Cortes Currents

Loni Taylor/ CKTZ News -Hollyhock Leadership Institute, the local retreat center, was awarded $500,000 to build an outdoor spa.

The funding is a slice of the $500 million dollar Tourism Relief Fund, a federal grant aimed to revitalize the tourism sector after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other businesses that were awarded the grant in the region include Bella Coola Heli Sports Inc., 40 Knots Vineyard and Estate and Sunshine Coast Air.

Development Director Penelope Naldrett said that Hollyhock’s first attempt at applying for the grant failed.

“The first one was turned down because they deemed it to be education related, even though our programs bring folks to the island and create tourism dollars.”

The second grant application asked for the maximum awarded of $500,000 to improve accessibility to the lodge and expand the hot tubs into a more accessible facility as well. This application was successful, and it was applied for by New Wave Foundation. Naldrett explained the complex structure of Hollyhock as a business entity.

“L.I., the Leadership Institute, is the entity that runs the programs at Hollyhock. Next Wave Foundation owns the land and also supports L.I.- the leadership, Hollyhock Farms is our for-profit entity. It's actually owned by Next Wave Foundation. So it's for-profit in that work like the body work, or people staying as a hotel stay or a wedding, would not be considered charitable activities so that those are run by the for-profit. The profit from the for-profit goes back into The Next Wave Foundation. ”

When CKTZ inquired if there had been consultation with First Nations for the planned expansion, Naldrett responded, “we had a letter of support from the Gorge (Marina) for this one, which is owned by the Klahoose.”

The main focus for the spa expansion is to increase year round employment, offer amenities to locals, and increase overall accessibility to the lodge and pools. Hollyhock hopes the expansion will result in eight more full-time, year-round jobs for Cortes Island.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Island - “When I came to Cortes, I imagined just making boards is a great thing to do. I've had a number of years to assess and reassess that reality. It's possible as a one man operation for me to do okay at that, but it's a subsistence business not a business model. It's not a business plan,” explained Aaron Ellingsen.

His company, Ellingsen Woods, is about to go through a relaunch.

Part 1 of this business profile is intertwined with the story of of one of Cortes Island’s older families, and the dream of bringing value-added industry to the island.

Lono Taylor/CKTZ News - The Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA) will be hosting the second annual Spring Equinox celebration on March 25. After hosting the event outside last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the celebration will move inside the hall, for a warmer experience.

Organizer Rebecca Thacker explained that the event is timed around the equinox which usually falls on March 21-22. The equinox marks the beginning of spring. Annually, Cortes Islanders consistently celebrate lunar holidays with the community gathering for events like Beltane contra dances in May and winter solstice light spirals in December.

Thacker spoke about last year’s traditions that would be returning, including activities for both adults and children.

“We still have the movie room for the kids, and the concession should be great. So this year the music and the live entertainment will be inside in the main hall.”

There is still a lot of room for participation and volunteering; Thacker said the main focus for the event is to bring Islanders together.

“The main point is to get the community together and just celebrating together...it was really fun last year and we wanna do it again. ”

Local musicians Jessie Roy and Friends and the Cortes Drummers will be on stage. Annie Becker was just announced as a performer, as well. DJ Pom Poko will also be providing entertainment. The event is $7, kids admission is free, and the punch pass cards for Mansons Hall are redeemable at this community gathering.

De Clarke/Helen Hall/Cortes Currents - Helen was our on the spot reporter for this event. Her account was edited by De Clarke.

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents -In recent years, the BC government has made many promises, many representations to the public, about its intent to preserve what little is left of the Province's old growth forests. Many BC residents, however, feel that -- despite the arrival in office of more reality-based politicians such as David Eby -- no real progress is being made.

Some of these residents attended a March and Rally in Victoria on February 25th, to express their concerns about deforestation and their frustration with the slowness of government response to what many describe as an ecological crisis. Helen Hall, longtime Cortes resident, traveled to Victoria to participate in this protest.

Helen was our reporter on the spot, acquiring audio, video, and photo documentation of this event. We'll be broadcasting her documentary material this week, as part 2 of this feature. Part 1 is an interview with Helen, in which I ask her about her reasons for attending this event and what she experienced there.

Loni Taylor/CKTZ News -Several Cortes Island non-profit organizations received grants recently, helping to secure their operations for now. But some of the organizations worry about their long-term financial sustainability.

This winter, the Gender Equality Fund dispensed $40,000 to Cortes non-profits through the Cortes Island Foundation. The organizations are offering programming that aims to benefit women, two-spirited, and non-binary people on Cortes Island. The awarded organizations for 2023 include the Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA), The Women’s Centre, and the Cortes Community Health Association (CCHA).

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) also approved $18,000 in Grant-In-Aid funding recently for several non-profits, including the CCHA.

The CCHA received $11,000 between two grants awarded so far this year. Some of the money ($5,000 from the Gender Equality Fund) is providing core funding for a new “Free Lunches for Young Families” program which does not have long-term funding secured yet. Similar to the Women's Centre, the CCHA is still struggling to find sustainable financing solutions.

Desta Beattie, family coordinator for the CCHA, spoke about the financial need to help maintain the new free lunch program.

“We were hoping to have some more funding to be able to do more, so that may happen as we become more established. But at this point, we're still just trying to make sure we have enough cooks in the kitchen to make sure the soup gets made.”

Despite the intentions of these non-profit led programs, they lack secure long-term funding sources. There may be some solutions to be found through support from volunteers, according to the CCHA.

“We definitely are welcoming anyone who wants to make soup come in, come and make soup for sure. We've relied on mainly two cooks so far. We have a third one coming in next week. But if anyone else out there is interested in coming to make a meal for some really sweet families, please be in touch,” Beattie said.

Beattie clarified that the funding is only covering the cost of ingredients. She estimates they have served a total of 100 meals so far. The lunches are offered every Thursday at noon in Mansons Hall.

Christina MacWilliam is a member of the Cortes Foundation and sat on the community granting jury, awarding the Gender Equality Fund. She noted how rare core funding opportunities are to find and secure.

“Often grants don't allow that. It's only capital expenses that get funded. there's really an effort to try and look at funding and granting and the peripheries of people, the non-usual suspects: who's not at the table? Who's not getting grants?’”

To learn more about the CCHA's efforts, email [email protected]

Anastasia Avvakumova/Cortes Currents -The selection of products Thaddeus Conrad carries at his table reflects his eclectic interests, knowledge base and travels.

He makes some of his own herbal medicines, such as tinctures and topicals. “I import organic arnica butter from India and I make a tiger balm,” he said.

He also has an exclusive collaboration with Becca’s Beans on Cortes to roast and carry single-origin coffee beans from the Chiapas region in Mexico, where he spent some of his childhood. “It’s very low anxiety and low burnout,” says Conrad.

His other products include visionary art from Peru, Peruvian superfoods and snacks, incense, perfume, and a range of Ebesse Zozo hot sauce from Nelson, BC.

Conrad also very much enjoys the opportunity to interact with people at the weekly markets. “If it's not commercially busy, I'm still happy because it's an opportunity to meet and socialize. It is a really incredible community of artists and creationists and lots of healing arts.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Two assessments of the Cortes Island Fire Department were released last week.

Shaun Koopman, Protective Services Coordinator for the SRD, emailed,“While both reports covered operational aspects, the SRD’s audit was more focused on the governance model. The concerns expressed in the consultant’s report specifically pertained to the liability exposure that the Regional District incurs from the current governance model.”

Cortes Island’s Interim Fire Chief, Eli McKenty, describes them differently.

Regarding SRD’s consultant, Ernie Polsom of FireWise Consulting, he said, “Polsom spent about three hours with us and took a brief look through the files. I said, ‘Over here I have training records, over here I have vehicle records, over here I have financial records. I pulled the drawers out, and waved at them. Then said, I'm at your disposal, ask me for whatever you need, and I'll get it for you.’ He hardly asked for anything.”

The Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association did not see Polsom’s report until the SRD released it last week, but they decided to hire a consultant of their own. Rob Owens of Integrated Emergency & Safety Services BC is a former Deputy Fire Commissioner for British Columbia in charge of operations, fire investigations, fire code inspections and enforcement, wildfire structure protection program and the supervision of the five remote office locations. 

“Rob Owens spent about 13 hours with me, spoke to all the other officers who were available and dug through the files and we made photocopies. He read through things, asked for background, and asked a lot of in-depth questions. So from my perspective, Owens' assessment was far more thorough than Polsom’s,” explaind McKenty.

Anastasia Avvakumova A grant of eReaders from Rakuten Kobo has translated into a monthly book club on Cortes Island where readers use both print and digital media to access titles.

Late last year, 20 Kobo eReaders came under Cortes Literacy's stewardship. Through the partnership, a regular book club is now being held: readers have access to the devices and subscriptions to the Kobo Plus book library included with the grant, as well as public library's offerings.

Rebeka Carpenter, the book club's current organizer, has also just obtained a special book club library card from the Vancouver Island Regional Library, which provides a 12-copy set of one title at a time.

"I'm hopeful that once those start coming down the pike and I can distribute those to people, it'll spur more reading and enjoyment of books," she said.

About 20 people are currently on the book club's email list, with more inquiring about book recommendations.

A fireplace set into a grey stone wall and living room furnishings.

The location for the next meeting is in a home in Whaletown. Image courtesy of Rebeka Carpenter.

The new group has held two meetings so far in 2023, with the next scheduled for March 26 (postponed from March 19th, as originally stated in the audio). To learn more, contact [email protected]

Loni Taylor/CKTZ News - Local DJ legend Aspen King plans to kick off the festival season with a local triple header this weekend.

Aspen will be joined on stage by her sister Carmanah and father Ian at “Family Reunion,” a musical event at the Gorge Hall on March 4. The young entertainer boasts her Cortes culture roots run deep.

“I pretty much grew up around DJs and I'm pretty sure… my mom was pregnant with me the first time I went to Carrington (Rave).”

Aspen’s dad was a DJ “back in the day,” and Ian is making his comeback at the "Family Reunion." Carmanah will also be performing a DJ set, and all three plan to perform together at the end of the night.

Aspen has historically offered DJ events at the Gorge Hall called “Cabin Fever.” She wasn’t able to put on these events for three years during the pandemic but hopes this event will revive that tradition.

After this weekend’s local show, Aspen will be headed to Costa Rica to play at “Jungle Dreaming” March 17-19. The Central American event will bring several Cortesian fans and friends to the heat. Local DJ RichGaud will be performing while also featuring Stanton Warriors and Neon Steve. The event is the first of its kind, organized by Lilith Klassen, also connected to Cortes. King noted that Carrington Rave founder, Ben Howells, has his hand in helping organize the Costa Rican festival too.

"Family Reunion" begins at 7 p.m. on March 4.