Taking it to the Parksville streets
A friend of ours who lived for a short time in Parksville and had to move back to Alberta for job reasons, keeps emailing and asking how things are on the Island. You can hear the longing in their words. We love Parksville too – it’s the epitome of small town Island summers – and adding to that tradition for the last few years has been the Summer by the Sea Tuesday night market down on Craig street. Great shopping, great music, great fun.
The heart of the street market is being able to browse over 120 vendors selling everything from artichokes to artworks, bread to beads, clocks to candles, and from every other letter of the alphabet. The kids bought a very fun puppet here and they’ve also found unique gifts for friends’ birthdays. If they can sample something – like honey or fresh bread – they’re extra happy campers. And they’ve made lots of new friends there too because plenty of families come to the market.
The kids always have a fabulous time dancing to the top quality musicians featured each week. We’ve tried in the past to have the kids stay in their shoes, but it’s a losing battle and blackened feet are a small price to pay for all the fun. Face painting is another favourite and the ice cream wagon gets a regular visit as well. And since the beach is so close, we often come up there first for a picnic and then show up for the market starting at 6pm (which is crucial if you want some of the fresh bread and other goodies!). The market is every Tuesday night through to August 18 from 6pm to 9pm.
