Category Archives: Arts

Quadra Island Studio Tour 23 fever

Thirty-six artists. Twenty-seven studios. One weekend.

The Quadra Island Studio Tour returns for its 23rd year this weekend, June 5 to 7, offering visitors the chance to step inside creative spaces across the island and meet the people behind the work. Woodworkers, painters, jewellers, potters, photographers, fibre artists, printmakers and mixed-media artists will all be opening their doors. The range is staggering.

This year also introduces a new Friday evening preview from 6 to 9 p.m. at select locations, marked with a star and moon on the tour map. It is the official start of the tour and an opportunity to spread studio visits
across the weekend.

Continue reading Quadra Island Studio Tour 23 fever

Inspirations: An interview with Ruby Singh

Juno-nominated musician Ruby Singh recently returned to Cortes Island, both as a facilitator for the CASE Youth Leadership Conference at Hollyhock and to give a concert at Manson’s Hall. In this morning’s interview, he talks about his many forms of artistic expression, inspirations, and relationship with Cortes Island. 

Ruby Singh:  “I find inspiration in a lot of different ways. I feel like we are all just small tendrils of creation, so the act of creation and the act of creativity are among the most natural ways of being. Other artists really inspire me. I am deeply inspired by ancestry and futurity at the same time, so finding ourselves where we are in this timeline of inheritance from our ancestors, and what we are thinking about leaving here when we leave. Long timelines really inspire me, and deep time is a very inspirational thing. I get a lot of inspiration from my community, from the people around me, and from this more-than-human world that surrounds us.” 

Continue reading Inspirations: An interview with Ruby Singh

Seafest 2026

By Savanna Young- Seafest coordinator 

Seafest once again drew strong attendance this year as residents and visitors gathered to celebrate the island’s aquaculture heritage and ongoing shellfish industry. For close to 30 years, the event has to served as both a cultural gathering and an opportunity to highlight the importance of our local shellfish industry. This year Seafest returned to the Gorge Harbour Marina, a venue that has historically hosted the event.

Continue reading Seafest 2026

Daniel Lapp coming to Lovefest 2026

Daniel Lapp is the headliner for this year’s Lovefest, which returns to Linnaea Farm on Saturday, August 8, 2026. He has played on over 100 albums and performed across Canada, the United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Finland, and Germany. Daniel is also a winner of the BC Fiddler Championship and is the Artistic Director of the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Benji Coey, who is organizing Lovefest, said, “This year I’m very excited to have booked Daniel Lapp, who is a nationally renowned folk and jazz musician. He’s going to bring Adam Dobres—who the folks on the island are familiar with—a world-class guitar player, and Richard Moody, one of the country’s best fiddle players. Those guys are going to do an extended set. When you get that sort of talent coming through, you have to give them room; you’ve got to give them time to play, and it’s going to be a really mind-blowing set.”

Continue reading Daniel Lapp coming to Lovefest 2026

Pints, Points and Puzzlers at Benji’s Pub Quiz

The radio version of this story opened with a clip from  the ‘Inky Dinky’ round of a recent Benji’s Pub Quiz night in Mansons Hall, Cortes Island. An Inky Dinky is a two-word phrase. Both the words have two syllables, and they rhyme, like Inky Dinky. 

“So what?” asked show host Benji Coey. “Well, I’m going to give you a riddle and you’re going to come up with an Inky Dinky as the answer. For example, if I said to you, Riddle me this: A church tower made out of human beings.” What might I be looking for?”

A number of excited voices piped up: “People; steeple.” 

Benji: “A people steeple. Good job. The people are the human beings, they normally are, and a steeple is a church tower. Good. Now, this is a creative thinking round, teams. If it’s a good answer, write it down, and as ever, we will talk about all of the answers together, like normal people on Cortes island.” 

Continue reading Pints, Points and Puzzlers at Benji’s Pub Quiz