boulevard magazine, september 29, 2014
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September 29, 2014 edition of the Boulevard MagazineTRANSCRIPT
VICTORIA LIFE AT ITS FINEST
OCTOBER 2014
SPECIAL SECTION:
› CONDO VERVE› CREATIVE SPACES
› WHO & WHY
PAST MEETS FUTURE in a homebuilder’s home
Chic fall patterns
at MERRIDALE
IMMERSED IN
CONDOCOND
Downtown man:
DAVE CHARD
The Elbers Financial Group
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2014 LAND ROVER LR4
6
CONTENTS Issue 10, Volume XXIlI
OCTOBER 2014
The Sovereign by
Chard Developments,
photographed by Gary
McKinstry.
FEATURES
20 PATTERNS OF FALL By Lia Crowe
26 DOWNTOWN MAN By Brian Kieran
32 CONDO VERVE By Susan Lundy
36 WHO AND WHY? Condo buyers By Jen Blyth
40 CONDOS BIG AND SMALL By Christine Hall
44 CREATIVE SPACES By Elizabeth Nolan
52 BEER CALENDARS By Carolyn Heiman COLUMNS
56 HAWTHORN Small Courtesies By Tom Hawthorn
DEPARTMENTS
8 EDITOR’S LETTER Beer on tap
10 FASHION FAVES Louise Rose By Lia Crowe
12 HOT PROPERTIES A homebuilder’s Uplands home By Carolyn Heiman
50 DESIGN MATTERS Small spaces By Sarah Reid
58 FOOD & DRINK Surrounded by salt By Cinda Chavich 63 TRAVEL FAR Authentic Greece By Nicole Wallace
66 TALKING WITH TESS Sybil Verch By Tess van Straaten
69 FRONT ROW Pride and Prejudice, 20/20 exhibit, Gordon Lightfoot and more By Robert Moyes
74 SECRETS & LIVES Patricia, Jelinski, CEO, United Way Victoria By Susan Lundy
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32
20 52Penny Sakamoto
Susan Lundy
Lily ChanPip Knott
Janet GairdnerPat Brindle
Oliver Sommer
Janet Gairdner 250-480-3251
Bruce Hogarth
Miki Speirs250-480-3277
Jen Blyth, Cinda Chavich, Lia Crowe, Christine Hall, Tom Hawthorn, Carolyn Heiman, Brian Kieran, Elizabeth Nolan, Robert Moyes, Sarah Reid, Tess van Straaten, Nicole Wallace
Don Denton, Cathie Ferguson, Arnold Lim, Gary McKinstry, Sean Wallace
Victoria Boulevard ® is a registered trademark of Black Press Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission. Ideas and opinions expressed
in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Black Press Group Ltd. or its affiliates; no official endorsement should be inferred. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the contents, both implied or assumed, of any advertisement in this publication. Printed in Canada. Canada Publications Mail
Product Sales Agreement #42109519.
ADVERTISE Boulevard Magazine is Victoria’s leading lifestyle magazine, celebrating 24 years of publishing in Greater Victoria.
To advertise or to learn more about advertising opportunities please send us an email at [email protected]
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EDITOR’S LETTER
THE SUN SHONE. THE CALENDAR SAID FRIDAY. And we like beer. But who needs an excuse to take in Victoria’s 22nd annual Great Canadian Beer Festival? This year, the festival presented 82 breweries and a record-breaking 253 beers. It unfolded in early September at Royal Athletic Park amid a flow of barley, hops and about 8,000 thirsty craft beer lovers.
As my husband stood surrounded by a bevy of beer-serving tents, sampler glass in hand, he had a look of happy disbelief that said:
“If they’d told me heaven was this good, I’d have died years ago.”
My day at the festival began with a broken shoe, which forced me to partake in the media tour barefoot. It felt weird, but I tried to be nostalgic: “How lovely to be running free again without shoes.” However, once the hordes burst through the gates and started sampling, dumping and rinsing, barefoot was no longer nostalgic — it was “yuck!” — and I left the festival, resigned to giving up our parking spot in the shade and leaving to find new shoes. Happily, at the truck, I discovered a bag of clothes destined for Value Village, and in it, a pair of shoes.
Unhappily, the shoes were purchased
for my wedding, and they
sparkled and glittered.
However, as it turned out, I needn’t have worried about my fairy princess shoes. There was the guy dressed in Star Trek command gear; another fellow wearing a Grolsch bottle cap hat; and two musicians outfitted as a banana and hotdog, playing an unlikely (but successful) duet with a trombone and alto sax.
Originally, I’d planned to have Bruce as my “designated drinker,” since my affinity for beer has been tempered by a gluten-free diet. However, there turned out to be festival options for me as well. New Grist, brewed by Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, is apparently the best-selling gluten-free beer in Canada. I really like the flavour, but it doesn’t actually taste like beer. Much more beer-like were the festival’s four Glutenberg beers (blonde, pale ale, red and IPA) made by Brasseurs Sans Gluten out of Montreal. Also, on tap for those who are gluten free were a number of ciders: Merridale from Cobble Hill poured an excellent selection, as did Cider Riot from Portland, Oregon.
For my designated drinker, however, the options were dizzying. As a pilsner fan, he especially liked Eastern Promises Czech Pilsner from Russell Brewery in Surrey and Victoria-based Hoyne Brewing’s Hoyner Pilsner. Oh, and what’s not to like about Vancouver’s Brassneck Brewery’s Magic Beans, which blends strong brown ale with cold-brewed coffee? A quick survey of the festival at one point showed particularly long line-ups at Driftwood (Victoria) and Fuggles and Warlock (Richmond).
Beer connoisseurs seemed particularly excited about the unique cask and session beers, which had names like Rhubarb Pie Blonde Ale (Vancouver Island Brewery), Basil ESB (Salt Spring Island Ales) and Weathervane Vanilla Stout (Lighthouse Brewing). I overheard one patron, thrilled to sample a sour beer at Parallel 49, breathlessly asking what type of bacteria was contained in her Sour Red Ale. That’s commitment.
Since October and beer go hand and hand, this edition of Boulevard includes a story about the beer advent calendar phenomenon (page 54).
This month’s edition also features a section on condo living: lifestyles, trends and arts, beginning on page 26. It includes a profile on one of Victoria’s foremost condo developers, Dave Chard. Hot Properties highlights a stunning Uplands home, while October apples at Merridale
Crazy for craft beer
SWEET, SOUR AND GLUTEN-FREE AT THE GREAT CANADIAN BEER FESTIVAL
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BY SUSAN LUNDY
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BoulevardMagazine
@BoulevardMag
We welcome your letters:[email protected] or visit us on Facebook and Twitter for updates and links to featured stories and local events.
WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU
set the backdrop for our lavish fashion shoot. Of course there are all our brilliant regulars too.
All in all, October is a great read, and I’m happy to drink a gluten-free beer to that.
Boulevard Buzz: For fear lovers: A Halloween special — the Haunted Zip by AdrenaLine Zipline Adventure Tours in Sooke — runs October 24, 25 and 26. Ooooh. Spooky! FMI: adrenalinezip.com/en/tours/haunted-zip.html. For Halloween lovers: There are numerous Halloween events slated for Greater Victoria this month. Check out details online for Pumpkin Fest at Galey Farms; Victoria Zombie Walk; Festival of Fear at Galey Farms; Ghosts of Victoria Festival; Original Ghost Bus-tours; Halloween Fun at Ross Bay Cemetery; Pumpkin Art of Oak Bay Avenue; Ghost Hunt at the Maritime Museum; Pumpkins on the Pier in Sidney; and Halloween Spooktacular Fireworks at Bear Mountain. For fitness lovers: Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon, Half Marathon, 8K and Thrifty Foods Kids Run takes place October 12, attracting some 12,000 runners and walkers from all over Canada and the US. (Driving lovers may want to check out the route for road closures.) For science lovers: Science Sea Day runs at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre on October 24 in conjunction with National Science and Technology Week. For costume lovers: An evening of “mystery and intrigue” unfolds at the Fairmont Empress, October 25, at the annual Victoria Masquerade Ball. It’s a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation. FMI: victoriaball.com
Boulevard News: Janet Gairdner has been appointed Advertising Director for Boulevard, responsible for marketing and sales strategy, plus special events and promotions. Janet has played several key roles with Black Press since joining the company in 2009. She’s an active community member, who’s volunteered with the Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Victoria, Royal McPherson Society and Boys and Girls Clubs, among others. She’s also a member of the Victoria Hospitality Awards Committee. Boulevard welcomes Janet to her new position.
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LIFE & STYLEFASHION FAVES
SHE SAYS THINGS LIKE, “I spent 10 days on the road with Elle Fitzgerald and it changed my life.” She’s a jazz legend in her own right — not a legend who’s distant and unreachable, but the kind you might find ripping up the piano at a local venue one Saturday night. She’s the sort of legend that might have taught and inspired your children or grandchildren in their school choir. She’s the kind of person who asks, “how are you?” with unwavering eye contact, and when expectant silence follows, you realize
she’s really asking. She’s a legend that recently gave me a couple hours of her time to chat style, life and the style of living.
Asked what “good style” means, Louise says, “It’s comfort in your skin and in your conversation … and sometimes just totally silly. People ask, ‘what’s in fashion?’ and I say, ‘it’s whatever I’m wearing.’”
The now 70-year-old has too many current gigs to list. But among them, she’s the music director at Cadboro Bay United Church, and this is where we meet. Throughout the interview, the church’s beautiful, silent spaciousness explodes with laughter, her soulful playing and the weight of her quiet thoughtfulness.
Asked for a favourite piece of music, she jumps up and plays Oscar Peterson’s Love Ballade. This is not
merely a musician sitting to play an instrument — when her hands come into contact with the sleek black Yamaha, music just happens. Full, gorgeous, effortless chord progressions erupt into the space accompanied by pure joy.
“I remember the time I looked at my grandmother and she was old! Moldy oldy! But she was still vibrant, curious. I wanted to be like my grandmother. She said ‘old people need to have relationships with young people.’ So, I’m kind of like my grandmother now … ultimately [this means] you don’t do a lot of stuff in your life, you take your time. I have wonderful relationships, not thousands of them. My work is done in the public sphere but my intimate relationships are few. And they are weighty, challenging and they are joyful and they are sweet.”
BY LIA CROWE
with LOUISE ROSE
“People ask, ‘what’s in fashion?’ and I say, ‘it’s whatever I’m wearing.’”
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Reading Material
“I read for my soul, I read to understand, to get clarity on me so that I can
serve. I feel as if my life is really about service and that is why I’m here.” Book that changes your life: The
Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz. “When I read that book, I thought, it can’t be that simple, life can’t be that simple and it is just that simple, and that’s the
difficult part. Always do your best, take nothing personally, tell the truth. Whaaaahh! It’s that simple.” Books that hold residence
on your bedside table: Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle and Education and the Significance of Life by Krishnamurti.
Fashion and BeautyGo to item: Corduroy. All time favourite fashion: Turtle necks.
Jewelry: “I always wear pearl earrings and one diamond.” Beauty secret: “I don’t use anything on my skin, I’ll wash with a little
grapefruit juice, it takes out the deep dirt. When I was a young girl we used to wash our faces with urine,” she says with a big explosion of laughter. (Now that’s one
beauty secret I have not yet heard.) How would you describe your personal style: “However
I’m feeling.”
Style Inspirations
Public Figure who inspires you: Maya Angelou. Artist: Painter, Jacob
Lawrence. Film: The National Film Board’s The Company of Strangers. Music: The Great American
Song Book: “Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald. BB King knocks me out!”.
LifeFavourite Local Restaurant: Nautical Nellies, The Oyster, and Vista 18. Cocktail: Wild Mustang. “It’s a cocktail created for me
at the Fairmont Empress’ Bengal Lounge. It’s sparkling wine and gin served in a martini glass, chilled.” Song that is on current
rotation: “The last piece Louis Armstrong recorded. He and Ella Fitzgerald recorded together, Can’t We Be Friends. Another one
of my favourite pieces is in Oscar Peterson’s Love Ballade.” Necessary indulgence: Salt: “I have 11 kinds of salt in my kitchen. I love Vancouver Island Salt.” Flower: Black-eyed
Susan. Favourite place in the world: Anywhere on Vancouver Island. “I get annoyed by people here
who have been to Europe and they haven’t even been to Tofino!”
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A gracious porte cochere lends an elegant welcome for this seven-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bath, modern mansion in the Uplands.
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TEXT BY CAROLYN HEIMAN PHOTOS BY GARY MCKINSTRY
HOT PROPERTIES
Hersh draws on past experience
while looking to the future
OMEBUILDER BARRY HERSH has explored a full range of residential developments, but he and his wife, Brenda, have happily settled into a lavish seven-bedroom home in the Uplands.
The couple once built and lived in one of the narrowest houses in Vancouver. It was an 11.5-foot-wide infill house that in 1980 was on the front edge of a new wave of construction endorsed by city planners, including those in Victoria, who were looking to minimize urban sprawl by using underdeveloped, narrow lots to add affordable housing stock. Later, Barry built some of the area’s largest luxury homes — upwards of 10,000 square feet — in the city’s west end.
Now retired to Victoria, the couple and their adored Yorkie are enjoying their new home, which Brenda emphatically states will be their last. (“Although with Barry, there is always the next project,” she smiles.)
H
HomeA HOMEBUILDER’S
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“We’ve been blessed with having lived in more than one beautiful home,” says Brenda, adding she is humbled by her good fortune.
This house repeats themes found in some of the 100 or so luxury custom and spec homes Barry built in Vancouver, after he gave up a banking career in his 30s. These themes include towering ceilings, statement-making porte cochere (“I like the look, and I like being able to drive under and not get wet,” says Barry) and a kitchen that calls out both extravagance and utility.
The kitchen and sewing rooms are Brenda’s two favourite areas. With windows facing two directions, natural light floods the areas at most times of the day. An avid seamstress — who makes almost all her own clothes — Brenda has put her stamp on the upstairs sewing room by adding refinished mirrors, old sewing cabinets and an inexpensive Duncan Phyfe table in soft chalk colours,
painted grey and celadon green. Meanwhile, Barry admits to teasing Brenda by keeping the fact he’d installed her much-desired hardwood floors a secret — until he lifted the carpet covers to reveal them.
The kitchen is bejewelled with eight slabs of granite, covering the walls and creating an exceptionally generous counter space on the island, built-in circular table and countertops. The nine-by-six-foot-wide island was created with single slab of granite, eliminating any need for a seam. Weighing over 1,500 pounds, it took eight men to carry it into the house, moving it inch-by-inch along the ground.
The kitchen’s warm cherry millwork casts a traditional glow over the area that Brenda, an avid cook, regularly presses into service. (The couple prefers eating home except for the occasional trip to Haultain Fish and Chips.) She also uses the area to make jams and preserves — a
The granite island and built-in circular table have double bullnose edging, approximately 1.5 inches thick, giving it substantial heft. The color, neptune bordeaux, offers multiple variations and color strains.
At 8,500 square feet, the house has many rooms, all
generously proportioned and flooded with natural light.
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bartlegibson.com
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250.727.9976
Nanaimo2067 Boxwood Road
250.758.1771
Courtenay#3, 2989 Kilpatrick Avenue
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IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE!
A fireplace adds winter warmth to this elegant bedroom.
A grand public space unfolds after entering the home.
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skill she acquired from her mother and grandmother, growing up in small-town Ontario. She keeps an eye on the market for seasonal produce that can be turned into handmade gifts for friends and neighbours.
Mike and Dillon Brown, owners of Victoria’s Island Dream Kitchens, were instrumental in completing the cabinetry after the company originally contracted for the job went bankrupt. Barry notes that Dillon was very hands-on, efficiently stepping in and completing the kitchen assembly, installation and staining and, most importantly, cutting the stress that arose from the unexpected construction hiccup.
Providing a tour of the house, Barry gleefully points out the couple’s financially judicious furnishing purchases — most from local auctions, consignment stores and Craigslist. In one mission, he purchased
Homebuilder Barry Hersh drew
on his building experiences to
design the house.
Island Dream Kitchens was formed with skilled craftsmen and expert installers having extensive experience in the Victoria market. The commitment to excellence and quality
workmanship is of paramount importance to the entire team. They strive to complete each project with the care their customers expect
and deliver on their promises.
6660 Butler Crescent, Saanichton, BC
www.islanddreamkitchens.com
KITCHENS VANITIES CUSTOM MILLWORK
PROVIDING QUALITY & CRAFTSMANSHIP IN VICTORIA
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3,000 pounds of furnishings from Misty’s Consignment in Rancho Mirage, California.
“Barry was like a kid in a candy store,” says Brenda, recalling the day they visited the mammoth showroom of accessories and furnishings, which were acquired mostly from downsizing California homeowners.
At 8,500 square feet, the house has many rooms — all generously proportioned — available to accommodate these pieces.
“When you come from nothing you’re happy to tell of your good fortune.”
Barry drew on his building experiences to design the house. Ceilings are capped at 12 feet, a height that spells deluxe, but does not create complexities around heating and cooling.
The huge master en suite is sheathed in pale, soothing blond tile and marble.
Fine Craftsmanship Precise Budgeting
Streamlined Scheduling
Finalist for multiple 2014 CARE Awardsincluding Green Builder of The Year
t: 250.818.6466 falconheights.ca
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SUPPLY LISTContractor/Builder: Terry Johal Developments Ltd.Interior/Exterior Design: Barry/Brenda HershCabinetry: Island Dream Kitchens/Swiftsure CabinetsCountertops: Colonial CountertopsDrywaller: Andy’s DrywallElectrical: Baldy Mountain ElectricalFraming: Martin KuehnLandscaping: Nu Lawns/Demitasse NurseryPainting: Sheldon Dupont PaintingRoofing: Aerial RoofingSound System: Grohovac InstallationsWindows: Westeck Windows
In terms of styling, they lean to more traditional tastes but will often blend, where appropriate, a touch of “new.”
Leaving the expansive foyer, a large and atmospheric public space unfolds, disclosing an imposing dining room that then yields to an informal but large family room adjoining the kitchen. Oversize tilt and turn windows line the back of the house and open to the private backyard.
In keeping with energy efficiency trends, the 156 pot lights throughout the house are LED with bulbs that promise a 23-year lifespan. However, thinking ahead, Barry purchased 12 extra, noting, “While I should not have to replace a light bulb until I’m 87, I wasn’t 100 per cent confident about the 23 year claim.”
Speaking of supplies, Barry and Brenda paid a lot of attention to creating ample storage space for the home, which does not have a basement. They have “his” and “hers” storage cupboards upstairs, with Barry’s neatly organized and filled with video equipment, home supplies and movies. Brenda’s shelves, meanwhile, are stacked with vintage sewing patterns and metres and metres of fabric and yarn.
Looking to the future, the couple included an ample bedroom suite with its own generous en suite for the day they may need a live-in caretaker. Their housecleaner, liking what she sees, has playfully asked if they need a live-in now. Not just yet, say Barry and Brenda, but they know this addition will allow them to enjoy their home for years to come.
Carolyn Heiman explores beautiful Victoria-area homes each month for Boulevard Magazine. Let her know about a gorgeous home you’d like to see profiled by contacting her at [email protected]
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HIS AUTUMN, LOOK FOR patterns that are rich, joyful and deep. Find them in the bounty of fashion’s prints, vibrant florals, luxurious paisley and geometric shapes. Or discover them in our own
patterns of the season — picking apples on a bright, crisp afternoon, making pie and celebrating togetherness.
For all these reasons, the Boulevard fashion crew brought the richest fashion of the season to the beauty of Merridale Estate Cidery, and reveled in its diverse bounty.
After our gracious hosts, owners Janet and Rick, guided us though sweeping orchards, followed by a stop for a spirit tasting at the Brandy House and a tour through the luxury guest yurt accommodations, we found ourselves relaxing in their open air bistro.
The evening autumn light was golden, the air was crisp and the cider was cold. In that perfect moment it was hard not to think that autumn truly is the most glorious season.
T
Loose knit coat by Rabens Saloner at Philip Nyren; “Jane Patch pant” by Raffaello Rossi at Philip Nyren; “The modern classic” shoe by Dr. Martens ($140) at Footloose shoes; vintage apple basket ($8.50) at Pigeon Hole Home Store.
Fall BY LIA CROWE
PHOTOS BY CATHIE FERGUSON
THE PATTERNS OF
Cocktail dress, handmade with 272 Swarovski crystals, and earrings by Michal Negrin. Both available at Michal Negrin, Victoria; lace up brogues, handmade in Spain by Coclico ($405) at Footloose shoes; vintage floral tin, ($8) at Pigeon Hole Home Store.
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Floral knit shirt ($370), tweed and lace skirt ($370), and brushed felt blazer ($540) by Marccain. All available at W&J Wilson; earrings by Michal Negrin.
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Wall Street shirt dress in paisley velvet ($225),
and leggings in black ($40) by Tatum & Olivia. Both available at Tatum
& Olivia, Sidney.
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“Paris” dress by Diane von Furstenberg
($625) at Bernstein & Gold. 23k gold plated
necklace by Elizabeth and James ($179), at
Bernstein & Gold. Shoes, stylist’s own.
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Knit dress by Tuzzi ($425) at Bagheera Boutique. Lace-up brogues, handmade in Spain, by Wonders ($235) at Footloose shoes. 23k gold plated necklace by
Elizabeth and James ($179) at Bernstein & Gold.
CREDITS:
Makeup and hair by Jen Clark, [email protected].
Shot on location at Merridale Estate Cidery.
Special thanks to owners Rick and Janet. To visit Merridale yourself or to
check out their upcoming autumn events go to merridalecider.com.
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Dave Chard stands on the rooftop of The Sovereign, one of Chard Development’s downtown Victoria condominiums.
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T THE END OF THE DAY, if the windows in the show suite need cleaning, the closest member of the team
gets out the ladder. Sometimes that’s Dave.”
Chard Development Ltd. Marketing Vice President Jeff Griffiths is referring to his uncle, Dave Chard, founder and president of the company that bears his name.
On the evening before I met with Dave at his high-end Sovereign condo development in the 600 block of Victoria’s Broughton Street, some new condo owners, recently retired from Belgium, were having problems with their air conditioning. The first person at their door at supper hour was the last man standing downstairs, Dave Chard.
“I’m a pretty hands-on guy,” he says. “In some areas I am a control freak. It’s part of being the owner: the buck stops here.”
A decade ago, in the early post 9/11 era, the Vancouver-based
entrepreneur was making bi-monthly flights east to undertake development management projects in Toronto. These sorties had become a tiresome routine of travel delays and hassles.
“I said enough is enough, I can’t handle this.”
Chard read a Victoria real estate flyer and made a strategic corporate decision that would change his company’s focus even though it initially made him question his judgment. He purchased a parking lot on Cormorant Street where he would build Corazon, a 72-suite condominium one block away from a highly contentious needle exchange. It was not a five-star neighbourhood, Chard recalls.
“I’ll say I was naïve in that regard. I did not realize when I bought the site just how tough the north end of Victoria was.”
In hindsight, Chard’s naiveté takes on the blush of daring vision. Corazon would be the first in a series of mid-sized developments downtown that would have a transformative impact
DEVELOPER DAVE CHARD HAS REVITALIZED VICTORIA’S CORE
TEXT BY BRIAN KIERAN PHOTOS BY ARNOLD LIM
“A
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on a city core that was losing the liveability battle down on the street.
“Corazon was very successful for us and that got me going. Next we bought the corner site at Johnson and Blanshard from a very interesting chap, Dimitri Mavrikos, who was the owner of Romeo’s Pizza.
“It was a really tough corner in 2005. I remember standing on the corner after buying it and saying: ‘Oh my god what have I done here.’ We had people sleeping in the planters.”
Chard notes that the Jawl family built the nearby Atrium a year later.
“Between our two properties we transformed that corner of the downtown. There is an old saying: ‘If you put eyes on the street, the street will change.’ We put a lot of eyes on
the street in that neighbourhood. It was very interesting to see how that corner changed.”
To date, Chard has re-populated downtown with more than 400 new homes. The 12-storey Corazon was completed in 2006 followed in 2008 by the 96-suite, mixed-use Juliet. In 2011, Chard completed the successful 834 on Johnson Street followed by the boutique luxury Sovereign in 2013. The 90-unit, two-building project Duet on Michigan Street in James Bay will be ready for owners to move in this November and is more than 55 per cent sold. Sales for Chard’s fifth project, the 84-suite, 10-storey Escher on Broughton started in September with project completion scheduled for the spring of 2017.
Chard says these mid-sized buildings provide a more intimate setting for people returning to the city centre. “Smaller is better” has become an integral part of the Chard formula.
This year he was recognized with the 2014 Business Leadership Award from the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce because of his commitment to revitalizing Victoria’s downtown core.
All his Victoria buildings feature a signature rooftop terrace and outdoor kitchen complete with barbecue, dining and lounge seating, secure elevator access and an accessible washroom.
Chard’s wife of 36 years, Naomi, says this neighbourly addition to his projects springs from his
“We put a lot of eyes on the
street in that neighbourhood.
It was very interesting to see
how that corner changed.”
Dave Chard with blueprints on the rooftop of The Sovereign. All of Chard’s developments feature public spaces, providing
opportunities for people to get together.
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passion for sailing and their visits aboard their 42-foot Sabre to West Vancouver Yacht Club’s coastal out-stations.
“At the yacht club’s out-stations there is a central area with a barbecue and it brings people together. So in all his buildings, Dave has created a public space. He wants to provide an opportunity for people to get together.”
Naomi says her husband has a “philanthropist’s personality.”
“He really believes in doing what’s right. Before he started developing the downtown core, Victoria did not have urban living in the same way Vancouver had already developed extensively.”
Chard says: “I’ve never done anything easy. I look for opportunities. I target markets.”
He comes by it honestly. His grandfather, William, was a builder, who constructed the Chard family home at 25th and Cambie in Vancouver.
I asked him what makes him “tick.” After a pause, the first word out of his mouth was “stress.” And, he added these qualifiers: “I’m a quiet guy, reserved … not a big party guy.”
When the same question was put to Naomi, she quickly said: “He likes to have a little bit of stress in his life to keep him motivated. And he has a passion for sailing and he really values his family.”
Chard says when he gets onto his sailboat Friday after work, “I leave all my worries behind at Passage Island as we head for Gabriola Island.”
Naomi says: “He loves competition. Whenever we are out sailing we are cruisers, but we race everything on the water. We enjoy doing everything well, making sure the boat is trimmed well, with the right sail combination, always tweaking.”
Back on the hard — sailor lingo for dry land — Chard continues to work behind the scenes to tweak Victoria’s downtown liveability. He engages with community and business groups on all his projects and participates on city task forces through his involvement on the Urban Development Institute Board.
Victoria 10 years from now?“I’d really like to see a much stronger retail presence
in downtown Victoria. I’d like to see Government Street revitalized with better retail than T-shirt shops.
“The most important thing for me is to see more retail and stronger retail in downtown Victoria … make it the hub again.”
Chard appreciates it’s a tough job because national retailers have been attracted to shopping centres, but “we’ve got to get them back on the street front like Robson Street in Vancouver.”
“We need more vibrant retail on the street. That’s how Victoria will enhance itself now.”
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Over the past decade, Chard Development has earned a reputation as both a trusted developer and an advocate for positive change in Victoria. Through its developments and community engagement, the Chard team has played an important role in the rejuvenation of the downtown, encouraging more people to live and work in the core.
“Victoria has always been a city that people are proud to call home, but in recent years a revitalized downtown has emerged and people are seeing it in a new light,” said David Chard, President of Chard Development. “It’s extremely rewarding to have the opportunity play a part in Victoria’s evolution.”
Chard Development has built over 400 condos in downtown and James Bay over the past 10 years, with four projects completed — Corazon, Juliet,
The 834 and The Sovereign — and a fifth, Duet, completing this November. Earlier this year, Chard Development received the 2014 Business Leadership Award from the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, which cited the developer’s ongoing role as a catalyst in the rejuvenation of downtown Victoria.
“I think Victorians have come to know us as a developer that takes the time to listen. Our buyers are mostly local, which means they’re looking for a place to call home, not just a condo. Something smart and liveable with features and amenities that will make them proud of where they live,” said Chard.
Chard Development is busy with three projects in Victoria, including the recently introduced Escher, a modern 10-storey building on Broughton Street, where the historic Fairfield
neighbourhood meets Victoria’s lively downtown. Notable for its sophisticated design and customizable suites (a first for the city), Escher is now selling and will begin construction early in 2015.
Duet, in James Bay, will be ready for its new residents in just a few weeks. There are still a variety of 1 and 2 bedroom suites and penthouses available in Duet’s two buildings, located next to Beacon Hill Park. The Sovereign, located in the heart of Victoria’s historic Old Town has just a few New York style luxury suites available.
While Chard and his team are reluctant to give away too many details about what else the future has in store, the developer is committed to its role as an advocate for the city.
“We believe in Victoria,” said Chard. “After all, it’s the provincial capital and one of the country’s finest cities. That we are able to play a part in its growth is a huge source of pride for all of us.”
CHARD DEVELOPMENT: A decade of leadership in an evolving Victoria
Clockwise: Juliet located on the corner of Johnson St. & Blanshard St.; an open plan kitchen at The Sovereign; the Escher presentation centre
ADVERTISING FEATURE
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Today's buyers trade space for
amenities and easy living
CONDO
AUL AND JEAN GIBBONS sit on the deck of their Swallows Landing condominium, overlooking the gentle hum and hubbub of
Victoria’s inner harbour. A hummingbird buzzes by, hovering at a feeder on the deck. The two pause their conversation to watch a floatplane lift off the water.
“I never get tired of the view,” says Paul, while Jean adds, “We love it here. We’d never go back to living in a house.”
The couple — Paul, a retired butcher, and Jean, a seamstress — moved into their one-bedroom, 1,060-square-foot condo two years ago. Previously, they lived just down the road in a two-bedroom, 1,350-square-foot condo. But before that, it was houses all the way, moving from Manchester, England, to Winnipeg, then Comox and — 19 years ago — Victoria.
Once an avid gardener, Paul could never envision himself exchanging the lush flowers and plants at their three-bedroom Broadmead home for a condo without a garden. However, diagnosed
with arthritis 10 years ago, he was suddenly unable to garden, and the door opened on the possibility. For Jean, the move was easier.
“It was lonely at the house for me; everyone was working, and I had a home-based business.”
Once their two children had left home, the house was too big for the two of them. (See separate story, page 36)
The two are part of a growing trend in Victoria that has seen the number of condo buyers steadily increasing. A corresponding influx of condo developments is revitalizing Victoria’s downtown core, and an evolution is underway in the type of living spaces that people seek. And now, with a deluge of new condos available, it’s a buyer’s market.
“There is more supply than in the past,” notes Victoria realtor Jason Binab. “Five years ago, we were selling out, now places like the Westshore are flooded with condos and the prices have gone down.”
TEXT BY SUSAN LUNDY
P
VerveCOND
Jason Binab, a real estate consultant with Macdonald Realty Ltd., stands inside a penthouse condo at The Reef on Erie Street.
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Condo construction is also flourishing in Victoria’s core with more than 1,000 units recently appearing on the market and others coming soon.
“The majority [of buyers] are young professionals and people downsizing,” Binab says, noting that condo ownership crosses all demographics, but the highest numbers continue to be first-time homebuyers and retirees.
In the 10 years Binab has sold real estate in Victoria he’s seen a change in buyers. Whereas Albertans and Americans once drove the condo market here — some buying for investment purposes — there are now more local buyers. And fewer people are buying into the spec market; with the high number of condos available, it’s less likely a spec buyer can turn a quick profit.
The focus of buyers has changed as well, he says, with the market demanding smaller suites with amenities and close to transit.
“People are buying smaller; they’re willing to give up space for amenities such as hardwood floors and granite countertops,” says Binab, adding, “Five years ago we were seeing new, two-bedroom condos selling for $450,000 to $500,000, but they were larger than the current trend.”
For example, recent sales at The Mondrian on the corner of Johnson and Cook saw two-bedroom units selling for approximately $370,000. But the units were 806 square feet compared to the 1,300 to 1,500 square feet that condo buyers used to expect. A 712-square-foot one-bedroom unit in the Mondrian sold for $337,000;
while a 400-square-foot unit sold for $168,000.The desire for “small and more affordable” became
explosively obvious last November when micro-lofts at The Janion went on the market, selling over 80 per cent in the first day. Located in the former Janion Hotel — built in the 1800s and empty for decades — at the foot of Johnson Street, the condo development by Reliance Properties is set to open next year. The micro-loft units, which measure anywhere from 243 to 352 square feet, sold for between $110,000 and $199,000.
“People were lined up down the street, sleeping overnight to buy them,” recalls Binab. When he walked into The Janion sales centre on opening day, someone frantically tossed him a pen and told him to start filling out contracts
“It was madness; I haven’t seen that in a long, long time.”Binab believes The Janion’s low price point and buyers’
appreciation for anything “new” created the winning combination.
But that’s not to say higher-end condos aren’t selling as well. Binab has sold several units upwards of $1 million; and the Oak Bay Beach Hotel has sold half of its 20 private condos, which range in size from 865 to 2,325 square feet and start at $1.2 million.
And The Sovereign, Chard Development’s luxury boutique condos on lower Broughton Street (which comes complete with a car elevator) currently has a 3,235-square-foot penthouse on the market for $3.9 million.
“It’ll sell,” says developer Dave Chard, as he shows off
Paul and Jean Gibbons on the deck of their condo unit at Swallows Landing.
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Ethe lavish and expansive penthouse space. It features a stunning view of the inner harbour and city core, which is echoed on the rooftop of The Sovereign where an extended living area offers a comfortable leisure and barbecue space.
Downstairs at street level, it’s the opening day for Chard Development’s newest project, Escher On Broughton, an 84-unit condominium set to open in the spring of 2017. Jeff Griffiths, vice president of marketing for Chard, says Escher saw “excellent” traffic throughout its preview period over the summer and during the first week of official sales.
“We have our first batch of deals in hand and anticipate a very busy October.”
A tour of a 626-square-foot, one-bedroom show room (on the market for $289,000), led by sales associate Patty Castello, illustrated the sleek touches and custom options that make such a seemingly small space livable.
However, downsizing and getting rid of “stuff” is inevitable for many condo buyers. For the Gibbons, moving from a house to a two-bedroom unit and then a one-bedroom condo has required much streamlining of furniture and stored items, an exercise Jean describes as “invigorating and refreshing.” She is also impressed with the amount of space she has etched out of their small living area.
“Everything is convenient; it’s all right here.”
Interior of the The Sovereign penthouse, currently on the market for $3.9 million.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen a lot of downsizers who are beginning to get very serious about making the move from a single-family home to a condo, and we’ve sold to many of them at The Sovereign and [Chard Development’s] Duet projects,” says Griffiths. “We’ve also seen more interest than originally expected from that market segment at Escher.”
Although condo buyers are seeking “new” and “small,” location continues to be the number one motivator, and that translates into a desire to live Victoria’s downtown core or nearby James Bay.
‘That’s where the action is,” Binab says. “People who are drawn to living in condos don’t want to have to worry about much. They want to walk outdoors and into a great restaurant, for example.”
Location was a big part of the Gibbon’s choice to move into Swallows Landing, which is on the waterfront in Esquimalt. Jean loves the proximity to walking areas and the downtown core.
“I was going to retire, but now I can walk to work.”And for Paul, it’s the view.“I’d never thought about having a home with a view.
But it’s there 24 hours a day. If I wake up with my arthritis at 3 a.m., I can get up an enjoy the view ... and I love the sound of the planes taking off.”
Condo living, they’ve discovered, is exactly what they needed.
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ONDO BUYERS IN VICTORIA cross all age spectrums and demographics as the market roars into high gear.
However, local realtors say the drive continues to be led by young, first-time homebuyers just entering the market, and retirees or empty-nesters, whose houses have become too large and cumbersome.
There are also people leaping into the current buyers’ market by purchasing condos as long-term investments. Others are considering the possibility
that the cost of financing a mortgage is comparable to — or less than — paying rent.
Here’s a look at the “who” and “why” of two types of Victoria condo owners.
LANCE SHAVER (AND PARENTS LARRY AND FRANCINE SHAVER)
While the old real estate adage “location, location, location” is true for most purchases, for a university student with several part time jobs, a condominium’s location becomes even more important.
WHO WHY?AND
The faces of condo living
TEXT BY SUSAN LUNDY & JEN BLYTH
PHOTOS BY DON DENTON & KEN SAKAMOTO
C
Lance Shaver, 21, in the condo his parents bought as an investment.
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So when Lance Shaver was shopping with his father Larry for a condo — a home for Lance and an investment purchase for his father — finding the 2006-built unit on North Dairy Road, across from Hillside Shopping Centre was ideal. Directly outside, buses head to the University of Victoria, downtown and the Mayfair area — pretty much everywhere Lance needs to be.
In comparison to the houses that some of his friends rent, the two-bedroom condo is the perfect size. Lance has a roommate to help with costs, and the cozier space is easy to furnish and maintain.
“It’s easier to work with a small space and make it homey,” he says.
While Lance, 21 and a fourth-year microbiology student, pays rent to his father, the experience has given him a taste of home ownership and insight to the roles of both landlord and tenant, he says, noting that he hopes to purchase the condo eventually.
At the same time, his parents have enjoyed a problem-free rental experience by having a person on-site with a vested interest in their property.
“I know several others who have decided to do this as well, so it works as an investment for parents, it adds responsibility for the child of the owner, and has inspired me to consider buying into the market myself, and a lot sooner than expected,” he says.
PAUL AND JEAN GIBBONSOnce their two children had left home, Jean and
Paul Gibbon’s three-bedroom house in Broadmead felt too big, and the idea of downsizing to a condo emerged.
After moving first to a two-bedroom condo on the waterfront in Esquimalt, and then to a nearby one-bedroom unit in Swallows Landing, the couple enthuses about the change in their lifestyle.
“I love the camaraderie,” says Jean, who found herself somewhat isolated living in a house. “There’s a social aspect here. We have so much fun with the other people in the building.”
It’s great to have social event occurring just a few floors down, adds Paul, and Jean points out that the presence of other people adds a level of security.
“You’re never alone if you need help,” she says, while
“It’s easier to work with a small
space and make it homey.”
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Paul adds, “It also gives us the freedom to decide to go away. We just tell our neighbours, close the door and off we go.”
Jean likes the fact that the smaller living space and occurrence of outdoor maintenance means she spends less time cleaning.
“Someone else does the windows … it’s almost like being on vacation.”
And despite paying monthly condo fees (about $310 for parking, water, insurance and garbage), they say condo living has proven extremely economical. The in-floor heating provides adequate heat, and they’ve never had to turn on the thermostat.
They also walk more and drive less.
“I get more exercise,” says Jean. “[This lifestyle] entices you outside; I walk to everything.”
The retirement age Gibbons have embraced everything condo living affords them and they say they’d never return to a house.
Jean and Paul Gibbons love the convenience (and the view) of their small space in Swallows Landing.
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TEXT BY CHRISTINE HALL
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$289,900-$669,900
The four strata townhouses and 32 strata condos comprising 1011 Burdett have been carefully designed to preserve the heritage context of the site. 1011 Burdett features a low maintenance exterior brick façade, bike storage, recycling and compost program, storage lockers, secured underground parking and exceptional walkways, lighting and landscape features.
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Two bedroom contemporary homes overlooking forest, mountains and water inlets. Minutes from downtown and many recreational facilities.
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With everything from micro suites to high-rise penthouses, and prices ranging from under $200.000 to several million dollars, Victoria has much to offer in the hunt for the perfect condo. Following is a list of Greater Victoria’s major condo developments.
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Eglazed thermal insulated windows, energy efficient appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures, proximity to transit, bicycle parking, a car share program and recycling collection facility.
THE ESCHER DOWNTOWN VICTORIA
$219,000-$899,000
Located within walking distance to all downtown amenities. One or two bedroom suites and penthouses are available; sizes vary from 474 to 1,350 sq. ft.
THE JANION DOWNTOWN VICTORIA
PHONE FOR PRICES
Micro-lofts in The Janion use less energy, require less maintenance and, with the number of built-in features, the need for furnishings and other household items is minimal. The amenity program includes a book-able boardroom and dining room, a stunning rooftop lounge and outdoor deck with full kitchen and barbecue.
THE LOFTS AT BEAR MOUNTAIN WESTSHORE
$190,000-$695,000
The building now known as The Lofts was originally designed to showcase the corporate offices for Bear Mountain and to house the International Food Market. It has been re-purposed to feature high ceilings, exposed concrete pillars, wood beams and rafters, floor-to-ceiling windows and exceptional views.
MIDTOWN PARK SAANICH
$299,999-$430,999
Midtown Park uses sustainable development construction standards, including a geothermal energy system to provide hot water and water conservation storage tanks to water the decorative and native plants surrounding the building. There is also a $1,000 Green Transportation Rebate for all owners.
OAK BAY BEACH HOTEL OAK BAY
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Twenty beautiful residences have been created for full-time living in this luxurious oceanfront hotel. Private residences range from 900 to 2,300 sq. ft., are pet-friendly and feature panoramic ocean, marina or residential views.
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PROMONTORY VICTORIA WEST
$242,900-$575,900
Located across the Johnson Street Bridge just a short walk from downtown Victoria, Bayview Place represents a 20-acre tract of land destined to become a premier waterfront community with parks, a public market, and spa-like amenities.
THE RESIDENCES AT UTOPIA WESTSHORE
$229,900-$284,900
Walk or bike to schools, shops, entertainment, parks, lakes, the Galloping Goose Trail and city centre bus routes. The Residences features 90 intelligently designed condos and over 20 distinct interior packages infused with quality.
THE SOVEREIGN DOWNTOWN VICTORIA
$599,000-$3,990,000
Luxury building of 36 homes located two blocks from the Inner Harbour. Two bedroom, two bedroom plus den, and penthouse suites are available.
TRAVINO ROYAL OAK
PHONE FOR PRICES
With 36 available units, Phase 1 of The Travino features a full-access community garden, shuttle services, bicycle rentals, evening security, solar power, and a full range of nearby amenities.
An exterior view of Bond’s Landing II at The Railyards.
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UPTOWN PLACE SAANICH
PHONE FOR PRICES
Uptown Place features one, two or three bedroom condos with open concept floor plans ideal for entertaining, and expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, which showcase city and mountain views. It’s located within the new Uptown Centre, centrally located near parks and trails with easy access to major highways.
WOODLAND HEIGHTS SAANICH
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One and two bedroom suites ranging from 671 to 1,493 sq. ft., residences are built to Green Globes and Built Green standards with open and airy floor plans close to schools, shopping, parks, recreation facilities and golf courses.
THE RESIDENCES AT VILLAGE WALK OAK BAY
PRICED FROM $499,900
Various floor plans are available, with living areas ranging from 888 to 1,265 sq. ft. Located near coffee shops, galleries, antique stores, markets and boutique shopping on one of Oak Bay Avenue’s most prominent corners.
An artist’s rendering of an open plan kitchen in the Era
development.
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ICTORIA’S BURGEONING CONDOMINIUM market is opening up new living space in the city, and along with it, a set of discerning art collectors who have specific needs to fulfill.
“After recovering from the recession of 2008/09 when things sort of went on hold for a while, we’re seeing the construction sector growing again,” notes Heather Wheeler of The Avenue Gallery. “I think both the condo market and the art market will grow substantially.”
“There is definitely an art market specific to condo buyers,” says Elizabeth Levinson of Winchester Modern. “Many of these buyers are downsizers and often they are people whose taste is changing. Many people who formed collections or invested in art that was more traditional — maybe more representational in nature — are now taking an active interest in the Canadian abstract movement.”
Established artists from the Winchester collection like
Jean McEwen, Jean Paul Riopelle and Claude Tousignant are popular choices for this group, offering both historical significance and a modernist aesthetic.
Wheeler has also found that condo owners are looking for something different than what they collected at their previous homes. People who are downsizing, and clients from Calgary or Edmonton who are furnishing second homes, are alike in that they’re looking for contemporary works that reflect the new space. While the second group’s Alberta homes may contain winter scenes that suit that environment, their Victoria collections are as fresh as the Pacific breeze.
“Often the pieces that fit so beautifully in their large homes just don’t work anymore,” Wheeler says. “We’re really seeing more people embracing abstract than ever before.”
Blu Smith, Kimberly Kiel, Michael den Hertog and Corre Alice are some of the names making a splash with these buyers.
Over at the West End Gallery, Amy Boyle has noticed that condo location can actually impact the choice of art, especially with micro-trends surfacing within buildings.
“Clients at The Reef are looking for lots of colour but maybe a more eclectic collection, whereas somebody in Shoal Point might be looking for investment pieces,” she says. “At Bayview they’re echoing what they’re looking at — choosing Richard Cole and Rod Charlesworth’s big West Coast paintings for a specific wall.” CREATIVE
SPACESCondo buyers seek fresh
art for new homes
TEXT BY ELIZABETH NOLAN
V
Piece from Lisa Samphire’s Window Murine Series.
Blu Smith’s Beginning of the Butterfly.
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ECompanion piece sculptures by Aboriginal artists can complete the coastal arrangement.
The smaller amount of space available in condos and the arrangement of that space can make a difference when it comes to choosing pieces, which means buyers are branching out with new forms of art and finding new ways to display it.
“I think the days of hanging salon style are over and people are being selective and wanting really blue-chip pieces,” Levinson says.
“So many condos here have so many windows and so much glass, there’s definitely a common issue about wall space, and that has led to a greater interest in sculpture. Artists like Roy Leadbeater and Shayne Dark are really starting to catch on for buyers who don’t have a wall, but certainly have room to put a piece on a plinth or directly on the floor.”
Wheeler notes that upscale condo builders are aware of their potential buyers’ wish to enjoy art collections, and are creating the space to enhance a few special pieces.
“There are often feature walls, so one large painting sets the tone. Then the client will add a couple of complimentary pieces by other artists whose work shares the same story,” she says.
Builders are also incorporating more recessed shelving with overhead lighting, perfect for showing off glass artists like Lisa Samphire and Naoko Takenouchi and ceramic artists Bill Boyd, John Charnetski and George Pearlman.
Boyle agrees glass artists like Tammy Hudgeon, David Thai and Paull Rodrigue are helping bring the focus into three-dimensional space. Hudgeon’s bold and colourful nature-inspired pieces are popular both indoors and out, and her larger sculptures come complete with bolt holes to secure the work from theft and wind storms.
“We’re definitely seeing some people bring art outside, creating a flow between the inside and outside space,” Boyle says. “We have such a mild climate here, we can leave it outside.”
Fused glass and metal piece by Tammy Hudgeon.
TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice is a division of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., a subsidiary of The Toronto Dominion Bank. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. – Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. The TD logo and other trademarks are the property of the Toronto Dominion Bank, as a wholly-owned subsidiary in Canada and/or other countries.
Roderick MacMillan, B.Comm (Hons) FSCI, CSWPInvestment AdvisorTD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice1070 Douglas Street, 5th FloorVictoria, [email protected]
www.rodmacmillan.com
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46
PROUDLY SERVING VICTORIA FOR 30 YEARSPHONE 250.744.3301 • EMAIL [email protected] www.lynnesager.comGet the results that you desire. Call Lynne for
professional representation, when you wish to sell your home.
A REMARKABLE SOUTHWEST-FACING waterfront property with a dock! This 2007 built unique Westcoast design offers 9’ ceilings, plus panoramic waterviews. Elegance & style are reflected in the quality finishes. Formal living room with energy efficient F.P. Gorgeous kitchen with wood beamed vaulted ceilings, centre island, kitchenaide stainless appliances, & pantry. Ajoining spacious family room, with vaulted ceilings, & electric skylights. Sumptous master with 5 pce ens. (5 bedrooms total) media/in-law down. See L.S. re: dock. $1,750,000
SENSATIONAL GATED & private 1.24 acre waterfront estate with superb south facing views of Coles Bay. This exceptional 4,556 sq. ft. home has been recently transformed, creating elegance, style & panache. Superb new 23’x23’ gourmet kitchen with expansive centre island, oversized skylight, Viking appliances (6 burner induction cooktop), heated marble floors, & pantry. Grand living room with lofty vaulted ceilings, Hickory wide-planked flooring, & F.P., formal dining room, & family room all with serene water views. Elegant master with 6 piece ensuite, & heated marble floors. Spacious media/recreation room with double sided F.P. & wet bar. 31’ sunroom. Heated pool & hot tub, 3 new heat pumps, garages for 3 cars, security, well for irrigation. $3,250,000
SPECTACULAR 90’X180’ south-facing waterfront on Esquimalt Lagoon. Recently refurbished with 3 bdrms up, spacious living room, updated kitchen, sunroom, spacious deck, and rec room. Legal self-contained 1 bdrm. suite down. Three updated 4 pce. bathrooms. Hot tub and workshop. Massive RV garage plus attached garage. Great views of the park-like mature garden, complete with pond. Heat pump/air conditioning, hook up for 2 gas F.P. Underground stream with licence for irrigation. 7 new appliances, pre-paid sewer levy for 25yrs! Duplex zoned. $875,000
Sensational WATERFRONT LIFESTYLE HOME, WITH STEPS TO A SANDY BEACH! Sweeping views of the Ocean to San Juan Island & Mt. Baker beyond. Pamela Charlesworth design with a $300,000 refurbishment. New kitchen with Merlot cabinets, granite counters, s.s. appliances. Adjoining family room with gas F.P. & custom built-ins. Formal dining room, energy efficient F.P. in living room. Master with commanding view & new ensuite. Great recreation room with F.P. plus office on lower. Private .33 acre lot with patio & hot tub, to enjoy the views. $1,698,000
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Dallas Chapple RE/MAX Camosun • Tel: 250.744.3301 • Toll Free: 1.877.652.4880 www.dallaschapple.com • Email: [email protected]
Dallas Sells Victoria/Oak Bay“My goal is to find your dream home and ensure that the decision you make stands as a wise investment over the long term.”
PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
SOUTH OAK BAYThis gracious Edwardian Tudor home sits majes-tically on private, 1/3 acre manicured grounds. 4 bedrooms up: perfect for a family. Kitchen & bathrooms renovated, & master bdrm (or fam. rm.) addition on main floor: all in 1999. Fir un-der carpets, new roof, electrical updated, & new drain tile. $1,225,000
BRENTWOOD WATER VIEWSThis elegant townhome features ocean views and a master on the main level. 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1,924 sq. ft. Many upgrades in kitchen including in-floor heating & convection oven, new flooring & lighting throughout, & more. Fabulous deck. double garage. Small pets OK. $475,000
OAK BAYLarge family home with pool & sauna. New kitchen, powder room, renovated fam. rm. & ensuite w/steam shower. 5-6 bdrms, 6 baths, 2 family rooms, playrooms, 6,783 sq. ft. mas-ter on main. Student or nanny accommoda-tions. Great for indoor/outdoor entertaining.
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LUXURY WATERFRONT CONDOYou will feel like you are in the bow of a yacht in this absolutely stunning waterfront penthouse! Completely renovated, featuring new hardwood floors, quartz counters, s/s appliances, new custom cabinetry & lighting throughout & state of the art ensuite. Fly in to golf - only steps to the Victoria Golf Club. $1,495,000
STUNNING TOWNHOME!A New York loft in Broadmead! $100,000 spent on a complete renovation including a new kitch-en, 2 new bathrooms with heated floors, new carpeting up and new engineered flooring on the main, new fixtures & appliances, new fireplace, new lighting and painting. Nearly 2,000 sq. ft. of luxury plus its own yard! $619,900
“THE FALLS” DOWNTOWN CONDOResort style living is yours in this bright suite: one of the largest 1 bedroom plus den suites in The Falls. Beautiful Italian granite Schiffini kitch-en, s/s appliances, marble bathroom with double sinks. Spa-like ensuite with separate walk-in shower & cast iron tub. Air conditioning. Pets & rentals OK. $358,500
Boulevard magazine supports Southern Vancouver Island's top
Realtors representing the region's finest real estate. We hope
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Lisa Williams250-514-1966lisawilliams.ca
PRIVATE WATERFRONT ESTATE on 5.8 pristine acres, with private deep water dock! The gracious & elegant residence was completely renovated to the highest standards w/ every modern luxury: expansive living & dining rms, oversized bdrms all w/ deluxe new ensuite baths, office/library, sunroom, games & entertainment rms, wine cellar, & elevator. Private guest quarters, 6-car garage parking, gorgeous landscaping, small stable w/pasture, & 50’ dock!
$6,899,000
Lisa Williams250-514-1966lisawilliams.ca
THIS EXCEPTIONAL waterfront property is located on a private cul-de-sac in Victoria’s most exclusive neighbourhood!The 7,882 sq.ft. home has been beautifully renovated & upgraded over the years with 4-5 bdrms, 6 bths, expansive living, dining, family & sitting rooms all on the main level, expansive kitchen, recreation/media room, office, crafts rm & more. Plus seaside cabana, gated & manicured property & incredible low bank frontage with amazing views & sun all day!
$1,849,000
Dallas ChapplePERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
250-744-3301dallaschapple.com
Camosun
SOLD IN 2 DAYS!! Rare, south-west facing .28 ac. waterfront property at 10 Mile Point! Captivating views of the yacht club, Cadboro Bay Beach, Cattle Point, & Olympic Mtns. Private beach at low tide. The spacious master is on the main floor (with fabulous views!) & the ensuite has a 4 yr. old separate shower. The living rm (with propane fireplace) leads to the deck & stairs down to the ocean. 2 more bedrooms & 4 pc. bath down.
SOLD
A SPARKLING SHORELINE, kayaks, people walking, ferry boats & seaplanes are just a sample of what you will be watching from this corner waterfront condohome in “The Royal Quay”. This spacious 1,900 sq. ft. suite features two bedrooms and a family den. Ideal location to amenities - walk into town, the Westside Village for your groceries or catch the Harbour Ferry taxi. Secure underground parking and extra storage. Bring along your small pet. Welcome to your new waterfront lifestyle.
$595,000
Sharen Warde & Larry Sims250-592-4422wardesims.com
$1,298,888
Susanna CroftonCell: 250-888-6648Office: 250-370-7788
COMPLETELY REBUILT: Michael Cullin design, this is a stunning 3,739 sq. ft. home on a private .87 acre with gorgeous views over Elk Lake and towards Mt.Baker. Sumptuous details including Pella windows and doors, copper double kitchen and prep sinks, granite and marble countertops, wide plank oak floors, old growth fir floors (milled from property), heated slate tiles, fireplace in master bedroom. West-facing walled terrace surrounds a 20x40’ in-ground pool. Ample parking. More info: BCSelectHomes.ca MLS #341972
SENSATIONAL PRIVATE 1.24 acre waterfront estate with south facing views of Coles Bay. This 4,556 sq. ft. home has been recently transformed, creating elegance, style & panache. New 23’x23’ gourmet kitchen with heated marble floors & pantry. Grand living room with vaulted ceilings, wide-planked flooring, & F.P., dining room, & family room all with water views. Master with ensuite, & heated marble floors. Media/recreation rm. with double-sided F.P. & wet bar. 31’ sunroom. Heated pool & hot tub, 3 new heat pumps, garages for 3 cars, security, well for irrigation.
$3,250,000
Lynne Sager250-744-3301lynnesager.com
Camosun
50
Limited square footage
doesn’t mean you can’t
live large. Embrace your
space with furniture and
accessories that are not only
beautiful, but adaptable,
functional and perfect for
maximizing every inch of
your condo or cozy home.
Start with clean lines and
a consistent colour palette,
then don’t be afraid to add
bold prints, colour and art
to maximize impact!
Sarah Reid is a designer, creative director and maker
living in Victoria, BC.
bigsmall
DESIGN MATTERS
BY SARAH REID
General contractinG ■ construction manaGement ■ character renovation
Dd D250-883-5763roadsend.ca
51
No coat closet? No problem.
$669 // Lapalma // Gabriel Ross
Be flexible. This compact sofa’s chaise
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Make every inch count with pieces that nest
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Choose pieces thatare versatile.
Side table or stool, it’s both sculptural and functional.
$219 // Chintz & Company
Avoid visual clutter with clear solutions.
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Create the illusion of grandeur
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Make a statement with bold wallpaper.
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52
Beer!ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS
MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME ...
A
TEXT BY CAROLYN HEIMAN
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Victoria’s Matt Phillips and Phillips Brewing Company gear up for the release of their beer Advent calendar.
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HERE ARE JUST OVER two months until Christmas, but who’s counting?
Answer: Many die-hard craft beer lovers, because this month they’ll be able to get their hands on the
crazy-popular beer Advent calendars, which have become a sell-out merchandizing success story since the first import offering three years ago.
That year, word-of-mouth stories about the briskly selling Craft Beer Advent Calendar created beer and liquor store lineups. When the shelves emptied, a blizzard of telephone calls across BC and Alberta ensued, as wanna-be customers searched for remaining stock.
One customer drove six hours to get the last remaining calendar from a remote store, says Christian Finz, purchasing agent for Alberta’s Craft Beer Importers Inc. This year the company has increased its supply tenfold, to 21,000 cases in order to address demand and market expansion beyond BC and Alberta to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland.
The traditional Advent calendar has been spun into a variety of forms for some time, but children remained the target market. Lego puts out a building blocks version. Not to be outdone, Playmobile now has one as well and Kinder Surprise also adds fun to the traditional chocolate version.
Then people must have started wondering why kids should have all the fun. Now there are Advent calendars featuring items like tea or nail polish.
Finz discovered a European company creating a craft beer version. He jumped on the beer truck, and local craft brewers have been quick to follow. (The DIY crowd hasn’t missed a beat either, judging from the number of websites demonstrating how to make your own beer Advent calendar.)
Last year, Victoria’s Phillips Brewing Company easily sold out its small run of Snowcase Calendar, and owner/founder Matt Phillips says they’ll bump up production of the surprise package this year. But it’s no small task to do so.
“To [release] 24 different beers at the same time you
T
“One customer drove six hours to get
the last remaining calendar from a
remote store.”
©2
014
EIL
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C.
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have to put in careful thought,” ensuring each of the beers is ready at the same time. Phillips’ development team started planning last January.
While Finz’s company doesn’t have to concern itself with getting 24 beers simultaneously brewed, coordinating shipping for this year’s “intercontinental” edition is another matter. Beers will come from Brazil, Australia, Norway and other far-flung corners of the globe. The late arrival of a craft beer from French Guinea has created some pre-packaging angst.
Phillips refuses to name the craft beers that will be in the 2014 calendar box, saying only that several will be unique to the Snowcase, and each will be numbered for the day of the month it should be released from its closure.
“That’s top secret ... we don’t tell anyone about it; they find out when they open it.”
This recreates for adults, the anticipation kids feel opening the door of a traditional Advent calendar.
“I’m sure there are some cheaters” who look ahead, says Phillips, and judging from confessions made on the company’s Facebook page, that’s true. Others, it appears, patiently waited, reporting in the morning that they’d put their beer in the fridge for later that day and then writing their thoughts about each offering. Pages of commentary came from Victoria’s beer-loving community.
One review said: “We LOVE the Snowcase in our house — every morning when our little one opens his Lego Advent Calendar, the Snowcase is opened and the beer chilled for an after work treat!!!!”
Another chimed in on December 24: “Thank you so much Phillips for this Christmas treat! ... Opening the Snowcase each day gave me a reason to get up during each dark December morning (so I could refrigerate each beer for an after work treat).”
Finz credits much of the popularity to people’s simple enjoyment of trying something new. Others like the adult version of a chocolate tradition from childhood.
“There are a lot of different reasons ... One guy, who grew up in a Jewish family, told me that he had never had an Advent calendar but was always jealous when his neighbours got theirs. His wife came home with a craft beer Advent calendar and he almost cried.”
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56
A place of small courtesiesIT’S THE VICTORIA WAY
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BY TOM HAWTHORN
HALF ASLEEP ON THE BUS, lulled into a comfortable doziness by the warmth of the interior, the sharp ring of a bell announces a passenger wants off at the next stop. The bus lurches to the curb, and rear doors open with a swoosh. As the passenger disembarks, she shouts a jaunty “Thank you!” to the driver. At the next stop, another passenger offers thanks as he steps down.
The routine repeats at a third stop. And so it goes. Newcomers to this city are just as baffled as I was after moving here. Did the driver help everyone with directions? Does he know every passenger on his route? Are these all his relatives?
The truth is Victoria is a place of small courtesies.How rude I was on my arrival here, slamming coins on
the counter at the newsstand, neglecting to greet passers-by on quiet residential streets, honking my car horn at drivers dawdling as a light changed. In the metropolis, anonymity triumphs intimacy. Not so in Victoria, a biggish city with small-town manners.
We tolerate idiosyncrasies and encourage civility. We give away our surplus and we consider the needs of others.
On Hampshire Street in Oak Bay, a household has placed two plastic chairs by the curb for weary pedestrians, a most thoughtful gesture. Down by windswept Harling Point, visitors can rest in a blue Adirondack plank chair and enjoy the vista across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (A small brass plaque has been screwed to the chair, reading “Chris, 1947-2011. The Dude Abides.”) The historically minded might wish to
contemplate the bravery of Frederick Harling, after whom the point is named. He was a Fairfield dentist who drowned on a wet and cold January evening in 1934 as he tried to rescue two people in an overturned rowboat. Other chairs, one painted red, another yellow, are sometimes on the site as well. I’m told discarded lawn chairs are in use at bus stops in Saanichton, making the wait for the No. 75 slightly more pleasant.
We also have painted telephone poles, which discourage graffiti, not to mention donated memorial benches for restful contemplation. The summertime street pianos are a nice touch, though I’m glad it is not my job to move them.
While we’re talking furniture, it’s worth noting garage sale rejects often wind up curbside, free for the taking. That’s neighbourly, but remember, one man’s junk is another man’s junk after 48 hours.
Another thing you see in Victoria, but hardly anywhere else, is the tidy sorting of returnable cans and bottles from the other recyclables on Blue Box pickup day. Street scavengers can do their nickel-and-dime harvesting without having to root through paper and plastic.
While we’re talking disposables, it is thoughtful of the city to provide plastic dog-poop bags at parks and along Dallas Road. In less polite jurisdictions, the selfish would steal the bags.
We have neighbourhood book exchanges stocked with children’s books, potboilers and works of arcane academia. We have a homegrown grocery-store chain that offers free fruit leather for children at the till. We have boulevards in the middle of traffic decorated with the most wondrous displays of flowers. We have neighbours who place their surplus herbs and produce in bowls for others to share in the bounty. We have a free putting course and free bandshell concerts at Beacon Hill Park. We clap at the end of movies.
One of my friends lives on a suburban street on which a communal pink flamingo is used to indicate when a household is hosting afternoon cocktails with root beer or juice boxes for the wee ones.
When the world news seemed especially bleak this summer, a friend’s mother asked him to take her to a farmhouse on the peninsula where they sell flowers and vegetables on the honour system. It renewed her faith in people to shop there.
I am now reformed from my big city rudeness, whether on the sidewalk or behind the wheel. When a bus at curbside signals to pull out, I yield. It’s the Victoria way. More often than not, the drivers reach out the tiny side window to wave. Thanks, driver.
In the metropolis, anonymity triumphs intimacy. Not so in Victoria, a biggish city with small-town manners.
57
Red, White & New BY ERNEST SARGENT
ADVERTISING FEATURE
A wine lover and collector for 35 years, Ernest turned professional after receiving his Sommelier certification (ISG) in 2006,
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A SPECIAL
58
HILE SALT HAS been valued as a preservative by humans for thousands of years, it’s only recently that harvesting sea salt has become popular in North America.
Even here on Vancouver Island, where we’re literally surrounded by salt, it took a bet (for beer, of course) to get Vancouver Island Salt Co.’s Andrew Shepherd launched into the business of boiling up sea water to produce local salt.
“We were the first ones in Canada to harvest unrefined
FOOD & DRINK
WWhether you prefer ocal fleur de
sel, Portuguese sea salt or mined
Himalayan pink salt from ancient
seas, if it’s natural, it will always be a
step up from ordinary table salt.
TEXT BY CINDA CHAVICH
Chicken, fish or Oktoberfest style sausage and sauerkraut
SURROUNDED SALTBY
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sea salt,” says Shepherd of the business he birthed in 2010. Now, as a finalist in the 2014 national Small Business Challenge, he’s hoping to win enough money to take Canadian sea salt to the world.
“We feel we can set a standard for the industry in Canada,” says Shepherd, who fuels his saltwater boilers with reclaimed cooking oil from local restaurants to keep his operation carbon neutral.
The beauty of this kind of sea salt, especially when compared to refined table salt, is both in its flavour and the array of minerals it contains. Every teaspoon of salt is mainly sodium chloride, but unrefined salts have their own unique trace elements, which can slightly alter taste and colour (and contribute to your health, according to some sources). West coast Pacific sea salt is high in magnesium, giving it what Shepherd describes a “tangy” taste.
But whether you buy local fleur de sel, Portuguese sea salt or prefer mined Himalayan pink salt from ancient seas, if it’s natural (that is, unrefined), it will always be a step up from ordinary table salt.
Some unrefined salt is fine and white; some is sticky and grey, even black, in perfect crystals or crumbly flakes. It’s nice to have a selection of sea salts at hand, even flavoured salts (like the blue cheese salt or roasted garlic salt produced at Vancouver Island Salt Co.), to use for cooking, seasoning and finishing dishes.
But salt is a preservative, too. Before there was refrigeration, there was salt, and storing food often meant “salting it away” for leaner times.
Salt is a desiccant, it literally sucks the moisture out of anything it touches. Humans have used this property to preserve food for millennia, salting meat and fish for charcuterie, beef jerky and salt cod to prevent spoilage.
Salt also kills bacteria, which is why it’s used to make sauerkraut, kimchi and cucumber pickles: the salt draws out moisture from the vegetables, and the natural yeasts in the air ferment the juice to create the vinegar that pickles them.
Salt is harvested and mined around the world — some of the finest being the fleur de sel, hand-harvested from the first saline “blooms” in the salt marshes of Brittany, Spain and southern France. Mayans began cultivating salt beds 1,500 years ago and it was the British Raj, in the 1850s that began mining pink salt from the Himalayan mines in what is now Pakistan.
Canadians have long mined table salt, too, from the vast deposits of sedimentary rock salt, left behind from ancient inland seas in deep formations that stretch from Ontario to southern Saskatchewan. Sifto still has a mine at Unity, where water is pumped 4,000 feet underground to bring 350-million-year-old sea salt to the surface. These boxes are numbered “69” in the grocery store.
But unrefined Canadian sea salt is a new thing. Shepherd says his salt has the right “merrior” to match with local BC ingredients, heightening flavours with fewer shakes due to its saltier flavour.
There are others now making sea salt in Canada, but Vancouver Island Salt Co. was the first, and you’ll find it in shops across the country.
Local chefs and bakers are already using it. It’s the salt Cory Pelan uses to cure sausages and hams at The Whole Beast.
Or you can just head to Shepherd’s spice shop in the Hudson Public Market for his delicate BC fleur de sel, or a little box of balsamic vinegar flavoured salt. It’s perfect on popcorn!
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Vat where water is boiled off in order to harvest salt.
Andrew Shepherd, founder of Vancouver
Island Salt Co., looks over a vat of water
and salt ready to be harvested at his Cobble
Hill facility.
60
You can use the brining method for a whole roast chicken, or just make a light brine — one part sugar, one part salt and eight parts water — whenever you plan to grill or oven-roast chicken pieces. The sugar in the brine helps caramelize the skin, resulting in a crisp, golden brown chicken, while the salt and spices season the meat right down to the bone.
But even a boneless chicken breast benefits from brining. Make the brine in advance and store it in the refrigerator to use whenever you want to serve chicken. Brining chicken makes it tender and juicy, whether you’re tossing it on the grill or dipping it into a batter to fry. Try this simple brine for pork tenderloin, too.
1 small frying chicken, about 3 pounds, quartered
BRINE:4 quarts (4 L) water 1/2 cup (125 ml) kosher salt3/4 cup (175 ml) sugar2 cloves garlic, crushed1 teaspoon each: whole juniper, black peppercorns and coriander seed (or substitute your favourite spice combinations)
In a pot, combine the brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved, then remove the brine from the heat and cool. Cut the chicken into serving pieces and put it into a large, heavy, zippered plastic bag. Add enough of the brine to submerge the chicken. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or up to 24.
Before roasting or grilling, soak the chicken in cold water for 30 minutes to remove excess salt, and then pat dry. The chicken needs no additional seasoning — simply grill it or roast it until cooked through.
Sear the chicken, skin side down, on the hottest part of the grill until brown, then move it to an unlit side of the gas grill and close the lid to finish cooking — about 20 minutes in total. Let the meat rest before carving.
SALT BRINED CHICKEN
PREP 2-24 hrs COOK TIME 30 mins SERVES 2-3
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There are many traditional ways from France and Italy to bake a whole fish in salt. But this is easy — any coarse rock salt or pickling salt will work.
1 whole 2-pound (1 kg) fish (snapper, trout, etc.) cleaned and gutted1 small lemon, sliced2 springs parsley or thyme1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil1 box coarse pickling salt or sea salt (about 4 pounds/2 kg)3-4 egg whites, beaten until stiff1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
Wash and dry the fish well. Fill the cavity with sliced lemons and herbs, and then rub the skin all over with olive oil. Meanwhile, combine the salt, beaten egg whites and water in a bowl, stirring to create a slushy mixture.
Place about 1/3 of the salt mixture into the bottom of a baking sheet and lay the stuffed fish on top. Cover with a ¼-inch layer of salt, patting it in place to enclose the fish (the head and tail may stick out).
Place into preheated 450 F oven for 30-40 minutes, until you have a solid salt crust and the fish is cooked through (you can use a meat probe to check the temperature: it should be 145-150F).
Let the fish rest before breaking it out of its salty cast, and it should be crisp on the outside and perfectly moist inside.
PREP 15 mins COOK TIME 40 mins SERVES 4
FISH IN A SALT CRUST
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WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCIAL advice, there’s no substitute for experience. Clients of the Elbers Financial Group have more than 50 years of financial advisory experience at work for them. “Our wealth management services include discretionary investment management alongside retirement, estate and tax planning,” explains Adrian Elbers, CFA, Vice President at CIBC Wood Gundy. “As a Chartered Financial Analyst and Registered Portfolio Manager, my focus is the active management of our portfolios.” Born in Winnipeg, Adrian moved to Victoria with his family in high school. After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria, then working in Vancouver for more than a decade, he returned to Victoria in 2007 to join his father Eric at CIBC Wood Gundy. Believing in strong community connections, Adrian is treasurer for the Board of
Directors for the Mount St. Mary Hospital Foundation and previously served on the board of St. Christopher’s Montessori School. “I feel fortunate to work, play and raise my family in
Victoria, working with clients who are happy to live in one of Canada’s most ideal cities,” Adrian says. “Being responsible for investors’ retirement savings, I have two jobs of equal importance: to focus on generating returns in leading market areas when risk reward is favourable, and defend portfolio values when risks are elevated. A world in flux and
changing markets require a responsive, flexible approach to investing that we deliver.”
ON THE LOOKOUT FOR EYEWEAR to suit your vision needs and your personality? A visit to ArtSEE Eyeware is a must. With her talented team of opticians and optometrists, owner Trina Mendria serves the Broadmead and Oak Bay communities with eye exams and eyewear that is “anything but ordinary.”
“I started in optics by fluke in 1991 and fell in love with it immediately. I started my business in 1998 and added a second location in Oak Bay in 2007,” Trina says. “I love the mix of fashion and technology. I enjoy connecting with people and helping them with how they see the world and how the world sees them.”
Born in New Westminster, Trina has lived in Victoria since she was just four years old. “I love how interconnected our city is,” she says. “Our clients run into their friends at the store all the time. Next thing we know, a party breaks out!” A Boulevard supporter since opening her second location in Oak Bay, she says the magazine “really spread the word about ArtSEE Eyewear. The distribution is in the neighbourhood of both my locations, which is a perfect fit.”
SPECIALIZING IN MARKETING alternative health products and supplies, Triangle Healing Products has been one of Victoria’s premier health and wellness destinations for more than two decades. Owner Diane Regan, originally from Edmonton, founded the store in 1987 after many years of research into alternative health.
In addition to getting the knowledge that comes with research and experience, clients enjoy Triangle Healing’s wide array of high-quality and unique products, which range from air purifiers and exercise equipment to supplements and water purifiers.
“With our excellent selection of wellness products, we can help you purify your air and water, reconnect with earth energies and gain practical knowledge about your health,” Diane says.
Diana appreciates the opportunities that doing business in Victoria affords, from living and working in a beautiful climate to meeting people from all over Canada and
the world beyond. Well known to Boulevard readers for 20 years, Diane explains, at Triangle Healing Products, “we teach people to learn how to take charge of their health.”
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TEXT BY NICOLE WALLACE PHOTOS BY SEAN WALLACE
TRAVEL FAR The Greek island of Sifnos remains an untouched paradise.
AM SITTING on the outdoor patio of a small bar, sipping a cold Mythos beer, sheltered from the evening sun by orange, canvas umbrellas.
Around me are the gleaming, whitewashed walls of the medieval city of Kastro on the Greek Island of Sifnos. Europop music from a nearby speaker mingles with the clanging of bells on the necks of farm goats, which are hidden among the vegetation on the hillside below us. The autumn sun sinks lower, darkening the magnificent blues of the Aegean Sea, blurring the lines of the valley and sea below into the night. This is the epitomy of Greek Isle tranquillity: a beautiful island that is keeping its old-world authenticity while still offering the conveniences of modern life.
My husband and I had previously been to other, more
popular Greek Islands, like Santorini and Mykonos, and we loved their culture and atmosphere. But this time, we took the advice of our two friends and joined them on a two-week exploration of Sifnos, one of the more remote islands in the Western Cyclades.
More than 200 islands are in the Cyclades, each with its own charms and strong identity. Sifnos is no exception. Too mountainous for a commercial airport, it’s only accessible by boat — a main reason for its relatively untouched charm. Located about 80 nautical miles from the port of Piraeus, Athens, it’s a three- to five-hour journey, depending on whether one takes a high-speed catamaran or a traditional ferry, and how many stops are scheduled on the route.
The majority of visitors are Greeks from the mainland.
I
Discover the old-world
AUTHENTIC GREECE
charms of Sifnos
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The remainder are determined tourists like us, who have come for the unique Greek island experience that Sifnos offers through its beautiful beaches, vivid scenery, historical architecture and amazing cuisine.
The journey was not easy, but once we arrived, we knew it was worth it.
With a resident population of less than 3,000 and an area of only 73 square kilometres, Sifnos has more than 14 villages dotting the island. Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest inhabitants arrived around 3000 BC. It was once very wealthy from the gold and silver mines that are now exhausted. The main villages are Kamares, where the ferry docks, Apollonia, the island capital, Artemonas, the largest on the island, and Kastro, where we started our exploration.
Located on the northwestern shore, Kastro dates from a Venetian fortress built in 1635, and was the former capital of the island. It takes its name from the Greek word for “castle.” And no wonder. Upon arrival, we approached a hillside peak surrounded by valleys of gleaming whitewashed houses winding their way around it. We drove to the side of the peak, parked, and entered the city from the south on foot, meeting a maze of homes, shops and tavernas.
The jangle of houses forms a continuous, connected wall that once defended the city’s riches. Two rings make up this wall: the homes of the rich in the centre and those of the poor on the outside. Each building is unique and in varying states of repair. Contrasting bold coloured doors and window frames in rich blues, reds and
greens, are set off against the white walls of the houses. Most seem to have a cat or two lying in front in the sunshine.
Ninety minutes of wandering up the streets, and a few dead ends later, we reached the top and turned a corner. The view was astounding: we were on a cliff face looking out to the blazing sunshine and the open Aegean Sea. At the bottom of the cliff, like a Greek Island brochure, was a small, white church with a rounded blue dome, Efta Martires (Church of the Seven Martyrs), located on a rocky outcrop at the end of a long, winding set of stairs. The church, one of approximately 360 on the island, is small and striking in its beauty and isolation, jutting out into the sea in the shadow of Kastro.
It took us only a few minutes to descend the stairs. Turning back at the bottom, we saw Kastro towering over us. The church is only open to visitors upon advance request, so we spent an hour admiring its outside as fierce waves from the Aegean pounded the rocks around us.
Leaving the church, we spent another 30 minutes winding back through the village to where we began our exploration. On our way back, an elderly woman, in the traditional black dress of a Greek widow, sat outside feeding a litter of kittens. It was the picture of Greek Isle authenticity.
Over the next two weeks, we lazed on Sifnos’ beaches, swam in the ocean, ate at the many family-owned tavernas and explored the quaint villages. But it was during this first moment of watching this woman in her simple act that I fully understood why our friends loved this island so much and returned year after year.
An untouched Greek paradise in relative isolation, Sifnos was for us one of the best Greek islands to visit.
Nicole Wallace is a writer, business woman, traveller and fourth-generation Victoria native.
IF YOU GO:
The best time to travel is between early spring and early fall when there is daily ferry service from Piraeus, Athens. Spring and fall are the off-peak months. Plenty of accommodation options exist on the island located on beaches and in the main villages. I recommend staying in Kamares, since it’s where the ferry docks, and all other areas of the island are easily accessible by car or bus. Accommodation starts at approximately €35/night. Overall, the prices of accommodation as well as locally prepared food and drinks are more economical than other Greek islands; however, as it is remote, any imported items are more costly. Many websites on Sifnos exist, but a good place to start is travel-to-sifnos.com.
An elderly woman ... sat
outside feeding a litter of
kittens. It was the picture of
Greek Isle authenticity.
The villages abound with gleaming, whitewashed structures.
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BY TESS VAN STRAATEN
me funny and said, “A lot!” because parents don’t always like to tell their kids stuff like that. But it didn’t stop me. I asked how they got the money and she explained what a mortgage was and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Why did people discourage you from going into finance? I was always a straight-A math student, and through my commerce degree, I had a co-op experience at a brokerage firm. I knew it was what I wanted to do, but a colleague said, “Why do you want to be an investment adviser? It has a high-failure rate and you’ve got three things working against you: you’re young, you’re female and you’re attractive. You’re never going to make it!” Well, that made me want to do it even more.
What challenges did you have to overcome when you started out 20 years ago in such a male-dominated industry? Some of my male colleagues were jealous of my success so my manager forbade me from servicing a certain part of the market. It was ridiculous, so I pushed
SHE’S A SELF-PROCLAIMED math nerd, a successful entrepreneur,
and a passionate philanthropist who believes in giving back. But Sybil Verch, who heads up the Verch Group at Raymond James, was once told she wouldn’t be able to cut it in the cut-throat world of finance. Verch proved them wrong, becoming one of Vancouver Island’s Top 40 Under 40 and most recently, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year. She’s also a television personality, mentoring struggling business owners on The Hard Way, which kicks off its second season this fall. Tess van Straaten sat down with Verch at her summer home on Shawnigan Lake to talk about money, success and being a woman in a male-dominated business.
How did you get interested in finance? When I was five, my parents bought their first house and I asked them, ‘How much did that cost?’” My mom looked at
TALKING WITH TESSfeaturing SYBIL VERCH
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back and continued to service it. What were they going to do, fire me for making a lot of money? Of course they didn’t and it eventually worked itself out. I learned you can’t avoid having negative things happen in your life, but you have two choices — dwell on it and get into self-pity or use it as an opportunity to grow.
After the birth of your son you also got a lot of criticism for not taking maternity leave. What happened? Working for myself, I didn’t want to take a year off, so my husband took a paternity leave. He was the first fireman in Victoria to do it and we were judged then, and people still judge us today. But you have to have courage to do what’s right for you and not worry about what other people think. We did what worked for us and I was a better mother for it.
What’s the biggest mistake parents make with their kids when it comes to money? Giving their kids too much! When my son was nine he wanted a $600 bike. He already had a perfectly good bike so I said if he really wanted it, he needed to buy it. We started him on an allowance and he did chores and saved birthday and Christmas money and in less than a year he had enough. Taking him to buy it was very hard because here was this little boy, with all his life-savings, buying something I could afford to get him. But it was teaching him the value of a dollar so I let him do it and on the way home he said, “Thank you for making me buy my own bike — I feel really proud of myself.” I started crying because that’s exactly what I wanted to accomplish.
You’re also trying to empower women to take control of their finances. Why is that so important? Women do most of the day-to-day banking in households, but men still make most of the investment decisions and do the long-term financial planning. That needs to change. The average age of divorce is 41 and widowhood is 56, so you need to know what’s going on with your finances. Women often procrastinate because they’re intimidated, but you can’t stick your head in the sand and expect things to work out okay.
What’s been your biggest mistake? I spread myself too thin by saying “yes” to too much, and my body reacted. I had a lump in my throat, tightness in my chest, and I wasn’t sleeping properly. I was withdrawn and mildly depressed and I’d never experienced that before. But I learned it’s okay to ask for help. I got help and I got through it.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? That I can do anything I put my mind to. I live by the motto: conceive, believe, achieve. Come up with the idea, believe you can do it, and go get it!
Tess van Straaten is an award-winning journalist, television personality and fourth–generation Victoria native.
VictoriaMcPherson Playhouse
Oct. 24 + 25 | 7:30 pmOct. 26 | 2:00 pm
Tickets: 250-386-6121www.balletvictoria.ca
Pa u l D e s t r o o P e r - a r t i s t i c D i r e c t o r - B a l l e t V i c t o r i a
Victoria McPherson Playhouse Oct. 24 + 25 | 7:30 pm
Oct. 26 | 2:00 pmTickets: 250-386-6121 www.balletvictoria.ca
S E A S O N SUBSCRIBERS SAVE 20%
S E A S O N SUBSCRIBERS SAVE 20%
Pa u l D e s t r o o P e r - a r t i s t i c D i r e c t o r - B a l l e t V i c t o r i a
Victoria McPherson Playhouse Oct. 24 + 25 | 7:30 pm
Oct. 26 | 2:00 pmTickets: 250-386-6121 www.balletvictoria.ca
S E A S O N SUBSCRIBERS SAVE 20%
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AN OPERATIC MILESTONEStill reviled in some circles as a notorious anti-Semite,
Richard Wagner is also hailed as a transformative musical genius of almost unparalleled gifts. Victorians will have a chance to debate the former and experience the latter when Pacific Opera Victoria performs Das Rheingold, the opera that begins the four-part Ring of the Nibelungs. (Happily, at least for non-Wagnerians with merely human attention spans and bladder capacity, Rheingold only runs to two hours and 20 minutes, unlike the later and more epic parts of the Ring cycle.) “This is only the second time that Rheingold has ever been performed in Canada,” says POV artistic director Timothy Vernon. “I’ve already heard from Wagner lovers in several states who are interested in coming to hear us.” With a wild, Tolkien-esque plot derived from Norse myths, and a cast of characters that
includes gods and magical creatures — but no humans — Rheingold is a far cry from the operas of Puccini and Verdi. Add in the massive scale of the orchestral score, and this daunting project has Vernon admitting to a case of nerves. “Wagner wrote for a gigantic orchestra of up to 110 musicians, and the Victoria Symphony only has 40,” he notes. “What we’re doing is almost a ‘chamber’ production.” Wagner, who spent nearly 20 years writing and composing the Ring, is acknowledged, even by his detractors, as one of opera’s greatest dramatists. “Wagner is one of the few composers who has defined and changed the course of western music,” declares Vernon. “He’s one of the wonders of the musical world.”Running from October 16-26 at the Royal Theatre. For tickets, call 250-386-6121.
FRONT ROW BY ROBERT MOYES
Wotan, leader of the gods, in Pacific Opera Victoria’s Das Rheingold.
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BALLET VICTORIA GOES FOR THE JUGULAR
The start of Ballet Victoria’s fall season nearly overlaps Halloween, so it makes sense that 2013’s slightly comedic take on Frankenstein is followed this year by an account of that ever-so-sexy vampire, Dracula. But notwithstanding the vogue for contemporary bloodsuckers on shows like HBO’s True Blood, this is a return to Bram Stoker’s original tale, featuring Mina, Lucy, Jonathan Harker, Professor Van Helsing … and that mesmerizing but sinister Count with the fascinating fangs. “People are driven by love and are fearful of death, so the idea of eternal life is intriguing,” says BV artistic director Paul Destrooper. “And the vampire myth has a dark romanticism that lends itself to the poetry of dance.” When it comes to Dracula, Destrooper is an expert — he was a lead dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet when Mark Godden choreographed a famed interpretation of Dracula and has danced that ballet many times. But this is a new version created by Destrooper himself, who does much of BV’s choreography. It features a classical ballet style, with the dancers en pointe. “The music needs to be powerful, dark and romantic so I will be using Mahler,” explains Destrooper. “Plus there will be some tango,” he adds. “Tango was once a banned dance that was performed in secret — a bit like the forbidden world of vampires. It has sensuality, passion
… and bite, shall we say.” Although based on the original gothic novel, the ballet plays a bit with Stoker’s themes and has contemporary touches. “And there’s a big surprise at the end,” promises a smiling Destrooper.Running October 24-26 at McPherson Playhouse. For tickets, see Ballet Victoria.
BABY TALKAlthough veteran American playwright Christopher
Durang won a Tony just last year, this master of absurd comedy had his heyday in the 1980s. His Baby With The Bathwater is an early work dating from 1983, and is the latest production of Fernwood’s always-interesting Theatre Inconnu. The play involves two seriously wrong-headed parents who decide that their new baby is a girl, albeit without properly looking into the matter. Which leaves “Daisy,” who is actually a boy, suffering a miserable childhood as he struggles to establish an appropriate identity in the face of his parents’ expanding obliviousness. A black comedy about the difficulties of being a parent, Baby offers lots of cleverly theatrical scenes that highlight the weirdness of contemporary domestic life. “This is a really funny play, and also absurd, but it’s crazy fun and not the existentialism of Beckett or Ionesco,” says Inconnu’s artistic director, Clayton Jevne. “Durang is brilliant at taking ordinary life and pushing it to an extreme.” Baby also offers a provocative exploration of gender — one that is surprisingly timely, given society’s current concerns over transgenderism and related issues of core identity. Jevne laughingly admits that some audience members may be shocked by the play’s irreverence and political incorrectness. “But for all the satire that Durang revels in, the second half of Baby is actually quite moving,” he adds. “You see him as a young man, and see the consequences of how he was treated as a child.”Running from October 2-18 at 1923 Fernwood Road. For information, see Theatre Inconnu.
TWO DECADES OF GREAT ARTTwenty years ago, an ambitious pair of art lovers named
Gunter Heinrich and Anthony Sam purchased a small shop at Oak Bay Junction and named it Winchester Gallery. They specialized in Canadian and international fine art, and their talent made them successful enough to eventually move into a much larger space in Oak Bay Village. Sister galleries in downtown followed in 2009, and Winchester now has a national profile and annual sales approximately 40 times greater than what rang through the till in 1994. About two years ago they started planning for 20/20, a “celebratory exhibition” that will showcase an unparalleled feast of art by 110 artists, ranging from Emily Carr, Andy Warhol and Jack Shadbolt to Robert Motherwell, A.Y. Jackson and Jean-Paul Riopelle. Local
Poster image for Ballet Victoria’s Dracula.
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lions such as James Gordaneer, Linda Stanbridge, J. Fenwick Lansdowne and Herbert Siebner will be featured, as well as emerging artists who Winchester has begun promoting. “The pieces will range from $1,000 to over $500,000,” says Heinrich. “We are showing important, representative works by these amazing artists.” Collectors will be flying in from out of town, and most of the 80 living artists are expected to make an appearance. “It will take us several days just to hang everything,” adds a smiling Heinrich.Running until October 25 at both galleries. For information, see Winchester Galleries.
RETURN OF A CANADIAN ICONAside from being one of Canada’s most beloved singer-
songwriters, Orillia-born Gordon Lightfoot has huge cachet south of the border and around the world. As well as writing such iconic hits as “Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Lightfoot has had his songs covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Elvis Presley. And with 15 Junos on the mantel and nominations for five Grammys, the man is as golden as it gets. He hasn’t performed in Victoria for 15 years, and when he and his four-piece band roll into the Royal, his fans will have much to celebrate. Aside from escaping death from a burst aneurysm just over a decade ago, Lightfoot has gotten that gorgeous voice back. “He’s
ARTI
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sidneyfineartshow.ca
Oct 17•18•19, 2014In beautiful Sidney by the Sea — Mary Winspear Centre
Friday & Saturday 9 am - 9 pmSunday 9 am - 5 pm
$6 AdMISSIon or $10 for a 3 day pass
An Inspiring Juried Show of Outstanding Art
Jean McEwen’s work will be among those at the 20/20 exhibit.
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sounding better than ever,” says tour manager Bernie Fiedler. And Fiedler should know. He and Lightfoot have been best friends since the early ‘60s, when the savvy promoter showcased the then up-and-comer in his prestigious Toronto club, Riverboat. According to Fiedler, the vital 75-year-old doesn’t use an opening act, and puts on a full two-hour show. “This sure isn’t a farewell tour — Gordon just loves getting out on the road,” notes Fiedler. “He’s going to go until he drops.”Performing October 22-23 at the Royal Theatre. For tickets, call 250-386-6121.
A PLAYFUL JANE AUSTENIt is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane
Austen was a profoundly gifted and much-loved novelist. So it was rather daunting for local playwright Janet Munsil when she was commissioned in early 2012 to adapt Pride & Prejudice for the stage — and given just four months to get a script ready. After reading the novel a half-dozen times and then listening to it as an audio book, she banged out a draft and quickly whittled it down from four hours to a
Gordon Lightfoot plays the Royal Theatre, Oct. 22-23.
Victor ia 250.590.8060
Cowichan 250.929.2219
www.vicbc.ca
Effective September 1st untilDecember 15th, 2014.† Purchase any combination of 4 Duette® or Silhouette® Window Shadings with UltraGlide® and receive a $200 rebate. Also, when you purchase any number of these additional shades, you’ll receive an extra $40 for each. Valid at participating retailers only. The rebate will be issued in the form of a Hunter Douglas Prepaid American Express® Gift Card. THE PROMOTION CARD is a trademark of The Hunt Group. All Rights Reserved. THE PROMOTION CARD is a Prepaid American Express® Card issued by Amex Bank of Canada. ® Used by Amex Bank of Canada under license from American Express.
SERVING SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND: GREATER VICTORIA • SOOKE • COWICHAN
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little more than two. Initially a co-production for Theatre Calgary and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, the play was a sellout in both cities. There are many adaptations of Pride already out there, but Munsil’s version has become something of an instant classic, having been produced over a dozen times, including three runs in England. Not surprisingly, Langham Court has picked up the rights to produce Austen’s most popular creation. Although Munsil’s is in many ways a very traditional interpretation, the staging has been simplified to avoid boxy sets and a fussily decorated drawing room. “Everything is very fluid … filmic more than static,” she says. “What you see on stage is mostly people.” The story has been condensed, but Munsil has stayed very true to the tone of the novel, especially the dialogue. She also maintained the time period, but has stepped the pace up to be compatible with the expectations of contemporary audiences. “This version will seem true to those who know the novel well, and will be accessible to those who are coming to it for the first time,” promises Munsil.Running from October 2-18. For tickets, please see Langham Court.
Speaking Pictures: A Poetry WorkshopPoet Susan Rich will lead a workshop on ekphrasis poetry – poems written about visual art – highlighting the work of Hannah Maynard, a photographer based
in Victoria from 1862 – 1918.
October 18 I 1 – 4 pm$45 per person
Purchase tickets at
royalbcmuseum.bc.ca
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Nice to meet you, Patricia Jelinski. Where are you from and how did you get to Victoria? I am from Banff, Alberta and have had family in Victoria for over 30 years. I have been a commuting resident of Victoria for the past several years as my husband is a professor at UVic. I joined United Way Greater Victoria as CEO in March of this year after a national search process for the position.
What drew you to the position at the United Way? Throughout my career I have worked in business development and community investment, and the work I have done on the community side has always been so rewarding. I was drawn by the opportunity to lead an organization dedicated to community building, and I believe this is a very important time for United Way. It's is well known, but not known well. I hope to change that by building a greater understanding and appreciation for the depth of our work, and by strengthening our role as a key community leader, influencer, advocate and builder.
What do you love most about your work? That every day is one of possibility. One of the best parts of my day is in the inspiring people I meet: our donors, volunteers, workplace leaders, community partners and particularly the individuals whose lives have been changed because of the network of services that we fund.
When did you first discover your penchant for leadership? I would say I demonstrated my desire to lead at a
pretty young age. I think my dad set this example as he was a community leader and organizer who always got people together to make things happen!
Do you have a significant childhood memory you could share? I have a vivid memory of my mom, who passed away when I was young. We were in a department store and I was hiding under the clothes racks — when I came out I couldn’t find her. A clerk took me to the office and they started paging her. I remember hearing the clicking of her heels on the tile floor as she ran to the office — quite frantic — but she wasn’t mad at me. She just smiled this huge relieved smile, hugged me and took me to get ice cream.
Whose brain would like to pick if you could sit down with any world leader (past or present)? Nelson Mandela. His personal sacrifice was tremendous and it framed his leadership and his mission to create a fair and just society.
SECRETS & LIVES
PATRICIA JELINSKICEO, UNITED WAY VICTORIA
BY SUSAN LUNDY
What do you on a rainy day off? How about a sunny day off? On a rainy day I like to cook — something warm and comforting, or something new. On a perfect sunny day I would go golfing with my husband, Dennis.
What has life taught you? To make every day count — it may sound cliché; however, I had a very personal experience with 9/11 while living and working in New York and it changed my outlook and approach to life.
Is there anything else we should know? I keep a quote displayed in my office that reads: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
This interview has been condensed and edited.
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