British Columbia Magazine

If you build it, they will come.

Head to Creston this coming Wednesday, March 4, to help construct nest boxes for endangered western screech-owls.

Native to British Columbia’s southern Interior, the macfarlanei subspecies of western screech-owl (Megascops kennicottii) primarily inhabits the Okanagan Valley. The small, nocturnal, non-migratory bird prefers to nest in the cavities of mature cottonwood trees, but has suffered serious habitat loss and degradation in recent years. Only 50 to 200 individuals remain in the province. While nest boxes are not a permanent fix, they do provide temporary nesting and roosting sites.

The Columbia Basin’s Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program is hosting this family-friendly event. Pre-registration is required (info@fwcp.ca). Cost: $10 for materials. The workshop will get underway at 7 p.m. at the Rotocrest Hall in Creston.

Show your support—and a lot more—at this weekend’s naked bungee jump for schizophrenia, taking place at WildPlay Element Parks of Nanaimo.

Participants can let it all hang out for a reduced jumping fee of $40, or opt to wear clothes for the regular rate of $99. Spectators are welcome for a $15 donation. All proceeds go to the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society. The 2008 event raised $5,000 toward their education work.

Some people are gung-ho to support the cause, which is championed by one of WildPlay’s owners. Others simply seek the thrill of jumping in the buff. “It adds an extra level of excitement to it,” says Kathleen Burton, marketing and sales manager for WildPlay.

At the annual naked jump last year, 160 people soared from the WildPlay bungee bridge, which stretches over the scenic Nanaimo River. Most wore nothing but the big bungee cord fastened around their ankles.

WildPlay Nanaimo is open to adults only on this special weekend, and other site activities are not available. The event runs Feb. 21 and 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Looking for a bargain? Jump naked for only $30 by booking in advance through the WildPlay online shopping cart.

Let the countdown begin.

In just three days, Lotusland will start the clock for the one-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Vancouverites are marking this milestone with the 2009 Cultural Olympiad, running from February 1 to March 21. The celebration will feature 400 performances, both free and ticketed, including dance, visual arts, music, and film.

Famed singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan will headline a One-Year Countdown Celebration concert on February 12, 7:30 p.m., at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Alt-rocker Joel Plaskett, violinist Adrian Anantawan, and the Alberta Ballet will also take the stage at this ticketed event.

Up the Sea to Sky Highway, Whistler Village will host the Whistler Winter Arts Festival through February and March 2009. Enjoy outdoor concerts, photography exhibits, literary soirees, snow sculpting, and more. Many events are free.

There will be a battle of the brains when two rival Lower Mainland university professors face off in a public debate over which great thinker influenced modern science more, Charles Darwin or Galileo Galilei.

In one corner, representing the University of British Columbia, will be zoology lecturer Greg Bole, arguing that Darwin’s 19th century theory of natural selection eclipses Galileo’s achievements. Tom Archibald, chair of mathematics at Simon Fraser University, will make the case that the 17th century Tuscan physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher should take the crown.

The event is scheduled as part of Simon Fraser’s Geek Week, a cheeky celebration of science. The debate is intended to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s improvements to the telescope and related finding that the Earth is not the centre of the universe. This year is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of the Species.

The gloves come off January 28, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at SFU’s Interdisciplinary Research in the Mathematical and Computational Sciences video-conferencing centre, at the Burnaby campus.  The public are invited to attend the debate in person. Book a seat by contacting Stephen Price at (778) 782-5347; stephen_price@sfu.ca. The cerebral match will also be streamed to the Internet, available by clicking: www.irmacs.sfu.ca/about/live-video. For more information, see www.sfu.ca.

On November 19, 1858—150 years ago—Sir James Douglas stood before a small crowd at Fort Langley and declared British Columbia a Crown Colony. As historian Jean Barman points out in The West Beyond the West (University of Toronto Press, 1991), “The weather ensured that the event was distinctly British Columbian.”

According to the Victoria Gazette of November 20, 1858, “[T]he birthday of British Columbia was ushered in by a steady rain which continued perseveringly throughout the whole day, and in a great measure marred the solemnity of the proclamation to the Colony. . . . [T]he flag of Britain was floating, or, to speak the truth, dripped over the principal entrance.”

A re-enactment of the “Reading of the Proclamation of 1858″—but without the downpour, according to the current weather forecast—is scheduled for this Wednesday, November 19, at Fort Langley. Parks Canada has waived its entrance fee to the historic site in honour of the 150th celebration. So come and join the fun: try on a period costume, jot your signature on a souvenir proclamation, and take in a family concert featuring B.C. performers.

Happy 150th birthday, British Columbia—we love you, rain or shine.

When most people think of apples in B.C., they probably think only of one place: the Okanagan. I did, too, until I attended my first Saltspring Apple Festival, a self-guided driving tour of 15 local apple orchards.  

“Saltspring’s apple history dates back to 1860,” says Harry Burton, apple enthusiast and organizer of the 10th annual Saltspring Apple Festival, to be held this Sunday, September 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. “And the island grows about 350 varieties of organic apples.” This year’s theme is the Red-Fleshed Apple.  ”The taste and the novelty of these apples is amazing,” says Burton. “The first reaction to biting into the red flesh is always, ‘Wow’!”

You can pick up a map for the orchard tour and view a display of the different varieties of apples at Fulford Hall, in the south end of the island (turn left after getting off the ferry in Fulford).  Make sure you sample a piece of pie while you’re there, made especially for the event by a league of Pie Ladies.Tickets for the Apple Festival are $10, $5 for students, and children under 12 are free. You can buy yours at the Fulford Hall or at the Tourist Info Centre in Ganges.

Call 250-653-2007 for more information or click here.     

I caught an interview on CBC Radio last week with Karina Perkins, marketing manager for Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria. She was talking with the host about an endangered species in British Columbia–the drive-in movie theatre.

As writer Daniel Wood reported in “Sunset theatre” in our Summer 2007 issue, outdoor movie theatres are a dying cultural institution. They had their heyday in B.C. in the late 1950s. Today, only three B.C. drive-ins remain: in Enderby, Langley, and Prince George.

For the month of July, Mayfair Shopping Centre has been hosting a revival of sorts, projecting ’50s flicks and nostalgic pre-show promos onto a three-storey-high inflatable screen in their parking lot. “It’s totally ’50s,” enthused Perkins, before admitting to the CBC host that she’s actually too young to have experienced the real thing.

I, on the other hand, have many fond drive-in memories. I remember going with my family in the late ’60s, cozying under a scratchy red-plaid car blanket and enjoying greasy popcorn in the darkness. I went as a teenager, too, and remember my dad’s frown as I headed out the door. “Passion pit!” he’d mutter.

Victoria’s last drive-in, the Tillicum Outdoor Theatre, closed in 1979. But local residents can enjoy an outdoor flick at Mayfair’s final drive-in evening. The mall will screen the Elvis classic Jailhouse Rock on Wednesday, July 30, at 9 p.m. The movie is free, but parking is by pass only, available at the shopping centre’s Concierge Desk.

Bring the family, or snuggle up with your sweetheart. Just don’t forget the car blanket.

For more information about the Mayfair Drive-In event, click here.

Do you have any memories of B.C. drive-in movie theatres? We’d love to hear from you. Post a comment here, or e-mail editor@bcmag.ca

It’s Parks Day in Canada on Saturday, July 19. Which one of British Columbia’s more than 900 parks will you choose this weekend?

Go for a hike, paddle a canoe, or just bask by the lakeside in your favourite protected area. It’s the perfect day to acknowledge how lucky we are to have so much green space in this province. Just how much? A whopping 135,000 square kilometres, or 14.26 percent of B.C.’s land base.

There are many special Parks Day events planned in parks around B.C.

At Vancouver Island’s north end, join a free interpretive day hike to San Josef Bay in Cape Scott Provincial Park (profiled in our Summer 2007 issue). At the Island’s south end, follow a naturalist on an informative “insect exploration.”

In the Okanagan, round up a team for the grass volleyball tournament that will be held in Okanagan Lake Provincial Park, or take a one-hour, ranger-guided hike on the Bear Creek Nature Trail.

On the Lower Mainland, learn about the marine ecosystem by joining interpretive walks on the beach. There will be a “touch tank,” too, for children to experience what a sea star or anemone actually feels like.

For a full list of activities in parks around B.C., follow this BC Parks’ link: www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/events/parksday2008_events.pdf

For more on the history of B.C.’s parklands, look for contributing editor Bruce Obee’s “In praise of parks” article in our Summer 2006 issue.

Imagine how exciting your business day would be if you could rappel down your office tower for an afternoon espresso, portage around a nasty traffic snarl, or avoid the daily commute altogether by pitching a tent on the roof of your workplace. This Thursday, May 8, from 2:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., outdoor enthusiasts will do all of the above in the urban wilds of Vancouver. 

The publicity stunt is the work of the Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (CPAWS), an organization dedicated to protecting Canada’s wilderness, and the outdoor outfitter Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC). The two groups have united to launch The Big Wild, an initiative with the goal of ensuring “that at least half of Canada’s wild spaces remain permanently wild.”

The activities will kick off with a Big Wild parade of mountain bikers, canoeists, kayakers, mountaineers, backpackers, and climbers, all clad in their outdoor gear. Participants will march from the downtown Vancouver Art Gallery at 750 Hornby Street, across Cambie Street Bridge, all the way to MEC’s store at 130 West Broadway. There, rappellers will descend like spidermen from the walls of the store, while others unfold a campsite like a “live, pop-up wilderness scene” on the rooftop parking lot.  

The Victoria MEC store is expected to host its own Big Wild events in June. Visit The Big Wild website for more information. 

Pacific grey whales travel farther than any other mammal on Earth, migrating annually between their winter habitat in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula and summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chikchi seas near the Arctic.

Not that they’re in a hurry. These whales move at such a leisurely pace–about eight kilometres per hour, or twice the walking speed of the average person–that barnacles and crustaceans grow in clusters on their bodies.

The North American population of Pacific grey whales–an estimated 22,000–will tootle along the west coast of Vancouver Island during the animals’ 8,000-kilometre northern migration this spring. During the 22nd annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival, March 15 to 23 this year, you can catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures from free public viewing stations in Ucluelet at the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse or in Tofino at the Wickanninish Centre.

For information on how to identify grey whales, visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada. To hear their whale song, check out the Vancouver Aquarium’s Wild Whales website.