The BC Forest Discovery Centre just outside Duncan is celebrating kids this BC Day long weekend.
“We always have so much fun during the three days with all the kids and even the adults who are kids at heart," said Chris Gale,
manager at the BC Forest Discovery Centre.
There will be train rides, entertainment, an imagination station and activities, prize draws, barbecue, mini donuts and an educational experience for attendees, said a press release for the event.
This year there will also be two performances on Saturday, Aug. 3 of Messages in the Dust by Seeds and Salt Theatre Co.
"The performances are family-friendly featuring five true stories and music from Vancouver Island history," the release said. "Stories are retold in a dramatic and quick-paced physical style so that kids and adults are drawn into the exciting lives and events of the past."
The Mill Bay-Malahat Historical Society are the ones behind the play, which will run at noon and again at 2 p.m.
Messages in the Dust shows include: 'Murder and Mayhem, A Whale of a Tale' (Mill Bay Whaling Station, 1865), 'Dirt on My Shovel' (Nanaimo Mine Explosion, 1887), 'The Second Son' (A British Remittance Man is banished to the colonies but finds his upper-class upbringing is totally inadequate for life here, 1900s), 'Marvelous Miss Mabel' (teaching at an isolated floating logging camp, 1927) and 'Whiskers, the Al Capone of Vancouver Island' (Rum running during prohibition, 1931).
There is no extra charge to take in the show.
The weekend features at reduced admission rate of $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, $10 for children aged three to 18 and children under two get in for free. The centre is open each day from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the last train leaving at 4 p.m.
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The Cowichan Valley Regional District's Arts and Culture division will have a booth at the Duncan Farmers Market on Saturday, July 27 to reach out to the public about their arts and culture priorities.
This is the second round of public engagement to help draft an Arts and Culture Master Plan with consultants Happy Cities.
There will also be a second survey that is live until Aug. 11. You can find it here.
The first round of engagement included two pop-up events, an online survey, a phone survey and the 2024 Cowichan Valley Arts & Culture Summit. A total of 971 community members have shared their input to date.
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St. John Ambulance, Cowichan Division, is holding a recruitment drive on Aug. 10.
The drive will take place at the St. John Ambulance booth at the Duncan Farmers Market from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The group provides advanced first aid at various community events throughout the year. Volunteers meet for two hours on Monday nights, September through June for training. They also provide specialized, advanced first aid courses to members of the division.
Anyone aged 18 and above is welcome to join the team. Those who are interested can drop by the event to ask questions and chat with members.
