The 11th annual Sunday Sidewalk Celebration in downtown Duncan on Nov. 4 is being hailed as a success.
Approximately 26 stores in the downtown core displayed much of their inventory on the sidewalk in front of their businesses, and offered great deals for shoppers looking for bargains at the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
Participating businesses used balloons to indicate to shoppers that they were part of the shopping celebration.
Kali Kappenman, an employee at the Wishes Gifts & Books store on Station Street which participated in the event, said the sunny weather on Nov. 4 drew a lot of people into downtown Duncan.
“It’s been sunny every year that we’ve been involved,” she said.
“There was a lot of people out and about and I think all the businesses had a pretty good day.”
TimberWest teams with UBC for $100,000 endowment
The TimberWest forest company, which has operations in the Cowichan Valley, and UBC’s forestry faculty have announced a first-of-its-kind $100,000 endowment program for Indigenous students pursuing a graduate degree in forestry.
The endowment, established by TimberWest along with matching funds from the faculty, will award scholarships of $4,000 per year to First Nations, Inuit, or Métis graduate students studying forest resource management or forest sciences who have a demonstrated interest in pursuing their career in British Columbia.
“We want to help ensure that financial barriers do not prevent the many talented and motivated Indigenous students from pursuing a graduate degree in forest sciences,”said Jeff Zweig, president and CEO of TimberWest.
“UBC is home to Canada’s leading forestry programs, and the faculty has done a superb job over the past decade to increase Indigenous student participation. We support UBC in its objective to engage and inspire Indigenous students to become the next generation leaders in forestry stewardship.”
CGC, Small Block Brewery, Tru Grain team up for beer
reFRESH Cowichan, an initiative of the Cowichan Green Community Society, has teamed up with Small Block Brewery and True Grain Bakery to develop a series of beers made with bread that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.
The aptly named Rye-Cycled Fresh Hopped Rye Ale is already receiving a lot of attention after its release on Oct. 6 at Victoria’s Fresh Hop Harvest beer festival.
The idea to use bread beer as a way to spark community conversation and action on the issue of food waste came from TOAST, a line of bread-beers originating in the United Kingdom.
Small Block Brewery and reFRESH Cowichan have already started their next batch of bread-beer by diverting more than 80 kilograms of sourdough bread from True Grain Bakery, Loaves & Fishes Food Bank, and the Cowichan Valley Basket Society that would have otherwise likely gone to the dump.
After contacting TOAST to thank them for the inspiration, Chief Toaster Rob sent the group a message:
“It’s amazing to see TOAST inspiring bread beers across the world,” Rob said.
“We built TOAST to brew systemic change in the beer industry, getting as many people as possible producing amazing beer with surplus bread.”
Cops, Pops and Pizza coming to Duncan November 14
The BC Law Enforcement Torch Run and Boston Pizza are teaming up to support Special Olympics BC through the Cops, Pops, and Pizza campaign.
Held on Nov. 14 from 5 to 9 p.m., the event will see law enforcement members and SOBC athletes serve customers, collect donations, and raise awareness for Special Olympics at participating Boston Pizza restaurants across the province.
This is the first year for Cops, Pops, and Pizza in British Columbia, and more than 25 Boston Pizza locations across the province are set to take part in the event, including the one in the Cowichan Valley.
“The Law Enforcement Torch Run is a global movement dedicated to helping Special Olympics athletes experience acceptance, achievement, and admiration through sport,” said Rick Lucy, provincial director of the BC Law Enforcement Torch Run.
“Partnering with Boston Pizza to host Cops, Pops, and Pizza is a fun way for law enforcement members across the province to engage with their communities in order to support Special Olympics BC’s empowering programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities.”
Co-op Give Card Campaign to benefit Canadian Red Cross
New holiday-inspired gift cards launched last week will help support local emergency relief efforts in communities across Western Canada.
Through the Co-op Give Card Campaign, Co-op will donate $1 from the sale of specially-marked gift cards to the Canadian Red Cross, up to a maximum of $250,000.
The gift cards depict four seasonal designs and are available between Nov. 6 and Dec. 28.
“This campaign is unique in the ease for our members and customers to share and give in multiple ways this holiday season,” said Leah Andrew, associate vice-president of customer experience at Federated Co-operatives Limited.
“It is truly a gift that gives. The Co-op Give Card Campaign is part of a new five-year commitment between FCL, on behalf of more than 170 independent retail co-operatives across Western Canada that form the Co-operative Retailing System, and the Canadian Red Cross.”
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