INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 13)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

ACROSS CANADA … Up Island

I think Victoria is one of the most beautiful cities in North America. It still retains its “Old British” charm! Tea at the Empress Hotel is a must, especially if you have any “British blood”! When we arrived on Vancouver Island we drove straight to Victoria. We were early enough to spend an hour or so sight-seeing. Victoria is a very expensive place to stay! So we decided to drive a short distance out of town to the Village of Sooke. There was a camp ground in Sooke that suited us and our needs. That night we had a fabulous meal at a Chinese Canadian restaurant. I don’t think that I have had a better meal! The next day we spent exploring Victoria and the Foot Rodd Hill Historic Park. Refreshed after a relaxing day, we packed up the van and started off towards “Up Island”. The trip takes you along the Malahat Highway. It is a spectacular trip and one well worth taking. There are several interesting towns along the way, but the one I was looking forward to was Chemainus. I had first visited this interesting town twenty years before and was anxious to see how it had changed. It has an interesting history. A few years before my first visit it had been a lumbering town with one main employer. The employer decided to shut the mill down and let all its employees go. Most towns facing this type of challenge would “fold up” and fade away. Not Chemainus! Some enterprising residents suggested that they hire several artists to paint murals on the sides of many of the buildings throughout the town. Each artist was instructed to paint an accurate painting of historical life in the area, but were to include one small inaccuracy in the scene. Once the murals were completed (with inaccuracies) the town offered a reward to visitors if they could identify all the inaccuracies. They offered a sizeable reward to the first person who could identify them all. Word spread about this unique contest and people “flocked” to the town. It has now become one of the most successful communities on the island. Artists, seniors and business people have chosen it as a great place to live! It's known as "The Little Town That Did"!