Meet Tom Kral. Plus Metchosin artists, Colwood's infrastructure ask and Sooke's rain prep.
Good afternoon, Westshore.
A childhood spent gathering mushrooms
Tom Kral grew up above a Czech deli and learned to forage at his family's cottage. Tomorrow, he'll teach a mushroom workshop in Sooke. In Metchosin, two broken artworks became the starting point for Yvette Street's latest series. And if you vote in View Royal, the advance poll is open today.
The Westshore team
Here's what we got for you today
Meet the chef behind tomorrow's mushroom workshop
Yvette Street's repaired artworks led to a new series
Colwood asks who pays for growth
From a family deli to Metchosin's wild-food kitchen
Tom Kral and wild mushrooms in the workshop artwork. Source: EMCS Community Programs.
Tom Kral grew up above his parents' Czech deli in Toronto. At the family's Muskoka cottage, he picked blueberries and gathered mushrooms to dry for later.
He now runs Nature's Chef in Metchosin, where he hosts foraging walks and cooks private dinners. The business also caters.
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Kral leads a mushroom workshop through EMCS Community Programs, from 3pm to 6pm at SEAPARC Bike Park in Sooke. You'll learn how to identify mushrooms, gather them sustainably, and preserve and cook them. There will be fresh specimens to examine, plus tea and snacks. You won't be harvesting mushrooms during this workshop.
It costs $133.33 plus GST. Email emcsprograms@sd62.bc.ca to register. Dress for an afternoon outside.
Sources · Nature's Chef · EMCS Community Programs
The Pick · Local partner · Entrepreneurs’ Lunch Club
Fewer battles. More connection with your kids.
Screens, bedtime, getting out the door. Join Dr. Allison Rees for practical ways to step out of power struggles while keeping clear limits, with time for your questions. Monday, November 2 at Gorge Pavilion in Esquimalt. Open to the public. Tickets $29 + GST.
Local ads help keep The Westshore free. Become a partner
Two repaired artworks sparked a new Metchosin series
Yvette Street's work (left) and Kimberley Zutz's (right), in the centre's exhibition artwork. Source: Metchosin Arts & Cultural Centre.
Two of Yvette Street's older artworks broke and were repaired. The seams remained visible. Those pieces became the starting point for the Metchosin artist's new series.
Street works with metallic and acrylic layers, with traces of gold and silver showing through the painted surfaces.
She shares the Metchosin Arts & Cultural Centre's October and November POV exhibition with Kimberley Zutz, whose work includes detailed animal portraits as well as landscapes and abstract paintings. Zutz's Winter Hunter shows a fox against a winter backdrop.
The exhibition runs through Nov. 29 at 4495 Happy Valley Rd. Contact the centre for viewing times before heading over.
Sources · Metchosin Arts & Cultural Centre
Colwood asks the province to help pay for growth
New sidewalk beside Latoria Boulevard, in the city's Oct. 6 update. Source: City of Colwood.
Colwood is asking the province for long-term funding for roads, sewers, water, transit and schools as the city grows.
Council directed staff to write to the housing minister on Sept. 28. The city submitted its latest housing-target progress report on Oct. 8 and set out its requests in an Oct. 9 release.
The city wants the province to share the cost so existing residents don't shoulder the bill for growth. It also wants infrastructure capacity considered alongside approved development. Where funding commitments are missing, it asks the province to consider staged approvals.
These are requests. The release doesn't announce a funding agreement. With the election on Saturday, ask candidates which infrastructure they'd fund first and where the money would come from.
Sources · City of Colwood · City of Colwood: Latoria Boulevard update
Around the Westshore
View Royal votes today
Advance voting is open Tuesday, Oct. 13, 8am to 8pm at Town Hall, 45 View Royal Ave. General voting is Saturday, Oct. 17. Check the municipality's ID and eligibility instructions before you go.
Langford and Colwood vote tomorrow
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 8am to 8pm: Langford's advance poll is at Eagle Ridge Community Centre, 1089 Langford Parkway; Colwood's is at City Hall, 3300 Wishart Rd. General voting is Saturday, Oct. 17. Check your municipality's ID and eligibility instructions.
Sooke's free sandbag stations return next week
Starting the week of Oct. 19, find sand and empty bags at Ed Macgregor Park's parking lot, 6765 West Coast Rd, and Fire Hall #2, 2011 Goodridge Rd. Bring your own shovel, fill the bags yourself and take only what your property needs. Residents and businesses can use the stations, which are expected to stay available until late March or early April. Clear leaves and debris from nearby drains and ditches before heavy rain arrives.
Make a plan
Help restore Westhills Park
Sat., Oct. 17, 9:45am to 1pm. Westhills Park in Langford. Free and open to all ages. Remove invasive plants and flammable wood, then plant native species. Tools are provided, along with water and snacks. Preregistration is requested; drop-ins are welcome.
Spooky 3: Revenge of the Markets
Sat. and Sun., Oct. 17 and 18, 11am to 4pm both days. Langford Station, 720 Station Ave. Free admission, family-friendly and rain or shine, with guest vendors, resident artists and food trucks.
Plan ahead: sewing help and a clothing swap
Sat., Oct. 24, 11am to 3pm at Gordon United Church, 935 Goldstream Rd, Langford. The sewing workshop is for people already working on a project and requires preregistration. Drop by the clothing swap, or donate clothes Oct. 21 to 23, 10am to 2:30pm.
Have a good week, Westshore.
The Westshore team
Pass it on
Know a neighbour who'd want this?
If this was useful, forward the email. Or send them the signup page and they'll get the next issue.
The Westshore.
A twice-weekly, email-first local paper for the Westshore of Vancouver Island. Made out here. Yes, the traffic was bad.
Last light · First to know.
Sailing west, twice a week
The Westshore is produced on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples (the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations) and the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, whose relationship with this land continues to this day.
Something wrong in this story? Tell us at hello@news.thewestshore.ca. We fix it, log it, and say so in the next edition.