CV Collective Spring
Many people might be surprised to learn that one of the most successful astronomy news sites on the Internet is published from right here in the Comox Valley. Depending on what’s going on in the cosmos, between two and four million people land on Fraser Cain’s Universe Today website every month. Some of his YouTube […]
Words by Ryan StuartFeatured photo by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Winter
Curling saved my life. Sounds like an outrageous statement to make, but in 1999, the year I first threw a curling stone, I was in my thirties and a dozen years into my existence as a music entrepreneur and musician in Vancouver. I was so deep into the independent music scene that one day I […]
Words by Keith ParryPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
Related posts: FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN MAGIC IN THE DYE POT PUTTING DOWN THE SAWS ART, A HARVEST, AND A BLESSING
Words by Sara KempnerFeatured photo by Meredith Rose
CV Collective Fall
It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon as I make my way through Alex Blais’ yard, following the sound of laughter toward an outbuilding at the back of the property. Stepping inside, I see a climbing wall taking up half the space. The other half is filled with bottles, hoses, barrels, and other beer-brewing paraphernalia. I’m instantly […]
Words & Photos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
The very first time I dipped my paddle into the Salish Sea, wedged awkwardly in the belly of a dragon boat, I was smitten. Whether it was the friendly seals, the eagles overhead, or the view of the Comox Glacier, I knew this was something I wanted more of. Hope Afloat Canada, a breast cancer […]
Words by Anne ArseneauPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon as I make my way through Alex Blais’ yard, following the sound of laughter toward an outbuilding at the back of the property. Stepping inside, I see a climbing wall taking up half the space. The other half is filled with bottles, hoses, barrels, and other beer-brewing paraphernalia. I’m instantly […]
Words & Photos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
Like most woodworking spaces, Sandpiper Studio is an organized-but-dusty collection of equipment designed for the exacting manipulation of wood. Surrounding these machines are a myriad of hand tools and neat stacks of wood ranging from the common to exotic. Outside, a colourful spectrum of flourishing plants waves gently in the ocean breeze coming off Comox […]
Words by Mike B.Photo by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Little Valley Summer
Hi, my name is Darragh Tormey, and this is my love essay. Love can mean a million things, and it means different things to different people. To me, love means family, friends, sports, and my dog. Love makes me feel happy, safe, content, and secure. Love is important. It isn’t fighting or war or hatred. […]
Photo by Sara Kempner
Strathcona Collective
Life on Earth exists from and because of soil, yet many of us go about our lives with little thought about its importance. Turn your mind for a minute to some of the basic elements of our lives: the food we eat, the trees and plants that give us oxygen, the water we use and […]
Words by Susan AntlerPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
“Expect mountain bikes, hikers, runners, dogs, children, and elders on these trails.” —excerpt from the Interim Trail Management Strategy for the Cumberland Community Forest Park, May 2021 It’s nine o’clock and the Sunday Morning Philosopher’s Club (also now known as the Cumberland Forest Crones) is heading out from our usual rendezvous point; today, we’ve decided […]
Words by Dawn CopemanPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Little Valley Winter
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 was seven. I remember the first time I ever visited Cumberland, before I lived here, and the old-timey feeling I got from all the heritage buildings. It was also […]
Words by Ava ThomasPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Winter
I respectfully acknowledge that we are on the unceded traditional territories of the K’ómoks First Nation, and I thank them for the privilege of living on the land and the gift of working with their children. Having been fortunate enough to live on Vancouver Island my entire life, I am a firm believer in the […]
Words by Britt HansonPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Winter
When I wrote The New Brewmox Valley for the inaugural issue of this magazine in 2014, I told a hopeful and optimistic story of three very different new and local breweries slated to open in the late months of 2014. The players: Cumberland Brewing Company (CBC), Gladstone Brewing, and Forbidden Brewing. I tagged them as […]
Words by Max OudendagPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
BECAUSE I AM QUEEN I wear a crown of many eyes that sees right through your bullshit lies. My throne is made from all the bones Of hurtful people I have known. My art is there to set you back Perhaps give you a heart attack. Damage is as damage done I am not […]
Photo by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
Fighting the urge to crawl back into my warm bed, I force myself to grab my camera bag and head into the chilly night air. Arriving on location, I turn on my headlamp and head towards a clearing, still grumbling about how I’d rather be in bed. After making the short hike, without noticing any […]
Words & photo by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
Watching John Waters scramble up a rock face is like watching a monkey climb a tree. A moment ago, he stepped off the ledge at the bottom of Devil’s Ladder, a climbing area on the shore of Comox Lake, and ambled up the nearly vertical rock wall with a nonchalance that suggests he’s spent most […]
Words by Ryan StuartFeatured photo by Sara Kempner
Opening Introduction Strathcona Collective
The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. – Nelson Henderson This is why we tell stories. To remember. To preserve a moment in time that is sacred. To plant trees for future generations so that they have the tools and skills they will need to […]
Words by Nicole BernsPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
Imagine three siblings—Cumberland, Courtenay, and Comox—who tolerate each other, but aren’t exactly brimming with mutual affection. Add in a cousin—the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD)—who has come to live in the house for an indeterminate amount of time, stuck amid this squabbling trio. You get the picture. Historically, regional cooperation has never been the Comox […]
Words by Andrew FindlayPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
Urban agriculture can mean a number of things depending on who you ask and where in the world it’s occurring. To me, it’s simply the practice of growing food in a densely populated city, town, or municipality, whether for education, profit, or food security. In the Comox Valley, urban agriculture takes multiple forms, from the […]
Words by James McKerricherFeatured photo by Jenn Dykstra
CV Collective Summer
A few years ago, there was a local kerfuffle because a new sign on the Inland Island Highway proclaimed: “Welcome to Legendary Cumberland.” That’s the difference between old Cumberland and new Cumberland right there. Old Cumberland is coal mines and logging and labour history—new Cumberland is mountain biking and microbreweries and legends. There are legends here, no […]
Words by Dawn CopemanPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
At the end of a dirt road, minutes from the sea, sits an idyllic farm. Youthful alder, fir, hemlock, and pines stand tall, running shades of green across the property. Birds chirp a lively welcome as the sun spreads across the lake, bog, wetland, and fields, slowly warming the earth. In the evening, damselflies glimmer […]
Words by Bevin ClempsonPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
The Comox Valley has long been home to an impressive array of local restaurants that have made highly valuable contributions to our community. Places like Atlas and Locals, to name just two, support our farmers and small-scale suppliers by sourcing ingredients locally wherever possible. They have trained young cooks who have gone on to open […]
Words by James McKerricherPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
Editor’s note: Rick Zyvitski, now retired, used to fly fighter jets out of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox. We invited him to share some of his experiences in the air and walk our readers through the museum. The Comox Air Force Museum is a wonderful facility that brings the history of the base to life. […]
Words by Rick ZyvitskiFeatured photo by Sara Kerr
CV Collective Spring
It is no secret that the Comox Valley offers us a unique opportunity to work, play, and revel in the natural world. Vancouver Island is truly a magical place to live, and our surroundings are more than a beautiful playground—they are a place for healing. The rejuvenation we feel after spending time in nature may […]
Words by Shawn PetersPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
When you first look at a Waterman surfboard, you wouldn’t expect it had been crafted by a guy who grew up on the prairies. But every Waterman surfboard is handmade by Patrick Salamon, who grew up along the Yellowhead Highway, midway between the tiny towns of Bredenbury and Churchbridge, Saskatchewan. At age 18, Salamon moved […]
Words by Dave NowakPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
Musical wizardry is something I’ve always admired, and after meeting Comox Valley luthier (guitar maker) Wyatt Wilkie, I now understand that the magic of music begins long before any musician plays a single note. In the case of an archtop guitar—Wilkie’s specialty—it begins when an artisan looks at a slab of spruce and sees the […]
Words by Jen GroundwaterPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Winter
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 with about 100 other people for the Sonshine Lunch Club’s free hot lunch. She’s been coming five days a week for many years. Gail sits near a big man who she describes as […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall Intro
“I discovered mountain rivers late, for I was a prairie child… All I knew was that it was pure delight to be where the land lifted in peaks and plunged in canyons, and to sniff air thin, spray cooled, full of pine and spruce smells, and to be so close-seeming to the improbable indigo sky. […]
Words by Allie JenkinsonPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
For two decades it traveled and camped with couples and families, as most RVs do, but for the past 10 years the big Ecoline 350 has been fitted out as the Comox Bay Care Society’s mobile health unit. Known as the Care-A-Van, you’ll see it stopped at various Valley locations where the need is greatest. […]
Words by Mac NewtonPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
At one time she was probably a sporty trimaran, moored inside Comox Harbour. Then, during a fall wind storm her buoy lines broke. She ghosted across the water and ran aground on the mud flats of the Courtenay estuary. Three years later, her name has long faded away. The double mast and one pontoon gone, she […]
Words by Ryan StuartPhoto by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
Driving on Comox Road along the Courtenay River estuary and through the K’ómoks Nation’s Number 1 reserve, it’s hard not to be struck by the stunning new Band administration building constructed there in 2014. The two magnificent poles that grace its front reflect the four clans of K’ómoks today, which are Pentlach, Sahtloot, Ieksun and […]
Words by Roger AlbertPhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
The A-frame is an architectural style that needs little explanation, aptly named for its high peak and steep angles. A-frame popularity can be attributed to a convergence of factors. The post-war housing boom led to the creation of inexpensive and quick-to-build homes. A-frames were popular in the late fifties and sixties when the middle class […]
Words by Jamie McCuePhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Spring
Long known as “the cultural heart of Courtenay,” the Native Sons Hall is the most historical and iconic building in the Comox Valley. A prominent landmark that has stood tall for nearly nine decades, it represents the largest free span log building in all of Canada. Its vibrant history tells a long story of community […]
Words by Kerry HalePhotos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Fall
My first impressions of Peru came on a domestic flight between Lima and Cusco. Bleary eyed after 20 hours of travel from Vancouver Island, I sat on the plane with my jaw agape at the vista below. I’d seen big mountains before, but nothing like the enormity of the Andes. They stretched out as far […]
Words & Photos by Sara Kempner
CV Collective Summer
At the tender young age of eight, while attending Quadra Elementary School, Cody LaFrance (Beaver) was assigned a school art project using wood. Absent of suggestions from his parents or anyone else, he created his first piece of art, a west coast aboriginal paddle. His canvas was a small piece of plywood and his tools […]
Words by Dan LafrancePhotos by Sara Kempner
