Discovering what we are made of

PHOTO BY Alex Ratson GETTYIMAGES.CA

BY EDITOR JENNIFER THUNCHER

So much has happened over the last few years that none of us could have predicted. In Squamish — famously already a place for outside-the-box thinkers — it perhaps should not have been surprising that creativity has blossomed amid the pandemic.

From dining to development to dance and beyond, folks have taken what has been — let’s be real — a really brutal time and made innovative beauty out of it.

In 2020, when we put together our first of the pandemic Discover Squamish magazines, we all thought it was a one-off situation.

We naively wondered if the mention of the coronavirus would date the publication. After all, it would be over in weeks if not months, right?

Oh, the innocence of prepandemic thought.

And so here we are, putting together another Discover Squamish magazine that is sprinkled with mentions of COVID-19.

What we didn’t expect was that it would get easier with time to accept the “new reality” and that along the way, we would discover another characteristic of Squamish we didn’t fully appreciate before — we are a tough lot who, by sheer force of will and nature, make the best of things.

To be fair, we are bolstered by our inspiring landscape, which is always innovating and adapting outside our windows and under our feet.

As I write this, tourism and daily life are fruitful in town again; not the same as before, but — in fact — infused with more passion.

There is so much in this town to discover and adore whether you have been here since birth or you arrived this morning for a visit.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Discover Squamish as much as we truly enjoyed putting it together.

Each page is proof of our sticktoitiveness and our belief in trying new and exciting things.

Take a winter hike through our pages; we are glad you are here.