🐐 A goat’s very bad night in Metchosin

Good morning, Westshore!

Before the oven goes on

Thanksgiving can fill a whole weekend before you’ve made a single plan. If you can spare an hour or two, Saturday is the last Sooke Country Market of the season. There’s a pumpkin patch in Langford, too, and a dinner option for anyone ready to let someone else do the cooking.

And a little good news from Metchosin: the goat is home. You’ll see what it took to get her there below.

The Westshore team

Here's what we got for you today

Two local ballots, and what happens after yes

A rail line in the reconciliation agreement

A cliffside rescue in Metchosin

A yard check for hungry bears

The last market of the season, plus Thanksgiving plans

Community bulletin board

What's pinned on the board

Posters from across the Westshore. Tap any to read it full-size.

Tonight and Thanksgiving weekend

Tonight: Elder Bill Jones and Karen Moe

Oct. 8, 7pm, Sooke Region Museum, 2070 Phillips Rd. The authors discuss Listening Once Again to Our Great Mother. Free admission.

One last Sooke Country Market

Oct. 10, 10am to 2pm, Woodside Farm, 7149 West Coast Rd. Saturday closes the 2026 season. Pick up local produce, baking and crafts before the stalls pack away.

Pumpkins for the porch, vegetables for dinner

Oct. 10 and 11, 10am to 3pm, Lohbrunner Community Farm, 1152 Lippincott Rd., Langford. PumpkinFest is free to enter. You can buy pumpkins and fresh vegetables at the farm stand, or pick dahlias. Handy if your weekend needs both an outing and a grocery stop.

Step inside Colwood’s fire museum

Oct. 10, 10am to 2pm, 3215 Metchosin Rd. Colwood’s firefighters open the museum for a look at the city’s fire-service history.

Let Callisto handle Thanksgiving dinner

Oct. 10 to 12, 5pm to 9pm, Westin Bear Mountain, 1999 Country Club Way. Callisto’s three-course Thanksgiving dinner is $75 per person, plus taxes and gratuities. Wine pairings are an extra $35. Book through the restaurant.

The Pick · Local partner · Shawnigan Retreats

Two houses. One lake. Room for the whole crew.

Planning the next family get-together? Shawnigan Retreats has a main house and cottage on a private lakefront estate, about 45 minutes from Victoria. There’s a dock, sauna and hot tub, with room for up to 18 across both houses.

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Election opinion questions

The word to watch on Sooke’s ballot: consider

Contributed / The Westshore archive (2022)

A yes vote would tell the next council what voters want. The $5 million would still need approval.

Sooke voters are being asked whether the district should consider borrowing up to $5 million for the proposed Gathering Place, an intergenerational centre. The key word is consider.

The district says this vote cannot authorize the loan, approve construction, raise taxes or commit the land. It gives the next council direction on whether to pursue the project.

View Royal voters face a similar distinction. Their short-term rental question is also non-binding. Even if yes wins, the town’s current rules would stay in place: registered bed-and-breakfasts only.

If you want to vote before the long weekend gets away from you, Sooke’s next advance poll is Saturday, Oct. 10, 8am to 8pm, at Edward Milne Community School, 6218 Sooke Rd.

Sources · District of Sooke · Town of View Royal

Around the Westshore

A yard check before bears find dinner

Before the long weekend, have a look at what’s within reach in your yard. Wild Wise recommends picking ripe fruit, clearing fallen fruit and putting pet food away. Secure garbage and compost, clean the barbecue and take bird feeders down until spring. That apple tree may be feeding more than your household.

[Goldstream Gazette]

Fall vaccine appointments begin Oct. 13

Island Health says influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations begin at local pharmacies Oct. 13 through the provincial Get Vaccinated program. Check the booking system for your invitation and available appointments.

[Island Health]

A float is optional for Sooke’s Santa Parade

No float? You can still enter the Dec. 6 parade on foot. Sooke Lions Club is taking applications from businesses, schools and community groups for walking entries, floats and vehicles.

[District of Sooke]

View Royal’s next advance vote is Tuesday

The next advance opportunity is Oct. 13, 8am to 8pm, at Town Hall, 45 View Royal Ave. Sooke’s Saturday opportunity is above. General voting day is Oct. 17, so there is still time to plan around the long weekend.

[Town of View Royal]

Poems on a Royal Bay walk

At Ryder Hesjedal Road and the Murry’s Pond trail system, the Poetry Station features work by Royal Bay High School students. Scan the QR code to hear readings while you’re there.

[Arts & Culture Colwood]

Esquimalt Nation and View Royal

Watch the rail corridor after the handshake

E&N Rail Trail, Langford (file photo). John Newcomb / CC BY 3.0. No changes.

Esquimalt Nation and View Royal have signed their first agreement. A shared rail project gives residents something to follow.

The former rail line between Victoria and Langford is one place to watch what comes of this agreement.

The new agreement recognizes the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative, an Indigenous-led partnership formed in 2025 to explore commuter rail, land return and economic opportunities. There is no date here for trains to return.

Esquimalt Nation Chief Jerome Thomas and View Royal Mayor Sid Tobias signed the two governments’ first memorandum of understanding on Oct. 5. It sets up regular meetings between leaders and staff.

Our question for the months ahead: what will those meetings move forward?

Sources · Goldstream News Gazette

Metchosin animal rescue

This rescue patient had hooves

Metchosin’s rope rescue training covers people and animals. On Monday, the patient had hooves.

She had spent the night below a cliff on a homeowner’s property and couldn’t climb back up. The homeowner called for help around 8:30am on Oct. 5. Firefighters and rope technicians reached her, secured her and lowered her to the ground.

CHEK reports that she was reunited with her owner.

Sources · CHEK News

Have a local story we should follow, or a notice for the board? Hit reply. Enjoy the long weekend, Westshore.

The Westshore team

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.

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