After a year of extensive renovations, QXMC hopes to fully reopen Gorge Harbour Marina Resort this Spring.
“We are getting closer to hopefully a grand opening on May 31st, where we can provide a resort that is worthy of its name,” explained Marco Bedetti, General Manager of the Klahoose First Nation management corporation.
Continue reading Preparing For A Grand Reopening of the Gorge Harbour Marina Resort
A new music venue is coming to Cortes Island. The Blues Barn will open its doors, beside the store in Squirrel Cove, on Tuesday, October 31.
“We notice there’s a lack of opportunity for community involvement on Cortes. We figured that since the last event we hosted, volleyball, is starting to die down, we need something new to bring to the community and to bring entertainment back to this side of the island. We figured that for the colder season, the Blues Barn would be a great opportunity to bring the community together and to have some fun,” explained Chase Cunningham, from the Squirrel Cove General Store.
Continue reading The Blues Barn
This started out as a story about the incredible blueberry harvest in the midst of this year’s drought.
One of the seniors picking at Sunnybrae Farm gave Cortes Currents the tip, which Mike Manson subsequently confirmed.
“We are seeing what we think might be the biggest crop ever. In terms of pounds per bush, and the fruit is ripening differently. It’s ripening in a more condensed manner, which is good for picking. The big crop is probably due to favourable conditions for pollination in the spring. Whether or not that had anything to do with dry weather, I’m not sure. Maybe the bees were glad it wasn’t raining and cold and wet, but certainly pollination was key, without that you don’t get a crop. For whatever reason, conditions were favourable for bees to be flying and doing their job,” he said.
“We’ve never seen a dry year start so early. This year, the dryness started mid May. I remember May 13th was 30 degrees Celsius. I think the early heat this year has affected the way the fruit has ripened. I haven’t seen it ripen in this fashion before.”
However, there are three blueberry farms on Cortes island and, as I was soon to learn, they are in different micro-climates.
Continue reading This year’s blueberry harvest on Cortes Island
About 350 people* came to Squirrel Cove for Seafest on Saturday May 20. There was a flow-through crowd and not much more than a third of this number appeared to be at the six-hour long festival at any given time.
“I think Seafest is great, it brings a lot of cultures together and lots of different seafoods,” said Sharon Francis, a Squirrel Cove resident and member of the Klahoose First Nation.
Curt Cunningham, owner manager of the Squirrel Cove General Store which hosted this year’s festival, added, “They’ve done an incredible job. We’re going to have a good day, a good summer, and this is gonna kick it off!”
Continue reading Seafest 2023 At Squirrel Cove
Seafest is returning to Squirrel Cove on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
“SeaFest is coming out of hiatus. It ran for over 20 years and then we shut it down during COVID. We were going to start it up last year at the Gorge, but then the Gorge was going through a lot of changes. This Sea Festival is coming back to Squirrel Cove. The view is spectacular. I think it’s got the best view on the island and it’s got a rustic feel about it too. The old store has been there for a hundred years. The interpretive centre is there. This Seafest probably won’t be as big as it was the last few years at the Gorge. It will be more like a community get-together. We’re going back to good food, good entertainment, and a lot of locals coming,” said Julia Rendall, Secretary of the Cortes Island Seafood Association.
Continue reading Seafest returning to Squirrel Cove Saturday May 20
