Tag Archives: Cortes Island Museum

Arts

Doug McCaffry’s Heaven: Coffee and Films

 The first time many Cortes Island residents heard of Doug McCaffry was when he and his wife, Melanie, took over Becca’s beans. Prior to that they were living in central Saanich.

“We came  for a vacation. It was a beautiful August, and I’d always wanted to come to Cortes.  I thought, ‘hey, just for fun, let’s look at some real estate.’ The place we’re at now had just come up for sale and came with  the optional coffee roastery.  I thought, ‘well, I love coffee, let’s learn coffee roasting.’  It all happened so fast. Two of the things I love most in life, coffee and film, and I’m in heaven,” he explained.

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Community

A Vintage Christmas at the Museum

 “There’s never a dull moment in Whaletown,  but during December, things seem to have reached a ‘crescendo fortissimo compassioné,’ and I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. The first week began reasonably enough with two residents in Vancouver and Victoria hospitals for mental treatment. A cat named Jill was run over by a bulldozer, a couple of private parties, and the start of another feud.” – Gilean Douglas’ 1953 Christmas letter.  

A collection of Douglas’ letters and her gilded Edwardian postcards will be part of the open house. 

“People are welcome to come, find a spot,  get a letter and read through it. See what was happening on Cortes Island back in the day,” explained Melanie Boyle Managing Director of the Cortes Island Museum.  

“This Saturday,  December 9th, between 11 AM until 4 PM, the Museum is running what we call Vintage Christmas. We thought it would be wonderful to offer another community space while the shoppers are down in Manson’s for the Holiday Fair.”

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Nature

This year’s recipients of the Jo Ann Green Ward: Laurel Bohart and Donna Collins

Laurel Bohart and Donna Collins were the recipients of this year’s Jo Ann Green Award. 

“We thought they encapsulated what the Joanne Green Award is about. We had a number of nominations, but we considered their’s to be the best because of all the work that they’ve done for Wild Cortes. They put in a lot of unseen work in the background to make the Wild Cortes exhibit the success it’s been, and they’re doing that as volunteers,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI).

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Animals

At the Cortes Library: Insects, a presentation

Sean Nightingale, from Wild Cortes, will be giving a presentation about insects, at the Cortes Island Regional Library from 5:30 to 7;00 tonight. 

“I’ve grown up being super interested in biology. I’ve focused on restoring ecosystems. Insects play an important role. They’re one of the most numerous animals that we have on the planet. They play an important role in ecosystems when it comes to habitat creation,” he explained.

“I do a lot of talking about stuff on the seashore, the forests and talking about insects, reptiles and amphibians as well. If someone had a question, like, ‘what’s this bug?’ – I was always the one who was picking up the bugs and didn’t mind showing people.”

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Arts

At the Museum: An evening of real Hawaiian music

Stephen Antle has visited Cortes Island most summers for the past 20 years. He started coming after a family sailboat trip through Desolation Sound.

“The last two days of that trip were spent at Manson’s Landing and Gorge Harbour. And we just said, ‘holy cow, we’ve got to check this island out!’ So the next summer we rented Cedar Moon (AirB&B) for the first of many years and came up for one or two weeks, pretty much every summer since.”

Antle is also the lead vocalist in a band that plays traditional Hawaiian music and this Thursday, August 31 at 6:30, he will be performing at the Cortes Island Museum.

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