others have reported, sales are right back up as we head into summer. This reflects the pent-up energy and newfound freedom, for as long as it lasts. The uncertainty is the tough part. Sellers know what they have in Revelstoke and if they aren’t in a hurry to sell, we may continue to see higher list prices. However, until the dust settles, it remains to be seen what direction things will take over the longer term. Take care of yourselves and each other out there (and don’t pollute!) Earth is the only home we all have, and she too needs proper maintenance!
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THE MAN OF INSPIRATION
LIFE
THE PANDEMIC HAS CREATED NEW ADVERSITY FOR MANY IN REVELSTOKE. ALEX COOPER CHECKS IN WITH REVELSTOKE DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKING PIONEER CHRIS MILLER, WHO SHARES HIS PERSPECTIVES ON MAINTAINING MOMENTUM THROUGH TOUGH PERSONAL CHALLENGES. By Alex Cooper.
Pretty much every day, you can find Chris Miller riding around town. Whether he’s cruising across the flats on his fat bike in winter, up Mont Revelstoke on his road bike, or cruising for a coffee on his townie, he’s constantly pedalling forward. It’s a passion that’s been with him since he was a kid growing up in Smithers, B.C., where he raced BMX, and followed him to Revelstoke 20 years ago, where he was part of the group that pioneered downhill mountain biking on Boulder Mountain around the turn of the millennium. A stroke in January 2014 forced him to find new ways to enjoy his passion. He now rides a variety of trikes to get around. “The thing I missed the most is I lived for being at the top of the mountain before, but I don't get there now,” he told me. "Sometimes it's a bit hard, but I enjoy it from a different perspective. Winter on the flats, you're in the middle of our beautiful valley, it's stunning." His stroke impacted his vision, his speech, and his nervous system. He’s lost many of his fine motor skills and senses on
the right side of his body. He says he feels pain, but doesn’t discern between hot and cold. Everything he used to do easily with his right hand, he had to re-learn with his left hand. For several weeks he couldn’t eat or drink and had to be fed through a hole into his stomach. Fortunately, he was surrounded of people that stepped forward to help — karma returning from his outgoing, friendly, helpful nature. A trust was started to help him and his family while he recovered and went through months of physio. They also worked together to buy him a trike with fat tires, the perfect tool for him to get around Revelstoke year-round. He’s since added a pedal-assisted road trike and a townie to his stable of bikes. Cycling has become a metaphor for his recovery. "There's constant movement and stimulation,” he said. “You're pedalling and moving forward. To me, it's the next chapter." Miller used to get his thrills skidding down Boulder; he helped build the trail Redneck’s Revenge, one of the hardest in the network. Now he finds them in different ways, like simply watching the flowers on his way up Mount Revelstoke, or enjoying the beauty of the valley from the middle of The Flats. “My stroke left me with a lot of discomfort but there's a huge distraction in our natural beauty to keep my mind off that,” he said. His ability to move forward following a life-changing incident is inspiring. He moved to Revelstoke to work as an electrician, but in recent years has worked at the Revelstoke Visitor Centre, greeting tourists to town. It’s a great position for someone as social as he is, and one that he loves. He has a nine-year-old daughter, Regan, who’s taken after his love of mountain biking. "I wouldn't be here if I thought, ‘Poor me, I can't do this,’” he said. “There's so much I can do. The more you do, the more opportunities you're given to do other things." One of his inspirations is a friend who has “harder” tattooed on their hand. When Miller asked what it significant, the friend replied it was a constant reminder that both life can be harder, and to work harder. “I remember that. You always have that little bit more in you that you can push just a little bit harder,” Miller said. "I think if you stay at a certain level and you're really comfortable at that level, you're never going to get better. If you go just a little bit further, you get better."
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Left: Chris takes the first lap on Miller Time, an adaptive trail on Mount Macpherson that was named in his honour and opened in 2018. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine
Up: Chris Miller mentored Revelstoke pro mountain biker Casey Brown from the time she was just a local kid on a bike. Here, she joins Chris Miller at the opening of the adaptive trail at Mount Macpherson, Miller Time, which is named in honour of Chris and opened in 2018. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine Down: Chris is a regular on the trails and around town in Revelstoke, pictured here on his mix 'n' match townie, a Revelstoke essential. Photo: Alex Cooper/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.
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ARTS & CULTURE
A STONE IN FOCUS THIS GOES OUT TO THE RECORD — AN OPEN BOOK, A WORK IN PROGRESS. By Sarah j Spurr.
A gravestone in Revelstoke's Mountain View Cemetery marks the final resting place for Jennie, a migrant from Japan who was murdered in a violent hate crime in Revelstoke in 1905. Jennie's story is the focus of a multimedia art collaboration under development. Photo: Sarah j Spurr.
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Spring air and a welcomed sense of creative urgency pass through the red brick corridor of the Heritage Garden. Our meeting place is a circle shaped table beside the Revelstoke Museum & Archives. It’s 2020 and we, like many of you, have taken a moment to pause and have begun to reassemble. We still have work to do and it’s increasingly sensitive to time, so united by our objective, we stay the course. Together we are collaborators: artists, historians and ambassadors of arts and culture. On the table is a story we are responding to. A piece of history from the local archives at risk of disintegration. We take a critical look backwards, empowered by current events affecting us all. Reparations and a captive community dialogue is required. We are in the storming phase of building a storyboard. The artists have been processing information presented by the historians and delicate slices and layers of hidden visuals have begun to emerge — these insights will become the moving parts of our restoration project, where we’ll use animation to help update the record. High up the valley A lily beneath the stone Trumpet shaped flowers. New growth shoots outward from a cold case as a series of Japanese-inspired poetry is spoken aloud. Haiku occupies the garden now and with it our appreciation for — an abundance — of Eastern influences and philosophy in the West. Those carefully chosen words, 17 syllables to be exact, have been offered as a potential reentry point, to acknowledge silencing stones cast towards the Asian, migrant labourers of Western Canada at the turn of the 20th Century. The subject of our story is a 24-year-old Japanese woman called Jennie, who we know lived and worked in Revelstoke until 1905. It was the Meiji Era and the first wave of Issei,
Japanese migrants, had set sail in response to a growing supply of labour and business opportunities along the Pacific shores of the North American West. The interior of British Columbia was rugged and, in a predominantly Caucasian, patriarchal society, there existed complicated tensions surrounding race, gender, religion and class. The establishment of brothels became commonplace and, although criminalized, brought in valuable remittances to mining towns and trading centers along the Canadian Pacific Railway. For many impoverished migrant women, prostitution was a means to an end. It is believed Jennie was seeking independent movement — freedom from the prevalent sextrade industry. But the loosely regulated and dangerous environment ultimately lead to her extremely violent and unresolved murder. It was graphically published in 1905 as one of the most violent hate crimes on the record. The local community turned a blind eye, and scornful statements like, “not worth hanging a man for,” or “no good woman” were offered instead of leads. Jennie’s story is just one of a surprisingly farreaching and distinct minority of Japanese women. The legacy of “comfort women” in the West is a relatively unspoken of yet poignant piece of Canadian Women’s history. Her story is quite fragmented and what we do have today has been preserved through written and verbal storytelling. Among the artifacts we wish to restore is a physical piece at the Mountain View Cemetery, where Jennie’s gravestone literally balances in 115 years of stoic perseverance. The stone is gripped by lichen and the crumbling concrete footing shows that we can't wait any longer if we hope to repair it. We plan to ensure that it gets the care it needs to ensure Jennie’s testimony will travel safely into the next 115 years. We are so fortunate to have a culture here where the spirit of the bold and brave adventurer
is celebrated. In this tradition we can’t just leave out the lesser-known heroics occupied by impoverished, immigrant, women. Their stories don’t discriminate, they are diverse yet commonplace. We recognize, now more than ever, generational pains left by the global slave trade still echo in every corner of the world. This includes here and now, in Revelstoke, today. We acknowledge that lives forced to pass through unfathomable sets of circumstances without access to free will are indeed the maximum, most regretful, examples of extreme limits of human strength. With art we can respond to the things we wish to understand more of. Starting from the trumpet shaped flowers carved into the crown of her gravestone we will travel down through translation of the inscribed characters. We will continue all the way until we can finally resurface with an offering of art and a deeper understanding about what Jennie’s life can teach to us today. Our current goal is to create an animated short film where we can dive in through an education in traditional and digital storytelling techniques like papercut stop motion and poetry. In May when the snow melts, we will hold a separate gathering to unveil the restoration and an addition to Jennies gravestone in celebration of Asian Heritage Month. Find our legacy art project online this September 26, alongside this year's second annual instalment of Art Alleries — a permanent public art initiative. Art Alleries is a branch of the LUNA Festival that illuminates alleyways with art and solar LEDs that last all year long ... and for years to come. While there won’t be a physical LUNA gathering this year, there will be new instalments for our alleyways and online legacy content like our project for you to explore. Please reach out to the Revelstoke Arts Council if you have any leads to information that might help us better complete the re-telling of this story.
Words by Sarah j Spurr Project in collaboration with Tomoaki Fujimura, Rob Buchanan, Miriam Manley and Cathy English. Thank you to the Okanagan College for the dedicated funding to help get stories like these off the ground.
Character development and papercut prototypes. Shot on glass shelves of a multiplane camera. Photo: Sarah j Spurr.
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FEATURE
REFLECTIONS ON PANDEMIC EXPERIENCES IN OUR INTERWOVEN WORLD IN THE TIME OF COVID-19, REVELSTOKE RESIDENT AND INTERNATIONAL AID WORKER TRISH KHAN REFLECTS ON HER EXPERIENCES WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES FACING THE MOST CHALLENGING HUMANITARIAN CRISES. By Emily Kemp.
Many wanderers have found a home in Revelstoke. Those with a taste for adventure who also want a sense of place grounded in community. This is what Revelstoke provides and what attracts many tourists here, the hum of a working town against a natural backdrop. Other than Revelstoke's economic pillars of the hydro dam, forestry, the railway, and tourism, increasingly the remote-worker is making a life here. Revelstoke isn't the only place with great lifestyle benefits, yet when humanitarian worker Trish Khan had the choice of living anywhere in western Canada, she moved to Revelstoke in December on the recommendation of a co-worker. "Working abroad, it's hard to go for long periods at a time and then come back, without having somewhere to call home," Khan says. "I felt a looseness — like I didn't have roots anywhere. I chose Revelstoke because community is really important to me and I find it's easier to find that in small towns." Growing up in Winnipeg, Khan lived in Toronto and also worked overseas for years. She works for Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a not-for-profit organization responding to medical emergencies across the world for nearly 50 years. While working for MSF, Khan was sent to Bangladesh, which houses the world's largest refugee camp, and to South Sudan. She now has a Canada-based job with the organization as engagement manager for western Canada. But working with the world's most vulnerable populations can’t help but affect a person. Khan tells a story from her time in South Sudan when a peace treaty was signed and as potential stability approached, there was an unsettling increase in violence in the area. "Rape is used as a weapon of war and there is a lot of shame for survivors," Khan explains. As women did their routine round-trip walk to food drop sites, the cases of sexual violence in the area suddenly grew rapidly, ranging from youth to elderly. "By the end of a 10-day period, over 150 survivors came to our facility for care," Khan says. "For the six months prior to that I think we had about eight cases. So the team was obviously overwhelmed as was the community.” "It was really hard to see so much suffering and, as a medical organization, ensure we were providing care for such a high numbers of people without sacrificing the quality of care." Rape is devastating and traumatic yet often Khan finds because this happens overseas in places that seem, to the casual observer, eternally at war, the desensitization of seeing this trauma as a way of life, is hard to break through.
“We’re all people, who experience pain and suffering, and who don’t want to live in a situation where there is war," Khan says. "It’s important to remember our shared humanity and actively work against othering that lets us separate ourselves from what happens in other parts of the world." Khan chooses to do this work because it helps her find purpose in her day-to-day work, but it does impact her. “For me, it's tough to make the transition back to wealthy countries, more so than adjusting to the culture overseas," she says. In 2016, after working in Bangladesh's Rohingya refugee camps, she travelled to Italy to vacation with her best friend. The glaring disparity of consumption and access to resources compared to where she had been living sometimes proves too much. "It's hard to forget how resilient the communities are, once you’ve seen it for yourself, ” Khan says. "People are supporting each other in such amazing ways, community ties are so strong. When I come back to Canada, I sometimes find our way of living really lonely." Dealing with Covid-19, Khan says MSF has learned from previous epidemics such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2016. Communities must be engaged in the response, and MSF's goal is to reinforce existing health structures that the local community trusts and can take ownership of, rather than reinventing the wheel. "If the community isn’t empowered and doesn’t have ownership over their response, we can misinterpret the perceptions and attitudes, leading to a low level of acceptance of services, " Khan says. "A simple example is using a black body bag instead of white. For some communities, black signifies evil spirits and so there will be resistance to using them, leading to improper burials.” Looking at the world's recovery from Covid-19, Khan recollects her former executive director describing it like a forest fire. "You start to get the big flames down, but it is not over until the embers are extinguished," she says. "We're a global community, you can't just fight this at home. Unless the pandemic is under control across the world, it doesn't end." "I think complacency is probably what is going to get us into hot water again. Even though there is a level of normalcy because the fear of overburdening the health system has passed, the virus is still alive and strong." Like everyone, the pandemic has impacted MSF economically. To help support the work of organizations like them, Khan recommends a continuous monthly donation as little as $5, as she says this gives organizations reliable support that allows them to plan.
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The Kutupalong Megacamp is located in the Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh, and is home to almost one million people in an area of just 23 square kilometres. Photo: Trish Khan.
Trish Khan with an MSF outreach supervisor just outside an MSF health post located within the MSF Kutupalong Megacamp in Bangladesh. Photo: Trish Khan.
Camp residents gather at a cholera vaccination point during an outreach campaign that saw about 70,000 children vaccinated for the disease, which still ravages many parts of the developing world. Photo: Trish Khan.
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Feature
MSF joins with community members to dig a well and lay three pipelines that will bring water to the majority of the camp. Photo: Trish Khan.
The rainy season adds hardship to the already challenging conditions for residents of the Kutupalong Megacamp. Photo: Trish Khan.
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REVELSTOKE RECOVERS
REVELSTOKE'S ROAD TO RECOVERY IN THE COVID-19 ERA
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: SOCIAL SERVICE RESPONSE IN A PANDEMIC REVELSTOKE SOCIAL SERVICES ORGANIZATION FOCUSES ON RESPONSIVENESS, CONNECTION, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE TO ADAPT TO CHALLENGES CREATED BY COVID-19. By Sheena Bell, CEO of Community Connections Revelstoke.
On March 13 I found myself texting my friend and colleague: “Are you sure you want to get on a plane to Mexico with your family today? I think this is the real deal and you will have to quarantine for 14 days when you get back,” I wrote. I don’t remember specifics after that date, other than looking at the management team and saying, “It’s time to lock the doors to the office." Staff shared huge concerns about what the shutdown and isolation would mean for the mental health of the community and what we should do with no clear path to follow. What I have seen and come to know for sure, is that the capacity we have to adapt and connect with each other through struggle is fundamental to who we all are as people. When it comes down to it, we know how to step into what is needed, and when we see ourselves as a part of the story being told (from a responsibility mindset), we join in and invest in the outcome of the whole. All the way along, the 67 employees and our
One of the defining characteristics of the COVID-19 era is uncertainty about the future, be it next week, next month, or next the next quarter — let alone the years to come. This uncertainty means making predictions about the future, always fraught with error, is even more challenging now. For our Revelstoke Recovers theme issue, we sought out leadership voices in Revelstoke for their thoughts on our path ahead to meaningful recovery for Revelstoke. Our hope is their words and information will help connect readers with meaningful responses to the crisis, empowering community members to get involved on the road to recovery.
many volunteers have shown their investment and willingness to stay connected to removing obstacles to the preferred lives of the individuals, groups, and families that continue to consult with us as a part of their story. The other thing that became very clear, is how systemic oppression actively constrains peoples preferred ways of being, and how institutional systems and their internal processes move MUCH slower than the evolving needs of people. As a large (for the size of our community) non-profit organization, we were in a good spot to be able to adapt. We saw demands for services triple, and we shifted our delivery models to allow us to never stop connecting with the community we are committed to serving. The relational context is key — we see ourselves as an important part of the stories in people's lives in our community; ALL people here in Revelstoke, and beyond, belong and are valued, and we are honoured to consult in the development, coauthoring, and re-authoring of the stories of their lives through responsive service delivery. We listen to people’s stories and believe they are the experts in their lives, they will tell us what they need and how they would like us to help; it’s our job to hear them and respond, even in a pandemic. I was constantly impressed by how fast staff adapted services and joined forces to address the pandemic increases to obstacles, marginalizations, and oppressions imposed in people’s lives. We saw the barriers amplified; there was more disconnection, loneliness, fear, and worry taking up space than ever before, and at a rate that was growing faster than we normally see. If someone’s access to power, resources, healthy relationships, and capital became limited or was taken away, there was an almost immediate disconnection from a way of life that brought safety, certainty, and belonging. Many of the people we serve faced, and continue to face, systemic oppression that has imposed further obstacles to the kind of relationships, connections, and contributions they would prefer to make to their community. For us as an organization, the needs to change, adapt, grow, and connect in more accessible ways (expanded hours, virtual access, home deliveries, and outreach services) with the people we serve and community partners became ESSENTIAL. We moved all of the food and outreach services to our parking lot (thanks for the tent, Rotary) so we could be safe, thoughtful, and open up services, resources, and connections for people on a bigger scale, basically overnight. Another huge shout out to the
amazing work of the Community Living Services team who really came together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the adults with diverse abilities that we care for in residential and community settings! In social services, we are always trying to promote social change and the redistribution of access to power and resources in a more equitable way (work ourselves out of a job). It’s hard for us to see the obstacles grow and become more complex in people's lives through this pandemic. We are grateful to get the opportunity to learn about the stories, lived experiences, and hard earned skills of living and resiliency that the people we support invite us to witness and support. We know that justice doing is not a one-off. It's a contract that gets renewed every morning, up for review every time we see each other and at the end of every day when we go over our best efforts, and then is re-written and built into the next one-day contract. So if you miss something or learn something new, you get to start again the next day to do your best. As an agency, we are committed to honouring the responses to injustices by doing what we can to address our own barriers to adapting and offering a better, more responsive, and just service delivery process. The adjustments would not have been possible or sustainable without the rapid response funds (Columbia Basin Trust, United Way, Revelstoke Credit Union, Revelstoke Community Foundation, Food Banks BC and Food Banks Canada, Community Food Centre’s Canada, BC Housing) or without YOUR donations and support. Something to leave you with are some reflective questions: locating ourselves in relationships with the issues brought about or highlighted through the pandemic brings us closer to them, and locating ourselves in relationships with everyone impacted, makes these issues personally relatable. A couple questions to ask might be: What do I need to open myself up to in order to hear or feel this in a meaningful way? If I saw myself as personally affected by this (or the broader issues), how would it change my participation today … and beyond? If I believed that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have, would that change how I see the problem? What beliefs might I be holding that are getting in the way of me being a part of a solution? Keep connecting, Revelstoke. We all have valuable places in the unique and collective stories being written in our community, families, and our individual lives.
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LEADERSHIP SERIES: WOMEN'S SHELTER READY TO HELP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LYNN LOEPPKY DISCUSSES THE CHANGES AT THE WOMEN'S SHELTER DUE TO COVID-19. By Lynn Loeppky.
During the coronavirus pandemic, we saw a reduction in the number of women staying at the women's shelter. Whether this is directly related to the pandemic or it is just one of the fluctuations we see, we don't know. Our stats throughout the years don't reflect any trend from one season to another. Another factor for this reduction might be the ease in getting shelter in Revelstoke at this time. Shelter is a crucial service we offer and in our normally tight market, women typically stay longer at our shelter. We are operating and we are an essential service. We have implemented precautions to keep women at the shelter safe from exposure to the virus. For example, if a woman wants to stay but needs to self-isolate, we can place her in external accommodation for 14 days. At the shelter, women have their own bedroom and bathroom. Shared spaces are cleaned regularly and the shelter has an outdoor space to enjoy. What we have seen is an increase in calls to and from our clients in the community. Our separate women and men's programs are still running, which ensure people still have access to local services they need and social time. During the
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Revelstoke Recovers
lockdown, these programs went online through and we saw varying degrees of success with this. We found that some people preferred this method of connecting, as they weren't required to be anywhere. So we will likely continue that as well as bringing back scheduled activities to our space at the Revelstoke United Church. We lease a big space there where social distancing is possible, and we have decorated and repainted to make it a comfortable space. We've had positive feedback on our Uplift magazine, which we have distributed around Revelstoke this summer to raise awareness for everyone on what abuse is, so we'll be working on creating the next edition. We’re available 24/7 and despite these times, I hope women feel comfortable in reaching out, whatever their situation, to know they are not alone.
planning and education for its members. Whether that looks like a database of recorded information on financial topics within revcu.com or, if we resume financial education in classroom style settings, we will take a creative approach to providing solid advice for our members. Also, our ability to provide remote service increased rapidly with social distancing measures and office closures. RevCU adapted technology already in place and brought on other capabilities so that banking could be done from isolation. Secure remote work capabilities and digital signing with file storage were some of the first steps in adapting to Revelstoke’s world of virtual commerce. RevCU had already planned a complete upgrade of its digital banking platform but the outbreak of COVID-19 in March refocused these plans to ensure that upgrades and changes will satisfy in a new world where face to face service will atrophy and digital service grow. RevCU will always be proud of the customer service offered in an easy to access bricks and mortar location but will strive to grow the same space in a digital realm. A new public website is being designed for an improved customer experience, a mobile App for iPhone and Android will be in place, a business banking suite of applications to streamline commercial operations, and a new and improved digital banking platform will all make this transition smooth and easy over the next year. RevCU will continue to lead through change over the next few years and always remain Revelstoke’s Community Partner.
REVCU FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY CONNECTION, AND ADAPTS WITH REMOTE TECH By Roberta Bobicki, Revelstoke Credit Union CEO.
As we walk through Phase 3 of Covid19, Revelstoke Credit Union intends to play an active role in supporting our members and small-business community. From the on-set, we made a decision to be in front of the challenges facing our borrowing members and business owners. We have, and will continue to provide relief, support and advice as the needs arise. We will do all that we can to ensure that our businesses survive, and people remain in their homes. We are a credit union, and as such have internal flexibility to be creative in finding ways to get people through. We don’t want people to feel they have to do this all on their own, but to feel comfortable reaching out to us. We are very optimistic about Revelstoke’s future. All that has attracted the world to Revelstoke is still here. Eventually the world will find its way back. The next one to three years are critical, and we intend to do everything possible to help the community weather the storm. It will be a bumpy road for a while, but recovery is our primary goal. In addition to the measures taken to make daily financial life as smooth as possible for members, RevCU continued to play a role in this community in areas which will help on the road to recovery as restrictions lift and the pandemic passes. RevCU has always played a role with community financial literacy and member education. On the road ahead, RevCU will continue to lead in financial
REVELSTOKE’S ROAD TO RECOVERY TOGETHER WE CAN CLOSE THE GAPS THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED IN OUR COMMUNITY. By Dylan Hardy, Chair of the Recovery Task Force.
As Revelstoke enters Phase 3 of reopening, it is the natural time to assess the economic and social disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and launch our recovery effort. Flattening the curve in our community worked because we all contributed to the cause. Now, with hundreds out of work and 22% of local employers worried about their ability to survive, we need to rally together and support a community recovery effort. Revelstoke’s unofficial population of 13,000 residents (7,500 full time and 5,500 seasonal) supports a diverse local economy. Most of our
employers (96% in 2017) are small businesses with fewer than 50 staff. Approximately a third are service businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors, which have been hit hard by the pandemic. Our largest employers — social, health, and public sectors — have had to change how they operate, but have experienced less disruption. Between May 2018 and April 2019 we welcomed over 2.9 million same-day and overnight visitors from across Canada, the US, and the world. Hundreds of businesses and more than a thousand employees helped these visitors explore the magic that is Revelstoke. While our town provides unforgettable memories to our visitors, tourism makes it possible for our community to enjoy recreational and cultural benefits that we would not be able to provide on our own. For example, the bike trails, snowmobile clubhouse, the Nordic Centre, splash pad, LUNA Art Fest and more). Tourism is a big part of our community. Things changed this year. In April, May and June, travel restrictions kept us safe by keeping everyone close to home. Overnight visitors to Revelstoke were down about 80% in this period. The drop in visitors resulted in lost work for hundreds employed by hotels, restaurants, bars, tour operators, and retail shops. This put increased demand on our social service organizations, such as the food bank, where demand is up about three times over last year). In Phase 3 we can expect to see visitors from B.C. and neighbouring provinces. The thousands of international visitors we normally welcome may not be coming this year. Our future will be different than our past. If we want to close the gaps caused by the pandemic, we need to reopen safely, welcome back the visitors who can get here, and bolster our community’s capacity to support those in need. Staying safe is the best way to stay open. Staying open is how we close the gaps. The Recovery Task Force is a team of mostly volunteers — people who care deeply about this community and want to help it survive this pandemic and thrive afterwards. Our efforts are focused in three areas: immediate actions that can accelerate business recovery, supporting the community’s social needs in coordination with the social development committee, and planning our long term recovery and resiliency. This journey will not be fast or direct — it will take time and include setbacks. Each of us has an opportunity to contribute to this recovery effort. Residents can help by staying safe and following the ‘Revy Rules’ on COVID-19 safety (see the poster in this magazine). Looking for work? Check out the jobs listed at WorkBC. Have time? Lean in and help those who could use a hand (see communityfuturesrevelstoke.com for volunteer opportunities). Summer is the perfect time to deepen neighbourly relationships and welcome visitors. Get out there and enjoy our community. Employers can keep up the great work in protecting staff and customers. Now is the time to double down on COVID-19 safety and let folks know that we are open for business. Staying safe is how we stay open. If you see barriers in your path let us know how we can help by contacting ced@revelstoke.ca. A warm welcome to our visitors. The best way to enjoy Revelstoke is to follow the Revy Rules. These will guide you to experience Revelstoke safely and help ensure our community stays healthy so we can host you again in the future. Have fun.
Revelstoke Recovers
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MADE HERE
Photos below: Jesse Johnston-Hill tends to the crops at First Light Farms, a new farm that sprang up after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It's one of many new gardening initiatives underway in response to heightened concerns about food security during the pandemic and beyond. Photos: contributed.
GREEN THUMBS UP GARDENING IS REVY’S NEW FAVORITE SUMMER PASTIME, BUT THERE’S MORE TO IT THAN JUST PASSING THE TIME. By Bryce Borlick. There's an old saying about lemons and lemonade. You know the one. It's such a tired cliché that I'll spare you from having to hear it yet again. But the simple lesson behind it — making the best out of a bad situation — seemed to be occurring as Revelstoke, like the rest of the world, had a gardening renaissance during the coronavirus lockdown this past spring. It isn’t a huge surprise since gardening can be productive and therapeutic in many ways while still meeting guidelines for social distancing. But what is a surprise, is how much gardening and growing was motivated by people’s concern over access to fresh healthy food. The campaign to produce more food locally has long been spearheaded by the Local Food Initiative, and it seems that the seeds they’ve sown have sprouted this year in a variety of ways. “When the pandemic first became serious, initially my biggest concern was food supply. Not that there would be a lack of food, but potentially fewer options,” says Huw Saunders, citing just how many of our fruits and vegetables come from countries to our south that have struggled to manage the spread of the coronavirus. Huw’s way of tackling this was to use his newfound free time to build the garden that he’d always had in mind, and build it well. But as with any new project, there are myriad details to consider and skills to hone. “The Revelstoke Growing Community (RCG) page has definitely been helpful,” continues Huw. “It’s a great group of people who all want to help each other out in some fashion.” Greg Hill’s way of contributing to food security was to create the Facebook page, which now boasts 1,362 members, with the encouragement of like-minded friends and family. Greg recognized that increasing our food production, especially in residential plots, would require a support network through which gardeners and growers could exchange ideas, solutions, and even supplies. As new gardeners emerged from their shells, the page became a hotbed of good advice and community cohesion. “COVID flipped my life upside down and I began to worry about the food security, yet there is so much to growing well that I lacked," says Greg who expanded his own garden this year. “By harnessing the strength of our community I figured we could all grow more food and learn from those that know.”
But some gardeners found additional hurdles when trying to get new and existing gardens going in April. Gardening supplies sell like hotcakes every spring, even when there isn’t a sudden spike in demand, and the closure of one of our few garden centres only intensified local shortages. Seeds, soil, sprinklers, and spades barely touched shelves before being cleared out, and it wasn’t uncommon to overhear gardeners compare notes on where they were able to find critical supplies. In particular, seedlings, or starts, were in very high demand this year. “We sold more starts then we ever have, as a direct result of COVID unfolding and creating greater interest in local food production,” confirms Stu Smith who runs Track Street Growers with his partner Sarah Harper. Other local growers like Terra Firma and Bird Tree Farms have echoed a similar uptick in demand. “Our priorities changed to providing more staple crops and starts for others," continues Stu. “We had actually planned to scale back on the starts and focus more on the value added products that we do — our hot sauce, garlic syrup, and powders — but we realized that was not the responsible thing to do.” Of course, not everyone who supports more local food production has the time, interest, ability, or space to grow their own vegetables. Those people will be happy to hear that a new source of local veggies has emerged in the form of First Light Farm. A project brought to light by partners Jesse Johnston-Hill and Chris Rubens, First Light has been a whirlwind endeavour. In mere months the duo sourced, tilled, fertilized, and planted a plot of land just on the outskirts of town, and even added a greenhouse. “We’ve been talking about farming for a long time. Revelstoke is very food insecure,” explains Chris as we chat about the accelerated timeline for their new project. “This started with the pandemic, pulling the pin and doing it. It‘s been beyond full-time.” First Light Farm is already offering fresh greens on a bi-weekly basis and will expand into zucchini, squash, onions, sweet corn, potatoes, radishes, carrots, beets and more as the crops grow and ripen. When you really think about that old saying about lemons, it isn’t true at all. Life doesn’t just simply give you lemons — they take a lot of hard work to grow. And if we don’t actively support local production of nutritious food, one day we may find ourselves missing a lot more than just lemonade.
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NOTES
WEAR GRATITUDE LIKE A CLOAK AND IT WILL FEED EVERY CORNER OF YOUR LIFE ~INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE PAINTED ON A SMALL ROCK By Aaron Orlando
Like mushrooms on the moist forest floor, small rocks painted with inspiring messages started popping up all over Revelstoke in the weeks and months after the COVID-19 shutdown in mid-March. The brightly painted rocks featured short, inspiring messages of gratitude and could be found next to forest trails, riverside walks, and even in floral planter boxes downtown. But what spores created these little messages of hope? There's a backstory that started with giving back. After schools shut due to COVID-19, some students were stranded at home without any books to read, something that didn't sit well with retired librarian Diana Wood. She set out to find out about students' interests, getting people together to buy books suited for each individual reader. As a gesture of thanks, Begbie View Elementary (BVE) grade 5/6 students decided to pay it forward, creating an inspirational
Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.
forest walk trail nearby the school, lining it with the little painted rocks coloured with inspiring messages. When they were done, they shared their work. Then the craze caught on. "After the lesson, my students took each class for their first look at the trail. And the students were absolutely 100% ecstatic," said BVE teacher Sarah Newton. "A lot of the classes were surprised that this trail was built right underneath their noses, and they had no idea what was going on." In a time of uncertainty and loss, the message of gratitude hand-painted on the rocks were inspiring messages from a mysterious source, paying it forward to passers-by all around town. "Diana, thank you for giving my students an opportunity to see how gratitude can be expressed and how giving can be a very powerful experience," said Newton.
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Check the Revelstoke Arts Council Facebook page to catch the artist and ticket announcements!
What? Live bands in Revelstoke When? Wednesday evenings 7-8pm all July and August Tickets on sale each Sunday at noon prior to the show Where? Secret local outdoor spots only revealed to ticketholders Who? Canadian folk, alt-country, and americana bands from Revelstoke and surrounding areas How Much? $10 per ticket, limited to 30 tickets
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ARTS & CULTURE
SUMMER & FALL ARTS PREVIEW Worried about the post-Covid arts scene in Revelstoke? Well, don’t. Just like the rest of the world, Arts Revelstoke, Revelstoke’s arts and culture decision makers, are coming out of it just fine — and we dare say it, with even brighter ideas than before. Arts Revelstoke had more than a handful of events lined up for summer and fall 2020, including Summer Street Fest, LUNA Art Festival, and its share of Welcome Week. These events are local favourites that we as a town certainly look forward to. However, given the province’s 50-person limit at events, most have been cancelled. This hasn’t stop Miriam Manley, Arts Revelstoke Artistic and Executive Director, and Nik Winnitowy, Guerilla Gigs Production Manager, from coming up with a killer events line-up, starting with Guerrilla Gigs, a series of weekly live music performances in iconic locations around Revelstoke. Now that they’re fully consumed by their preparations, Manley and Winnitowy are even noticing something positive coming out of these forced adaptations: more than ever, our community — not wanting to stray too far from home — is gravitating towards and showing their gratitude for local artists and venues, a huge feat for an emerging small town. “By doing this guerrilla series we’re proving that there’s more to live music than the band at the Drop or the band at Traverse. We can make live music happen everywhere,” adds Winnitowy. Plus, Manley jokes, artists have a summer schedule that’s unprecedentedly slim, which has made the booking process incredibly simple for her. Guerrilla Gigs will also be filmed as a means to be more inclusive. In so many words, Covid has provided the arts council with the push they needed to catch up with the 21st century. (Past arts events were seldom filmed.) Check out what you have to look forward to in the next few months.
Carleigh Cardinal is the Juno Music Awards Indigenous Artist of the Year and she's coming to Revy!
Guerrilla Gigs: Outdoor music in iconic locations Every Wednesday in July & August, from 7-8 p.m. In lieu of the Summer Street Fest, which was cancelled due to Covid restrictions (a maximum of 50 guests are permitted and the Street Fest regularly welcomes up to 500 people), Manley was inspired by a meeting with other Kootenay business folks to organize a series of “guerrilla” music performances. There will be a live music performance every Wednesday evening throughout the summer. Local artists include Maggie ‘May’ Davis and Amy Burton, Al Lee, and Denis Severino (July 22); away bands will stay under wraps, but we will say this: expect to see Celeigh Cardinal, who was recently awarded Indigenous Artist of the Year at the Juno Music Awards. The fun part? Locations are in top secret iconic locations (think mountain tops and riversides!) set to be revealed the day before each show. Crowds won’t exceed 30 people. Rain or shine — it’s all part of the guerrilla/do-itwith-or-without-permission experience.
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WHAT THE REVELSTOKE ARTS COMMUNITY HAS IN STORE FOR SUMMER AND FALL 2020—AND WHAT’S CHANGING FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE OF COVID. By Amaris Bourdeau.
Canadian-Chilean guitarist Oscar Lopez
Curcus Luminus rides through in November.
Lucas Myers performs the Revelstoke Project
Oscar Lopez: Beloved Canadian-Chilean guitarist Friday, October 23
Circus Luminus by CircusWest: Defying gravity one tight-rope at a time Saturday, November 7
Oscar Lopez is a finger-picking Latin guitar player from Calgary with multiple Juno Awards to his name. Known for his Latin grooves and flawless assimilation of jazz, blues, and roots, Lopez has always been a hit when coming through town. He will be playing as part of a trio.
CircusWest is a Vancouver-based circus troop showing us all the classics with a west coast flair. We’re talking trapeze, contortion, and tight-rope. You may know them from the summer camps they ran for six years in a row in which they taught children acrobatics, barrel walking, juggling, and ribbons. To accommodate more people, Manley hopes to run three performances throughout the day (to be confirmed).
The Revelstoke Project by Lucas Myers: Making a comeback with the rural rhythm we’ve loved since 2016 Thursday, November 26 (part of Welcome Week) What happens when you get a rural (Nelson-based) artist to participate in a two week-long residency in Revelstoke? A hilarious theatre performance centered on a newcomer’s first time experiencing all things Revelstoke. We mean all things, from visiting the railway to witnessing the construction of a new roundabout to good ol’ fashioned sledding. The show was first created in 2016 and re-performed in 2017 at Welcome Week. It’s a town favourite and just as relevant today as it was four years ago. Plus, as Manley points out, a lot of art is created in urban settings, subconsciously giving it a metropolitan flavour that’s harder to relate to. “I want to see work that’s actually made in Revelstoke. Artists, especially performance artists, tend to move to the city, but then we’re presenting work that’s coming out of an urban space, where as we in Revelstoke have a different cultural experience of life.” Might that explain our love for the Revelstoke Project?
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A NOTE TO THE READER
By Sonia García
This page is my invitation for you to
To create this page, first I needed to slow down. Here were the inspirations I needed through my mindful creation process:
Listening to two TED Talks and reading In Praise of Slow by Carl Honoré. 3 bike rides. 2 cups of coffee. 3 glasses of ice water. 3 hours of work. 2 team reviews.
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THE STOKED PALATE Names of chefs left to right: Simon Paterson, Big Eddy Pub; Charlotte Sit, Mountain Standard Catering; Heidi Schaffer, Blanket Glacier Chalet; Glen Cherlet, Big Mountain Catering; Calvin, taste tester; Erica German, Monashee Distillery; Austin Luciow, Big Eddy Pub.
REVELSTOKE CHEFS CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS, A COLLECTIVE OF LOCAL CHEFS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE MEALS FROM SCRATCH FOR DISTRIBUTION THROUGH THE REVELSTOKE FOOD BANK. By Charlotte Sit
My line of work as a backcountry lodge chef has never been predictable, from grocery orders being delayed due to bad weather, questionable kitchen appliances, and the classic “a pine marten stole the ground beef." But sudden unemployment due to a global pandemic turned out to be the biggest surprise of my career. Shifting from the routine of a winter work season in full swing to a complete shutdown of the tourism industry left myself, along with many others, wondering what was going to happen next. Meanwhile, already tenuous access to affordable groceries along with an uncertain economic outlook lead to concerns of food security for many others in the community. With the economic effects of the pandemic reaching far and wide, demand at the Revelstoke Food bank increased substantially, and providing vulnerable community members with access to healthy foods gained a new level of urgency. The Chef Meal Program was created in response to these unique circumstances. Building off an existing network of local chefs, known informally as the Chef-to-Chef Collective, the program was quickly launched into operation through funding from the Columbia Basin Trust and Community Food Centres of Canada. Melissa Hemphill, the Food Security Coordinator at Community Connections, took the lead in getting the program
up and running by the start of May. To date, there have been six chefs involved in the program, who have created over 3,500 portions of high-quality, nutritious meals made from scratch. Along with myself, chefs Austin Luciow, Erica German, Glen Cherlet, Heidi Shaffer, and Simon Paterson are each assigned one day of the week to prepare approximately 100 portions of a meal of their choice, in the community centre kitchen. The meals are then frozen as either individual or family-size portions, and distributed at the food bank as well as through a handful of other programs. Chefs are free to use their own sense of creativity to prepare meals from their own recipe collection, adjusting their offerings in response to feedback from food bank users. A few of the chefs looked to the concept of “comfort food” as a starting point for their meals, while others chose to draw inspiration from the availability of seasonal ingredients, while adding some global flavours into the mix. Jalapeño mac 'n’ cheese, Thai coconut chicken soup, butter chicken curry, roasted vegetable pot pie, mushroom ragu, and minestrone soup are just some of the meals that have been created by the chefs. Freshly made sandwiches, granola, and assorted baked goods have also been added to the program’s menu, for distribution through other community programs in town. The Taco Club restaurant has also contributed
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Charlotte Sit is a backcountry chef with a boundless enthusiasm for sharing the joy of eating well. She has cooked for hundreds of hungry adventurers at over a dozen backcountry lodges throughout B.C. and Alberta and is the owner of Mountain Standard Catering.
Portions out family-size and individual servings of squash and carrot soup.
TOURISM TALKS Revelstoke, we commend you. This community has shown itself to be resilient and adaptable. Our local businesses figured out a way to operate safely under new guidelines, our restaurants continued to produce tasty food for us all to eat at home, and there have been many unique business innovations since March. Despite staying home, it seems that our community spirit is stronger than ever. As BC moves into Phase 3 of our Restart Plan, we are cognizant that safety for both our residents and visitors is essential to the recovery of our tourism industry. Revelstoke’s tourism industry and local businesses are looking forward to seeing out of town traffic again. Tourism Revelstoke has launched a recovery marketing campaign to encourage visitation in order to bolster and support our local businesses; however, we want to ensure that we do so in a safe way that aligns with provincial guidelines.
Homemade granola, banana bread, and frozen soups for pick up at the Revelstoke Community Connections Food Bank.
As part of our safety efforts, we have collaborated to create The Revy Rules, which will be displayed in businesses throughout town on a poster and promoted online through a blog. A cornerstone of our marketing strategy this summer will be around visitor education on how to travel safely and responsibly in Revelstoke. We hope that by reinforcing safe social interactions and Dr. Bonnie Henry’s travel manners, we can encourage individuals to hold themselves accountable for their own safety and remind them to do their part. We have created a “What’s Open” page to help visitors plan their visit ahead of time. By encouraging visitors to plan ahead, we hope that we can create some predictability and limit chance encounters in the visitor experience. To be listed on our “What’s Open” page, businesses must have their COVID-19 safety measures clearly displayed on their website. We are also encouraging visitors to be prepared. Where possible, visitors should have their own hand sanitizer, masks, water and other essential supplies to minimize social interactions and limit the spread of Covid-19.
meals from their kitchen to help top up the amounts. Luciow, Co-Chef at the Big Eddy Pub, took the lead in the program’s food sourcing and inventory coordination. Through his connections at the Big Eddy Pub, the program was able to order some ingredients from a wholesale supplier. Doing so allowed more of the budget to be allocated to sourcing higher quality, specialty ingredients through local businesses and farms, which was a priority for all of the chefs involved. While much of the cooking is done solo, the chefs communicate regularly to exchange recipe ideas, coordinate inventory, and collaborate on how to implement new ideas to the program. Chef Heidi Schaffer, who cooks at Blanket Glacier Chalet in the winter and travels to different lodges throughout the summer, found the program “opened up doors to communication and support within the Revelstoke community." Schaffer describes the program as a “gamechanger," which gave her a
unique opportunity to work with chefs from across a range of food industry backgrounds. The Chef Meal Program is expected to continue throughout the remainder of the summer, pending its funding status and availability of the community kitchen. As businesses are opening up, chefs are also beginning to return to their regular workplaces, and the program will be operating at different capacity. However, all the chefs in the program agree that they are keen to continue fostering connections through the Chef-to-Chef Collective, and see this as just the start of a greater vision to engage with the community through their skills, knowledge, and passion for food. The Chef Meal Program would like to additionally thank John Ferguson at the Big Eddy Pub, seasonal volunteer Laurent Saulnier, Hannah Whitney from Community Connections, the Revelstoke Community Centre for use of the community kitchen, and Carol and the janitorial staff at the community centre.
Tourism Revelstoke’s summer marketing campaign focuses on “What You’ve Been Missing” to appeal to both our existing and new audiences. Revelstoke is well positioned to attract regional visitation given our proximity to National Parks and abundance of open spaces. Tourism Revelstoke has recently launched a marketing campaign targeting domestic vistors. The campaign focuses on the tagline “What You’ve Been Missing,” which aims to connect with both previous guests and new visitors this summer. We welcome your feedback on our efforts, and encourage the residents of Revelstoke to engage with us. Look for us at your local farmers market this summer. To read previous Tourism Talks columns, check out https://seerevelstoke.com/tourism-talks/
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LAST WORD
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Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s retail store, R Gear stocks everything from souvenirs and snacks to all of your mountain biking needs. Stop in at the bottom of the Revelation Gondola to check out the new selection of helmets, bike shorts, jerseys, gloves and more.
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