Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The renovations at Gorge Harbour Marina are finished. This has been much more than a facelift. It includes a new water system, upgraded septic and electric systems, yet the face of the resort has also been dramatically improved. The RV sites, campsites, much of the grounds and internal layout of the lodge have all been redesigned. Six new visitor domes, 2 cooking stat...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Michael Keith has been a professional musician for over 35 years, and lately people have been asking him to share some of his expertise on the radio. He finally launched ‘Six Strings And Beyond’ on Tuesday June 18th.  “The idea of the programs based on guitar, which is my area of expertise: guitar, guitarists, and guitar like instruments from around the world. So, plu...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) have just published their summer activities program for 2024. “We're really delighted to be launching our 2024 Summer Events Program. We've got eight really fabulous events running in July and August. Everything from a low tide walk in Manson's Lagoon, which we call ‘Gumbooting in the Lagoon’, through to a kayak tour of Hague and G...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents- Alan Morrison of the Sunday Herald described Simon Kempston as ‘One of Scotland's very best singer-songwriters.’ Scottish Television said he is ‘a stunning Talent.’ Tom Robinson of BBC Radio 6 added, ‘Beautifully authentic guitar style & heartfelt vocals.’ Kempston will be performing in: Campbell River’s Spirit Square from noon to 1:15 on Tuesday, July 9th; Mansons Hal...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - One of the most controversial ideas being considered in the SRD’s Poverty Reduction Plan is advocating for a Universal Basic Income (UBI). There are numerous examples showing this is an effective way to riase people out of poverty. The problem is too much of the financial impact may fall on the diminishing middle class ($50,000-$135,000 per anno in BC) rather than the...

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/Folk U - On Friday, June 28, host Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined by community leaders Sadhu Johnston, Michael Datura, Bryan McKinnon, Kate Maddigan, Forrest Berman-Hatch, and Andrea Fisher, to chat about the Cortes Foundation’s Care for Cortes fundraising campaign and the community projects it will be supporting. Tune in for news and discussion about the CIA, Microgrant...

LOuis Belcourt/CKTZ News - Sam Tudor, a recording artist based in Vancouver, is currently touring across BC to showcase their newly released EP and recently have included a show on Cortes Island as part of the tour. Tudor, a self-taught musician and recording artist, has been recording and releasing music since 2014. This upcoming show at Manson’s Hall on Cortes Island marks Sam’s debut performanc...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District is considering what could be an extremely innovative and societal changing plan. As CAO David Letich informed the Board, at their Wednesday June 26 meeting, the draft Poverty Reduction Plan is already more than 100 pages long. It was his intention to have the plam introduced through a presentation and then, hopefully, they will forward...

Louis Belcourt/CKTZ News - The Gorge Harbour Marina and the Gorge Hall have both booked Roots Round Up this weekend for two shows. The prolific Vancouver based band haven’t played Cortes since before the COVID-19 pandemic and have never played back-to-back shows on the island. Originally formed in 1985 in a small apartment in East Vancouver, Roots Roundup became more widely known through the late...

Roy L Hales/ CO\ortes Currents - Iris Steigemann was an artist before she came to Cortes island in 1980, but for the last five or six years her work has taken on a new focus.  “I've been painting icebergs. What fascinates me is the underneath of the iceberg. You usually see  a quarter to a third of an iceberg above the water.  Under the water, it's kind of a dream landscape.  I  like to play aroun...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The SRD will be carrying out the second step of a feasibility study to determine whether on-island compost treatment of Cortes Island’s septic wastes would be more beneficial than the current pump-out system, and could it be delivered at a cost comparable to setting up a conventional system.  Cortes Island’s septic systems need to be cleaned out roughly every three ye...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been two days since Isabella McKnight sent the word out. The Cortes Island Community Foundation was only a third of the way to collecting the 300 signatures needed for the  Vital Signs community survey!  “Vital Signs is a program supported by the Community Foundations of Canada. It's  more than just a survey. It's a powerful tool designed to illuminate the are...

Louis Belcourt/CKTZ News -The Village Commons construction project aims to have its new structures operational by end of October, says General Contractor Richard Andrews. In January, the Village Commons title was transferred from CCEDA to the Cortes Island Community Foundation. The CICF set out to develop the land for community usage with a variety of grants. The current project underway is “a com...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The audio version of this opens with a short clip of Jemma Hicken singiing ‘Skim Milk.’ I was hoping it would be a new version, with her and Robbie Bankes singing together, but it looks like the only place to hear that will be in Mansons Hall at 7:00 on Tuesday July 2, 2024. Jemma and Robbie are just finishing a month long tour of Alberta and BC. They were about to pl...

Roy L Hales. Cortes Currents - Moorage for recreational boats is even more limited on Cortes Island this year and vessels intending to stay more than 3 nights must make prior arrangements with the Harbour Authority Cortes Island. In addition, Small Craft Harbours regulations for using winches have changed. The manual winches at Mansons Landing and Whaletown have been decommissioned. The winch at t...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - So far, there have only been minor fires on Cortes, Quadra and Read Islands, but the BC government warns that the province will see more large fires in the future. “Longer, hotter summers lead to more droughts and a longer wildfire season. Dry conditions make it easier for lightning storms and strong winds to start fires. These fires can spread, combine and burn for...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Harbour Authority Cortes Island is asking the public to not use its upper Gorge Harbour parking lot or park at the Whaletown Commercial Dockhead until further notice. There is work underway at both locations.   "A few years ago the Harbour Authority entered into a lease agreement with MOTI, the Ministry of Transportation, and we actually hold the road allowance leases...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - On Sunday, June 2nd, a 50 foot vessel sank near the Squirrel Cove dock on Cortes island. "There was quite a lengthy,  involved, process with the Coast Guard and Transport Canada. I am very happy to say  that the vessel has now been removed and environmental remediation has taken place, but that was quite an exciting event for the Harbour Authority," explained Jenny H...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The summer market season begins on Wednesday June 26th, from 12:30-3:00 PM. “We're having our first artisans market at Hollyhock,  just outside the garden and the lodge in the grassy area above the hot tubs. This is our first in a series of  five or six markets that are happening  every second Wednesday afternoon over the summer.  We have a variety of artists, fiber...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - ‘Painting With Eyes Closed,’ an exhibition by Filipe Figueira opens at the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery on Friday June 21st, 6-9pm.  “You always have to come up with the title for shows. Usually they're sort of pretentious and arty, but there's a reason for this one. It alludes to the process. I'm inspired by scenes on Cortes. I'll go somewhere, sketch and I'll get in...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Government of Canada issued five year licenses to the fish farms still operating in British Columbia, and announced it will ban open net-pen salmon aquaculture in British Columbia coastal waters by June 30, 2029. “After July 1, 2024, only marine or land-based closed containment systems will be considered for salmon aquaculture licences. The Government of Canada r...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Screening of ‘the Test’ On Cortes Island Thursday Male voice: “I’ll vividly remember there was a very large wall of flame methodically marching towards Logan Lake and a huge column of smoke coming off of that and looking down at these cul de sacs and thinking, ‘wow, they look so small.’ And in my mind, all I could think was that this is either going to be a great day...

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On June 7, host Manda Aufochs-Gillespie was joined by Jenny Hartwick from the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island to chat challenges, changes, and upcoming happenings on our island’s public docks. Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime...

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/Folk U - On June 7, host Manda Aufochs-Gillespie was joined by Jenny Hartwick from the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island to chat challenges, changes, and upcoming happenings on our island’s public docks.

There are several whale watching companies in our area and one of the treats they offer are Grey Whale sightings. Campbell River, Cortes and Quadra Islands are in the middle of a migration route. Thousands of Grey Whales pass through BC, en route to Alaska, during the Spring and return in the fall, while heading for the warm waters of Mexico’s Baja penninsula. Most appear to go by the West coast o...