Turn cast-offs into art at Scrappy Last Saturdays
SUPPLY Victoria, a non-profit dedicated to diverting materials from the landfill, has launched a free hands-on children’s workshop series to demonstrate how to creatively transform cast-off items into art and do-it-yourself projects, at its Creative Reuse Centre, on March 25.
The monthly series, called Scrappy Last Saturdays — held every last Saturday of the month — is open to children ages seven to 12.
The workshops will be led by youth instructors, with each one focusing on a different craft, such as weaving, printmaking, brushwork, collaborative installation and still-life drawing.
“With cost-of-living costs on the rise, it is more important than ever to provide affordable extracurricular solutions to support youth in creativity and self-expression that helps build psychological resilience,” said Ashley Howe, executive director SUPPLY.
“Price is a major obstacle for many families. By providing free and by-donation craft workshops for children and their guardians, we remove barriers to access for all people regardless of income.”
Each workshop discusses a specific waste problem and how to help through art-making.
“These workshops provide the materials and knowledge needed to integrate sustainable thinking into the creative process,” said Howe.
Instructors include: Valerie Salez, a practising artist for 20 years and ArtsReach instructor, Holly Pilot, an illustrator and children’s art instructor at Collage Collage and PoMo Arts Centre, and the volunteers from the Victoria Tool Library, a non-profit that rescues high-quality used tools and provides then to community members.
The initiative is partly subsidized by a City of Victoria My Great Neighbourhood grant.
The event is free and runs from 10 to 11 a.m. Registration is required. The program is held at SUPPLY Victoria’s Creative Reuse Centre, 750 Fairfield Rd.
• Register at supplyvictoria.ca/pages/workshops.
Youths at fire rescue camp to get 100 hours of training
For spring break, a group of 16 youths from the Southern Gulf Islands and Southern Vancouver Island will attend the Gulf Islands Fire Rescue Cadet Camp, learning firefighting, search and rescue and medical-response skills
The week-long boot camp of hands-on fire and rescue training is hosted by the Pender Island Fire Rescue in association with Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue and other emergency response partners, such as the RCMP and B.C. Ambulance Service.
It’s endorsed by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.
The youth, ages 15 to 18, will receive more than 100 hours of rigorous training, including hands-on instruction in structure fires, auto extrication, high-angle rope rescues, search and rescue, medical first response and more.
The cadets will have the opportunity to receive first-hand experience in search and rescue operations onboard a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft, a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone helicopter and RCMP vessels.
The camp is possible thanks to the commitment of more than 40 firefighters and community mentors who volunteer over 2,500 hours in the areas of development, training, oversight, food, lodging and other support roles.
The camp is held at Fire Hall No. 1 on Pender Island. Students receive career credits toward graduation through their school districts upon completion of the camp.
Nanaimo to aid people with physical disabilities
Nanaimo was one of eight B.C. municipalities awarded funding from the Rick Hansen Foundation B.C. grants program to improve accessibility for the roughly 926,000 people in British Columbia with a physical disability.
The municipalities will receive up to $82,500 for accessibility improvements to existing sites and accessibility training for city staff.
“We are honoured to be able to help improve accessibility in municipalities across British Columbia, thanks to generous support from the province,” said Brad McCannell, vice-president access and inclusion for the Rick Hansen Foundation.
“Almost 50 per cent of adults in Canada have a permanent or temporary disability or live with someone who does. Many of us struggle every day to access the places where we live, work, learn, and play, facing significant barriers that others take for granted.
“Accessibility improvements to spaces such as community centres, libraries and arts facilities will benefit everyone across our province – parents, seniors, people with temporary and permanent disabilities, their caregivers and loved ones. Everyone has a right to real, meaningful access.”
Nanaimo and the other municipalities participating in the program, Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Port Moody, Prince George, Richmond and Whistler, were selected based on population and geographic representation.
• For more information, go to rickhansen.com/become-accessible/2022-bc-accessibility-grants.
Cathedral’s pysanky course supports people of Ukraine
Christ Church Cathedral is hosting a fundraising pysanky-making workshop in aid of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the people of Ukraine, at the cathedral March 25.
Olga Lang and daughter Dawn will teach participants what is involved in the special art of pysanky, which are colourful and iconic Easter Eggs.
The word pysanka is from the Ukrainian verb pysateh — to write — as the intricate designs are written in beeswax in a wax-resist batik method.
Each colour and symbol has meaning — triangles represent the Holy Trinity, while yellow is the symbol of light and purity.
Participants over the age of 16 will learn the meaning of the symbols and the colours, as they create their own Easter eggs. Everyone will leave with two pysanky.
The cost of the four-hour workshop is $50, which includes supplies and a $25 tax receipt. The workshop will be limited to 20 people. The event runs 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 25 in the Chapter Room of Christ Church Cathedral, 930 Burdett Ave.
• For more information, go to christchurchcathedral.bc.ca/events/pysanky-making-workshop/2023-03-25. To register, go to eventbrite.ca/e/pysanky-making-workshop-tickets-543259131687.
Young to raise funds for Help Fill a Dream Foundation
The Vancouver Island Construction Association’s Young Builders Network is hosting a charity casino to raise funds for the Help Fill a Dream Foundation, at the Delta Ocean Point Resort, April 14.
This is the group’s seventh event, which hopes to exceed the $30,000 raised at the last event in 2020.
The theme for this year will be A Night on the Riviera. Guests will have an opportunity to gamble “funny money,” play games, and bid on live and silent auction prizes while nibbling on light tapas and being entertained by Groove Kitchen.
Tickets are $140. The event runs 7 p.m. to midnight April 14 at the Delta Ocean Point Resort, 100 Harbour Rd.
• For more information, or to buy tickets, go to vicabc.ca/events/ybns-charity-casino.
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