Tag Archives: Aaron Ellingsen

Forests

Cortes Island’s Community Forest Operations in 2025/26

The Cortes Forestry General Partnership held its public meeting on October 9th, 2025. In today’s interview, Operations Manager Mark Lombard talks about leadership transitions, plans for selective logging, the Forest Stewardship Plan review, and other topics from the meeting. He also shares his personal opinion about how climate change is affecting our forest.

“We try to have a public meeting every year and we cover whatever topics are relevant at that point. There’s always the year in review, so what have we done in the last year since the last public meeting and what are we planning in the coming year,” explained Lombard.

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Arts

Folk U: Johnny Hanuse, Josie Simpson, and Mary Beth Cysewski at the Village Commons

Thanks for joining us on August 22, 2025 for another week of the Village Commons Music Series, a simultaneously live and live-broadcast show, happening on Fridays from 1 – 2:30pm on the new Pavilion stage. 

Guest host Immanuel McKenty was joined by Johnny Hanuse, Josie Simpson, and Mary Beth Cysewski, 3 local musicians who sat together on stage for an in-the-round style performance, swapping songs, stories, and jokes.

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Arts

Live and Local on Cortes Island

Live and Local is more than a Tideline page, although the Tideline page advertises all of the shows on Cortes Island from Gorge Harbour Marina, Manson’s Hall, Gorge Hall and the Village Commons Music Series to pop-up independent shows. It is also more than the radio program, which is broadcast over CKTZ 89.5, FM shortly after 8:00 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

According to Jemma Hicken, one of the best known personalities behind it:

“Live and Local is an umbrella program, run by Cortes Radio, that encompasses  the Live and Local page on Tideline, the Live and Local radio interviews that I’ve been mostly doing, also all of the promotion that we’ve been doing through Cortes Radio, social media, Tideline, all of the rest in terms of posters and the Village Commons Music Series as well.”

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Arts

Folk U: Aspen King Plays at the Village Commons

July 25, 2025 was the fourth week of the Village Commons Music Series, a simultaneously live and live-broadcast show, happening on Fridays from 1 – 2:30pm on the new Pavilion stage. 

Host Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined by local electronic music star, Aspen King. Aspen plays techno and house influenced music and came home to play this daytime set, and one evening set at the Gorge Marina, between travelling to and from many large festivals over the course of the summer.

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Arts

Rick Bockner plays on the new pavilion stage

July 18, 2025 was the third week of the Village Commons Music Series, a simultaneously live and live-broadcast show, happening on Fridays from 1 – 2:30pm on the new Pavilion stage. 

Host Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined by local legend Rick Bockner. Tune in for Rick’s unique fingerpicking style, lots of jokes, and some beautiful songs by a favourite Cortesian songwriter.

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