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Trio Magazine, 407 D 5th Street, Courtenay, BC (2025)

12/14/2024

.mag has a new look! We have officially join ! We are now part of boulevard central island, we have a section called “North Island Boulevard “

11/16/2024

10 QUESTIONS
WITH 19 WING COMOX COL. CHRIS SHAPKA

In 2009, Shapka was promoted to major and posted to the Maritime Directorate of DGAEPM where he was the deputy weapon system manager for the CH-124 Sea King. While in this position he served as a member of the Joint Task Force Games for the 2010 Olympics as a liaison officer to the Washington National Guard in Camp Murray, Washington. Shapka has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada, a master’s degree in leadership from Royal Roads University, and a master’s degree in defence studies from the Canadian Forces College. Away from the forces, Shapka has been a Canadian Football League official for a decade, officiating games which include the Grey Cup and most recently Touchdown Pacific in Victoria.

What is a random fact about you that few people might know?
I own a beautiful Harley motorcycle that I never ride. Shortly after my kids were born, I stopped riding – it just seemed too risky. I could sell it, but I still love the bike and I know I’d never be able to replace it if it were sold.

If you could have a conversation over dinner with one person - living or dead - who would it be?
That’s a hard question, there are so many options in many different categories. Since the theme of this article is the Comox Valley, I’m going to go with ‘Stocky’ Edwards. During my last two postings in 19 Wing, I enjoyed each interaction that I had with Stocky. His stories were incredible, and I had the feeling that what he told me was only the tip of the iceberg

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11/12/2024

A LIFETIME OF HELPING OTHERS

Glen Greenhill meticulously recalls the first birth he assisted with, and conversely, some of the more tragic moments of his 40-year career. There have been many more incidents in between - too many to count - but he provides detailed examples as though they all happened within the past few days. Greenhill is the Comox-Strathcona district manager for clinical operations for BC Emergency Health Services and celebrated the milestone anniversary - July 20, 1984 - in parallel with BC Ambulance Service’s 50th anniversary, which began in British Columbia in 1974. His desire for a career as a paramedic began after he took a first aid course suggested by a friend. The course was taught in Courtenay by a woman whose two sons were original members of BCEHS.

“I remember that very first night I went home and did five hours of homework and I was just lapping up everything that I was taking in and I just got bitten by the bug…and then in March I started the process to get hired and I got hired in July of 1984.” When Greenhill began his career, paramedics were not paid for their shift unless a call came in, however, it took up until the early 2000s for that to change. “You didn’t really get any money for carrying the pager but you committed to the shift. It wasn’t until 2001 that it started at about a dollar an hour, then a $1.50 an hour, and then $2 per hour for carrying the pager. Sometimes back in the day when I started, it wasn’t as busy, and there were many times you would go buy a coffee and you’re already in the hole for the shift.” Throughout the decades, he reflects on how the service has changed. The goal has always remained the same: to provide the very best pre-hospital care without judgment, but other factors have changed dramatically throughout his time with the emergency service.

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11/06/2024

BUILDING A FAMILY
30 years of working at Vancouver Island MusicFest

Mo Nordstrom and Mike McNamee have been friends for 30 years, but they only see each other for two weeks per year every summer. The two are some of the longest-running volunteers with the Vancouver Island MusicFest, the annual in July event that brings thousands of music fans to the community. They are also part of a well-oiled machine, one that essentially builds and dismantles an entire community throughout the course of two weeks. The volunteers at the festival handle everything from first aid to making sure the plumbing works, to checking ticket stubs and cleaning up garbage. And the results are evident, simply by looking around during the festival it is shocking to see that not a scrap of garbage is left out.

Nordstrom runs the screw crew, which assembles most of the stages, ticket booths, tents and more, but she has run the gamut of working everything from feeding the volunteers and performers to working backstage before getting brought on to the carpentry crew. “I worked my way up into co-ordinator. Not that I wanted to but I was organized and a good communicator and the lady said come on we want you to be with us on the co-ordination,” Nordstrom says. “So now it’s called the screw crew and we put together all of the stages … we start Monday morning at 7 a.m. and then we do the takedown which is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday next week. So it’s a 10-day commitment.” McNamee’s job is to keep all of the water flowing in and out of the event. He and a crew of 25 lay pipes for the commercial kitchens, and anywhere else water is needed on site. It’s a job he’s had for the last three decades, and started when a friend of his, who was one of the early carpentry co-ordinators, asked him for a hand.
musicfest

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11/04/2024

LUSH VALLEY COMMUNITY GARDEN

The diversity of plants, herbs and vegetables are nearly as vast as those who utilize a community garden in downtown Courtenay, located at the corner of 6th Street and Harmston Avenue. The Share the Harvest Community garden is part of Lush Valley, a community organization whose goal is to support the Comox Valley to gain food-systems tools, engage in resilient local food systems and receive equitable access to nourishing food. From March through October, Lush Valley provides gardeners with learning and mentorship opportunities, food-growing resources and access to urban agriculture at the garden, explains Carley VanOsch, urban agriculture manager for the organization. “Our goal with Lush has always been for community education. So what comes out of the garden is kind of secondary to helping people learn how to grown food. It’s meant to be a community resource, and any (food) that’s in excess, we’ll take home to Lush and it’s used in programs such as the hot meal program or the Good Food Box.”

The garden works by offering allotment beds that people can rent generally between $20-$40 a growing season. One person or a small group is responsible for a bed and can grow produce or flowers in which they can take home. There are also a number of communal beds, adds VanOsch, where many people can pitch in with their gardening skills, and the harvest from the community beds is shared. Every Wednesday, Lush hosts work parties at the garden – from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - where everyone is welcome (no experience needed).

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Photos by’ Lia Crowe

11/01/2024

VALLEY GOALIE SCORES SCHOLARSHIP TO ITALY

Comox Valley’s Chiara Le Vesconte won a $100,000 soccer scholarship to Italy’s Rome City Institute in 2023. Vesconte was the recipient of the scholarship due to her soccer skills as a goalie. This past year has been a world wind for her - new continent, new country and new city. The athlete student has little time to be homesick. Between practice, the gym and her academics, her days are full. “It almost just felt like I didn’t have time to be homesick, I was always on the go, just trying to focus on soccer. Focus on academics and focus on just like my schedule. So, it felt like I didn’t have time.” In Italy, Le Vesconte balances her time between three teams, her school team of Rome Institute, Lazio and the semi-professional tea called Ladispoli. She shares that attending Rome City Institute makes her as an athlete student, rather than a student athlete as more of her time is spent playin soccer versus in classrooms. Le Vesconte is studying sports management and hopes to continue to get a master’s degree in international business. She describes the move to Italy as initially a culture shock, citing the differences between the Valley that she still calls
home and Rome.

“A highlight has just been honestly, obviously the soccer part, but the self growth as well. Just getting out of my comfort zone and exploring, seeing parts of the world and playing at a higher level. My first year as a player was extremely successful,”
said Le Vesconte. Her busy schedule has her working out three times a day, being on the field twice a day plus going to the gym at least once a day. With all that practice, it is inevitable that her skills would improve within the first year of her degree.

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10/29/2024

BRIDGING GENERATIONS

The Ancestral Echoes podcast is a joint program between the MIKI’SIW Métis Association, Comox Valley Arts and CVOX Radio that aims to educate by partnering Elders with Métis youth in the Comox Valley by engaging in the tradition of oral storytelling while producing a high quality podcast. Ancestral Echoes was born from an idea that Myrna Logan of the MIKI’SIW Métis Association had and brought to Jennifer Casey, executive director of Comox Valley Arts. Logan had asked to borrow a tent from Casey and while carting it to Logan’s truck, a discussion took place about completing some storytelling through the Digital Creation Hub through Comox Valley Arts. Logan also wanted to use her skills in radio broadcasting to help share the stories of local Métis Elders with Métis youth.

Through the podcast project they could share storytelling which is important to the Métis culture. “As with most Indigenous cultures, a lot [of history] was transferred orally. Sometimes it’s a detriment because sometimes the stories get lost,” says Logan. “In today’s world of technology a lot of the youth will learn from the internet. To tie the stories to a real person that is outside of their own family is important.” To start the process, there were two community engagement sessions with all 12 participants. The first was held at the Digital Creation Hub to get everyone involved comfortable with being recorded and asking questions.

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Photos by: Lia Crowe

10/26/2024

Impresso Cafe opens in former Komox Grind space

For years, the Komox Grind Espresso & Smoothie Bar was a mainstay for coffee lovers and residents in Comox. For the Ievgrashyn family, it was one of their favourites. They would visit the Island from Manitoba and make a point of stopping in at the cafe. “When we would visit, even so many years ago, we could come to this place all the time” said Vlad Ievgrashyn. “This was our favourite coffee shop.” However, in July of 2022, that all went up in smoke as a fire went through the building. Though nobody was injured, it ended up signaling the end of the coffee shop in that iteration.

Thirteen years ago, Peter and Tanya Ievgrashyn and their family landed in Winnipeg. It was May, and in their native Ukraine the temperature sits at an average of 18 to 20C. Peter and Tanya were in the airport dressed in their shorts, both sore from their long flight and travelling with two young boys - Vlad and Dima - they were in for a bit of a shock when the man who would drive them from the airport to their new home showed up. “We were in shorts and t-shirts,” said Peter. “ We came to Manitoba … and the guy who was meeting us was in the winter jacket, because it was minus one and snowing.”

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Photos by: Lia Crowe

10/23/2024

GROCERY STORE AS ART INSTALLATION

The Buckley Bay ferry terminal is the launching point for travellers heading to Denman and Hornby islands. It is the place where Islanders land when they come to Vancouver Island to visit, explore or even do things like get groceries. It also happens to be about half an hour from the nearest grocery store, depending on traffic, no matter which way you decide to go.
So, Leah Weinberg and Gerald Richardson decided to do the reasonable thing and open a grocery store.

Well, that’s not exactly the case. The operation that would eventually come to be known as Weinberg’s Good Food started as a buying club in Vancouver where Weinberg and other like-minded people would order larger amounts of specialty food. After Richardson’s work situation changed, the couple had the chance to move to F***y Bay and the idea took off from there. “initially, we just wanted to sort of be a place that people in our local area could get essentials,” Weinberg said. “We live in F***y Bay, and it’s a pretty long drive if you just need an apple or an on-ion. The original idea was to be a basic kind of place for people in the neighbourhood.”

07/31/2024

10 QUESTIONS

Junyi Liu moved to Canada in 2015 from Tianjin, China. Initially residing in Vancouver, he later relocated to the Valley and acquired a gas station in Comox.
On the afternoon of May 20, 2023, a vehicle collided with a fuel pump, igniting a fire at the gas station. Without hesitation, Liu rushed outside to rescue a 76-year-old woman trapped in her vehicle. Comox Fire Chief Gord Schreiner described Liu's actions as "remarkable" and credited him with saving the woman’s life. Nearly a year after the incident, Liu was awarded the Carnegie Medal, also known as the 'highest honour for civilian heroism in North America.’
�
On March 26, you were awarded the Carnegie Medal, also known as the ‘highest honour for civilian heroism in North America’. How do you feel about that?
I'm honoured… but I still don't think I deserve this.

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given?
One of my friends told me to forget about the small details if something isn’t going well. Just keep focusing on what's important, work hard and always try to do your best… everything will be better someday. (Problems) are temporary.

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07/24/2024

‘Octopus Whisperer’ unveils mysteries of giant Pacific octopuses

Deep beneath the cold, oxygen-rich waters off the Pacific coast, a solitary creature roams the sea bed, captivating the imagination of those fortunate enough to encounter it. The giant Pacific octopus is the largest of the 300 species of octopuses, with an arm span that can reach up to nine metres across. This elusive cephalopod spends its life in dens nestled in caves and crevasses when it's not exploring the sea floor, hunting for mollusks, shellfish and crustaceans. Krystal Janicki, dubbed the "octopus whisperer” by the diving community of the North Island, spent nearly a decade befriending and learning more about these creatures.

Though the diver now boasts more than 1,000 dives, her unlikely journey started nine years ago, in the waters of her hometown of Campbell River. Initially apprehensive about the ocean and completely unfamiliar with diving, Janicki recounted how her perspective shifted on one particular weeknight. “At first, I thought the ocean here was full of slippery, gross, and creepy. I didn't really think much of it,” Janicki explained. “But as I was getting older… I wanted to understand what (was going on beneath the surface.)

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07/17/2024

From Guadalajara to Dublin

When Bernardo De La Torre came to the Comox Valley 12 years ago, he never imagined he would be representing the Valley playing soccer in Dublin, Ireland. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, De La Torre is a member of the Rainbow Warriors Street Soccer team, a program co-ordinated by Grant Shilling, a residential support program worker at the Dawn to Dawn Action on Homelessness Society. The team is an opportunity for anyone unhoused or at-risk individuals to come out to exercise, socialize and have fun with the goal of social inclusion.
De La Torre joined the team shortly after arriving in the Valley. He camped at Maple Pool Campground for awhile after facing some personal difficulties in his life, and eventually met the soccer team and Shilling, who provided him with a trailer.

“I had enough of Mexico and I was getting in trouble,” explains De La Torre prior to a Rainbow Warriors practice at Lewis Park. “I was always around soccer and coaching and strategies (growing up).” Being consistent with the team and showing up - part of the slogan of the team (‘If you’re playing, you’re winning’) - were all factors in Shilling approaching De La Torre about a month ago about the opportunity to go to Dublin to represent the team in the European Street Soccer Cup in June. “I’m just here for the ride. I want to enjoy and not see it as a competition, but more like a friendly connection - that I can make some connections and meet some people.”

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07/10/2024

Keepin’ it weird

In 2018, Rev. Ingrid Brown had a vision she set forth for the creation of Cumberland’s Weird Church. What it has become has exceeded all expectations. “I’ve done lots of study on different ways of being church. I’ve been to the U.K. and been down to the States and done lots of exploration on different ways that people are being church in the community, and from that I created Weird Church - it’s its own new thing,” Brown said. “We kind of started Weird Church by accident, actually. I was working at St. George’s when Cumberland United Church closed its doors, and we set out to make sure the folks who were losing their spiritual community there weren’t left wandering, without support.” Brown reached out to the congregation to offer that support and discovered that the fellowship surrounding the services was what they felt they were missing most.

“Having coffee and discussing the things that matter is what they said. So we started a once-a-month coffee group at Whole Glow Café called ‘Coffee and Conversations that Matter.’ The idea was members of the church would come and join us and we would support them through their transition, except nobody came. But people from the neighbourhood came!” The coffee shop 'congregation' eventually outgrew the coffee shop space, and the caretaker of the church suggested the group hold its meetings at the shuttered Cumberland United Church. The rest, as they say, is history. But why the name Weird Church?
“There is a hashtag in Cumberland, , so it was kind of ripping off from that, but we also knew we wanted a spiritual place for people who have been ostracized in other spiritual communities. We wanted to make sure it was fully inclusive to people of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, folks who maybe have been injured by the church, and just to make it a place where you can ask a lot of questions, and explore, and to bring your whole self.”

07/03/2024

From farmer’s market to national shelves

"We were sampling some yogurts in France and they were really good," shared Merissa Myles, co-founder of Tree Island Yogurt. "They had some delicious fresh farm yogurts that weren't processed by big industries. We got inspired and thought that this is something we can do ourselves." Myles, originally from Saskatchewan, and partner Scott DiGuistini, a microbiologist, moved to Royston in 2009, seeking a better quality of life for their young family. Soon after settling down in the Valley, their dream of starting a family business took shape, fuelled by their intention to create a high-quality yogurt. "I think early on, we recognized that yogurt was going to be something that was up and coming in terms of consumer interest," said Myles. "We realized that more than 50 per cent of kids eat yogurt every day in Canada and that there are almost 7 million servings of yogurt eaten daily. We knew we were not going to take over the world (of yogurt), but we could capture part of the market."

"We wanted to do something that was less industrial because a lot of the choices at grocery stores are brands owned by large multinationals," added DiGuistini. Their journey began modestly in 2012, not far from their home, in what they nicknamed ‘the yogurt studio.’ Experimenting with flavours and honing their skills, the couple started selling their artisanal product at local farmers' markets. "(When we started), we were basically out of money. We just had enough to buy milk and make the yogurt," recalled DiGuistini. "We went to the farmer’s market and there was a great lineup of people to buy our yogurt. We ended up selling all the yogurt which allowed us to buy more milk and we literally bootstrapped from there which is amazing."

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06/28/2024

Colouring outside the lines

Sharon Lennox has had no shortage of accolades and recognition for her artwork. Lennox is a scratchboard artist. Scratchboard is a panel coated with white clay, and a layer of black Indian ink on top. Using a sharp object, the artist scratches the image out of the black ink. Traditional scratchboard productions are black and white. Lennox takes the extra step to colourize her works. “When you [colourize] you have twice as much work; you double your time.”

Larger creations can take up to 75 hours to complete. Among her notable achievements include winning the Juror’s Choice Award at the Sidney Fine Art Show two years in a row (2017 and 2018), being named the International Artist Award at the International Society of Scratchboard Artists’ (ISSA) Eighth Annual Exhibition, in Berea, Kentucky, in 2019, and being recognized as one of Canada’s top artists by the Federation of Canadian Artists. This summer, she’ll be front and centre at one of Vancouver Island’s most beloved tourist attractions: Butchart Gardens.

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Photos: .shaw.photography

06/18/2024

celebrate 50 years

They’ve been through a handful of different locations, the rise of e-readers, online shopping and event a midnight book celebration or two, but a commitment to supporting local - and locals supporting them - is what Laughing Oyster Bookshop is celebrating as it hits its golden anniversary. The bookstore at 286 5th Street has been a staple of Courtenay’s downtown for years, offering a selection of books shaped by their customers and knowledgable staff for 50 years - a feat that current owner Evelyn Gillespie credits to the community.
“We have a very loyal customer base. Our selection of books is different because it’s more personal - it reflects the personality of our customers,” she recalls. “We have a lot of professional chefs in the community so we have a large food section, science, social science, the economy, politics - which is a big interest in the community - and B.C. history.”

Gillespie says the bookstore also supports local authors with book launches, meet-and-greets and readings. For local authors, having their book on the shelf means a lot to them and for Laughing Oyster, she adds. “We’re known as the place people can come.” The store has moved a few times throughout Courtenay before finally settling into its Fifth Street location. Jenny Mitchell - who along with her husband Glenn, owned the store for more than 20 years - recalls when the store moved from lower Fifth Street to 6th Street, and occupied half of the building where Atlas Cafe currently resides. Eventually, the store moved back to Fifth Street into its current location, and business doubled.

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Photos: .shaw.photography

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