5 minute read
Arts & Heritage
Let’s Get Creative!
This area is home to many performers, artisans, and internationally acclaimed artists, including musicians David Gogo, Ryan McMahon, and Nate Harris, as well as artists and carvers.
Visit Cedar and Yellow Point’s artists, crafters, and farmers by taking family and friends on a relaxing self-guided Country Christmas Tour held annually over several days in November. During the summer, artisans keep their own hours. Call ahead to make sure they are open. For more information visit www.cyartisans.com.
The Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society is an active group that hosts and promotes a number of musical events, including an open mic year-round. Founded in 2016, Rainforest Arts features local artists’ work and operates under the CVCAS umbrella. The Chemainus Sketch Group has a long history and a large membership.
The Ladysmith Arts Council operates a gallery in the Temperance Hotel, located on the corner of High Street and First Avenue. The group also offers many workshops and organizes events such as Arts on the Avenue, a street festival in August. A Light Up the Night market is held the day before.
If you enjoy arts, heritage, performing arts, or culture, you will find plenty of inspiration here.
Go Live With Performing Arts
Ladysmith Little Theatre offers cabaret-style seating and some great entertainment. They are in a converted schoolhouse built in 1912. Along with their play season they offers workshops and participation in an improv group. www.ladysmiththeatre.com
The Yellow Point Drama Group is the second oldest drama group in the province. The group was started in the early 1950s by Anne Mossman; in the years since, the amateur troupe formed Yellow Point Drama Group in 1953, winning numerous awards. The group performs at the historic Cedar Community Hall. For show schedules, please visit their website. www.yellowpointdramagroup.org
The Chemainus Theatre Festival offers professional plays, a summer program, a restaurant, a gallery and a gift shop. They are an economic driver for Chemainus, proving the business value of art. The non-profit society offers uplifting performances and is known for its musicals.
Hometown Heritage
Before time immemorial, there were Indigenous Peoples. The mid-island has an eons-long history of Coast Salish people whose way of life centered around the coast and forests with their abundant natural resources. The area was settled by Europeans seeking new opportunities afforded by black gold (coal) and tall timbers. Relics of the past are still evident, especially along the waterfront. Even nowadays, the forestry industry remains important, although the economic base has broadened.
While this area has enjoyed considerable growth, it has retained its small-town charm and community warmth.
Take a stroll along award-winning First Avenue in Ladysmith and enjoy what the stores and restaurants offer and the heritage buildings they are located in. As you walk downtown, look at the industrial artifacts on display. Refer to the online Community Heritage Register and the Heritage App for individual histories. Visit the Ladysmith Museum and Archives for more information on the community and its formation. The museum’s featured exhibit is Treemendous - Our Fantastic Forests. The museum has a giftshop that showcases locally made arts and crafts, including First Nations art. Displays are constantly changing.
Head down to the harbour and visit Transfer Beach Park, once the centre of a coal port with massive bunkers, extensive wharves, shrieking steam engines and clattering coal. Today it is a haven of tranquility, with beautiful vistas, a playground and an open-air Amphitheatre. Stroll the paths along Oyster Bay Drive and visit the Ladysmith Maritime Society’s Boat restoration shed, where volunteers are restoring a beautiful heritage boat. The building is known as the Car Shop and is part of the group of buildings that were a part of the Comox Logging & Rail Co. Depot. You can still see remains of the industrial artifacts here, including its railway tracks, outer buildings and the beautiful Baldwin steam locomotive that is over 100 years old.
A stroll through Chemainus offers a different experience. Here the story of the original murals brings the town’s history to life. The original downtown is Old Town, where the commercial heart of the town was located. Waterwheel Park is the heart of the community. This area was once part of the grounds of the mill manager’s house, located about where the statue of HR MacMillan now stands.
The present Waterwheel is a replica of the original that powered the early mills. This wheel and the park’s first phase were constructed as part of the 1967 Canadian Centennial celebrations.
The park has a bandstand where concerts take place in the summer. Adjacent to the park is the Public Washrooms and the Chemainus Museum and Visitor Centre. Operated by the Chemainus Valley Historical Society, the museum is a wonderful place to learn about the area’s history. Outside, you will find a view of the Gulf Islands and the busy harbour. This is the site of the first and present sawmill.
Mining past relics
There were a large number of mines working in the mid-island area starting in 1897. A must-visit is the Morden Colliery Historic Park, the location of the Morden Mine. It’s tipple and headframe are one of only two surviving examples of concrete headframes in the world.
The Extension Miners Community Park is worth the visit to explore the area’s mining past and view the restored Dunsmuir coal cart, along with other artifacts and interpretive signs.
