5th Annual West Coast Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival

It’s that time of year again – a whole day devoted to Maple Syrup.  Taste maple syrup from Vancouver Island at the Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival at The BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan.

We loved it last year. Pleasantly surprised by the amount of Maple Syrup producers we have here on Vancouver Island. There were light syrups, dark syrups, molassesy syrup and we had a great time choosing the bottle of syrupy goodness that came home with us. Extra bonus – we got to go on the train! Very sweet indeed.

This year we are bringing grandparents, cousins, babies and more. We want everyone to come and celebrate the elixir created here on Vancouver Island.

Here’s the info from the website

Saturday February 4, 2012

 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Visitors are invited to participate in mini-workshops facilitated by experienced maple syrup producers, including tapping demonstrations, presentations, and displays. This year’s event features cooking with local maple syrup and maple foods will be available.  The festival features a maple syrup competition with judging by celebrity chefs from Vancouver Island. The evaporator will be running all day so visitors can savour the warm maple aroma of sap and see how syrup is made.

Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival Schedule:

Explore the sights and aromas of syrup making

Evaporator:
10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Find out more about maple tapping

Tapping Demonstrations:  
Every 20 minutes from 10:20 am – 3:20 pm
Approximately 15 minutes long

Maple Syrup Presentations
Approximately 15 minutes long

Taste Local Maple Syrup
10:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Maple Syrup Competition Awards  
12:30 pm
Train Rides  
10:30 pm – 3:30 pm every half hour

Special Admission Price:

$7 adult/seniors/student/youth

$5 per child (2-12 years)

children under 2 are free

Saturday, February 18, Port Theatre

Musical Instrument Zoo (11 a.m. -12 noon)

NoteworthyKids Music Club Family Event (11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)

Open Rehearsal (12:30-1:30 p.m.)

Reserve your Complimentary Ticket: 250-754-8550

Info: www.vancouverislandsymphony.com

The day starts early with the traditional pancake breakfast at the Lantzville Legion (George says, see you there for the opening at 7am.  I say, see you later.)  Then at 10am there’s a parade down Lantzville Road ending up at the school grounds, where the rest of the day’s activities are centered.  The highlight of the parade is the several dozen decorated bikes that kids have entered in a contest, all riding down the street.

Years ago at our first Minetown Day, there were more people in the parade than watching it.  Now you need to get there early to get a good spot.  There are over 22 games and rides – all no charge – lots of music, storytelling and dancers.  Among our kids favourites:  the rock climbing wall, the velcro wall, the dunk tank, and the nail hammering contest.  They’ve always been fascinated with the 50/50 Chicken Poop draw.  I think the 50/50 stands for 50% interested in winning and 50% interested in seeing the chicken lay its… whatever.

Oh yes, there’s a watermelon eating contest that the kids love to enter – who cares if you win!  They also love making cars out of Zucchinis and then racing them for prizes.  And maybe, just maybe this year, Grace will be brave enough to take a spin on the human sphere.  I think George really wants to do it and is hoping to live the thrill vicariously through his daughter.

There’s also a main stage for musical entertainment all day from noon until 7pm, and historical displays of the town’s rich coal mining heritage, so bring your picnic blanket, a couple of chairs, and spread out on the school grounds to spend the day in Lantzville!

The Lighthouse Country Fall Fair – Saturday Sept 5 in Bowser/Deep Bay.  Features plenty of activities for the kids, including pony rides, a petting zoo, and bouncy castles (how did we manage before bouncy castles came along?), and the theme this year is home gardening, with lots of tips and displays,  as well as fresh produce.  The fair is at the Lighthouse Community Centre from 10am until 4pm.  Adults are $5.00 and kids under 12 are free.

Port Alberni Salmon Festival – Fri Sept 4 – Mon Sept 7.  Grace will be too busy ripping out fence posts to be able to take part in the fishing – there’s a $10,000 prize for the largest salmon caught during the Festival and hundreds of other prizes.  Fireworks will be on Friday night, and there’s a dunk tank, lots of great food and entertainment all weekend long.  There’ s a free bullhead derby early Sunday morning.  All takes place at the Clutesi Haven Marina.

Labour Day Swim – Mon Sept 7, Nanaimo – With the Aquatic Centre closed for maintenance and the ocean losing its “make you think you’re living in Hawaii” temperatures, you can grab a good long swim between 12 noon and 5pm at the Beban Park pool.

Hike to Labour Day Lake – Ok, you’re really celebrating the weekend if you make the trek to this lake – yes, that really is its name – which is literally half way between Port Alberni and Nanaimo (as the crow flies – see the map below).  It’s a pretty hefty hike for a family, but what are days of labour for, as George would say.

Or you could just relax at home and have a nice barbeque – maybe do a New Year’s Eve kind of countdown to the kids going back to school.  Oh wait, that’s for later at night when they’re in bed.

Will Stroet is the MC and provides muscial entertainment between acts, which include Rick Scott, Friends Forever Puppets, Tickles the clown, and a production of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  Lots of displays from local businesses and organizations, and of course, lots of food.  Things get underway at 10am right through to 4pm.

We love Transfer Beach as you probably know, and that’s a great place to have Canada Day, which is why the clever folks at Parks and Rec are having it there from 1 to 5pm.  There’s going to be music and lots of family activities.  And of course they have the water park there and one of the best concession booths around – great burgers!

Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton park boasts one of the best playgrounds around with a wonderful view of the Harbour, plus it’s getting all polished up for the opening of the new Spirit Square, so what better place to hold Nanaimo’s Canada Day celebrations.  Our kids love the Kerplunks and guess who’s going to be there!!  A multi-cultural food fair promises lots of good eating and there’ll be plenty of fun activities as well.  It all starts at 11am and runs until 3:15pm.

If you like your celebrations to start early, then Parksville’s Canada Day celebrations will get you going at 8am with the popular Shriner’s pancake breakfast.  What could more Canadian than piling on the butter and the maple syrup!  Then it’s the annual Canada Day parade down the Island Highway starting at 10am.  Get your seats early because this is always well attended and this year everything about the Parksville celebration is supposed to be even bigger!  Then it’s off to the Community Park for a full day of fun starting at noon.

No matter where you spend the day on July 1st, though, you’ll want to end up in Parksville around dusk because it’s time for fireworks!  Our littlest one has turned out to be the biggest fireworks fan after a couple of years of ear-covering, so she’ll be there.  With her family of course – can’t have the 5 year old driving by herself to Parksville.

Over 25 local kids are involved in the production, and for many of them this is their first foray into the world of theatre.  With the help of director Eliza Gardiner and choreographer Silvia Knapp, that foray has been an exciting journey – I know Grace is chomping at the bit to do more musical theatre.  And the dedication of all the kids, and the Red Room Studio staff has been amazing.

For weeks on end now, they’ve been attending two three-hour sessions, learning lines, practicing songs, performing their dances, and trying to stay quiet when they’re not in the number being rehearsed at that moment.  We’ve seen the organized chaos that is any large musical rehearsal and as non-actors, it made us a little nervous.  Until we saw the piece on Shaw cable the other day, where the kids were all in their costumes and performing their numbers beautifully!  Now we’re feeling more like cucumbers heading into final rehearsals and then the performances.

The first show is Saturday May 23rd at 7pm up at Vancouver Island University’s Malaspina Theatre in Nanaimo.  Then on Sunday May 24th there’s a 2pm show.  Tickets are just $10 in advance or $12 at the door.  BTW, our youngest is dressing up as Jasmine for the show, so put on your best Aladdin outfits and we’ll see you there!

Now we’ve also got some tickets to give away – just click here for all the details

Even though we’re not in the dog world these days – not that our daughters don’t try their best to return us there – we love dogs (and cats and pets in general) and we’re not going to miss the Oceanside Doggy Dayz Festival coming up May 15 – 17.  Martin would have loved to have been in the parade, where he could have vied for Most Senior dog (if they had a Weirdest Teeth category he’d have walked away with that) or one of the many other prizes.  You have to register to be in the parade and compete, and you can do that online.

The weekend is really broken in two parts – a pet fair on Saturday at the Parksville Community Centre with displays just for the humans (groomers, breeders, retailers, etc.) and lots of useful seminars as well.  And then on Sunday, the dogs can bring their owners to Qualicum Beach for a doggy breakfast, a fashion show, the parade at 1:30pm and much more!

Oh, it’s actually ok to talk to dog owners, but you should ask the name of their pet first

Heather’s work is collected around the world and this is a chance to see her workshop and how she produces her enchanting creations, including her new air-brushed 3-D wall plaques celebrating the rugged west coast of the Island.  Joining Heather will be photographers, quilters, water colourists, and glass artists, not just displaying their works but showing you how it’s done.

In addition to seeing all  the beautiful art, kids can make their own wind chimes, get their faces painted, and enjoy the musicians and singers who will be entertaining throughout the weekend.

This art spectacular runs both days 10am – 4pm, and there’s plenty of cover, so stop by rain or shine! Admission is free and delicious picnic lunches from Lantzville’s popular Black Dog cafe can be pre-ordered for just $10.00 by calling 250-390-1514.

The address is 6998 Strait Road in Lantzville.