It’s not your usual garden feature, but the two-door 1947 Chrysler Royal installed in the “Memory Garden” at Saanich Peninsula Hospital last week means a lot to some long-term care residents suffering from memory loss.
“A gentleman got in the car and his face just lit up,” said Ken Coward, president of the Torque Masters Car Club of Sidney, which restored the car to as-new condition. “This was his happy place. He didn’t want to get out.”
Volunteers devoted thousands of hours to the two-year restoration, which aimed to make the car look like it just drove off the dealer’s lot.
It was installed in the garden on the hospital grounds last week and residents were given the opportunity to inspect it and sit in it.
Coward said the car’s restoration was the club’s first big project and involved mechanical, body, painting and upholstery work.
Club members who couldn’t help with the car donated funds to the cause.
It was a good opportunity for the club’s 725 members to learn skills from each other, with many “teachable moments,” said Coward.
About a dozen club members brought their cars to the unveiling ceremony, which was a big hit with residents as well.
Shelley Mann, board chair of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital and Healthcare Foundation, said she was told that, when it was first found, the car had “good bones, but its interior was a very smelly home for some rats.”
“You would never believe that now,” Mann said, adding the car will be a “wonderful centrepiece” of the garden, created as a safe place for people with dementia to stroll and rekindle memories.
At the installation, Mann thanked Coward, who led the restoration project; Cam McLennan, who provided the shop space and provided many tools; Jamie Cox, who handled parts and services procurement; Peter Black, who took charge of the restoration, fabricating many new parts himself; and club members Rod Allan, Don Carscadden, Chuck Lovallo and Dave Smethurst for all their work on the car.
She also gave special thanks to Jason Stoch and the team at Jetstream Auto for their contribution to the bodywork and painting.
• For more information, go to torquemasters.ca.
Melanin Magic’s photo exhibition
Melanin Magic, a youth group whose members identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and other People of Colour) is holding a photo exhibition titled Whatcha Feeling? at the Legacy Art Gallery, now until Sept. 18.
The students from the Greater Victoria School District have been based out of Cedar Hill Middle School for the last four years.
“These Grades 6 to 11 students are committed to social change through positive arts-based community engagement,” said Tasha Henry, their teacher/facilitator. “In a difficult year where gathering, mentorship and community outreach were limited, the students wanted to communicate how they were feeling through photography.”
The students took pictures of each other, their worlds and the things that sustain them. They chose to focus on the things that bring them joy and the bonds they forged in a year marked by social restrictions.
The exhibition runs now until Sept. 18 at the UVic Legacy Art Gallery Downtown Sidewalk Gallery, 630 Yates St. Admission is free.
Brushing up at Bowker Creek
More than 40 artists will demonstrate their skills and display their works at the Bowker Creek Brush-up Art Show and Sale, today along the Bowker Creek walkway.
The event is hosted by the Oak Bay Community Artists Society.
“We had to all stay home last year, so we are more excited than ever for this year’s art show,” said society president Flo-Elle Watson. “The artists didn’t stop working in 2020, so there is some great new work to see.”
Local artists at the show include painters, potters, fabric artists, multimedia artists, jewelry creators, porcelain painters, sculptors, card creators, photographers and more.
There will be music and Recreation Oak Bay’s children’s art tent.
Money raised through a barbecue fundraiser will go to the Victoria Refugee and Immigrant Centre Society.
The event is free to attend. It runs from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today on the Bowker Creek walkway between Hampshire Road and Armstrong Avenue. Parking is available on Hampshire Road, at Fireman’s Park or at Oak Bay High School. For more information, go to oakbayartists.com.
Donation to Indigenous groups
The VIATEC Foundation Fund has donated $75,000 to support local Indigenous community organizations.
“For VIATEC, diversity, equity and inclusion is an ongoing concerted effort to ensure that it is ingrained in everything we do,” said Dan Gunn, VIATEC’s CEO.
In addition to racial equity and reconciliation, the donation will support health and wellness, arts and culture, education and learning, environment and sustainability.
Recipients include Bridges for Women Society, B.C. Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, British Columbia Black History Awareness Society, Frontier College/Collège Frontière, Indigenous Perspectives Society and the Surrounded By Cedar Child and Family Services Society.
The VIATEC Foundation Fund was founded to support the generosity of the Victoria tech community.
For more information, go to viatec.ca.
Hospice Yard Sale in Broadmead
Help a great cause by buying discounted bedding and linen at Heirloom Linens’ annual Hospice Yard Sale, Saturday, Aug. 14 in Broadmead Village.
The yard sale, with proceeds going to Victoria Hospice, includes slightly flawed or used merchandise, such as bed skirts, duvets, duvet covers, sheet sets, towels, window panels and home décor accessories.
All toss-cushion covers, pillow shams and pillowcases are priced at between $1 and $2.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Heirloom Linens, 380-777 Royal Oak Dr.
