“First of all I have to thank Mother Nature for providing us with the best possible weather over the weekend, it couldn’t have been better. Our gala dinner for 200 guests at the Filberg Lodge was a huge success and we were able to raise $3,000 during our silent auction for Y.A.N.A. It was great seeing all nine chefs and their sous-chefs working collaboratively to prepare the finest nine-course seafood meal served on Vancouver Island,” said festival producer Matthew Wright.

Sunday in Comox Marina Park drew a throng of locals and visitors alike to the site to enjoy live music, a beer garden and plenty of tasty seafood treats.

“The festival day in Comox Park was also a huge success with record numbers in attendance which we estimate to be over 2,000 people. Our food vendors were sold out by 3 p.m. and the oyster shucking contest was a crowd favorite,” Wright said.

Nine competitors from as far away as Vancouver drew shucking knives and went toe-to-toe while a large crowd curiously watched and cheered them on. At the final tally, it was 23 year-old Comox Valley resident and line cook Devon Shute from Avenue Bistro who won the $500 cash prize.

Organizers were also extremely pleased with the amount of attention the festival generated this year culminating in a mention in this past weekend’s Globe & Mail as well as by the attendance of two food/travel TV shows from both internationally and nationally broadcast companies who will be highlighting the festival.

The festival would like to thank all the generous sponsors who generously donated to this year’s live auction including BC Ferries, West Coast Air, Cindy Mawle, The Old House Village Hotel & Spa, Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa, Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community, Atlas Café, Avenue Bistro, Horne Lake Caves, Mustang Survival, the Vancouver Aquarium, Mussels and More Pottery and Horne Lake Outdoor Centre.

Festival organizers are now setting their sights even higher for next year’s festival, stay tuned to developments at www.comoxvalleyshellfishfestival.ca

On Sundays each summer the Filberg hosts free performances from 2-4 pm for the whole family! Here is a look at the schedule for Summer 2010! The first concert starts this Sunday on Fathers Day, so be sure to get down to the park and take in some of the excitement!

June 20 – Georgia Strait Big Band
June 27 – Comox Valley Concert Band
July 04 – Gordon Carter
July 11 – Cure All Dance Band
July 18 – Fiddle Jam
July 25 – Jenn Forsland Group
Aug 22 – Todd Butler & Helen Austin
Aug 29 – Rio Samaya Band
Sept 05 – Luke Guthrie & Ali Romanow

The money is to support the fundraising goal of $10,000 by Alana O’Connell who is hoping to raise the funds by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in the Ascent for Alzheimer’s.

Tickets are $20 and are available at Comox Clothing Company, Blue Heron Books, and the Comox Air Force Museum in Comox, as well as at Investors Group in Courtenay.

1.  During stage 1

a)  a person may use a sprinkler to water a lawn growing on a property with:

i) an even numbered address, between the hours of midnight (12:01 a.m.) to 7:00 a.m
and 7:00 p.m. to midnight (11:59 p.m.) on an even numbered day and

ii) an odd numbered address, between the hours of midnight (12:01 a.m.) to 7:00 a.m.
and 7:00 p.m. to midnight (11:59 p.m.) on an odd numbered day and

b)  a person may

i) water trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables on any day with a sprinkler during the prescribed hours for stage 1 lawn watering and on any day at any time if watering is done by hand held container or a hand held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle;

ii) water newly planted trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables by any method during installation and for the following 24 hours;

iii) use micro-irrigation or drip-irrigation systems to water trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables at any time on any day;

iv) under the authority of a permit, water new sod on installation and during the first 21 days after installation, and water newly seeded lawns until growth is established or for 49 days after installation, whichever is less, but only during the prescribed stage 1 lawn watering hours;

v) water all-weather playing fields at any time if failure to do so will result in a permanent loss of plant material; and

vi) wash a vehicle with water using a hand held container or hand held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle and at car dealerships or commercial car washes.

2.  As exceptions to the stage 1 restrictions

a)  Owners or occupiers of property who, by reason of physical or mental incapacity, and where such incapacity has been documented by a medical practitioner, are unable to water their property within the restricted days and times, may water their property on any two days of the week for a maximum of nine hours per day;

b) Nurseries, farms, turf farms, and tree farms are exempted from the restrictions;

c) Public authorities may water lawns and boulevards on any day but no more than two days per week; and

d) Owners or operators of golf courses may water

i) fairways at any time on any day;

ii) trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables grown on golf courses in accordance with stage 1 sections 1 (b) (i), (ii), and (iii) of this schedule; and

iii) golf greens and tees on any day if failure to do so will result in permanent loss of plant material.

On Saturday, June 19th, 2010, 200 guests will be treated to a nine-course gourmet seafood supper served outside along the lapping shores of Comox Harbour. For the first time, the festival is extremely excited to have two renowned chefs from famed Vancouver restaurants, Rick Bowman from Monk McQueens Restaurant & Patio and Scott Practico from Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House join us.

Also volunteering their time and culinary mastery are:

• Nigel McMeans, executive chef at the Blackfin Pub at the Marina, Comox
• Jonathan Frazier, executive chef, Atlas Café, Courtenay
• Troy Fogarty, executive chef, Kingfisher Spa & Resort, Courtenay
• Ronald St-Pierre, executive chef, Locals Restaurant, Courtenay
• Aaron Rail, executive chef, Avenue Bistro, Comox
• Mark Duncan, executive chef, Union Street Grill & Grotto, Courtenay
• Matt MacDonald, executive chef, Berwick, Comox

“I have never been to the festival, but when the organizers approached me to participate; I was honored and jumped at the chance. It’s every chef’s duty to get out and meet the farmers who grow and harvest the food that they serve on a regular basis. At the same time, it will also be great to meet and share ideas with farmers, festival guests and other chefs from around the province. I am really looking forward to the culinary experience that the festival will bring. ” said Rick Bowman, executive chef at Monk McQueens.

Each chef will create their own unique dish according to the seafood option they have chosen. Preparing and cooking each dish and the timing involved serving nine courses to 200 people is not only extremely challenging, but a feat in itself that should not be missed. Chef coordinator Matt MacDonald will certainly have his hands full, but judging by past events, he seems up and ready for another challenge.

For tickets or More information please visit the festival website at www.comoxvalleyshellfishfestival.ca,

(or at the Comox Valley Guide site under Entertainment >> Comox Valley Shellfish Festival).

The Comox Valley Shellfish Festival is gearing up for a bigger and even better event this year in BC’s shellfish capital, the Comox Valley. The festival opens June 19th with the Gala Evening Dinner. 200 guests will be treated to a gourmet nine-course seafood supper served along the banks of Comox Harbour, outdoors underneath tents at the historic Filberg Lodge. Along with locally grown seafood, local vintners Beaufort Winery as well as Surgenor Breweries will be providing the wine and ale infusions throughout the evening. This year we are holding a silent auction to raise funds for local charity Y.A.N.A. Tickets are limited and going quickly.

The party continues on Sunday, June 20th at Comox Marina Park with tasting booths featuring shellfish delicacies as well as desert treats, live entertainment, a beer garden and the much anticipated Oyster Shucking Contest.

Visitors coming in from out of town can take advantage of a festival hotel rate being offered at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa or discounts being provided for travelers from Vancouver to Comox on WestCoast Air.

Come meet growers, chefs and shellfish aficionados as you savour a truly west coast experience in scenic Comox Valley.
For tickets or More information please visit the festival website at www.comoxvalleyshellfishfestival.ca,

(or at the Comox Valley Guide site under Entertainment >> Comox Valley Shellfish Festival).

“The beach fire program implemented by the CVRD a year ago has made great strides in improving the experience of enjoying Goose Spit,” said Jim Gillis. “In the past the beach used to be littered with burned driftwood. People burned all kinds of material that produced extremely harmful emissions, and they burned in unsafe areas close to the bluffs. The CVRD’s program of providing fire rings, selling appropriate wood, monitoring and enforcement on the site by a park steward, and general public education, has gone a long way to making the situation better, and I want to see if there is a way to further improve it, and to look at other things within the CVRD’s control that can have a positive effect on our air quality.”

A year-long air quality monitoring project by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) and the University of Victoria showed that while the air quality in the Comox Valley isn’t bad, there are areas of concern in terms of particulate matter generated by fires, and at certain times, Goose Spit is one of them. The CVRD will be asking the area’s medical health officer to attend a future electoral area services committee to discuss air quality and the effects wood burning can have.

“There has been a great deal of public comment on the recommendation to ban fires at Goose Spit, and CVRD staff have been monitoring that comment,” said Gillis. “I, and my colleagues on the board, want to look further at some of the very helpful suggestions on how we can balance enjoyment of our region without compromising our health. We will need to look at how we can perhaps further enhance the beach fire program, as well as look at things like a wood stove exchange programs and outdoor burning in the electoral areas.”

The committee will consider the earlier recommendation to ban the beach fires, and possible alternatives, at its meeting on February 15.

The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.

Who: Royal Canadian Legion Branch #128
Where: 2770 Dunsmuir Ave, Cumberland
Services: 10:30 am

Who: Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #160
Where: 1825 Comox Ave
Services: 10:30 am

Who: Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #17
Where: 367 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay
Breakfast: 9:00 am
Services: 10:35 am

Who: Union Bay Historical Society
Where: At the Cairn, Old school Yard, Union Bay
Services: 10:45 am

Friday is our Shamrock Place Block Party from 3 – 7 pm.

• We (Surgenor Brewing) is providing customers with tours of the brewhouse and serving Chilli and Beer samples.
• Coast Realty is serving Bar-B-Que corn on the cob
• Aquatech is serving Smoked Salmon
• Grant Floors is serving Pulled Pork Sandwiches
• The Grooming place is having Anna the lama walking around and they will be having some dogs doing tricks as well….

The weather will be wonderfully warm so come out and have a visit…we look forward to seeing you.

The event takes place on Saturday and Sunday, August 8th and 9th between 10 and 5 at Comox Marina Park.

This is a semi-annual juried art show designed to focus on the traditional fine art forms of painting, drawing and sculpture. All art is original and created by the artist who is present in the booth during the entire show. The focus of the show is to present original works of art to the general public.

The Originals Only Fine Art Show is organized by a group of Comox Valley artists who volunteer their time and energy to help other artists show and sell their work. They come from a wide variety of disciplines and groups within the fine art community.

They are a totally artist run event sponsored through the Comox Rec Centre. For further information or to give your support please visit their website, or contact Channing Holland at 250.339.1862