Loutet Park to Host First North Shore Urban Farm

Comments 3 by Rebecca Bollwitt

A groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the first urban farm on the North Shore this weekend at Loutet Park. On February 26th from 3:30pm until 4:30pm public are welcome to attend the event that will launch the edible garden project in North Vancouver.

Vegetable garden
Photo credit: Downing Street on Flickr

The farm will produce vegetables on the North Shore, for North Shore residents, allowing them to source their products locally and not from across the bridge. The urban farm will be managed by farmers Gail Spurr and Jo White from the Edible Garden Project as well as members of the community.

“This is not your typical farm,” says Heather Johnstone, Edible Garden Project Coordinator. “We’re lucky to be located next to an elementary school so students will have a chance to be involved. Plus, we are able to provide gardening workshops and set up volunteer opportunities on site – this will be a farm where the community is very much involved.”

The Loutet Farm is a project of the North Shore Neighbourhood House, UBC and the CNV. The Edible Garden Project manages community gardens, the Sharing Backyard Bounty garden sharing program, and the Strong Roots education program.

The groundbreaking for Loutet Farm will take place at the South end of Loutet Park (at 14th St and Rufus Ave, North Vancouver). Follow @The_EGP on Twitter for more community garden updates.

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet

Comments 5 by John Biehler

The following photo essay was experienced and contributed by John Biehler exclusively for Miss604.com

After driving for a number of hours from Courtenay, our tour pulled up to the beautiful Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet. I didn’t quite know what to expect before arriving but when we did, we were all awestruck by the natural waterfront setting the resort was built around.

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort

Immediately upon checking into my room, the stunning views overwhelmed me with every well appointed room having floor to ceiling windows. Even the bathroom had glass doors that could be opened allowing you to see the ocean from the enormous bathtub and shower:

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Black Rock Oceanfront Resort Black Rock Oceanfront Resort

One very unique feature of an oceanfront resort like this is that you can’t help but leave your windows and balcony doors open at night…nothing is more soothing than hearing the waves crash below your window. The only downside to a room like this is that you may not get much sleep as you’ll want to watch the sun come up in the morning everyday, no matter what time that may be.

Sunrise out my window
Sunrise from my balcony

After getting settled, we headed down to the wine cellar, located in the lower portion of the resort where Executive Chef Andrew Springett had created a special menu to allow us to sample everything the restaurant had to offer:

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Black Rock Oceanfront Resort

Dinner featured a selection of Vancouver Island and BC wines including Averill Creek Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, Alderlea Hearth and Quail’s Gate Chenin Blanc:

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort

We then began with plate after plate of unique food combinations and wine pairings:

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Birch Syrup Cured Coho Salmon, Poached Spot Prawn, Micro Celery

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Fraser Valley Rabbit, Celeriac & Green Apple Remoulade, Red Leaf Greens

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Warm squab breast, parmesan truffle ravioli, onion & leek fondue

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Apple Glazed Black Cod, Crisp Gnocchi, Scallions with Japanese Mushrooms,
Lemon Dressed Apple and Frisee Salad

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort
Sauterne poached pear, almond glass, sweet Genoise

It’s worth noting that the Black Rock had the fastest wireless internet connection speed I’ve ever experienced, let alone in a hotel. It certainly made it easier to quickly upload all the photos you see in this post while I was staying there, giving me more time to enjoy the amazing views from my room.

Sadly it's time to check out of the Black Rock

Suffice to say, I didn’t want to leave.

Related posts from the rest of the tour of Vancouver Island include caving in the Horne Lake Caves, surfing in Ucluelet and a zodiac tour of the Broken Group Islands.

John is an avid photographer, gadget geek and traveller. You can find him on Twitter and at johnbiehler.com where he discusses photography and all sorts of technology. All photos in this post were taken by John.

Disclosure: Activities, services and dining experiences during the trip were compliments of Tourism Vancouver Island or the operators and businesses mentioned.

The Big Book Drive

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Big Book Drive will take place this Saturday at Lansdowne Mall in Richmond. Spearheaded by an SFU Project Management team, they will be collecting book donations that will go to the Salvation Army’s Family Support Services and other literacy-related programs.

The Big Book Drive

Organizer Joseph Choi told me by email: “All books collected will go towards the Salvation Army’s Family Support Services and their other literacy-related programs so that we can provide books to help low-income families and children.”

Items they would like to collect include textbooks, comic books, magazines (no adult material), novels, journals, and catalogues. The goal is 2,000 books of all genres that will go towards literacy programs in BC for all ages.

The Big Book Drive will be at Lansdowne (No 3 Road at Alderbridge Way, outside of Toys R Us) from 9:30am until 4:00pm on Saturday, February 26, 2011. They will host another book drive event March 19th and 20th.

Old House Restaurant in Courtenay

Add a Comment by John Biehler

The following photo essay was experienced and contributed by John Biehler exclusively for Miss604.com

After a day of travelling around the Comox Valley, we headed to the Old House Restaurant, which is the namesake of the hotel & spa we were staying at. Built in 1938 by the Kirk Family, who lived in the house until about 1973 when it was renovated to become a restaurant fixture in the Comox Valley.

Dinner at the Old House Restaurant

We began the evening with a visit to the Artisan Bread Bar which had a number of types of fresh baked bread and a huge assortment of butters and sauces:

Old House Restaurant

Along with the bread, we started things off with jumbo prawns in chipotle lime wrapped in bacon with a pea green salad:

Dinner at the Old House Restaurant

For the main course, I opted for the 8 oz New York steak, wild mushroom demi-glace, with garlic mashed potatoes & seasonal vegetables:

Dinner at the Old House Restaurant

One of my dinner companions chose the Pan Seared Ling Cod – locally caught with spiced mustard glaze, seasonal vegetables, & citrus scented wild rice blend:

Dinner at the Old House Restaurant

For dessert, we shared the Cappuccino Cheesecake and the Old House Brownie with Hazelnut Gelato. They were a delicious and decadent end to the meal.

Dinner at the Old House Restaurant
Dinner at the Old House Restaurant

Related posts from the rest of the tour of Vancouver Island include caving in the Horne Lake Caves, surfing in Ucluelet and a zodiac tour of the Broken Group Islands.

John is an avid photographer, gadget geek and traveller. You can find him on Twitter and at johnbiehler.com where he discusses photography and all sorts of technology. All photos in this post were taken by John.

Disclosure: Activities, services and dining experiences during the trip were compliments of Tourism Vancouver Island or the operators and businesses mentioned.

Surfing in Ucluelet with Ukee Surf School

Comments 2 by John Biehler

The following photo essay was experienced and contributed by John Biehler exclusively for Miss604.com

This is something I was really looking forward to doing. Fortunately, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect in Ucluelet the day we met with our surf instructor, Sean who runs the Ukee Surf School.

Ukee Surf School

After meeting up with Sean, he took us to Incinerator Rock which is about half way between Ucluelet and Tofino. It also happens to be where scenes from New Moon (part of the Twilight teen vampire saga) was filmed.

Ukee Surf School

Ukee Surf School

The water was a chilly 7C but the sun was shining. The act of getting into a cold wetsuit warmed us all up pretty quickly and by the time we actually got to the water, it might as well had been July outside.

Ukee Surf School

After some land based instruction on the basics, Sean had us get wet pretty quickly. I had heard that people surfed year round on Vancouver Island, and considering it was the middle of February, I was surprised how mild it was. We did have great weather but the water is pretty much the same temperature year round. Put a wetsuit on and lug a nine foot surfboard around for a bit and you’ll be just fine and warm.

I had a camera mounted on my wrist so the footage isn’t ideal but you can get an idea of one of my first attempts to get on the board and ride a wave in:

After a number of other attempts we were all starting to get the hang of it…well somewhat. Sean brought us back in and showed us how to popup on the board now that we were able to ride on our stomachs.

Ukee Surf School

With the weather cooperating and most of us starting to get up on our surfboards, we could have stayed in the water all day if we didn’t have more plans that day.

Ukee Surf School

One more splashy video to show you the ‘on board’ experience…too bad I was only able to popup for a few seconds before falling off:

At this point I decided to stop worrying about the camera and start focussing on the surfing as it was a little tricky to shoot decent footage and surf as a beginner. I stayed in the water as long as my body would let me (it was tiring) then ditched my board and took most of the photos you see in this post.

Sean was a great instructor and extremely encouraging to all of us…if you’re interested in checking it out, check his availability online. Private and group lessons are available.

It was definitely a highlight of the tour to spend the morning at the beach, in the water, in the middle of winter, in Canada!

Upcoming posts to follow from the rest of the tour of Vancouver Island showcase some of the amazing cuisine the island has to offer.

John is an avid photographer, gadget geek and traveller. You can find him on Twitter and at johnbiehler.com where he discusses photography and all sorts of technology. All photos & video in this post were taken by John.

Disclosure: Activities, services and dining experiences during the trip were compliments of Tourism Vancouver Island or the operators and businesses mentioned.