Imagine the perfect winter retreat for two at Beach Haven, Sunshine Coast!  “Haven” awaits you with the best of everything at this Deluxe Four Season Cottage.

Picture a day snuggled by the cozy gas fireplace, enjoying the ever changing seascape before you at this private waterfront home.  Perhaps you prefer to ski or snowshoe in the splendour of our local mountains.  Imagine coming home to a complimentary massage for two.  Next, we include a romantic dinner at our favourite local restaurant; The Gumboot. Now relax in the hot tub overlooking the ocean, sipping your complementary welcoming Freixenet “champagne”, listen to the waves, and watch the stars at the end of a perfect day.

Finally, enjoy the true “Haven” King sized bed with eiderdown duvet and pillows, awake refreshed; don a plush bathrobe to enjoy fresh ground organic coffee or teas, and another romantic day.
If you are looking for a secluded private getaway with that special person, consider our Haven yours!

Reserve your Romance Weekend at www.Beach-Haven.ca

Cost:  $895 includes two nights’ accommodation, a complimentary massage for two, and dinner for two at the Gumboot Restaurant.  We will be pleased to provide you with two pairs of snowshoes for your weekend for an additional charge of $60. 

HALFMOON BAY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA: Giving reason to resurrect swimwear in the dead of winter, Rockwater Secret Cove Resort and the newest spa on the Sunshine Coast, Aorai Spa are making a splash teaming up to create the Aorai Watsu® and Eminence Spa Package. Marrying classic and new, your Rockwater retreat has you spending some serious spa time with two pampering treatments: an hour-long Eminence Classic Facial in Rockwater’s Winter Spa Tent and a 50-minute Watsu® warm water therapy treatment at the Aorai Spa in Sechelt. Stay overnight at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort in an ocean view room at The Lodge or a cozy ocean side cabin, and find a gift basket waiting for you filled with 100% natural Eminence spa products available through Rockwater Resort Spa. Deluxe Continental breakfast the morning after completes the package for blissed-out spa-goers.

If you haven’t heard of Watsu®, you’re not alone. Developed by a shiatsu instructor in the 80s, this off-the-grid treatment is still relatively unknown. Unique to the West Coast, offered at exclusive Resort Destination Spas throughout the U.S. and internationally, Aorai Spa is the first to offer this form of aqua therapy. Combining Zen Shiatsu techniques with the therapeutic benefits of a 35 degree saline pool, Taylore Sinclaire, Certified Watsu® Practitioner, creates treatments that blend graceful and liberating movements, along with massage and Shiatsu point work guiding you through a series of yoga-esque moves as you dreamily float on. Clients experience expansion, softening and ultimately, a deep sense of relaxation. Now, this exclusive treatment has washed ashore on the Sunshine Coast, and Rockwater Resort is the first to take the plunge.

The Aorai Watsu® & Eminence Facial Spa Package includes:
One Night Accommodation in an Ocean View Room or Ocean Side Cabin
Deluxe Continental Breakfast
50-Minute Aorai Watsu ® Spa Treatment
60 Minute Eminence Classic Facial Treatment
Spa Gift Basket upon arrival

The Aorai Watsu® & Eminence Facial Spa Package starts at $299.00CAD per person based on double occupancy. To dip into this package, please call 604.741.6108 or visit www.rockwatersecretcoveresort.com.

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The Resort:
Rockwater Secret Cove Resort is a private paradise located on BC’s Sunshine Coast 15 minutes’ drive north of Sechelt. The accommodations at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort are unique, as they enhance the Resort’s relationship with nature.  Rooms in the lodge offer ocean view and pool view rooms, while the Tenthouse Suites reward guests with king-size beds, hydrotherapy tubs, fireplaces and expansive ocean views.

For more information:
Meaghen Ng                         
Spectacular Ink          
Tel: (604) 925-8187
meaghen@spectacularink.com

Evenings 7pm,
December 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

Matinees 2pm
December 13, 14, & 20

Gibsons Heritage Playhouse Theatre

Tickets $12 at
Gibsons: Hallmark & Gaia’s Fair Trade Gifts
Sechelt: Monkeychips

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call 604-886-3337

L@@K HERE for
PANTOMIME PHOTOS
from previous year’s shows….
flickr.com/photos/duaneburnett/sets/72157603261230249/

WHAT IS A Pantomime???
flickr.com/photos/duaneburnett/sets/72157603261230249/

If you can’t make it or don’t get a reservation, don’t worry - there’s a LIVE FEED of the event on the Pack Ratt Louie’s on their web site at http://www.packrattlouies.com. You can also see a full calendar of events for the restaurant, a great supporter of local arts and culture, menus, image galleries and more. Support a great local restaurant supporting local talent and artists!

Sometimes my job is incredibly difficult and demanding. Take today for example. I’m on A Place By the Sea’s 28 ft. charter boat, ‘No Worries’, with co-owner Shay Moudahi (Nancy is back at the B&B helping American guests with kayaking plans) up Sechelt Inlet. My partner Diane is along and we are on the prowl in deep pools for red snapper and ling under blue skies and with a bare breeze whispering.

Shay is a very interesting guy. He immigrated to Canada in 1993 from Israel, fresh from middle eastern conflicts, and says Canada is actually the promised land… that Moses had a ‘heavy tongue’ and that he was actually telling God ‘Canada’ rather than Canan. “Think about it,” he said. “Have you ever seen Canan? nobody wants to go there.” He’s engaging, interesting, well-informed and fun to talk with.

Shay deeply appreciates Canadian life, and especially being able to interact with people all around the world in this environment. One memorable trip was with three Palestinians, one from Jerusalem, and the other two from Syria. “We got about an eighth of a mile before we were into a political discussion,” he said, ”and in the end we agreed to disagree.” If only it were so in conflicts!

Shay and Nancy met while both worked for the electronics giant Future Shop, where Shay worked as a top salesperson selling computers and Nancy in a different department.

FISHING UPDATE: Diane just landd a 15 lb. ling in about 200 ft of water! Shay netted it mid-interview, with great aplomb. Yum. Fish tacos for dinner!

Returning to our story, Shay moved up through sales and into management, while Nancy spent the next 10 years in the wine industry working in sales and customer service. In 2002, after getting their fill of the corporate world, they decided to look into their dream of running a bed and breakfast. After investigating one place they knew of in Vernon, which lucky for the Sunshine Coast didn’t pan out, they decided to check out the coast.

Shay told us the story of finding A Place By The Sea.

“I didn’t think we could afford to have waterfront. It was the eighth place we saw that day and when we went down the drive I didn’t even want to get out of the car. The house was on the market for seven years, there were no stairs to the beach - it’s a high bank property - no paved road… the woman who had it couldn’t keep up with it. But we could see the potential, and the price was very good.”

The Moudahis ended up putting another quarter million dollars into the B&B, to the disbelief of others in the industry, and neighbours.

“Everyone was telling us we are idiots, quitting good high paying jobs to chase a dream,” he said. “They said we’d never recover it. Within several months of opening we were the top B&B on the Coast for number of reservations.”

A Place By The Sea’s success can only partially be explained by the waterfront location and proximity to Sechelt. The rest comes from incredibly hard work and discipline, discipline, discipline. For example, prep time for breakfasts at the B&B is around 2 hours, not including making, serving and cleanup. Shay and Nancy both love to cook, and they put in a lot of time where it matters in a bed & breakfast… in the small details, like garnishing and presentation of meals, finding just the right accessories for rooms, raking the beach sand on the terraced beach decks by the ramp to the dock. Keeping the kayak gear and hot tub and exterior stairways and gazebos clean and well-cared for.

FISHING UPDATE: A snapper of decent size, a rockfish, and another ling, bigger than the first!! What a day. We are delighted to have a cooler full of fish in the stern, and be noshing on a gorgeous feast of Nancy’s devilled eggs and a wonderful crab dip with the most beautifully apropos serving knife with a carved lighthouse on top for the handle, Shay’s wildly delicious sandwiches (and I am not a sandwich eater, so that’s saying something), fresh fruit and cheese, and a delicious and light chardonnay. Really, does life get any better???

We return to the dock sunburned and so grateful for the wonderful day and fine company. As a person who works in sales and customer service, I learned a lot in the conversations with Shay over the day, sharing our philosophies on helping people and being truly who you are with others, being honest and passionate about what you do, and engaging with others in the same way. Upon our return there was Nancy with a huge smile, ready to take our picture with our trophies and inquire about the day, even as she helped a couple returning from a trip up the inlet by kayak.

Diane and I vowed to share our story of the wonderful day here, and invite you to hook up with Shay and Nancy for a truly wonderful boat charter and stay. I don’t think there’s a better custom boat tour - for sightseeing, fishing or both - to be had on the West Coast. And Shay says he tries to never come home without a fish, which I particularly appreciate, given that 99% of my own outings generate the big nada on returns!

Whether you want to create a romantic surprise or just hang out with friends and family, catch some fish, enjoy some of BC’s best coastal scenery and relax, call Shay and Nancy and plan your getaway. We’re planning on a group getaway ourselves!

For more information: http://www.aplacebythesea.com or call toll-free 1.866.885.2746. Canada Select 4 1/2 stars, Tourism BC Approved Accommodation, Member of the Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast, Cottage Owners Assocation and Tourism Sunshine Coast. 

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This post is sponsored by the Lighthouse Pub. Enter to win a $25 gift certificate towards your meal by writing to webmaster@bigpacific.com&subject=lighthouse, with your name, mailing address and phone number. Draws every two weeks!

The New Moon Society’s mission is to ’support the development of an Asian Canadian identity on the Sunshine Coast, primarily via the annual festival of Asian arts and culture’.

This year marks the third year for the festival and it runs from 12noon to 10pm at Dougall Park in Gibsons. It’s $5+ sliding scale to enter, with kids 12 and under free.

The lineup includes the incomparable Alcvin Takegawa Ramos, a Shoji flute player who plays his own compositions, Shakti dancers, Celso Machado, Sawagi Taigo - the first all women taiko group in Canada, and Kababayang Pilipino - Filipino folk heritage group. The showcases Mind of a Snail Puppet Company, a ‘Compost Modernist art duo’. Paper lantern making, martial arts demonstrations, a cooking class, and a lantern ceremony close out the evening.

For more information, please visit: http://www.newmoonfestivalsociety.org/

- Visit the Bigpacific Lund Photo Gallery -

So here it is, early September, and I’m on the BigpacificCycle (my Yamaha Virago 1100 – if you see me, say hi, and I’ll enter you into one of our many contests for local giveaway gifts… I’m wearing the red jacket with ‘Bigpacific.com’ on the back), headed up to Powell River on one of the best riding days of the year.

If you’re a motorcyclist then you know what I’m talking about: sunshine that’s not too hot and not too cold, beautiful shaded drives like Misery Mile (Kleindale) still dry and inviting, a dearth of cars competing for road space, and glorious curves all the way from Secret Cove to the ferry terminal at Earl’s Cove.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Lund, as I always seem to get sidetracked in Powell River visiting with Tourism Powell River Executive Director Chris McNaughton, dropping in at the town offices of the Lund Hotel to say hi to Leah, shopping at the Town Centre Mall and taking in that fabulous and very affordable Thai food down by the ferry dock to Comox. But today I’m blowing right past PR and up to Lund, where I’ve heard huge changes have occurred around the hotel and boardwalk. I’ve always loved Lund, ever since boarding there for sailing trips up Desolation Sound and over to Cortes Island where I lived part-time for a few years… and back then it was the hotel and the end of the road sign for Hwy. 101 and that was it. Sleepy, anachronistic, finnish.

Fast forward to four hours later: mission accomplished. I just enjoyed one of the most relaxing and spectacularly beautiful coastal motorcycle rides to be had in British Columbia, the best waterfront casual meal in eons, and a sidetrack tangential error in direction that unveiled a gorgeous community I might otherwise have missed.

This is the time of year for motorcycling and leisurely drives in family sedans or vintage vehicles. The road stretched on into the horizon with nary a vehicle to be seen, despite every gas station and restaurant loaded with clientele. It was like being in a magic bubble. I felt like I had the entire highway to myself, and with that freedom I could take in the wide open views the highway from Saltery Bay into Powell River affords.

I think that would have to be a key difference between the route between Langdale and Earls Cove… for some reason the highway was built into the hillsides instead of down at the oceanfront, so views of the ocean – for a coastal highway – are remarkably few and far between. In fact the dearth of views from the highway leads to what I call the ‘Davis Bay Gasp’, where you trundle over the Chapman Creek bridge and swing into view of one of the most gorgeous views in BC in my books. It never fails to captivate and startle with its beauty… and then *poof* it’s back into the woods right until Sakinaw and Ruby Lakes. The winding drive makes up for the lack of vistas, but only just.

Once on the Powell River side the experience is one of openness: long stretches of developed land sloping away to the water, with views of Lasqueti, Texada and Vancouver Island beyond; gorgeous groves of thinned evergreens, slivered with afternoon light, like a magical forest; plateaus of farmland and parks that surprise as much as they delight.

The stretch from Powell River to Lund is mixed with oceanfrontage where you can literally stop and walk the beach, the old townsite with its character homes, leafy streets and ever-present mill (and one of the oldest working theatres in BC, the Patricia Theatre). Then it’s winding curves past Powell Lake and into the charmingly named communities of Wildwood and Cranberry before slowing for the Sliammon Band’s community centre. After that, it’s nothing but road to the Okeover Arm Park turnoff or beyond to Lund.

The road is not as kind beyond Sliammon – there are several cuts in the surface and loose gravel, and plenty of road repairs that make for a more bumpy and attention-requiring ride. I would not want to ride it on a hardtail, but that’s just me… no padding leads me to these kinds of statements.

Lund itself was different than the sleepy end-of-the-road I remembered from 10 years ago. The historic Lund Hotel is gorgeous and modernized and the outdoor western-facing patios were as popular today as ever, with plenty of tourists quaffing a beer and noshing on pub fare. There’s a new helicopter landing pad I hadn’t heard about, ideal for Coast Guard and BC Ambulance Services and perhaps also the occasional jet setter. But it’s the boardwalk that really brings to fore the changes in Lund: expanded (and full) parking lead to a charming flat, wheelchair accessible gravel walk that runs out to Nancy’s Bakery – now in a beautiful handcrafted wooden building, so different than the shack off the walkway of the Lund Hotel I remember – and beyond to an old-fashioned waterwheel and a stunning boardwalk with names etched on every board, the names of those who contributed financially or by their sweat in the building of the section running out to the southwest.

Out at the end I found the Boardwalk Restaurant, which should have been busier given the delicious beer-battered salmon and chips I enjoyed on the corner of the patio overtop the water and looking out on the entrance to the harbour. The salmon was done to perfection, steamy and supple inside the crunchy herbed and fried batter. The chips were piping hot and sweet, served with an above average English malt vinegar. An extensive wine, beer and cocktails list made me wish I was staying over.

Whether you’re on a motorcycle or in a car or hopping the Malaspina Coach, Lund is an excellent destination. Make a three day weekend of it, and stay at the Sunshine Coast Resort just 20 minutes before the Earl’s Cove ferry the first night, with a fun and grooving ride out to the Garden Bay Pub for dinner, hit Powell River, Lund and even Savary Island the next day with a stay overnight at the Lund Hotel, and head home on the third day. Fabulous!

- Visit the Salmon Festival Bigpacific Photo Gallery -

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of enjoying this last blast of summer heat with a leisurely drive out to Gibsons to take in the Annual and ever more popular Salmon Festival. This event has grown in stature to be a maturing September event that pulls in visitors across the transition into the shoulder season… as evidenced by the crowds of people walking the streets in Gibsons Landing Saturday afternoon.

From the vendor booths on Marine Drive offering everything from food to unique clothing (I wished there was a new baby in the family somewhere to justify buying a white sleeper with an old-fashioned tie sewn on it), to the Sokole women grooving to xylophones under the hewn shade above Winegarden Park, to the informational vendors below offering information on nature conservancy, the David Suzuki foundation, farmed salmon developments and the popular clamshell housing the mobile Vancouver Aquarium hands-on exhibit, there was a lot to do.

But by far the greatest attractant had to be the wooden salmon decorated, painted, morphed and otherwise translated into art, hanging all around Molly’s Lane. From he exquisitely crafted wooden salmon by Will Cummer and the eye-poppingly attractive stained glass version, to the ‘punk fish’, ‘dog fish’, and ‘longboard salmon’ – and everything in between – they were something to marvel at. Our own Lisa Williams, newsletter editor for the monthly Bigpacific Guide to the Sunshine Coast, created one for Grieg Seafoods decorated entirely with authentic freshwater pearls!

An astonishing 113 salmon were submitted this year, a 13% increase over last year, and the quality of the submissions is rising along with them. Well-known artists participated next to 10 year olds (one such child created a phenomenal entry that defied her age), and submissions ranged from full-on art to whimsical. One entry was decorated entirely with recycled plastic.

I’m still waiting to hear how my bids fared… last I heard I had a lock on the Dogfish (Bad Dog’s new mascot) created by the staff at the Town of Gibsons, and the Punk Fish. I’ll let you know who got what and how many dollars were raised through the silent auction of the salmon as soon as the organizers let me know.

*Update: outbid at the last second on both! (Gnashing of teeth, arg!)

So thanks, Gibsons, for another great fall event. Next up: the fabulously cool and spectacular Pender Harbour Jazz Festival, Sept. 19-21 at various venues in the Harbour. See you there!

• The Gibsons Landing Fibre Arts Festival, various venues, Gibsons
• The Powell River Annual Blackberry Festival and Street Party
• Roberts Creek Daze (11-2 August 23rd)
• The incredible Bonfire Music Festival (F/S/S) Pender Lions Park

Wow. A smashingly successful Sechelt Arts Festival that’s proving out to be a regular addition to the summer festival schedule, followed hot on the heels by the mature Festival of the Written Arts and Hackett Park Craft Festival one-two knockout punch (to wildly mix metaphors). I’m on an arts high!

This weekend was picture perfect for the Writer’s Fest and Hackett Park events, excepting a minor morning shower and the thunder rolling for about half an hour early Sunday. I have a theory about the thunder… it was created from the arc of electricity left behind by my favorite author, poet Shane Koyczan, when he absolutely illuminated Rockwood Pavilion on Friday afternoon with his spoken word poetry.

It’s funny how the words of one person can completely shock an audience into stunned, wordless silence. From the very start of Shane’s ’set’ at the Festival, until the end, I found myself inarticulate and mute with utter abandonment and admiration for his remarkable work. For anyone who thinks they ‘know’ poetry, I challenge you to find one of Shane’s 200 annual gigs, park your derriere and prepare to be amazed at what a force one person can be in the world… with poems!

This is not your mother’s poetry, nor your English teacher’s. Despite that, the pavilion was loaded with both, along with a few of the young adult set, and some free thinkers who were drawn to the promise articulated in the Festival’s brochure: “Koyczan sounds alternately like a full-throttle auctioneer and a chilled-out beat poet.”  And we were SO not disappointed.

I passed Shane at the back of the Pavilion just as Zoe Whittal’s excellent readings out of Bottle Rocket Lovers and her iconic poetry marking the age of the 70’s. I recognized him from the brochure, and thought him quite unassuming and un-poet like as he waited for everyone to clear out prior to preparing for his time on stage. But get that boy in front of a microphone and it’s like he’s jammed his thumb into the power socket of the universe - I mean he comes ALIVE. The transformation of Shane at the mike, every time he stepped away and stepped back, was remarkable. Luminous, powerful, tender, funny, he could move from charging poetry that opened my chest like a ripsaw to a troubadour, singing of the passing of family in the most vulnerable of ways.

For those who had the misforture to miss his readings, Shane makes his living 100% from writing and performing poetry world-wide. He is the first poet from outside the US to win the prestigious National Individual Poetry Slam, and almost every time he reads/performs it’s to a standing ovation (Writer’s Fest included) and a subsequent mobbing at the book table, where he once sold 83 books in under 10 minutes. In one word: phenomenal.

I would have happily bought multiple tickets to multiple Shane Shows, but had to content myself with his book and CD, and the happy knowledge that he does this kind of thing about 200 times a year and I can be sure to hook up again in the not too distant future.

Related Link: For a great article about Shane, go to Quill & Quire

We also took in the Hackett Park Craft Fair, where I saw some new and stunning work. Most arresting were the glass folded bowls depicting salmon and octopus - breathtaking - and the ceramic standing and hanging candle lanterns… and I could not get past the nut and chocolate booth, again, and emerged with my little trumpet of spectacularly rich chocolate kisses jealously clutched to my chest. Of course it meant lunging through the rest of the venue from shade patch to shade patch, but they are so worth it.

It’s that time again… the time when erudite voices rise and fall in the readings of politics, sports, fiction, and poetry under the soaring timber roof of the Rockwood Pavilion at the 26th Annual Writer’s Festival this weekend in Sechelt.

Billed as Canada’s longest running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers, featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices… with opportunities for writers and readers to mingle amidst Rockwood’s heritage gardens, the Festival is a huge draw from across Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

Authors as diverse as Michael Ondaatje, Zoe Whittal, Shane Koyczan, Elizabeth Hay, Mike McCardell, Chantal Hebert, William Deverell and Drew Hayden Taylor - to name only a few - will read and participate in literary discussions this weekend. A ‘Wild Salmon Barbeque’ tops the weekend off (sorry, that one IS sold out!).

Tickets are still available for many events, and can be purchased by calling the Festival office at 1-800-565-9631 or 604-885-9631, or by visiting them at 5511 Shorncliffe Ave, Sechelt. Payment accepted: Visa, M/C, Cash, Cheque, Money Order and Debit Card. Tickets for most events are $15/each - a deal if there ever was one. You can download a Festival Planner here.

And don’t forget the Annual Hackett Park Craft Fair. Artisans from all over the province have Hackett Park as one of their top venues. For 21 years the park has filled this weekend with music, art, collectibles, gifts, pottery, fun for kids and more. A special time to be there is 12 noon on Saturday, when my good friend Bruce Allan Smith is on stage playing some of the best classical guitar music you will ever hear. See you there!

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This post is sponsored by The Lighthouse Pub, in beautiful Porpoise Bay, Sechelt. Enter here to win a $25 gift certificate card!