Labor Day Long Weekend; Salmon Fishing, Edible Gardens, Rebel Emergency, Mark Crissinger and SUN!!!

Kids go back to school on Tuesday so for parents, kids and everyone in between this weekend might be the last hoorah for a while. But what a hoorah it will be.

First with some house keeping some of the park areas of the region are closed as a result of a cougar attack recently. Here's a map to help clarify.  The effected areas are all near Kennedy Lake, all the Ocean Beaches are open but remember wildlife is everywhere around here.

Here, in no particular order, are a few of the things going on this weekend;

-Mark Crissinger returns to the Black Rock in Ucluelet on Thursday and The Weigh West in Tofino Friday through Sunday playing original and cover tunes, blues, rock and other fun stuff.  Mark is a long time friend of the station and we'll likely have him in sometime Friday to play a few tunes.  Here's a bit of audio from a recent visit.



-Rebel Emergency and local crew Sam The Jet are rocking the Legion in Tofino on Saturday, expect to hear from the guys from Rebel Emergency around 3 Friday afternoon on Long Beach Radio.  Tickets at Long Beach Surf Shop and Tofitian for $12.

You've probably heard us play this one.

Last time Rebel Emergency was in town Roddy and Daniel Wesley came in for a sort of odd interview with Carrie Ann



-This weekend marks your last chance to qualify for the final fish-off in the Ucluelet Salmon Ladder Derby. Get out there, have a boat load of fun and win yourself $5000!! (or more)

-Tofino Edible Garden Tour, Sunday September 4th, 2011.
For more info email tofinolocalfood@yahoo.ca or check out http://www.tofinofood.blogspot.com/
or http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=113935945907

The 3rd Annual Edible Garden Tour is brought to you by the Tofino Community Food Initiative. Admission is by donation to the organization. All gardens are open to tour from 3-7 pm unless otherwise indicated.

301 Tonquin Park Road ­ Gill & Hilda Sadler ­ 3 to 6 pm only
These long-time local gardeners have honed their skills and varieties over the years to successfully grow corn big enough to eat, fruit hanging off trees, veggies of all kinds, plus two varieties of grapes!

947A Yew Wood – Nicolas and Nyla Attiana
Sustainability is key in this garden with a great rainwater catchment and composting system. This garden will also give you inspiration for what can be done in a smaller space.

638 Yew Wood - Jen and Adam Smallwood
This garden is a great example of the vegetables and varieties that grow well in our climate. Come see how you can not only feed your family but also your neighbors and with very little effort!

612 Tibbs Place - Jim Green
Garden beds, composters, greenhouses and rainwater catchment systems – all built from recycled and scrap materials! Jim also successfully grows hot house veggies outdoors.

1119 Fellowship Drive ­ Jenn Heckert
Come see how a rock pile has been transformed into a productive veggie garden from which food is harvested daily! This garden also has two greenhouses and a rainwater catchment system.

828 Ocean Park Drive ­ Suzanne & Jeff Mikus
This backyard is an oasis of food, flowers and chickens and uses a variety of cloches and covers. While visiting this garden please park across the street in the paved parking area.

664 Ocean Park Drive - Marc & Georgina Valc
This garden mixes edibles, ornamentals, chickens, rainwater catchment and a greenhouse into a attractive space that is very pleasing to the eye.

937 Sandpiper Place – Sarah Sloman & Sean Porter
Visit a local horticulturalist’s garden where edibles have been incorporated into every available nook and cranny. There probably isn’t a vegetable that she hasn’t grown.

1386 Pacific Rim Hwy – Alison Murfitt
Located down the next driveway on the left after Rosie Bay. There are two gardens to visit at this location.

Although this garden is not even a year old it is producing a plethora of food, herbs and edible flowers. Alison has maximized the use of space in her homemade garden boxes. Come see what can be accomplished in a short period of time.

1386 Pacific Rim Hwy – Sarah, John, Reed & Chloe Platenius
This property is landscaped with edibles including flowers, fruit (a variety of berries, apples and plums) and herbs. With the addition of chickens, hoop houses and a great composting system, this garden is an example of how to introduce kids to gardening.

If you have something going on this weekend let me know and we'll add it here. email geoff@longbeachradio.ca

Thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio.

Press release regarding cougar attack at swim beach.

Please go to www.westerlynews.ca for the latest information regarding Julien and the cougar attack

If you would like to help Julien, the boy attacked by the cougar and his family cover medical and travel expenses as well as loss of income during this time you can donate to a trust fund at any CIBC. The account is in the name Julien Sylvester/ Hagar.
We received the follow press release the morning of August 30th.

Visitor Attacked by Cougar in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

UCLUELET, BC, August 30, 2011 – An 18-month-old child is being treated for injuries sustained from a cougar attack that took place at approximately 6:00 pm on Monday, August 29 in the Kennedy Lake day use area in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.  Family members were able to intervene and stop the attack and seek medical assistance. The condition of the child cannot be confirmed at this time.

A wolf and cougar advisory has been in effect in the Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, including the Kennedy Lake day use area, since August 13th due to a recent increase in carnivore activity in the area. Parks Canada staff are working with provincial conservation officers to track the cougar and take appropriate measures to ensure it no longer poses a public safety risk.

The Kennedy Lake day use area is closed to the public at this time. All other areas of the national park reserve remain open.

Parks Canada leads extensive prevention programs, awareness campaigns and research to minimize the risk of visitor encounters with bears, wolves and cougars. Parks Canada would like to remind the public of the following safety tips for visiting wilderness that is shared by cougars:
• Keeps dogs on a leash at all times
• Never approach a cougar
• If approached by a cougar, back away slowly while maintaining eye contact and create as much noise as possible. Wave arms to appear larger. Pick children up.
• Carry pepper spray and an airhorn and use these items if approached by a cougar.

Information:
Arlene Armstrong
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
Parks Canada
250-726-7165 ext. 234

Tofino Lantern Festival 2011 Photos

Lantern Festival was, as always a highlight of the summer this year.  Evening fog added an eery element and everyone was in fine spirits at The Tofino Botanical Gardens.  Thanks to everyone who made the event possible.  If you have pictures of your own you would like to share feel free to email them and I'll post them here (geoff@longbeachradio.ca).  The following pictures are mine, limited by the capabilities of my iPhone 3gs and even more limited by my talent.

 Sadly I couldn't capture a lot of the amazing sights, including the laser show and a lot of the effects generated by the fog.  Guess those sorts of things are the extra magic you get for actually being there.

Thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio.

Christine Lowther's "Half Blood Poems" Interview

Last week I played this interview with local author Christine Lowther.

We're always happy to have local musicians, artists, writers and whatnot on the show.  If you'd like to drop in email me @ Geoff@longbeachradio.ca

Speaking of local musicians; Mojave will be in Thursday morning to chat about their gig this weekend in Tofino, don't miss it.

Thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio

Tom Waits IS The Cookie Monster

With Tom Waits expected to announce some new material tomorrow I thought I'd share this silliness.

Creampuffs, Casper, Milk-toast everyone.

Thanks For Listening!!!

Blue Sky, Punk Rock and Looking Ahead

Summer is still rolling along with another nice stretch of sunny, blue sky coming our way this week.  Team Long Beach Radio hit up Victoria this past weekend and had a blast, more on that in a later post.
For now here are a few things I would like to share, in no particular order; 

1) Legendary punk rockers D.O.A. are playing The Tofino Legion this weekend

2)The Wickaninnish Inn Pro Am Charity Golf Tournament is coming up, mid-september at The Long Beach Golf Course. Call Gibby at the golf course if you would like to sponsor a hole at the event.  Money raised goes to fund activities at the local high school

3) Long Beach Radio and The Weigh West are hooking up with Ross Neilsen and The Sufferin' Bastards for a kick-ass Hallowe'en Party on October 29th. This is the same band that played the Hallowe'en party 2 years ago, the day Pete DeVries won the Cold Water Classic... So you know they can throw a party.

4) If you're interested in the future of Tofino's downtown you should fill out the survey HERE

5) Carrie Ann's afternoon show is now 1-4pm as opposed to 2-5

6) Peace Day Tofino is on September 21

7) Lantern Festival is at the end of the month

8) The Ucluelet Salmon Ladder Derby fish off is on the weekend of September 10th and 11th.

9) There are a lot of other things going on. Here's a link to some upcoming Ucluelet Parks and Recreation programs

10) Thanks for listening To Long Beach Radio

Back On The Air

Take that, vandal!!! According to BC Hydro the regional  power outage this morning was cause by "vandalism". NOT COOL.

We're back though so let's get on with it. Tune in around 4pm today to meet Kim Churchill, who's playing with Oka tomorrow at the Tofino Legion. Kim was here a few months ago and put on a great show... don't miss it.

Also, one time west coaster Jessica Bennini is playing at the Blackrock tonight, no cover and great talent.

Carrie Ann will be in for her usual slot 2-5, note that starting next week Carrie- Ann's show will run 1-4 pm.

Cam may well be in tonight starting at 7 so plan to join him for some madness and a mix of tunes even stranger than our usual play list.

Power's Out August 11, 2011

The power is out for The Esowista Peninsula including Tofino and Ucluelet. At the time of this update the expected return of service is 12 noon according to www.bchydro.com Our broadcast will return once power has been restored. Thank You for you patience and thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio.

Dan Lewis Interview On The Secrets of Clayoquot Sound

|Here's the interview with The Friends of Clayoquot Sounds' Dan Lewis originally aired on August 9th, 2011. We discuss the history of the "friends", current developments in the sound and the Secrets of Clayoquot Sound presentations underway in Tofino throughout the summer.


Thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio.

Kayaking with Tofino Sea Kayaking

I had a great day out this past weekend with Tofino Sea Kayaking.  The weather was great, seas were calm and it was a fantastic experience.  You can be I'll be getting out there more. There are a lot of great kayak tours and outfits in town, if you're looking to get in touch with Tofino Sea Kayaking their website is www.tofinoseakayaking.com  Here's one of my infamous "How I spend the vacation that is my life" videos.... Clearly I'm no videographer, but you might get a small idea how amazing it was.



That's it for now, hope you're diggin' your summer as much as I am.

Thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio

A Random Post; Fogust, Jags, Poorly Locked Bikes and Brave Boaters

Well, here we go. I needed to come up with a quick post because the last one was about BC Day long weekend and was getting a little stale SOOOOO.... First, It's August, or Fogust as it is lovingly know around here. We tend to get lovely warm summer days in late July and August but overnight til 11am most days things look more like this.

Great for shooting B-movies about Ghost Pirates but not always ideal.  Due to this morning's fog author Chris Lowther was unable to get from her floathouse to the studio to talk about her new book of Harry Potter inspired prose called "Half Blood Poems" We'll get Chris into the studio soon though, I promise.

In other random news I stumbled across a couple lovely Jaguar E-Types the other day walking downtown... Hope the owners had fun watching whales cuz I got a lot of joy out of checking out their cars.

A month or so back there was also a sweet Mark 2 Jag kickin' around town, my favourite part was the dog in the back seat, priceless...

There have been some other very funny goings-on I've bumped into in the last few days, and exercise in futility and another simply in stupidity 

 It's Lantern Fest on August 28th, there are some great bands coming to the region soon and I'm off to do an interview with folks from The Friends of Clayoquot Sound so expect a more useful blog post soon with highlights.

Thanks for listening to Long Beach Radio.