In 1991, following an energetic & creative fundraising campaign by the island, the Mt Galiano lands were purchased & title was given to the Galiano Club. The following summer a group of volunteers created the hiking trail — from the Active Pass Dr entrance to the summit — which exists today. Coincidentally, 1992 was the 200th anniversary of the historic meeting of the Spanish Naval Officer, Dionisio Alcala Galiano and the English Naval Capt. George Vancouver (each Captain was charting the western NA coastline for their respective nation) just off the coast of what is now called Galiano Island. It was decided to commemorate this event by naming the hiking trail after Dionisio Galiano, by inviting the Vancouver-based Consul General of Spain, His Excellency Jose Ayala & his wife Ceridad (seen here arriving in Ken Allen’s 1932 Roll Royce), to attend the trail dedication ceremony held on Oct.8th, Dionisio Galiano’s birthdate. Afterwards, a La Zarzuela — a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes — was held at the Community Hall MC’d by Galiano Club Director, Debbie Holmes &, Club Historian, Andrew Loveridge. As part of the ceremony, held during the Club’s annual Blackberry Festival, a portrait of Officer Galiano, completed by Galiano artist, William Beddels, was presented to the Consul as a gift for HM King Juan Carlos of Spain. Later, 232 daffodil bulbs were planted in the Hall grounds (232 being the number of years since Officer Galiano’s birth).
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