Galiano Players

Galiano Club Update, April 2021

Making it through a pandemic winter is no small feat. Hope seems more tangible now, as the earth fills in with colour and warmth, and we hear optimistic news of vaccines and re-opening plans. Recent health regulations have relaxed to allow groups of 10 to gather outdoors, and the trails and parks in the Heritage Forest, Mt Galiano and the Bluffs are great places to gather in small groups and experience the beauty of spring on the island.

This spring also marks a year since the beginning of the pandemic, and it has been a difficult year for many. The Community Hall has been empty for much of the time, without the usual busy schedule of classes, workshops and events that make it such a treasured place. Everyone has risen to the challenge of finding creative ways to get things done remotely, but it’s not the same as sharing space together, and we miss it deeply.

Easter Chocolates

With Hall rentals being one of the mainstays of Galiano Club fundraising, one of the fun alternatives we have come up with is selling chocolates! The Christmas and Valentine’s Day sales were very popular, so we are planning an Easter chocolate sale on Saturday, April 3rd from 11-3 in front of the hall. There will be Almond Roca $6, Chocolate bark $6, Turtles $6, vanilla cream filled chocolates $7 and of course, Truffles $7. We are going to offer a box with a variety of chocolates for $15. If you would like to pre-order please send an email to galianoclub@gmail.com and put chocolates in the subject line. We will confirm your order and then you can pay by e-transfer. Pre ordering is recommended, we sold out quickly at our Christmas and Valentine’s Day sales.

Galiano Club Arts and Culture

Something to look forward to as the days grow longer, the Galiano Players will be presenting a series of short plays this summer, in outdoor garden venues around the island. Each performance will also be paired with some outdoor music. The events will be COVID safe, with small casts and limited audience capacity, and each will be an intimate and unique artistic experience. To make the plays more widely accessible, each one will also be recorded and broadcasted online as a “radio play”. Stay tuned for the dates, and more info on each play.

These will be the first initiatives of the newly expanded Arts and Culture mandate of the Galiano Club. We hope that, similar to the many branches of the Food Program, the Club can support a wide variety of creative and cultural programming. Let us know if you have ideas, and would like to volunteer in this area.

Don’t forget to renew your Galiano Club membership for 2021! It only costs $10, which can be e-transfered to galianoclub@gmail.com with “2021 Membership” in the subject. The Membership form can be found on the Galiano Club website. Members can help shape the many exciting opportunities the Galiano Club offers on the island, and help make the community beautiful and strong.

Galiano Club Update, March 2021

By Jack Garton

Sitting in the kitchen, watching icicles drip off the roof: as if we needed another reason to stay inside at home. Ok, going outside in the snow can be fun. Usually, once the effort is made to bundle up and venture out into the unreasonably picturesque forest, the cold air feels invigorating, the soft lines of the snowscape feel gentle on the spirit, and the pace of the slowly swirling flakes is refreshing, and sort of mesmerizing.

It always seems a bit unfair, though, when a cold snap comes after spring has already been promised. (But the snowdrops!) Winter can be isolating, especially on Galiano, and many folks are looking forward to the longer, warmer days coming when we can spend more time outdoors, in contact with nature and with other humans.

As the pandemic lockdown continues, social events at the South End Hall are still on hold for the time being. However, the Galiano Club board is working hard behind the scenes to keep its many community initiatives alive. The walking trails are all open, and work is always being done to make them easier to use and more accessible. At the top of the Wildfire Loop in the Community Forest, a plugged culvert is being repaired by Galiano Excavating, who also did a great job grading the access road to the Bluffs recently.

Many of you may have noticed more space and light (!) around the Hall. A huge rotting cedar was recently taken down. That tree was on board members’ minds every time a strong wind started to blow. Thank you Gord Palmberg, for all your work falling, bucking and chipping the tree. We’ll all sleep better, thanks to your work. We’d also like to thank Lief for his heavy equipment work, and our supportive neighbour for allowing much of the work to be done on his property.

Our Valentine’s Day Chocolate Fundraiser was a big success. Thank you to the volunteers who participated in several days of chocolate making leading up to sales on February 12th and 13th. Many braved the snow on Saturday to pick up their pre-orders and a few were able to purchase at the door. Apologies to those who arrived to find us sold out. We’d better make even more next time; clearly Galiano loves chocolate.

By the time this update reaches readers, it will be March, and there’s hope that nettles will have begun poking up, and the sound of frogs will be serenading us as the sun sets on warm (or just not-freezing) days. Making it through a pandemic winter is no small achievement. Social connection has always been necessary to coping through the long dark season, and this year we were unable to warm each other with hugs, laughter, stories, food and songs in the way we usually do. The Galiano Club will keep working hard this year to find opportunities for connection and community, come what may. Don’t forget to renew your membership for 2021 if you haven’t already! It only costs $10 for the year, can be done easily on the Galiano Club website, and includes the opportunity to vote at the AGM on important issues facing the island.

Galiano Players

By Sonia Baker

The players haven’t been doing much in the last year because of COVID-19, but we did manage to put on the play in the garden last summer and this year we will be hosting Shakespeare in the garden probably the end of June beginning of July with the hopes that the Covid restrictions will be lifted so we will be able to get more people and as it’s outside that will work fine. And if all is well this November, we will put be putting on the much-loved Pantomine again. Stay tuned to see what else the Galiano players have in store for you!