
The Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA) estimate 500 people may have turned out for Cortes Day on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
Mike Manson, whose great uncle(1) and grandfather(2) were among the island’s first known European settler, remembers there were once two festivals.
“I was pretty young, probably eight or nine. Historically, it was called ‘the barbecue’ and it was held in July. In August, at Manson’s Spit, they had what they called ‘the fiesta.’ My recollection is they were similar events, they both had food. I think there were games at the barbecue. I don’t remember games at the fiesta, it was more food.”
On July 1, 1954, the SCCA(3) held a ‘picnic’ which cleared $78.50 after expenses. The club’s minutes state that a carton of cigarettes, 20ibs of sugar and 10ibs of coffee were given out as prizes.(4)
The name ‘Cortes Day’ may have made its historical debut in connection to a picnic held the following year. One of the photographs in the Cortes Island Museum archives A shows a group of people watching the log bucking contest at ‘Cortes Island Day’ in July 1955.



Cortes Day used to be run by the SCCA and WCC, who shared costs and revenues. This was discontinued sometime prior to the WCC Board meeting of April 20, 1971, when the SCCA offered to reactivate the old arrangement. The two clubs appear to have joined forces that year(5) because the remainder of the meeting was largely taken up by preparations, but this was not a lasting partnership.(6)
The WCC continued to take part in later festivals, but not as organizers. The Cortes Day most of us know is organized by the SCCA, ‘with much collaboration from the community, vendors and other organizations.’



While Cortes Day appears to be a ‘settler’ celebration, photos from the museum archives show there has long been a Klahoose First Nation presence. There is a ‘native salmon barbecue’ in a photo from about 1960. Several Indigenous women and a child were photographed en route to the barbeque for the 1964 festival.
Two members of the Klahoose First Nation, in traditional regalia, led the parade that opened this year’s Cortes Day. Ken Hanuse subsequently sang a welcome to the people from foreign lands who had been living among them since Michael Manson arrived 157 years ago.(1)
Someone who did not wish to be identified said the parades were larger back when the only way the community could come together was ‘in person.’ (He did not appear to like Facebook.)



A colourful mixture of bikes, scooters and pedestrians were at the front of this year’s procession. They were followed by a magenta coloured Dodge coupe from the late 1940s. One of my favourite entries was a newly restored Ford flat deck truck. Ron Wolda and Bruce Ellingsen were among the four men sitting between two logs in the back. Andy Ellingsen was in the cab. The handwritten sign on the vehicle’s side referred to the truck’s age, not the occupants: ‘Farming and logging since 1937.’ A long line of emergency vehicles were at the rear. some of the occupants tossed candy out to the children as they passed.



Cortes Currents asked a few of the older community members for their memories of Cortes Days past and was immediately directed to Bruce Ellingsen. He shared some memories from the 1950s:
“I was in my teenage years. There was a big beef roast. I was involved in it at times. We dug a pit in between the high ground in the back here, about six feet deep, and there was a 24 hour fire going on to get the coal bed built up. Then there was a piece of galvanized iron roofing put on top of the coals.”
“The beef roasts were wrapped in aluminum foil and put on top of the galvanized iron in the hole and sat for probably six or seven hours. Somebody knew how long they should be on the coals and then they were all exhumed. Gary Bergman, who owned the store at Whaletown was really good with preparing meat and cutting it for delivery onto people’s plates. Everybody got their slice. That was my first memory of Cortes Day.”



“In those days it was much more of a big community picnic with logger-sports and women’s nail driving contests and so on. Some of that was quite amusing to us young bucks. Especially ladies who would hold hammers at the top of the handle and be ‘bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.’ Peggy Newsham was outstandingly slow at that. Other women were pretty damn good. That was part of it.”
“There was a greased pole with a bottle of whiskey on top of it. It was about 20 feet high and of course all the young guys wanted to get that bottle and celebrate that night. They’d be trying and teaming up to push somebody up. They usually got it all right.”
“Over the years, there was a shooting competition for turkeys and I think roasts of beef (as prizes).There was also a greased pig challenge, where a suckling pig would be greased up, and then turned loose in the middle of a big circle of people. Whoever got a hold of that pig was the one who took it away to be either raised more or eaten.”
“In the 50s and 60s, a lot of people came over by boat and anchored off the shore, or ran their boats up on the shore and stayed here for the day. A lot more than you’re seeing now, where there’s only three or four boats out there. Some people would fly over. Bob Langdon, who had the BC Airlines in Campbell River, would fly in loads of people from Campbell River to attend, long before we had the ferry.”



“In those days there were hardly any sales apart from hamburgers and hot dogs, but it became a little entrepreneurial over the years, with people setting up their stands. We got into the ‘Chicken Poop’ contest and the ‘Nail, Sail, Bale” contest in more recent years.”
Manuel Perdisa, the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) summer intern this year, remembers Cortes Days as far back as about 2008:
“I grew up on Cortes, and I’ve been going to Cortes Day as long as I can remember it. I love it. It’s amazing to see the community all come out in the sun and have some fun. I remember running the little races, doing the potato sack race, jumping around, watching ‘Nail, Sail, Bail’ and listening to some live music. It’s great.”



‘Nail, Sail, Bail’ race – Photo courtesy Sadhu Johnston
There were still family games, a ‘Nail, Sail, Bail’ race and ‘Chicken Poop’ lottery in this year’s celebration. A number of artisans and social profits had booths. Radio Sean is playing throughout the background in much of the podcast above, but Laurel Bohart, Michael Keith and African drummers also performed.
Bob Romano and his wife were visiting from Courtenay:
“We’re at Smelt Bay camping all week. It’s been totally quiet and lovely and it’s just wonderful to be spending our last day here in the community at large. My wife lived in Whaletown 49 years ago, so what I’m enjoying most is running into some old friends I haven’t seen for many years.”

I asked Bruce Ellingson, “Has Cortes Day changed much?”
He replied, “It’s changed a lot, but it still has a good down home feel to it, and lots of people that want to get involved and just put their energy into making it carry on. It’s great.”
Top image credit: 1937 Ford truck in the 2023 Cortes Day parade – Roy L Hales photo
Footnotes:
- Mike’s great uncle Michael Manson landed on Cortes Island in 1866.
- Mike’s grandfather John Manson arrived in 1887.
- The Southern Cortes Community Association was known as the Mansons Landing Community Club before obtaining charitable status in 1956.
- SCCA minutes for the meetings of June 20 and July 11, 1954, available at the Cortes Island Museum.
- WCC minutes for the meeting of April 20, 1871, available at the museum
- The WCC minutes for May 14, 1998, state “Cortes Day used to be run by both community clubs with profits being shared.”
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