Category: Art, History and Culture

Hammond Bay Studio Tour 2018

May 17, 2018

Discover your 360° What Makes Art Beautiful? What makes a piece of art beautiful? This is a question often asked of artists and something that is hard to define. When we interviewed local painter and lead organizer of the Hammond Bay Studio Tour, Carla Stein, we asked this very question. Carla responded by stating that “beauty, as the saying goes, is in the eye of the beholder.” While Carla couldn’t say what makes art beautiful for everyone, she finds that skill and understanding of the materials an artist chooses to work with can greatly enhance the conceptualization of an artist’s […]

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Cold Weather Activities in Nanaimo

December 15, 2017

While we’re certainly not heralded as snow destination, Nanaimo does get its fair share of chillier days. If you’re travelling during the off season, you can reap all the benefits of areas being less crowded, a stunning fog that rolls over the city, and year-round hikes. The city’s weather is mild in comparison to other parts of Canada, but we still like to bundle up from time to time and hide away from the frost! Here are a few cold weather activities for your stay in #ExploreNanaimo. Shop Local Nanaimo’s downtown streets fan out from the center, the Bastion, with […]

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On This Spot: Jump Back In Nanaimo’s History

November 3, 2017

Andrew from the new On This Spot app chats with us about the app, his favourite points of comparison, and a bit of Nanaimo’s history. Can you tell us a bit about On This Spot? What do people need to know? The On This Spot app takes people on guided walking tours through the history that surrounds them. At each stop on their journey users will find themselves standing on the spot a historic photo was taken. They can view a then and now photo comparison, use the built in camera to create their own, and read about Nanaimo’s history […]

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Yellow Point Country Christmas Tour

November 1, 2017

Christmas shopping is a breezy adventure at the annual Yellow Point Holiday Tour in the Cedar Valley. A relaxed Christmas shopping trip in the country in late November sure beats the prospect of competing for a parking spot at a crowded mall in December. The Yellow Point Country Christmas Tour, November 22 -25, 2018, is a delightfully stress-free and slow-paced way to usher in the holiday season and check off your Christmas gift list at the same time. Make a weekend of it and, with Christmas gift list in hand, download the trail map to find the shops, farms, boutiques, […]

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The play’s the thing – Shakespeare by the Sea and more in Nanaimo

August 17, 2017

More than 400 years after William Shakespeare penned a play, we still can’t get enough of the loveable Bard. It’s no wonder Will’s timeless wit, wisdom, tragedies and comedies keep people coming back every year for Nanaimo’s immensely popular festival, Shakespeare by the Sea. This year it will be held Sept. 15 -17. The seaside location at Pioneer Waterfront Plaza puts a Nanaimo spin on Shakespeare’s works, as does the Vancouver Island Shakespeare Arts Society (VISAS) interpretation on his plays. This year, VISAS will perform the tragedy, King Lear, along with an abridged version of The Complete Works of William […]

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Get your Fringe Festival on and explore the outer reaches of Nanaimo, too

August 9, 2017

Fringe Festivals happen all summer around the world – from the world’s largest event in Edinburgh, Scotland, to the delightfully unique one right here in Nanaimo. What is a fringe festival you may ask? It’s a kind of free-wheeling show brought to you by theatre troupes from around the world. They each bring their own combo of stage talents – actors, musicians, comedians and storytellers – to the masses in hilarious, and at times, absurd ways. There’s also plenty of opportunity for audience participation in the shows. Nanaimo’s 10-day festival happens Aug. 10-19, at three locations: Port Theatre, Vancouver Island […]

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Symphony By The Sea: Tune in to Nanaimo’s arts, culture and nature scene this summer

July 25, 2017

Summer is never quite complete without the pleasure of listening to live music in a park, sitting in a lawn chair, the trees rustling in the breeze while you relax and soak up the sounds. In pretty Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo, chances are you’ll hear an old favourite at Symphony By The Sea, one of Nanaimo’s premier festivals happening on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The more than 5,000 people who’ve been attending this free, three-hour outdoor concert each year know all the tricks for getting the most out of it. They bring a comfy […]

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Golden summer days at Nanaimo’s Summertime Blues Festival and beyond

July 25, 2017

Grooving to the big, soulful sounds of the Kirby Sewell Band and the jubilant gospel tunes of Ruthie Foster during Nanaimo’s Summertime Blues Festival will certainly put you in the mood to explore more of Nanaimo, its neighbourhoods and backyard. There’s a reason people from all over the Pacific Northwest and even as far as New Mexico come for the four-day festival held in Maffeo Sutton Park – this year from Aug. 24 to 27. The golden days of late summer are ripe for exploring the bounty of farmer’s markets or honey farms, and enjoying down time on a patio at […]

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Sip & Savour Nanaimo’s Farmers’ Markets

July 25, 2017

Nanaimo is a community rich in the homegrown: from handmade beverages (we are home to four craft breweries and 2 wineries) to free-range buffalo raised on the land, farm-fresh produce and of course fish straight from our cold waters. We also have a vibrant artistic community, blending everything from tinctures to teas, and crafting traditional First Nations art, as well as glass work and wood sculpture. All of these delights, for each one of your senses, can be found at one of our three outdoor Farmer’s Markets, which typify our homemade handmade lifestyle and the local colour that makes Nanaimo […]

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Legendary fun in Nanaimo: First the Dragon Boat races, then some otherworldly adventures

July 5, 2017

The Dragon Boat Festival in Nanaimo doesn’t have a lot to do with the mythical, fire-spewing creatures they’re named after. It has everything to do, however, with fierce fun, teamwork and enjoying a slew of events over three days. Dragonboat image by Nancy Shields The main event goes July 7-9 at the harbour near Maffeo Sutton Park. You can cheer on the 70 teams of 20 paddlers as they churn up the waters in a battle to cross the finish line first. Before- and after-race fun includes land-based events like the Shriner’s pancake breakfast, Longwood Brewery beer gardens and sampling […]

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