April 2019
villagevibe News and views from the heart of Fernwood
Affordable housing development for Fernwood? ›› Ruben Anderson
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GLADSTONE
GLADSTONE
CALEDONIA
CALEDONIA
OWNERSHIP
OWNERSHIP
Private
Private
School District 61
School District 61
City of Victoria BC Housing
NORTH PARK
City of Victoria
VINING CHAMBERS
VINING CHAMBERS
and ownership is changing in the area west of Vic High, with plans for 155 units of affordable housing to stand tall beside the school track. There is a patchwork of lots owned by the City of Victoria, School Board 61, and BC Housing in the area between Chambers St. and the school. Negotiations to swap land titles and make a more rational assembly seem to be nearing completion. This would result in the City of Victoria gaining ownership of the Compost Education Centre and Spring Ridge Common lands, while SD 61 would gain two City-owned lots directly west of Vic High. If the BC Housing property at 1209 North Park also changes hands, the School Board would have an assembly of lots covering four blocks between Gladstone and Grant. So what does this mean for Fernwood? The current plan from the City of Victoria has the Compost Education Centre and Spring Ridge Common staying as community green space. The BC Housing facility at 1209 North Park is operated by the M’akola Housing Society, and the services at that site would move to another location in the CRD. Most importantly, the School Board will give a new 60 year lease to the Capital Region Housing Corporation for this land assembly plus some of the unsightly moonscape left behind by the demolition of the Fairey Tech compound. This will generate some revenue for SD 61, which may be used to defray the costs of the Vic High renovation and improvements to the field and track. With such a large lot available, CRHC is proposing replacing the current 18 units of housing in the Caledonia townhouses with 155 units, which would be a major addition to Victoria’s supply of affordable housing. A press release can be found at tinyurl. com/CRHChousing.
NORTH PARK
GRANT
YUKON
GRANT
YUKON
(Left) Land ownership before the land swap. (Centre) Land ownership after the land swap. (Right) First concept drawings of new 155 unit development.
Paul Kitson, the CRD’s Manager of Development, and Rob Whetter from dHKarchitects, presented context and early design concepts to Fernwood NRG’s Board of Directors on April 2nd, and as this issue goes to press on April 3rd, will be presenting to the Community Association Land Use Committee at the Fernwood Community Association. Some highlights of the discussion were: • CRHC owns almost 1,300 units on 40 sites, with roughly 200 units under construction, so this new development will represent about 10% of their portfolio. • The planned rent structure is for 20% Deep Subsidy, 50% Rent Geared to Income, and 30% Affordable or Near Market. At this stage of design, 20% of the units will be accessible. • Construction could start in the fall of 2020 and be completed in spring of 2022. • Early concept designs maintain some views through Caledonia, Vining and North Park to the significant historic building of Victoria High School. • A complete grid of treed, walkable public paths is proposed.
• The architect is proposing groundoriented units with small yards or patios, and is exploring stepping building height up from three-storey townhouses at Gladstone, a four-storey building, and then two five-storey apartments at Grant. These tallest buildings will likely be just a little shorter than Vic High, and will be quite a bit taller than other nearby buildings. • Parking will be underground. A typical CRHC complex has 0.6 parking spots per unit, while early designs at this site include almost one spot per unit. This is based on a demand analysis—but as some Board members pointed out, the site is an easy walking distance to downtown and is close to bus routes, bike lanes, three schools, parks, grocery stores, and two urban villages. • Board members pointed out that the City of Victoria has created a dangerous and unpleasant traffic situation on Chambers St. and this project will make it worse. There was unanimous feeling that Chambers must be redesigned, and
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discussion about whether it would be best to repair the street grid by opening Grant St. again. • This development will be built under the new BC Building Energy Step Code, and will be designed to achieve Step 3, which is not described as “ambitious” on the Energy Step Code website (see energystepcode.ca/faq). • The City of Victoria is refreshing or completing Neighbourhood Plans throughout the city. Fernwood’s last plan was completed in 1994 and calls for: • an integrated site plan for these lots—Vic High, the Fernwood Community Centre, and William Stevenson Park. • the retention of duplex zoning on these lots. CRHC will return to the Land Use Committee, tentatively on June 5th. If you would like to attend or offer feedback on this major change in Fernwood, please contact David Maxwell, at the Fernwood Community Association, at fernwoodlanduse@gmail.com.
in this issue To get the Vibe digitally, sign up at fernwoodnrg.ca
editorial:
villagevibe Published by Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group Editorial Committee
Lee Herrin Kathryn Juricic
Lisa Matthaus Mila Czemerys Founding Editor Lisa Helps
W(h)ither Spring Ridge Common(s)?
Contributors
Ruben Anderson Mila Czemerys Rachel Sadava Kayla Siefried Sean Guist
Lee Herrin Lauren Gaultier Kathryn Juricic Lilly Kho
Art
Mila Czemerys Axel Michelle Pichert Photography Lauren Gaultier Webmeister Bud Taylor Roades Dahlia Katz Production Mila Czemerys Contact us
1240 Gladstone Avenue Victoria, BC V8T 1G6 T 250.381.1552 F 250.381.1509 info@fernwoodnrg.ca www.villagevibe.ca To enquire about advertising in the Village Vibe, please contact ads@fernwoodnrg.ca The views expressed in the Village Vibe do not necessarily reflect the views of Fernwood NRG.
declaration of principles & values ››
We are committed to creating a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable neighbourhood;
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We are committed to ensuring neighbourhood control or ownership of neighbourhood institutions and assets;
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We are committed to using our resources prudently and to becoming financially self-reliant;
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We are committed to the creation
›› Lee Herrin Over the last 10 years, I have written a number of editorials about Spring Ridge Common(s), and it is time for another stroll down the woodchip covered path of memories. The Common grows on land owned by the Greater Victoria School District (SD61), who were kind enough to offer the land, but required a local group be responsible for any issues. Since 2010, Fernwood NRG has held the lease. When we assumed the lease, we agreed “to maintain the site as a permaculture garden,” which was to be maintained by volunteers from other organizations. However, maintaining a large garden with minimal resources and volunteers of varying levels of commitment has been a constant challenge, and over the years there were numerous times when the situation at the site was untenable. In 2014, some neighbours took matters into their own hands and cut back many plants themselves. Since then, there have been better and worse years, but the site has increasingly attracted an element that some neighbours thought was undesirable. In 2017, the School District signed a one year lease renewal rather than the standard two year renewal. In November of 2018, a neighbour complained to the City of Victoria Bylaw Enforcement that there were branches overhanging the sidewalk. The complaint eventually made its way to me, and I had our maintenance person cut back the branches in question. However, in discussing the matter with the School District, I noted that our lease had lapsed as of October 31st. I told the School District
The lease for Spring Ridge Common(s) is now held by the Greater Victoria School District (SD61). Photo: Mila Czemerys
we would take care of the branches, but that I was waiting for a renewal notice. In February of 2019, another complaint came in (directly to me) about people using the site inappropriately. I contacted the School District to remind them the lease had not been renewed. At that time, I was informed that it was not going to be renewed because the site was part of the potential “land swap” between the School District, the City of Victoria and the Capital Region Housing Corporation (see cover story). The next day, a number of the School District’s maintenance staff arrived with equipment and tools and heavily pruned back the site. As well, they removed
the benches, the gazebo and other built features. As always, some people are happy about this turn of events while others are devastated. As for Fernwood NRG, our role is now only to pass complaints along to the School Board. And so, at least in the medium term, this is no longer a neighbourhood controlled resource. Ultimately, the future of the site and its ownership is tied to the successful conclusion of the land swap, which is in turn tied to the Capital Regional Housing Corporation receiving the requisite development approvals for the Caledonia project. This is an emerging story and we will have to wait to see how it unfolds.
and support of neighbourhood employment;
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We are committed to engaging the dreams, resources, and talents of our neighbours and to fostering new links between them;
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We are committed to taking action in response to neighbourhood issues, ideas, and initiatives;
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We are committed to governing our organization and serving our neighbourhood democratically with a maximum of openness, inclusivity and kindness;
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We are committed to developing the skills, capacity, self-worth, and excellence of our neighbours and ourselves;
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We are committed to focusing on the future while preserving our neighbourhood’s heritage and diversity;
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We are committed to creating neighbourhood places that are vibrant, beautiful, healthy, and alive;
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and, most of all, We are committed to having fun!
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villagevibe
April 2019
News and views from the heart of Fernwood
mark your calendar: th
10 Annual Fernwood Bites - June 23rd, 2019 The ever delicious Fernwood Bites turns 10 this year
›› Mila Czemerys Once a year, Fernwood Square is transformed into a food and drink lover’s paradise. Over 30 of the city’s greatest chefs, restaurateurs, and drink makers gather to present their tastiest canapés and brews to hundreds of guests. Live jazz floats into the Sunday afternoon air as community members nosh and mingle all for a great cause. Fernwood Bites returns on June 23rd, 2019 for its tenth year as a fundraiser for Fernwood NRG. Over the past decade, this event has raised $140,000 in support of programs like Victoria Best Babies pernatal nutritional health program, affordable housing for families, weekly community meals including Family Dinner, Student Dinner, and Seniors Lunch, the Village Vibe community newspaper, food access programs like the Good Food Box and Fernwood Neighbourhood Orchard, child
Fernwood Bites is an annual fundraiser for Fernwood NRG. All proceeds support programs and services for our negihbourhood including affordable housing, child care, family, youth, and seniors support services, food access programs, and more. Photos: Michelle Pichert Photography
care, the Pole Painting Project, and so much more! Tickets go on sale Monday, April 15th at 10:00am PST at FernwoodBites2019. eventbrite.ca. Tickets are $80. This event has sold out every year so act quickly to get your tickets before they’re gone.
We can’t wait to host so many fantastic restaurants and drink providers this year including Fernwood faves like Fernwood Inn, Fernwood Pizza Co., Aubergine plus newcomers Ruth & Dean, Spinnakers, and returning faves Toque Catering, Chorizo and Co., Charellis, The Hot & Cold Cafe,
and many more. A huge thank you to all the presenters for sharing their delicious food and drink and to everyone who has attended this event in the past ten years. Here’s to another decade of food, drink, and community-building.
make it happen:
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Free Legal Clinic
Solar panel bulk buy
About Make It Happen
The Make It Happen projects are new ideas that have been put forward and need time and funding, or they are projects that have been successful but lack long term funding or some other kind of support. Some of these projects are big and some are small—but all of them make a real difference in the lives of some of our neighbours here in Fernwood. If you see a project you think is critically important or would bring
www.fernwoodnrg.ca
joy to our neighbourhood, please Give Where You Live. You can Make It Happen with your funding or materials.
›› Ruben Anderson Needing a lawyer seldom comes at a good time in life, and it is much worse if there is financial stress. We have arranged for lawyers to provide Family Law consultation and guidance pro bono. Fernwood NRG is providing space and coordination, but we have no funding for this critical work. $1500 would ensure stability through 2019.
›› Ruben Anderson As reported in the February Village Vibe, the Fernwood Community Association hosted an information session aimed at neighbours interested in bulk buying solar panels to generate clean, renewable energy on their rooftops. Representatives of Viridian Energy Co-operative and the Salish Sea Renewable Energy Co-op answered questions and busted myths—we have plenty of sunshine here in Victoria, and a solar installation on your home could earn you better than 6% return on investment. Try to get that from your mutual fund. The more neighbours join in, the better pricing available when buying panels and
equipment and the larger the rate of return. An average home installation could be a 7.4 kW system with 24 solar panels that will cost $17,000 and produce over 200 MWh of electricity over its lifetime. This will save about $1000 on your electricity bill the first year, and even more as hydro rates go up. Factoring in expected rate increases, the system should be paid off in about 13 years— but the sun won’t stop shining after that, and you will still be producing clean electricity. More examples of system costs can be found at tinyurl.com/solarexamples. If you would like to join the mailing list to receive updates, please email ruben@ fernwoodnrg.ca. The wait list will close June 15th so we can get to work!
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buzz:
Here’s the scoop on Cold Comfort If you haven’t tried Cold Comfort, Fernwood’s own ice cream company, stop what you’re doing and get down there
›› Lauren Gaultier Now that Spring is officially upon us, we can all get outside and enjoy some sunshine, flowers, and ice cream—and there is no better place than Cold Comfort to get your fix. Born out of culinary interest and a flair for flavour, Cold Comfort morphed from a small subscription delivery service in 2010, to a thriving year-round shop branching into wholesale and looking to expand production operations. Fernwood resident and owner Autumn Maxwell’s goal with her funky ice cream shop has always been to make someone’s day brighter. When you walk into her shop full of nostalgia that span the decades, she wants you to feel like you are walking into a party, or back in time to a joyful childhood experience.
Cold Comfort is located at 2-1115 North Park Street off of Cook Street. Photos: Lauren Gaultier
In addition to the straight cool vibe of the shop, you are bound to find something you love with all they to offer. Do you like tubs of ice cream? They have several seasonal flavours and standards that include The Best Chocolate and Rosemary Sour Cherry. Maybe you’re more of an ice cream sandwich lover? Well then, you’re in luck— their standards include Hoyne Dark Matter on Vanilla Macaron and Plain Jane on Chocolate Chip Cookie to name a couple. Maybe you just want a scoop or two? Try
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one of their seven rotating flavours in a cup or a sugar cone. If you are vegan, gluten aware or even sugar free they have options for you, too. Even if you are not an ice cream lover, probably everyone else you know is… so why not bring them a custom ice cream cake, or give them a cool custom pint gift certificate? For $25 you can buy a blank post-card which acts as a gift certificate that the bearer can redeem for a hand-delivered pint of whatever flavour you can think up!
This truly unique shop makes everything in house and from scratch with primarily local and organic products packaged in compostable and recyclable materials. Share in their beliefs of community, equality and accessibility, by popping in to this year-round shop on North Park to say hello, get to know your neighbour, and discover your new favourite. Find Cold Comfort on Instagram at @ misscoldcomfort or check out their website at coldcomfort.ca.
mark your calendar:
Yoga Den 7 years old Garden work party Thank you Fernwood
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• Karma classes, Mondays 3:30-4:30pm • Monthly Kirtan • Dance Tonic
Rachel Sadava
The first six months has been amazing in our new space at 1310 Gladstone Avenue! The Yoga Den just celebrated its 7th year in Fernwood thanks to the strong support we receive from our wonderful community and neighbourhood. We love being in Fernwood and strive to make yoga accessible to everyone. In addition to our regular weekly classes, we have several low-cost and by donation options for people to learn and practice.
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By donation:
April 2019
Low-cost programs:
• Community Class, Wednesdays 8:309:30pm, $5 • Soul Jam (Live music and yoga), $10 • Acro Yoga, $10 • Yoga For Mental Wellness Series, $60 • Women, Mindfulness, & Medicine Series, $45 Check out the full schedule at fernwoodyogaden.com/schedule-workshops. We look forward to seeing you.
First work party at the Community Centre gardens on Saturday, April 27th, 10am - 1pm
›› Mila Czemerys This year, Fernwood NRG will be working on revitalizing the gardens at the Fernwood Community Centre for all to enjoy. We’ll be adding raised beds for annual veggies, perennial food plants, a pollinator garden, informational signage, and a new herb and flower garden behind the building.
At the end of this month, Hachet & Seed will be adding three new ferro cement beds for annual food crops in front of the centre. On Saturday, April 27th, 10am to 1pm, we are hosting our first work party of the season to help spread Sea Soil on the garden beds, fill the newly installed raised beds with soil, and spread wood chips on pathways. If you love getting your hands dirty, gardening, and volunteering in your community, please join us. Email mila@fernwoodnrg.ca to sign up for this work party or to be informed of any upcoming work parties and gardening opportunities.
News and views from the heart of Fernwood
buzz:
Volunteer with FernFest; it’s fun & meaningful Join our amazing community who make this festival happen
›› Kathryn Juricic If you haven’t heard, FernFest is a community arts, family and music festival held in the heart of Fernwood, in Fernwood Square. FernFest is organized by Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group and made possible by hundreds of volunteers who dedicate a few hours to having fun and building community. This is my personal call-out to join our league of amazing people and become a FernFest Volunteer! It is a valuable and great way to give back to your neighbourhood. FernFest will be held on Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22. FernFest has many activities for a diversity of people to enjoy. We host four stages that have bands, musicians and a variety of performances. My personal favourite of the fest is the FernFest Field of Dreams held on the Vic High field that includes tons of art activities, our cardboard castle and the Non-Profit Hub, among other things, trust
www.fernwoodnrg.ca
FernFest is Fernwood annual neighbourhood celebration. There are lots of volunteer roles for everyone to get involved. Photo: Webmeister Bud
me! FernFest also boasts an Artisan Market, Silent Auction, Senior’s Tea, BBQ and Beer Garden. Okay, did I miss anything?! Each one of these zones requires folks who are dedicated to making it happen. As co-organizer of this festival, I must add that our Coordinating Team is awe-
some. I’m saying this because these are the people that you will be working with if you join us! Here’s a quote we’re proud to share from one of our volunteers last year: “I really appreciate the love and all the energy that the coordinators put on the Fest, I enjoyed being able to meet and help
out all the incredible local businesses set up for the market, and I definitely loved seeing everyone having such a good time with all the music and the different activities that were going on. One of the best festivals, that’s for sure.” We are really excited to welcome back Mel Reid as our calm and kind Volunteer Coordinator. She will be leading the troupes in making magic happen and finding a role that suits you. FernFest is about many things—but it’s the people that come together to make something special. We’re all working together to build a resilient neighbourhood. When I walk down the street in Fernwood (and beyond), I get to say hi to so many folks that I’ve met through FernFest. When asked about FernFest highlights from our volunteers last year, their responses are mostly about the people, the community feel, and great food! As a FernFest Volunteer, you will receive a FernFest T-shirt, our unending gratitude, snacks, lunch at our BBQ, and a free ticket to our FernFest Appreciation Party held at Vinyl Envy. To sign-up to become a FernFest Volunteer, please visit fernwoodnrg.ca/ events-directory/fernfest/volunteer/.
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garden gleanings:
buzz:
Before planting that Learning Farm update garden, nourish the soil ›› Kathryn Juricic
›› Kayla Siefried
2) Add compost
Juicy snap peas, tomato vines galore, and bumble bees visiting our sunflowers; what a beautiful image of the summer garden. Before getting too ahead of ourselves, though, it’s still early spring and best to think about caring for the soil. Not to be confused with dirt, soil is full of life and it’s where plants get their nutrients and stability. Here’s how you can increase the health of soil: 1) Keep mulch on your garden year round
Mulching (with leaves or straw) protects your soil from rain, wind, erosion and nutrient loss. It can supress weeds and keep moisture in for longer. As the mulch decomposes, it returns valuable organic matter to the soil. In the spring, you’ll want to rake off your mulch a couple of weeks prior to incorporating compost in order to let your soil warm and allow seeds to germinate. Then you can tuck your little plants back in.
In the spring, lightly incorporate a 2-5cm layer of compost (preferably homemade) into the top bit of your soil. If you need to purchase compost from a garden centre, look for the OMRI organic certified compost label. If you want to give your veggies an extra boost, consider mixing in an OMRI certified organic balanced fertilizer the same time. Don’t worry about digging it deep, the bugs will work it in. 3) Disturb the soil less
When we disturb soil less, we retain healthy soil structure, reduce erosion, increase water holding capacity, and allow the life in the soil to do its thing! The best thing about it, is that it’s easier for gardeners! Practice light raking rather than deep digging, covering soil in mulch, and leaving roots of all spent plants in the soil to decompose. So care for your soil first, and then plant your garden. Keep the above practices in mind all year round, and you’re sure to notice a difference in the quality of your veggie garden.
Over a year has passed since the Vic High Learning Farm was dug up on the fields along Gladstone Avenue. Run by Mason Street Urban Farm, you will often see their Farm Coordinator Jesse Brown working with youth from the school with their hands dirty in the soil. I touched base with Jesse to learn how the Vic High Learning Farm is going, what successes he has seen in the past year and what the community engaged with the farm intends to develop as growing seasons come and go. The intention around the farm is to have a gardening skill building program where all students in the school have access to learn about gardening through cultivation. In the past year alone, Jesse estimated that he’s worked with twelve different classes and around 200 students on the farm. Students are able to join the farm through three different streams. Any teacher from Vic High can sign-up their class to help out. The Vic High Garden Club is a student-led organization that meets about one to two times per week with Jesse to learn about farming and cultivation whom have had some awesome successes this past year. Lastly, Mason Street Farm is working closely with the Foods teacher at Vic High to have their class work on the farm once per week. This is a very exciting endeavour, and Mason Street Farm is working together
Youth @ Vic High Garden
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with Life Cycles Growing Schools Program to develop a curriculum for the classroom to create a hybrid Foods-Farm class. When I asked Jesse about the successes he has seen in the farm in the past year, he shared, “there ended up being really great cultivation and a lot of food was produced! The space performed surprisingly well.” (Kudos to the volunteers who shoveled hundreds of pounds of compost onto the site!) Much of the food produced went directly to the salad bar program in Vic High and also to the Mason Street Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Jesse was also very excited to share his work with the Vic High Garden Club who recently built the on-site greenhouse and nursery: “Now we will be able to grow all the plants we need for the farm on site. It helps to complete the system a little bit.” Going forward, we are looking forward to hearing about how the Foods course develops and how they will integrate community and food systems into the curriculum of the classroom. Keep your eyes peeled on Gladstone for folks working on the farm. Soon enough we might even be able to purchase some vegetables or pick them ourselves from a garden stand right at the farm! Jesse is hoping to help the Garden Club organize a garden stand on Tuesday afternoons on Gladstone Avenue.
12:00pm - 3:00pm
News and views from the heart of Fernwood
buzz:
The Narwhal in Fernwood Independent, investigative environmental journalism based in the neighbourhood
›› Lilly Kho If you haven’t already heard, The Narwhal, an online magazine focused on sharing stories about Canada’s natural environment, proudly calls Fernwood its home. Although editor-in-chief and executive director Emma Gilchrist jokes about the fact that much of the publication comes together in the humble kitchen of her Fernwood home, The Narwhal boasts four Canadian Online Publishing Awards and is a growing powerhouse in the Canadian journalism scene. Growing out of the environmental investigative journalism project, DeSmog Canada, The Narwhal has firms roots in diving deep to tell stories about Canada’s natural world. Speaking to the significance
Emma Gilchrist (left) editor-in-chief and executive director and Carol Linnitt (right) managing editor of The Narwhal. Photo: Taylor Roades
of the publication’s name, Emma says the goal was tap into Canadian’s shared values around a love of the natural world. Moving away from the dichotomies that often plague Canadian politics, The Narwhal aims to illuminate our shared sense of awe
and wonder for the natural world. The tusks of these deep-diving whales serve as sensitive antennae, mirroring the publication’s desire to locate truth and investigate stories that other outlets don’t. What makes The Narwhal different
is what Emma describes as an underlying ethos, “that speaks beyond hardcore environmentalists to everyday Canadians.” In seeking to achieve an approachable and compelling way of news reporting, The Narwhal advances coverage that tends to be more complex and nuanced. Being from a northern “oil and gas town just outside of Grande Prairie,” Emma notes that she, and her fellow colleagues who share this background, have the desire to produce work that speaks to those living in industry towns without alienating them. As a result, The Narwhal’s emphasis on heavily visual coverage not only finds mass appeal in today’s image-driven culture, but also brings to life issues that often feel obscured and far away from Canada’s urban centres. With a vision like that, it’s hard to deny the appeal and relevance this growing publication has for Canadians. To read more, check out thenarwhal.ca or subscribe to their weekly newsletter at thenarwhal.ca/newsletter. The Narwhal is a non-profit—you can become a monthly member by visiting them at thenarwal.ca/ member.
mark your calendar:
Trophy brings a pop-up city of stories to Fernwood Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Fest comes to Fernwood Square in May
›› Sean Guist What began as a conversation about change and connection has gone on to transform cities around Canada and the world. This May, it’s your turn to wander through a city of stories in Fernwood Square with Trophy. This magical performance installation features local community members sharing their own stories of change inside a pop-up storytelling event. Trophy lights up Fernwood Square with a cluster of transparent tents and nine local storytellers on Saturday, May 11th. Inside each tent sits a different performer, and audiences move throughout the installation, encountering as many of the stories as they wish. Ottawa artist and co-creator Sarah Conn describes Trophy as “a series of micro episodes that dive straight to the heart of a turning point or a point of change in each of these storytellers’ lives.” The storytellers have been curated by Conn from applications received from community members
www.fernwoodnrg.ca
Trophy is a free performance installation featuring local community members sharing stories. It is part of Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Fest and will be happening in Fernwood Square on Saturday, May 11th at 3:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:30pm. Photo: Dahlia Katz
from across Victoria and in some cases, are sharing their personal encounters for the first time in public. Audiences not only encounter the stories inside the tents, but leave their own responses on coloured transparencies
attached to the tents which become part of the installation. Conn says people can expect to “hear beautiful stories that stay with you, that allow you to reflect on your own experiences and turning points in your own life. You will see people differently and
learn more about people from your own community that you might walk past on the street but never talk to.” Originally part of an artist residency in Ottawa that paired artists with community groups, co-creators Conn and Allison O’Connor were working on a traditional style play with a group of homeless men. The conversations they were having were centring on stories of change, turning points in their lives and discovering the different lives that they had all led and finding common threads that linked them. This became the first instalment of Trophy in Ottawa wit h five tents and storytellers. Since then, the installation has popped up at festivals and cities across Canada, as well as Dublin, Ireland and after Victoria is headed to Prague. Trophy is a free event as part of Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Fest, presented in partnership with the Belfry Theatre and the Inter-Cultural Association. There is no charge for tickets, however capacity is limited. Trophy performance t i m e s a re 3 : 0 0 p m , 5 : 0 0 p m , a n d 7:30pm. To book a free ticket, email info @ intrepidtheatre. com or arrive at Fernwood Square at performance times. Find out more about Trophy and UNO Fest at intrepidtheatre.com.
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Scene in Fernwood : Fernwood Bites
Fernwood Bites 2019 tickets go on sale April 15th at 10:00am PST at FernwoodBites2019. eventbrite.ca