FEATURED ARTIST: LAURIE MARTZ
Laurie is a “late in life” painter who moved to the Comox Valley after retiring in 2015 from a busy career as a ...
ALL Volume 31
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: JIM WHYTE
Jim is a fifth-generation Comox Valley resident, born and raised here. His interest in photography began in junior ...
Photo By
FOLLOW THE MOUNTAIN HOME
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
THE COAL BENEATH OUR FEET
Starting in 1888, a vast labyrinth of extraction tunnels was carved beneath the village of Cumberland, the old ...
Words by
DINNER IS SERVED
Eating local is a popular concept in the Comox Valley, with its long growing season and wealth of farms producing ...
Words by
Photos by
MAGIC IN THE DYE POT
When I was a kid growing up in the northern boreal forest, my mother took me and my siblings out foraging for ...
Words by
Photos by
EVERYTHING WE KNOW IS WRONG
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
– Søren Kierkegaard, 1843
I don’t ...
Words by
Photo by
WERE IT NOT FOR THE BIKE
This past January, I received an email from the organizer of the BC Epic thanking me for my registration.
Which ...
Words & Featured Photo by
Gallery Photo by
ELDER VALLEY: RETIREMENT REDEFINED
Opening up, embracing new ideas, and making time for wonder.
I spent most of my career trying ...
Words by
Photo by
LITTLE VALLEY: DAKOTA BLOMGREN
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 ...
Photos by
THE DAY THE PRINCE CAME TO TOWN
Over a century ago, on a Monday in late September, crowds of young and old thronged Vancouver’s sidewalks. Mothers ...
Words by
ALTERED LANDSCAPE
My first home in Cumberland was on Camp Road, in a row of rough cabins that were built in 1888 when the coal mine ...
Words by
Photos by
FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN
What an ugly night. It’s dark, pouring rain, and there are still remnants of slushy snow melting in the driveway, ...
Words & photos by
WHALE BREATH AND ANGEL WINGS
You don’t need to be an oyster farmer or sport fisherman for the daily ebb and flow of the ocean to impact your ...
Words by
Photos by
JUMP SCARES AHEAD
Decades ago, I was sitting in a cinema seat in Toronto, gripping the armrests as the tension heightened, and ...
Words by
Illustration by
A DOORWAY TO HOPE
When David and Angela Mackenzie open the door to their new home, they will bring with them an unwavering ...
Words & Photos by
SUNSET AT SMITH LAKE FARM
As I pull through the gates of Smith Lake Farm, I’m greeted by the sounds of chickens clucking and disc golfers ...
Words by
Featured photo by
MISADVENTURES IN BAKING
Back in 2013, I started shopping around for healthy nutrition options to supplement my gym goals. I’d never given ...
Words by
Photos by
THE SCIENCE OF SASQUATCH
Do you laugh when you hear the word sasquatch? Do you believe that sasquatches exist? Do you think that a ...
Words by
Featured Photo by
VIVA LA TRASH PANDA
I’ve occasionally yearned to wear a Davy Crockett-inspired coonskin hat. The reason I don’t isn’t that I fear I’d ...
Words by
Photo by
CHEERS TO THE LAZO BARREL COLLECTIVE
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
THE WOMAN IN THE FLORAL DRESS
Our new Cumberland home came with a view of the crisp Beaufort Range mountains, Mount Apps standing tallest above ...
Words by
Photos by
RIDING DRAGONS ON THE SALISH SEA
The very first time I dipped my paddle into the Salish Sea, wedged awkwardly in the belly of a dragon boat, I was ...
Words by
Photos by