
Communities in the Pacific Northwest are essentially human settlements in logging clearcuts. Whack down trees, lay ...

A curtain flutters through broken glass as fiery flakes litter the snow-covered ground. Despite the cold, ...

As the owners of The Lost Faucet Sauna House in Courtenay, we are constantly seeking out more knowledge and ...

In the fall and winter, most people don’t immerse themselves in the Salish Sea, but for geoduck divers, it’s ...

PHOTOS BY GWEN MONNET, SANDI PHYE, & CRAIG SOROCHAN
We respectfully acknowledge that the land we gather on ...

Reflections from an older resident.
I grew up and lived for much of my life in northern ...

Alex Guertin is the newest proprietor of Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery. On a warm evening in July, he tours ...

Reflections from a younger resident.
Nests are everywhere when you spend lots of time ...

Chuck Burdick is a self-taught photographer working in multiple genres including macro, landscape, and abstract ...

As a creative generalist working in an array of art practices, Sarah Clark is less interested in becoming an ...

It was late summer when my husband and I first rolled into Cumberland in our old Ford pickup. The year was 1996 ...

Many witches, including myself, when asked how and why we became witches, will answer that they didn’t become a ...

The year was 1990. On the steep, raw edge of a Mount Washington ski slope, summer wildflowers stood in stark ...

I’m writing these words in the height of summer, when I barely have enough time to juice a cucumber. But it will ...

Darren Howlett is sitting in Locals Restaurant, a place he has a long history with. He’s worked in this dining ...

It is a universal truth, I think, that the further you move through adulthood, the more you’re aware that life is ...

Since 1983, Comox Valley Hospice Society (CVHS) has been working to support the physical, psychological, ...

At Cumberland Chinatown’s peak in the years just after the end of World War I, around 1500 residents bustled down ...
Words by
Erica Keen
Photos courtesy of
The Keen Family

The practice of pressing and drying flowers and herbs dates back centuries and is part of many Indigenous cultures ...

“Fungi make worlds. They also unmake them. There are lots of ways to catch them in the act. When you cook mushroom ...

My husband and I sometimes travelled with our kids when they were tiny. If we ever stayed in a motel, we would ...

It was April 1912 when Hilda Mary Slayter packed her travel trunk with an elegant trousseau in preparation for her ...
Words by
Claire King
Opening photo by
Alan Hustak

Paige Whitehead was 13 years old when she saw bioluminescence for the first time, during a midnight dip in the ...
Photos courtesy of
NYOKA Design Labs

Did you know that in the heart of Courtenay, a local recording studio—decked out with audio and video gear, and ...

In my opinion, no fruit or vegetable epitomizes all that is sweet and ephemeral about summer better than the ...

Memories from a life well lived.
It started prosaically enough. Frances, at our dinner table ...

Born in the iron jungles of Vancouver, Rem Skolney, aka “The Western Skirted Tiger,” has been passionately ...

This quiet, unsung artist was born in July 1939 in North Vancouver. After a troubled time in boarding school, he ...

Della and Winter Podmore-Goggins have grown up here and attend Cumberland Community School, where Della is going ...

The vision for the Gravity MTB Garage sounds like a mountain biker’s dream. After a fun afternoon in the ...

In this Community in Action feature, we’ve profiled dozens of charitable organizations who work to improve various ...

Have you ever wondered what your body is physically and mentally capable of handling? I asked myself this question ...

The term “harm reduction” refers to a range of practices and policies with roots going back to the 1960s, when ...

When I phone Dave Hall to chat about his Comox Valley-based camera repair business, we struggle through a minute ...

People from all ages and walks of life are drawn to horses. I think it’s because horses seem to be able to touch ...

On a special day once a year First Credit Union (FCU) branches across Vancouver Island, Bowen Island, Hornby ...

An invasive plant is defined by context. A plant considered a noxious weed by one person or group may be used for ...


The nine-acre Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park is one of the most picturesque places in Comox. This historic ...

The Vancouver Island marmot has lived on Vancouver Island for hundreds of millennia. In all that time, it has only ...

Around the world, many children study dance from an early age, learning the vocabulary, foundational movements, ...

“Energy moves in waves. Waves move in patterns. Patterns move in rhythms. A human being is just that energy, ...

Dance is a language that transcends borders, barriers, and abilities. We use it to share stories, communicate ...

An enlightening interview from our last issue led me down a rewarding rabbit trail. The conversation was an ...

Welcome to our ZEST issue, which has nothing to do with citrus fruit and everything to do with gusto, enjoyment, ...

All of us who love the alpine have our own reasons for getting out there. A hiker I once passed in the Kweishun ...
Words & featured photo by
Eryn Tombu Haigh

My name is Farrah. I am eight years old and right now I am living in Granada, Spain. I started the third ...

Although Cumberland-based Black Cat Skateboards is a relatively new entity, its founder’s love of skateboarding ...

Terry Lewis sits in his home office, staring at a computer screen displaying a GIS map that’s a spider’s web of ...

40 Knots Winery is alive with potential energy. I sit in the glassed-in terrace across from Layne Craig, who owns ...

I remember the sweet satisfaction of pushing peas into the slowly warming spring soil of my first garden “plot,” a ...
Words & Art by
Sally Podmore

“Deputy Minister Department of Mines offers services of H. M. Laing of Comox [to] accompany Expedition … to act as ...

Introduced in 2018 by Comox Valley Nature (CVN), this event encourages Comox Valley residents to pay attention to ...

To call Hornby Island “ferry dependent” is not just a figure of speech. If you live on this idyllic Gulf Island, ...

The Comox Valley is known for its abundance of fresh seafood and farm produce. At the right time of year, shoppers ...

In 2017, I attended a Soldier On ski camp at Mount Washington that changed (and maybe even saved) my life.
It ...
Words by
Nick Holyome
Photos courtesy of
Soldier On

Hi there, I’m Max and I was not born in St Joseph's Hospital. I was, however, born in Addenbrooke's Hospital, ...

We live by stories. By stories we understand the world, and ourselves. Each culture has its cosmology: an ...

I am willing to hazard that you enjoy the results of fermentation in some way, shape, or form. What I'm not going ...

As a Canadian living in Hong Kong in the late 1970s, I was regarded as a gweilo, a “white devil.” Even though I ...

The merry month of May is highly anticipated in the Village of Cumberland. Since 1888, Villagers have gathered on ...

Many people might be surprised to learn that one of the most successful astronomy news sites on the Internet is ...
Words by
Ryan Stuart
Featured photo by
Sara Kempner

Night riding can be eerie, there’s no question about that. Casting shadows as I pedal through the forest ...

I first sensed how landscape affects us while studying writing at the University of Saskatchewan. The ...

As we rounded the northern tip of Nootka Island, we were struck with sizable swell, wind, and refracting waves ...
Words & Photos by
Erica Keen

Strolling through Macdonald Wood Park, with its giant trees and verdant flora within town boundaries, is one of ...

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIVING A LIFE:
PAY ATTENTION.
BE ASTONISHED.
TELL ABOUT IT.
– MARY OLIVER
In the ...

The Beaufort Range sits temptingly in our backyard. If you’re a backcountry skier, then you’ve probably gazed at ...
Words & Featured Photo by
Andrew Findlay
Gallery photo by
Chris Istace

Have you ever noticed that the flowers you see in local gardens—maybe even in your own yard—are rarely available ...
Words & photos by
Lydia Jackson

I first heard of silent disco headphones while working in Toronto’s music industry several years ago. When the ...

No vegetable family is as diverse and versatile as the brassicas. While you may not know the word, you’re ...

Curling saved my life. Sounds like an outrageous statement to make, but in 1999, the year I first threw a curling ...

Luc is a transplant from the prairies who made his way to the Comox Valley seven years ago in search of the ...

Shannon Ford is inspired by the magic of discovering beauty in chaos: “Walking up to a huge, empty canvas is pure ...
Words & Artwork by
Shannon Ford

Restful interludes are integral to the rhythm of life.
In the natural world, winter is ...

The dictionary says rest is “to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.” ...

Except for Indigenous people, Canadians are settlers—immigrants themselves, or the descendants of immigrants. ...

There are two basic ways to look at a forest you manage—as a tree farm or an ecosystem.
To see the difference, ...

Homelessness can happen in many ways: job loss, injuries and accidents, mental health issues, and substance use. ...

Music and theatre provide an environment where, through collaboration, we are encouraged to celebrate diversity, ...

In the early morning hours of the winter solstice, December 21, 2021, my life and health changed forever. I was ...

Things are often done a little differently on the Gulf Islands. Partly by necessity, partly by inclination, these ...

The legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship doomed to never enter port, has been told and retold since the ...

I first became drawn to mead because of my Scandinavian heritage: mead plays an important role in many of the ...

While some of us were out celebrating Valentine’s Day this past February, Eugen Sushko was feverishly drawing at ...
Words by
Vivian Dean
Photos courtesy of
Supermod

Colin Garritty has an enviable job. Four days a week, all winter long, he gets paid to ski and snowmobile the ...

When we think about hunting and gathering, the season we usually think of is fall. For many of us, there’s nothing ...

My husband and I moved to the Comox Valley four years ago. From the start, we’ve enjoyed navigating our way around ...

When I was a kid growing up in the ’70s and ’80s in Montreal, stores were closed on Sundays. Every single store. ...

Laurie is a “late in life” painter who moved to the Comox Valley after retiring in 2015 from a busy career as a ...

Jim is a fifth-generation Comox Valley resident, born and raised here. His interest in photography began in junior ...

It is usually late May when I embark on the first mountain trip of the season. In this particular year I was ...
Words & photos by
Claire Gordon

Starting in 1888, a vast labyrinth of extraction tunnels was carved beneath the village of Cumberland, the old ...

Eating local is a popular concept in the Comox Valley, with its long growing season and wealth of farms producing ...

When I was a kid growing up in the northern boreal forest, my mother took me and my siblings out foraging for ...

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
– Søren Kierkegaard, 1843
I don’t ...

This past January, I received an email from the organizer of the BC Epic thanking me for my registration.
Which ...
Words & Featured Photo by
Dave Nowak
Gallery Photo by
Gary Egli

Opening up, embracing new ideas, and making time for wonder.
I spent most of my career trying ...

Hi, my name is Dakota Blomgren. I was born in the Comox Valley and I am nine years old. I am a proud member of the ...

Over a century ago, on a Monday in late September, crowds of young and old thronged Vancouver’s sidewalks. Mothers ...

My first home in Cumberland was on Camp Road, in a row of rough cabins that were built in 1888 when the coal mine ...

What an ugly night. It’s dark, pouring rain, and there are still remnants of slushy snow melting in the driveway, ...
Words & photos by
Kyle Hansen

You don’t need to be an oyster farmer or sport fisherman for the daily ebb and flow of the ocean to impact your ...

Decades ago, I was sitting in a cinema seat in Toronto, gripping the armrests as the tension heightened, and ...
Words by
Mac Newton
Illustration by
Ian Adams

When David and Angela Mackenzie open the door to their new home, they will bring with them an unwavering ...
Words & Photos by
Karen McKinnon

As I pull through the gates of Smith Lake Farm, I’m greeted by the sounds of chickens clucking and disc golfers ...
Words by
Sara Kempner
Featured photo by
Meredith Rose

Back in 2013, I started shopping around for healthy nutrition options to supplement my gym goals. I’d never given ...

Do you laugh when you hear the word sasquatch? Do you believe that sasquatches exist? Do you think that a ...

I’ve occasionally yearned to wear a Davy Crockett-inspired coonskin hat. The reason I don’t isn’t that I fear I’d ...

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon as I make my way through Alex Blais’ yard, following the sound of laughter toward an ...
Words & Photos by
Sara Kempner

Our new Cumberland home came with a view of the crisp Beaufort Range mountains, Mount Apps standing tallest above ...

The very first time I dipped my paddle into the Salish Sea, wedged awkwardly in the belly of a dragon boat, I was ...

On Friday, May 13, 2022, a group of paddlers from many backgrounds made their way, in two interconnected voyageur ...

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon as I make my way through Alex Blais’ yard, following the sound of laughter toward an ...
Words & Photos by
Sara Kempner

Like most woodworking spaces, Sandpiper Studio is an organized-but-dusty collection of equipment designed for the ...

I-HOS GALLERY
K'ÓMOKS FIRST NATION
Owned and operated by the K’ómoks First Nation, I-Hos Gallery showcases a ...

Hi, my name is Darragh Tormey, and this is my love essay.
Love can mean a million things, and it means ...

K’ómoks First Nation (KFN) members Sean Frank and Trevor Hardy, assisted by master carver Joe Martin of ...

The Comox Valley in the 1960s was remote, beautiful, and serene. It was also secluded, with no major highway ...

Glean (v.): Gather (ears of grain, etc.) after the harvest.
I recently attended an inspiring symposium hosted ...

Some of my dearest early memories involve water. My dad would tie a rope on my sister’s and my life jackets as we ...
Words & featured photo by
Erica Keen

Marianne Enhörning is a West Coast Canadian artist. Born in Sweden, she split her work life for many years between ...

As an adventure, wildlife, and sports photographer based in the Comox Valley, Nick chases the thrill of unique ...

Mastering the art of love starts with yourself.
Every day, we hear and say, “I love ...

In 2008, novice paddleboarder Norm Hann hatched a plan to travel by stand-up paddleboard (SUP), with boat support, ...

We’ve all done it. Bragged about how we used to go somewhere when it was still cool and undiscovered, before the ...

Deep in the heart of Utah Mormon country, in a place called Temple Square, sits an unusual statue known as the ...

The ferns have their fresh, feathery leaves and everything in sight is electric green. This is Vancouver Island in ...
Words & Photo by
Jennifer Jellett

Two “very pregnant” cats. That was the delivery at the door of the Kitty Cat P.A.L. (Prevent-A-Litter) Society at ...

In 1992, an eclectic group of local artisans joined together to form The Potters Place Gallery. “There was already ...

There is a natural intimacy to be found at the Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival. Readers, writers, ...

Land is on my mind a lot these days, as a dad and freelance journalist. I recently interviewed an old Findlay ...

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably driven past the community halls north of Courtenay along Highway 19A ...

My dearest Yarden, It wasn’t just one of your plants that snared me. Nor did my love for you hit all of a sudden. ...

Bark! Bark! Bark! We are an hour and a half into our wilderness validation search; Rudy has already found two ...

When LOVE was suggested as our summer theme, I jumped on it. I planned to write an inspiring intro that would ...

One of the most iconic locations in the Comox Valley is Goose Spit, a long finger of land that shields Comox ...

In 2021, I decided to travel across British Columbia with my bike and my skis—or, more accurately—with my skis on ...
Words & Photos by
Damien Jannet

“Restoring land without restoring relationship is an empty exercise.”
– Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, ...

Born and raised on British Columbia’s West Coast, Christian grew up with a deep appreciation for nature, thanks to ...

We meet in the shadows and plan our route for the late afternoon, prowling the alleys, neighbourhood by ...

Wi'yugwa̱mala dłuwa̱n, - Baby with me,
Łax̱wa̱lanukwa̱n tłus. - I love you.
Mu'la̱n gax̱a'aḵus. - I’m ...

Eighteen-year-old Morgan, a Comox Valley resident, started taking photos with a smart phone when he was 12 and ...

One of my earliest memories is playing under my grandmother’s quilt frame while she and her friends sewed a quilt ...

I’m 11 years old and I’ve lived in Cumberland my whole life. I LOVE art. It’s one of my favourite things to do. I ...

A lone modular office building with blue vinyl siding rests at the end of a gravel driveway on the edge of Homalco ...

Last year a friend messaged to let me know there was a promotional Walking Dead backpack at one of the thrift ...

Most of us gain confidence when our skin looks and feels good, and this sometimes reflects how we hold ourselves ...

If you stand on Saratoga Beach and look out at the water on a calm day, the Salish Sea appears silent, steady, and ...

JIPSI TREE
It all began when JoAnne McElroy simultaneously left both her teaching and tree-planting ...

When you enter the Gardens on Anderton, you are greeted by a volunteer host who offers a smile, an orientation, a ...

When we invite young people to visit the engineered landfill at the Comox Valley Waste Management Centre, we ask ...

When Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being green,” he wasn’t talking about investing, but he might as well ...

I don’t remember the summit of Mount Colonel Foster.
I know I stood on it with my friends, Chris and Sean. I ...

Not long after I moved to Cumberland, when it was easier to get lost in the forest, I was riding my dirt bike down ...

“Expect mountain bikes, hikers, runners, dogs, children, and elders on these trails.”
—excerpt from the Interim ...

Seaweed is a food resource long celebrated by traditional coastal peoples across the globe, including throughout ...
Words & Photo by
Angela Willard

In a field next to the ruddy red barn of the Black Creek farm owned by Margaret Douglas and Fred Hinz, a group of ...

If you’ve ever spent time with a toddler, you’ll know they ask “Why?” about seven thousand times a day. When my ...

Born in Hay River, NWT, Shelley has lived in Edmonton, Switzerland, and five Canadian provinces.
Her work, both ...

Originally from Poland, Ania of AniuEmilia Photography has lived on beautiful Vancouver Island for 30 ...

Most people are shocked when they learn our family of five lives in a tiny home. “How many square feet?” they ask ...

SCOTT BELL
Scott Bell is an outdoor adventure filmmaker who has a commitment to capturing the beauty of the ...

The beginning of winter, with its transition from warmth to cold and from growth to decay, is a reminder of the ...

Not many people know this about me, but I’ve got a real penchant for fine, stiff Italian boots. This confession ...

Like many Vancouver Island folk, I’ve made plenty of happy memories in Strathcona Provincial Park. In the summer ...

My name is Ava, and I am ten years old. I was born in Vancouver and moved to Cumberland with my mom and dad when I ...

If there is one truth the pandemic has disclosed, it’s that, as humans, we yearn for connection to the elements. ...

Growing up in the Comox Valley, Mal Irvine, who uses they/them pronouns, often felt uncomfortable. They were ...

Hornby Island local Jake Berman first encountered onigiri while visiting his sister in Japan in 2006. This ...

Every poem tells a kind of story, but poems are not short stories. They are a unique medium which is concerned ...

In 2015, on his way to Whistler, Duncan Hague flew over the Rocky Mountains and peered out the plane’s little oval ...

We’ve all heard the adage “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Now imagine we’re talking about your child. ...

I respectfully acknowledge that we are on the unceded traditional territories of the K’ómoks First Nation, and I ...

The late autumn sun lazily streams through dwindling golden leaves. Live music drifts across the smiling, ...

When I wrote The New Brewmox Valley for the inaugural issue of this magazine in 2014, I told a hopeful and ...

Imagine noticing smoke in the distance, then, less than ten minutes later, your property is fully consumed by ...

I grew up on Vancouver Island, the fourth of five generations of my family to have done so. I have had the great ...

I pull up to Kelsey Epp’s Merville farm, and, before my feet hit the ground, the silence of the long, verdant ...

May 31, 2021: “Hey, Meaghan, we’re thinking if some restrictions lift this summer we might try to book some shows ...

In case you haven’t noticed, the Comox Valley has been experiencing a population boom of late. Newcomers choose ...

The first time Tom (not his real name) had someone call the cops on him was in the winter. He was several blocks ...

This is a tale of resilience. A tale of how, if your resolve is true, you can make it to your destination.
Even ...

Everyone remembers the first time they met Thomas Dunn. He was a rare individual who made an impression—mostly ...

Does the thought of walking in the forest at night make you feel uneasy? Does it sound strange? And if you were to ...

The ashen moon hung low that brisk October night. Despite the obscuring fog, I could see my breath. The chill cut ...

Curtis was born and raised in the Comox Valley, where he pursues a number of hobbies and seasonal interests, ...

t’s 7:30 a.m. and my 11-year-old daughter skips out to join our 74-year-old neighbour for a sprightly walk around ...

Sharon Lalonde has been creating all her life, using all forms of artistic expression.
The medium she chooses ...

Etched into the fabric of Comox life, the Northeast Woods are considered by many locals, especially newcomers, to ...

For over 5,000 years, the written word has carried knowledge and information to readers, supporting the ...

MY DELIGHTFULLY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY
AUTHOR: LORAINE HARTLE
GENRE: MEMOIR
A fascinating and engaging story ...

I am age nine and go to Miracle Beach Elementary. I have a younger brother who’s eight named Callum, and we have ...

On a sunny summer evening, Janeth Recinos served up delicious pupusas filled with shredded pork and fresh salsa ...
Words by
Andrew Findlay
Photo collage courtesy of
Sue Rambow

After the year that was 2020, we’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel—a return to the way life was ...

Things are changing in the Comox Valley: our population is growing as more people move here in appreciation of the ...

For British Columbians, whether or not we are directly involved in the industry, forest products are us.
When I ...

If you take a moment to reflect upon the immense amount of organization, dedication, and perseverance required to ...
Words by
Kevin Flesher
Featured photo by
Jim Whyte

BECAUSE I AM QUEEN
I wear a crown of many eyes
that sees right through your bullshit lies.
My ...

for S’ólh Téméxw (the traditional territories of the Stó:lo-)
out in the valley
plump drupelets fall into ...

Born and raised in Quebec, Françoise is a self-taught wildlife/landscape photographer. Her first career was as a ...

A member of the Taku River First Nation by birth, Brian was adopted as an infant by Linda and Perry Jessop and ...

In August 2020, I travelled to a magical corner of the world where there are more glaciers than anywhere outside ...
Words & Artwork by
Tracy Kobus
Photos by
Malcolm Johnson

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau went into the woods of Massachusetts and built a simple cabin beside Walden Pond. For ...

Fighting the urge to crawl back into my warm bed, I force myself to grab my camera bag and head into the chilly ...
Words & photo by
Sara Kempner

March 4, 2021: “This is not good. I’ve just gone to look at the area. The flagging starts about 50 meters beyond ...

My parents were notorious collectors. On any given Saturday, they would pack up our silver E150 Ford Econoline van ...

It’s better to burn out than to fade away? Not always. New alternatives to cremation allow bodies to return to the ...

Bannock: a simple quick bread made with a few ingredients most people will have on hand. But bannock, for all its ...

Watching John Waters scramble up a rock face is like watching a monkey climb a tree. A moment ago, he stepped off ...
Words by
Ryan Stuart
Featured photo by
Sara Kempner

I’m so glad you’re here. As many readers know, each issue is part of a cycle with four linked themes.
COVID-19 ...

When Sarah McLoughlin passed away on February 10, 2021, at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver—her husband ...
Words by
Kerry Hale
Featured photo by
Susan Healy

We moved to the Comox Valley a little over three years ago. I spent most of my childhood living in Nelson, BC, ...

You pretty much can’t have a conversation anywhere in the world today without one of our global crises popping up ...

Imagine three siblings—Cumberland, Courtenay, and Comox—who tolerate each other, but aren’t exactly brimming with ...

North Island College’s (NIC)’s Indigenous language courses are bringing together students and building a community ...

A few years ago, a fog rolled in on me, gradually placing a dim, grey mist over my view in all directions. I ...

Urban agriculture can mean a number of things depending on who you ask and where in the world it’s occurring. To ...

What separates SOS Gear from other outdoor stores is not what it carries, but what it doesn’t.
Like most gear ...

The secret’s out regarding Vancouver Island and its amazing mountains. While all alpine environments are ...
Words & Photo by
Shane Johnson

There’s no real place to start this story of sailing. I never would have predicted that I would be writing this ...
Words by
Judith Wright
Featured photo by
Jenn Dykstra

A few years ago, there was a local kerfuffle because a new sign on the Inland Island Highway proclaimed: “Welcome ...

For over a year, we’ve all been dreaming of getting away, and perhaps Island adventures will once again be ...

One of the most iconic summer activities in the Comox Valley is tubing down the Puntledge River.
There’s no ...

At the end of a dirt road, minutes from the sea, sits an idyllic farm.
Youthful alder, fir, hemlock, and pines ...

I remember well the pitter-patter of tiny toad feet on my lawn when I was a child growing up across from the swamp ...

At the end of a meandering gravel driveway tucked among lush cedars stands the Deep Bay Marine Field Station, a ...

After so many months of navigating an ever-changing pandemic landscape of worries, warnings, restrictions, and ...

THE TIME OF THINGS
A masked woman reaches toward the fabric hanging on the art gallery wall.
“Don’t!” ...
Words by
Glen Sanford
Featured photo by
Kyle Little

I enjoy the practice of traditional karate for many reasons, including what it teaches me about Japanese and ...

Behind every non-profit there’s at least one driven, talented founder willing to make sacrifices to chase their ...

Haida art is internationally recognized as part of the Indigenous artistic tradition of the peoples of the Pacific ...
Words by
Keisha Everson
Featured photo by
Zac Whyte

1. Field’s sawmill
A burial site with ghost bodies
on platforms in trees
retaining walls at the river’s ...

Michael was born in Campbell River and currently resides in Fanny Bay with his partner Anna and cat Sophie Bean. ...

Living on a Gulf Island is a dream come true to Shannon. Slowing down her lifestyle has allowed her the time to ...

Your recent travel plans may have gone down the toilet, but was there ever a better time to start planning another ...

My name is Olivia. I am nine years old and I adore art. It is one of my favourite things to do. All of my family ...

The Comox Valley has long been home to an impressive array of local restaurants that have made highly valuable ...

“We so rarely get second chances,” says whale researcher Jackie Hildering, the co-founder of Port McNeill-based ...

Often in an instant, an acquired head injury can change everything. How do you make sense of so much loss? Where ...

Editor’s note: Rick Zyvitski, now retired, used to fly fighter jets out of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox. We ...
Words by
Rick Zyvitski
Featured photo by
Sara Kerr

There are many ways to spin a wheel. Even within each discipline of cycling—BMX, mountain and road, to name a ...

“Hi, I’m Sam. I’m trans.” I start quite a number of conversations this way, and although it’s an unfortunate ...

There’s money in honey (sometimes), and for several beekeepers in the Comox Valley, keeping bees is a full-time ...

It is no secret that the Comox Valley offers us a unique opportunity to work, play, and revel in the natural ...

Sarah Wilson always loved her veggies, even as a kid. She attributes the craving to growing up in Rivers Inlet, a ...

Welcome to the 25th volume of our ongoing love letter to the Comox Valley.
In 2014, Ross Bodenmann had the ...

My mom used to make stuffed mushroom caps at the drop of a hat. “We’ve been invited to so-and-so’s for dinner. ...
Words & Photo by
Darren Howlett

My adventures used to involve adrenaline. Like the time I hitchhiked from Kamloops to climb Mt Forbes in Banff ...

Devin Burton grew up in the Comox Valley but only recently discovered the Bevan trails, a network of paths winding ...

On the longest night
Tuck tiny love notes
Written with winter berries
Into the dark earth
Whisper them ...

Originally from Comox, Zoey currently lives in Victoria. Her work is inspired by nature, the seasons, the cycles ...

Jarrett Lindal is a Vancouver Island-based outdoor adventure and wildlife photographer who grew up in the Comox ...

One day, the Itatsoo Lake Trail will connect the community of Hitacu, near Ucluelet, to the lake hidden in the ...
Words by
Ryan Stuart
Featured photo by
Scott Horley

My name is Zoë, and I am nine years old. I have lived in Cumberland my whole life and I really love winter in the ...

It was late August in the Great Bear Rainforest and the salmon were starting to return to their nascent streams ...
Words & Photos by
Oriana Smy

In the last few years, you may have noticed the resurgence of vinyl records and local record shops. What is it ...

On January 1, 2019, a large group of adventurous Cumberland residents gathered on the shores of Comox Lake. ...

Famed feminist leader Gloria Steinem is quoted as saying: “Revolutions that last don’t happen from the top down. ...

It began in a small kitchen on a small island, with peanut butter, honey, and oats.
It was 1993 when Trish ...

Few manmade structures have the universal allure of the lighthouse. We are drawn to them, as much for their ...

I never know what to expect during our visits. Often, she is not home; her tiny body is present in a mobile chair ...

I’ve been intimately involved in the ground-source heat pump (GSHP) industry for 20 years. I began with mud up to ...

Katherine Kirk suspected the roof of Forbidden Plateau’s day lodge was going to collapse. “One day, a woman in the ...
Words by
Mike B.
Featured photo by
Lindsey Pattinson

I began to write this letter on a rainy, blustery day in early November—possibly not the best time to reflect on ...

The rising sun cast a pink glow on the cliffs as we prepared for landing on a crisp November morning. Just five ...

When I'm under the water, I feel at home. As soon as my head goes below the surface, an almost instant calm comes ...
Words & Photos by
Ryan Miller

Why travel makes us love home.
The very first thing she told us was that the monkey didn’t like kids. Of course, ...
Words by
Zola Findlay
with help from her sister
Sabine

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Fossil Beach Farm is a-bustle with activity. People are sitting at long picnic ...

One of the many big questions of 2020 is how we adapt and evolve as consumers, locally and globally. Whether we ...

I used to write science fiction (which means I know little about science, but I liked playing with ideas). In one ...

Full disclosure: I am a Traci Skuce fangirl, but because one of the things I love so much about the way she writes ...

When you first look at a Waterman surfboard, you wouldn’t expect it had been crafted by a guy who grew up on the ...

The last in our series imagining how the Comox Valley’s communities could look 20 years from now.
It’s hard ...

The famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once said, “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are ...

“Now gently let your breath out and slip beneath the surface. I’ll go under first and be ready for you to join ...
Words & photo by
Lisa Graham

One of my twins’ favourite meals is tacos. They are easy to prepare and a great way to incorporate all the colours ...

Early in 2020, our editorial team envisioned the general look and feel of the covers and themes for the year ...

There’s something that connects me to a greater world when I fire up the smoker. I can’t put my finger on it. ...

By all accounts, Johnny Bannerman is a very nice young man. He’s a member of the Cumberland Volunteer Fire ...

Oh my god, this hurts so bad... Why does this hurt so bad?? Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Uggggggghhhhhh, this burns so ...
Words & Photo by
Sarah Seads

Running a tourism business, especially in an area as remote as Kyuquot Sound, is challenging at the best of ...

“I take a lot of my inspiration from the natural world around me,” says Gordon Hutchens, Denman Island’s ...
Words & Photo by
Trish Weatherall

Richard Mravik was born in 1973 in the city of Nove Zamky, Slovakia. Of Hungarian descent, he was noted from a ...

Glynnis was raised on a hobby farm on Vancouver Island by parents who were "hippies" of the day. Their ...

The fire that forged the earth
holds the space between us
ancient atoms
in our blood and bones
pulled to the ...

“All along the way, where the deep green forest used to stand, lies a waste of mangled trunks and branches, enough ...

The third in our series imagining how the Comox Valley’s communities could look 20 years from now. ...

Earth, air, water, fire. In the extreme, these elemental forces can be either ineffectual or catastrophic. They ...

Burning sage, summer heat, and the vegetal scent of the plants in the traditional Indigenous tea garden of the ...

True story: my first-ever sauna experience included pitchers of gin Caesars and a waterslide—a really steep one. ...

Before the headlines were screaming “Murder Hornets!!!” (officially known as Vespa mandarinia, aka “Baskin bees” ...

From the expansive windows of Courtenay resident Tom Grimmer’s dining room, the Comox Valley is laid out below ...

When I wrote the last Editor’s Letter, things were still reasonably normal in the Comox Valley. But some time ...

My quads burned. I stared up the seemingly endless, brutally steep stairs, then I glanced back down the valley and ...

I’ve always loved eggs. Hard-boiled. Scrambled. Sunny-side up. Anything but poached—well, unless they’re smothered ...

How many times have you thought about how nice it would be to drive less? Maybe you want to reduce your carbon ...
Words & photo by
Dave Prothero

My name is Sam and I am 11 years old. I love to go fishing, play basketball and ride bikes, but my very favourite ...

We got together in the living rooms of cabins, converted barns, half-finished homemade houses. We ate date ...

Jo is a Comox-based artist with a passion for exploring colour, texture, and light. Using primarily acrylics, ...

Nature has always been a key part of Matt’s life. Growing up on Vancouver Island has given him countless mountains ...

Curled against you under the night sky
your touch reminds me
that my flesh is made
from the spark and dust
of ...

A rare beam of sunshine reflects off a long steel blade, catching the eyes of a pair of observers who press their ...

One of nature’s fundamentals is the way matter flows in loops, supporting life as it transforms from one state to ...

I grew up in a house where bookshelves reached the ceilings, with cascading spider plants tucked in among the ...
Words by
Nora Bingham
Cover painting by
Harry Heine

The second in our series imagining how the Comox Valley’s communities could look 20 years from ...

Soft whitecaps glisten atop cresting waves, tall green grasses dance in the wind, an eagle swoops low across ...
Words & photo by
Sophie Vigneau

Musical wizardry is something I’ve always admired, and after meeting Comox Valley luthier (guitar maker) Wyatt ...

GALLERY PHOTOS BY COLTON WILS
& TOM LAPLANTE
Throughout history, humans have been fascinated–even ...

As the sun breaks through in a brief respite on a day of steady rain, the 11 acres of the MARS Wildlife Rescue ...

I'm inching along the narrow ridge leading to 5040 Peak, a ski on either side of the crest, mushy spring snow in ...

When my kids were younger, I logged long hours at the Rotary Skypark, going half-dizzy as they performed endless ...

Air. When it’s good, we often don’t notice it. Think of a spring hike through Paradise Meadows: we may be aware of ...

History was made recently at Kumugwe, the K’ómoks Bighouse. On October 16, 2019, a ceremony was held marking the ...

Ah, spring. It’s the time when the light begins to spill over our valley again—a little longer every day—and the ...

Bula! Pronounced “boo-la,” this is Fiji’s version of “aloha,” an all-purpose word that makes you feel instantly ...
Words and Photos by
Paige Owen

Have you ever parked at Mount Washington’s Raven Lodge and wondered about the impressive, yet solitary, building ...

My name is Kellan and I am 8. I was born here at the old hospital in Comox and have lived here my whole life. I ...

Q: What do beets, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, carrots, yuca (cassava), kohlrabi, onions, garlic, celery root (or ...

A former dog sled and kayak guide, Anouk’s paintings amplify her love for the outdoors. If she could, she would ...

Brett Kroeker is a photographer based in the Comox Valley. His deep love for outdoor adventure is perfectly paired ...

“What was that?” says Scott. His head swivels in the direction of the sound.
I raise my hand above my head and ...

Even in the darkest winter
under the frost-hardened earth
the roots are deep in discussion
through mycelium ...

You have been stuck on the glacier for three days and whatever has been stalking you is closing in. Night is ...

The stopwatch on the computer screen read four minutes and counting until the Great British Columbia ShakeOut. ...

It’s two in the morning. I just turned the last page of Kim Bannerman’s book, Bucket of Blood.
I flip through ...

This year, we’ll be exploring possible futures for the communities of the Comox Valley based on current community ...

A quick Google search on turning 40 will tell you everything from “You’re on the brink of a mid-life crisis” to ...

Gaining popularity in the mid-1950s, the modest A-frame, with its inherently simple aesthetic, defined a way of ...

The first thing you need to know about Glen Alwin Farm is that nobody involved is named Glen. Or Alwin. The people ...

It’s a Tuesday, and when the doors of St. George’s United Church hall open at 11:30am, Gail, who is 70, comes in ...

Driving north out of Courtenay on an October day, one really notices the changing seasons. The wet leaves and ...

While looking at a 1931 photo of a crew of men seated on a logging raft, long-time Cumberland resident Karl ...

Almost all the ancient civilizations identified four similar basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water. I ...

Last summer my family and I embarked on an epic journey. 10 months, 10 provinces, 25 US states, 17 Mexican states, ...
Words & Photos by
Alice Grasby

Despite the perpetual spotlight that the world of technology enjoys for “changing the world”, few technical ...

I have lived in Cumberland my whole life. I was born in October, even though I wasn’t supposed to come until ...

Board riding culture and the visual arts have always held a natural alliance, sharing a rejection of norms to ...

I’m a social guy. I love people. I love interacting with kids, adults, animals—most anybody really. If you’ve met ...

Local hunter, fisher, conservationist, and author Ralph Shaw once said, "The role of the successful fisherman and ...

Fall gives way to a darkness, where fairytales operate best. As the days grow shorter and the sun slips behind the ...

Sarah is a Comox Valley-based artist primarily working in oil painting. At the core of her practice is an ...

Viktor came to Canada from Switzerland in 1978, eventually immigrating here. He spent 13 years in Calgary before ...

“Every child, every person, needs to know that they are a source of joy; every child, every person, needs to be ...
Words & photos by
Alex Nataros

[On Judgement Day] …men will cast away their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship—to the moles ...

As concern for our environment spreads, we’re becoming more conscious of the ripple effects of our lifestyle. Fast ...

The idea that the dead remain with us in spirit is ancient. Cultures the world over document the presence of ...

Would you be less frightened of a ghost if you were able to greet it by name?
The Comox Valley contains many ...

It’s a long and lazy Saturday. The kids are sleeping off another busy week of school. Looking out the window, you ...

If you know what to look for, the signs of the Comox District Mountaineering Club (CDMC) are everywhere. A new log ...
Words by
Ryan Stuart
Featured photo by
Ryan Stuart

Our heritage house was built in 1895 with the proceeds of a hip-length gold chain carried over the Chilkoot Pass. ...

Owls are a fascinating subject rife with symbolism, mythology, and contentious conservationism. No Halloween would ...

PETER GEE: CONNECTOR
If you recently arrived in the Comox Valley and found a family doctor with little trouble, ...

My boyfriend, Curtis Blackburn, and I love to be in the mountains. Although we spend most of our time in ...

As I roll over a small bump in the slope, a voice calls out to move out further to the edge of the run on skier’s ...

“I discovered mountain rivers late, for I was a prairie child… All I knew was that it was pure delight to be where ...

It was a warm summer afternoon when I first met Comox Valley Art Gallery (CVAG) Executive Director Sharon Karsten ...

Nearly invisible, a fishing net drifts within the dark waters off the western shores of Vancouver Island. As a ...

Jessica likes to eat her pot. Preferably in a gummy. But it could be years before she can buy them legally at a ...

Escape. Run away. Get lost. Get free.
Last winter, when the long stretch of darkness was at its most ...

Ian McKenzie sees things.
These hallucinations started when he was a kid. He would hear voices while sitting ...

Desperately pinching limestone tufas and underclinging stalactites, I tried hard, like full-body core-strength ...

Ava Luna is a professional henna and visual artist born and raised on Vancouver Island and new to the Comox ...

Dave Ingram is a photographer and naturalist based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He currently works as a ...

It is amazing to stand on the shores of Comox Lake and consider the vast amount of water it contains. With a ...

Many people living in the Comox Valley develop a sense of adventure. We are blessed by forests, beaches, ...

In 1927, it was a day like any other for Peter Bardesonno as he clocked in alongside his father Jossepi for ...

For two decades it traveled and camped with couples and families, as most RVs do, but for the past 10 years the ...

The world of photography is broad and has no boundaries. Perhaps this is why so many people are drawn to it. But ...

What is yarn bombing? Some people call it art. Others call it craft. Some call it a nuisance and a waste of ...

Standing in the golden hayfields that roll down to the ocean’s edge, I look over the sparkling water to the ...

When it comes to doing drugs, Adam isn’t interested in getting high. “I’m a busy man,” the 49 year-old creative ...

No one wants to be told what to eat. Food sharing is at the core of culture, group identity, and pleasure. Just ...

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, thriving mining, logging, and fishing industries in the Comox Valley led to ...

MO MOSHIRI: EXPLORER
“I’ve been a traveller since I was three,” says Comox-based MC, songwriter, and producer ...

We descended into a magical underworld. Giant, spider-like cave crickets filled the vast corridors of karst ...
Words & Painting
Nick Hutton-Jay

My heart races and my hands shake as I check my lines for the third time. My speedwing is neatly laid out on the ...

Storytelling originates underground. It’s the job of a writer to drag little known stories to the surface. ...

No matter where I’ve ended up on this journey, the coast has always called me back and the surf has kept me sane. ...
Words & Photos by
Andrew Talbot

Once upon a time, my grade seven teacher took our class on a road trip from our interior town of Kamloops to the ...

The 2014 annual general meeting of the Comox Valley Road Runners (CVRR) was winding down when something ...

My name is Justin, and I am a very active boy who loves the outdoors. My favourite summer sports are BMX racing ...

Alex Maertz is an illustrator based on the west coast. Born a stone’s throw from the woods, she instinctively ...

Paige Owen is a photographer and graphic designer based in the Comox Valley. She takes inspiration from her ...

We live in an incredible rainforest. Part of the wonder of our local geography is the amazing old-growth trees ...

Take a moment and listen to your breath. Inside it is the cadence of the ocean, the push and pull of an endless ...
Words & featured photo by
Laurissa Cebryk
Gallery photo by
Mélina Lamoreux

The Baynes Sound herring spawn in March is a spectacle, and the largest of its kind. About 38% of all the herring ...

For the past 15 years, I’ve spent summers working as a kayak guide leading multi-day trips, mostly in the waters ...

It was the 1880s and “The Great Salmon Industry” was in its golden years on the British Columbia coast. Entire ...
Words & Photos by
Oriana Smy

His name is Kumugwe (pronounced “koo-moo-gwee”). He lives in a mansion made of precious metals, is revered as a ...

The red embers of cigarettes glow through a thick fog. It’s 6am and workers outside the processing plant at Mac’s ...

Since 2011, Victoria Hospice Society has been organizing the Cycle of Life Tour, in which people from all over ...

I’d heard of Ecuador for years: stories of great rivers, easy transportation, and friendly people. Now was the ...
Words & Photos by
Dave Prothero

The life of a Tibetan Buddhist monk is often assumed to take place in a remote monastery with complete detachment ...

Every person is made up of water. The Comox Valley Art Gallery Youth Media Project is nine folks coming together ...
Words & Photos by
Paige Brown

At one time she was probably a sporty trimaran, moored inside Comox Harbour. Then, during a fall wind storm her ...

ERIC RUSH: EXPLORER
To put it mildly, Eric Rush is pretty fond of road biking. A member of Courtenay’s Riverway ...

I’m tied to the dock as a gale grows outside the protection of the bay. Snow is piling up on the sailboat, but ...
Words & Photo by
April Bencze

Under the steady gaze of the Comox Glacier, looking east to the Strait of Georgia, the airfield at Canadian Forces ...

Walk into any garage in Canada and you’re likely to find a hockey stick or two, tucked in a corner or shoved ...

On a late October day, a pale sun shines through sparse golden leaves, making sparkles on the Orford River. I know ...

When my Mom asked me what I wanted to write about for the CV Collective, I said climate change! It’s a big problem ...

I am a mother bear, yoga instructor and acrylic artist living in the village of Cumberland. I spend as much time ...

Living in the rugged, rain-soaked wilds of rural British Columbia, Sheryl finds ample inspiration in her own ...

When people in the community fear getting sued for speaking freely about a controversial land development ...

Have you ever wondered about parked cars at the side of Highway 19, near the bridge about three kilometres south ...
Words & Photo by
Pat Trask

I can safely say that mountain snow sports are for pretty much everyone. Think about it. With downhill skiing and ...

Around 11am on a sunny Monday, Dan Espeseth, Sean Manara, and Chris Hancock show up for work. Instead of riding to ...

If you live close to a ski hill, the couch surfer is a species you’re intimately familiar with. Much print space ...

Despite living on the water in the Valley, you have few options for surfing and it helps to get creative. I met ...

NAZANEEN DIZAI: CONNECTOR
Nazaneen Dizai brings ideas and people together. Whether in the corporate heart of ...
Words & Photos
Ross Bodenmann
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