Here's our annual roundup of local success stories from the past year! Happy New Year Bowen!
Books published by Bowen authors
- A Blooming - Jude Neale
- We Sing Ourselves Back - Jude Neale
- Carpe Fin - Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
- Grotesque Tenderness - Daniel Cowper
- Little Island Dogs - Mario and Chrissy Silva
- Leaving Still Waters - Marcus Hondro
- Education Reimagined - Ted Spear
- Seeds are for Sharing: Thoughts of an Ojibway Woman - Dawn Smoke
- Spiritual Misfits: Collaboration and Belonging in a divisive world - Shahar Rabi
- Changing Tides: An Ecologist’s Journey to make peace with the Anthropocene - Alejandro Frid
Albums by Bowen musicians
- Back to Shore - Shari Ulrich
- Doxology - Colin Ruloff (released posthumously)
In the performing arts
- Alien Ore short film - written & directed by Spear sisters
- Much Ado About Nothing play - directed by Graham Ritchie
- Blood Relations play - directed by Calder Stewart
- Ives on the Isle - playdirected by Wil and Daly Thompson
- Singing Back the Light musical storytelling production - composed/written by Brian Hoover
- St. Roch Suite - accompanying poetry written by Jude Neale
- Mal and Cara - play (story of a rogue Bowen Island ferry captain) with CJ Scarff among the cast at PAL Theatre premiere
- Try to Remember - play co-starred Jackie Minns at the Fringe Festival
- Susan Hogan - nominated for 4th Leo Award for Welcome to Christmas
- Spear sisters won Leo Award for best screenwriting short drama (CC), nominated for best direction short drama
In visual arts
- Sand, Water and Sky - Mumtaz Bandali - Gallery@Cove Commons
- Second Chances - Jens Diercks, Claudia Schaefer, Sandy Arthur, Susan Hillman and John Givens. At Gallery@Cove Commons
- Behind the Lines: Contemporary Syrian Art Exhibition - curated by Paul Crawford - Gallery@Cove Commons
- Summer Dreams - various Bowen artists- Gallery@Cove Commons
- Conceal and Reveal - works by Kathleen Ainscough
- New works, sculpture and printmaking - Russell Hackney, Vanessa Hall-Patch, Marty Levenson, Julie York
- Change/Able - new work by Emily van Lidthe de Jeude - Gallery@Cove Commons
- Lightscapes - plein air works in oil and watercolour - Jose L. De Juan - Gallery@Cove Commons
- Some Kind of Behaviour - Robin Arseneault, Allison Hrabluik, and Lyse Lemieux - Terminal Creek Contemporary
- The Raiders - Kate Bellringer curator - Terminal Creek Contemporary
In sports
- Young Bowen gymnasts travel to Austria for the 2019 World Gymnaestrada
- Bowen Ballers compete in the slopitch provincials and come in second
- Cates Hill-Valhalla wins Community Golf Battle
- Diggers repeat as fastpitch champions
- Team Phoenix slopitch champions
- Jim Mullin elected Football Canada’s new president
- Bowen Island Football Club celebrates 10 years
- Bowen (and Whitecaps Elite REX) soccer player Molly Quarry signed to University of Nebraska Soccer, class of ‘24
- Devon Thomson competed with Canadian National Ultimate Team at U24 World Championships (silver) and with Furious George at Canadian Open Championships (gold)
Awards, accolades and achievements
- Bowen author and publisher Carol Cram won a Goethe Award for best historical fiction post-1750 for The Muse of Fire at the Chanticleer Authors Conference in Bellingham
- IPS assistant head Jennifer Henrichsen awarded Prime Minister’s Award Certificate of Achievement
- Creative City Network of Canada gave Bowen’s cultural master plan an honourable mention at its excellence awards
- Susanna Braund, UBC professor in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. The RSC fellowship has more than 2000 Canadians elected the best in their field
- Bowen architect James Tuer won the 2019 Architect Award from Wood Design Awards in B.C.
- Bowen poet Susan Alexander won $20,000 Mitchell Prize
- BICS’ Ginger Meatballs and Disco Monkey Busters showed off their problem solving skills at Destination Imagination.
- Island photographer Emmett Sparling started TripLit digital storytelling, content creator community
- SwimBowen raised $28,000
- Swim Bowen gave away $16,500 in Cancer Care Gifts to Bowen Island residents in cancer treatment
- Community Foundation awarded $35,500 to various Bowen charitable organizations at AGM
- Knick Knack Nook awarded $40,000 for community initiatives at Community Foundation AGM
- Knick Knack Nook celebrated 10 years of existence
- Island Pacific School was nominated for a Giving Hearts Award for Outstanding Youth PhilanthropistBowen businesses
Bowen businesses that moved or opened in 2019
- Watering Can (Artisan Square)
- Sangre de Fruta (Artisan Square)
- Lumber Lace (Artisan Square)
- Branch on Bowen (changed owners and became a taco shop)
- Tell Your Friends Café (the pier)
- Copper Spirit Distillery (Trunk Road)
- Artisan Eats (came under new ownership)
- Soup Fairy closed (but is re-emerging at the Ruddy Potato)
- Die Goldschmiede (moved to Artisan Square)
- Bowen Island Learning Centre (Trunk Road)
- Modern Mending (online)
- Montgomery’s (Bowen Island Golf Course)
- Bowen Island Integrated Health clinic (Trunk Road)
- Happy Isle Cannabis Company (Dorman Road)
New islanders
- Jennifer Pierce and Glen Pierce moved to Bowen
Notes from islanders
An active year: Bowen Island Community Recreation’s amazing 2019 memories include (but are not limited to): An active summer with our summer camp staff, LITs, facilitators, participants and parents. After-school programs for elementary-aged children. Open gym time on for toddlers, school-aged children and parents. Many successful grant applications. Canada Day presented by all our generous partners and sponsors! An Easter-egg hunt. Fun dances for Bowen’s Grade 5 to 7 youth and the Family Dance. Another successful year partnering with our friends at The Hearth and BI Community Learning to bring creative, educational programs to all ages. Awesome Youth Power programming for teens. More adult fitness classes in a variety of styles. Exciting new events and programs in support of our 55+ community. A festive experience at Light Up Bowen! And of course, lots of amazing volunteers coming out to help Bowen reach our potential together. From all of us at Bowen Rec, thank you for a wonderful year together! We can’t wait to see what 2020 brings for our community. ––Sheana Stevenson, BICR
The little shop in the clouds: We just celebrated one year in business with The Real Rapunzel and although it was never meant to be a full-time job for me, that is what it needed to become this year…and I am so grateful for all the supportive embrace Bowen communities showed by climbing up to “the little shop up in the clouds” over the last few months. The road ahead still seems a bit daunting at times but we have the most curious and fun-loving and yes, quirky customers, so let the new adventures come. I thank you all for a wonderful year and wish everyone a peaceful year 2020. Stay playful Bowen. With sunny regards ––Ines Ortner, owner, designer at The Real Rapunzel
Peace this season: Cates Hill Chapel would like to thank the Bowen Island community for joining us to sing Christmas carols at our Live Nativity that was part of Light Up Bowen. We wish you all love, joy, peace, and love in this season. ––Phil Adkins, Cates Hill Chapel
Camp Bowen: After CNIB pulled out of the summer camp business on Bowen in 2010, the Camp Bowen Working Group, now the Camp Bowen Society, was formed by four former campers to continue the tradition of offering summer camps on Bowen Island to blind, low vision and deafblind Canadians. Starting in 2011, the organization began offering camps and has worked, despite many struggles, to rebuild the summer camp program and to reestablish an independent living skills training program on-island.The board is currently made up of six former campers: Peg Mercer, Jocelyn Gladysz, Jessica Gladysz, Erin Lacharity, Alex Jurgensen, and Aedan Staddon. ––Alex Jurgensen, Camp Bowen
Poetry & grandparenthood: Katie Neale is the mum of 3.5-month-old Emrys Ronan Tintinger. His big sister Tillie, who is two, loves him to bits. I’m adoring being a grandma. I published two volumes of poetry, signed for a third, taught writing at UFV, was one of three poets asked to read at Patrick Lane’s Victoria Literary Celebration of Life, collaborated with composer, Thomas Beckman on the St Roch Suite, which world premiered with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and signed a contract to mentor IPS students interested in writing poetry. I have had a blessed year and thank Paulie for making everything work. Next year is shaping up to be interesting too. I wish you peace, relaxation and a very Merry Christmas. ––Jude Neale
A year of change: We are blessed every day with the ability of being on the right side of the grass, especially at our beautiful Bowen Island Golf Course. It is a highlight both to enjoy the challenges and fun of the game and the friendship of so many. Alan Morse, Bill Brown, Cro Lucas and myself think our being able to step down from the board of directors after a combination of about sevenTEE-five years is a highlight exceeded only by the sheer joy and comfort of knowing with Rob Purdy as the incoming president and five new directors, the club is in capable and passionate hands for many years to come. Merry Christmas to all and a happy New Year. ––Bruce Russell
Congratulations everyone! These lists are by no means exhaustive, so who did we miss? Let us know at editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com and we’ll add them. Happy New Year!
