December Village News
- Ron McLaughlin
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Warmest wishes for a Season full of wonder and delight
By Ron McLaughlin
From new folks to the Village, to PAC updates and school news, to the Volunteer Appreciation event and beyond, it’s the season when time goes by very quickly. So much is happening as Lions Bay gets into holiday mode.
New to Seaview Place last month are Grant Carlson and Emily Zamora, and their three sons Lochlan (five years) Rowan (two years) and Callan (five months). It has been a busy week of moving, and as of last Sunday, they were so happy to be fully into their new Lions Bay home. Grant and Emily look forward to watching their boys grow. If you see them digging down at the beach or exploring nature outside, please stop and say hello.
Seaview Place is an eternally young street and the family’s arrival means the hockey nets and basketball hoop are going to be on the road for another generation. We welcome them and hope they enjoy their first Christmas in Lions Bay.
New to Sweetwater Place this summer are Sheldon Rybowski and Deanna Mariotti. They have found it quite enjoyable meeting neighbours through the hiking group, Tai Chi, the Canada Day BBQ, the book club and rubbing shoulders on the street. Welcome!
For years I have heralded the arrival of new residents. In my time of doing that, very few residents changed locations but stayed within the Village. An interesting situation recently occurred.
As I understand the string of events, Clara George listed her home on Kelvin Grove Way. Her family had grown up here, had left home, and it was time to downsize. She was hopeful a Lions Bay family would purchase her home, and Vince and Tifarah Reiche did. They were renting elsewhere in the Village. Clara found what she was looking for and purchased one of the townhouse units on Crosscreek Road owned by Andrew and Megan. They were looking for something bigger and purchased their new home just around the corner on lower Oceanview Road. The owner of this property had passed during the summer. He was one of the Village’s founding fathers. I know he would have been pleased to help keep a family who wanted to live in Lions Bay here. From my perspective, this series of transactions tells me our unique community is not only a place people want to move to; but once here, it's where we want to stay.
A current Lions Bay Primary School project involves the sharing of stories by Skwxwù7mesh elder Wes. He has told the students the story of the Thunderbird and the orca that explains how orcas got their colouration. Using the example of how the Thunderbird is portrayed in art, they have learned elements of Salish design like the ovoid, U-shape and trigon. They have also learned about Salish colours and their meaning. They tried out the designs on 8”x8” tiles with help from Wes, the teachers, and omnipresent Emergency Project Coordinator Mary Brown. The tiles will be worked into a display to be showcased in the community shortly.
When I last wrote I mentioned that Movie Night at the school was pending. If you missed it, it was a huge fundraising success. Almost all school families were in attendance. I wish Mary and I had been there. The combo of a movie disguised as napping on the gym floor, meeting Villagers and their kids, and popcorn beats attending a Council meeting every time. Your next Movie Night chance will be Thursday, January 29 before the Professional Development Day. If you can’t attend, consider sending a donation.
You also don’t want to miss the PAC’s premier event of the year, Cider with Santa. Make a mental note, it’s at the school, not the hall. Mary and I are attending and we hope you will too. If not, donations are appreciated. (Details on the poster, above.)
Lastly, the PAC will also be holding their annual Tree Chipping event on January 4. They will send more details closer to the date.
The Volunteer Appreciation event last Sunday was well attended. Councillor Jaime Cunliffe organized this event in recognition of the many people that do so much for all of us. She enlisted her family and that of neighbour and local realtor Kim Taylor to provide the logistics that made this an outstanding and well-attended event. Climate Action Committee member Greg Weary lit the first fire in the new wood stove at the hall to begin the event. We have a lot of volunteers who do many things for us. More on what the Climate Action Committee has done can be found HERE.
It's a special time of the year, with the opportunity to tool down a bit, relax, enjoy the visual effects of the season, and be with dear friends and family. Mary and I hope everyone gets that opportunity. Our Christmas present is middle son Nicholas and his family coming from Singapore to join us and his brothers and their families later this month. We couldn’t ask for anything more.
Happy New Year and all the best to everyone.
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