The Stories That Brought You Here

This series is dedicated to learning about the unique and rich history of the W̱SÁNEĆ Saltwater People and their traditional connection to their Salish Sea Homeland including S,DÁYES (South Pender Island). J,SIṈTEN, a W̱SÁNEĆ elder, shares stories about his decades of time spent working at the ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School and the important work he has done, along with many others, to help preserve t...

This series is dedicated to learning about the unique and rich history of the W̱SÁNEĆ Saltwater People and their traditional connection to their Salish Sea Homeland including S,DÁYES (South Pender Island). ȻOSINIYE, a W̱SÁNEĆ elder, will speak about the SENĆOŦEN language, and how her father, the late Dave Elliott Sr., created an alphabet to help preserve the language. She will share ancient storie...

This series is dedicated to learning about the unique and rich history of the W̱SÁNEĆ Saltwater People and their traditional connection to their Salish Sea Homeland including S,DÁYES (South Pender Island). SELILIYE, a W̱SÁNEĆ elder, shares stories about her time as a young girl spent on S,DÁYES, harvesting clams and watching members of her community participating in traditional practices. She will...

Everest's passion for building began when she was five with the construction of a multi-level tree fort on Pender Island. Years later, she would build her own cabin on Savary Island. She has since had a fascinating career as a designer and sculptor of form with function for over two decades. In this interview, we will take a deep dive into her architectural philosophy, the method and process of ho...

Luke moved to Vancouver Island from England at the age of nine. Having a deep interest in art at that young age, he would find encouragement from teachers along the way. As the years went on, he found inspiration for his art through Victoria's punk scene, hitching across Canada and international travel. An illustrator, designer, muralist and painter, he co-founded the Island Folds residency with h...

Chanda was born in Peace River, Alberta and spent much of her childhood outdoors connecting with nature and animals. In adulthood, she found work as a fire lookout observer in northern Alberta. It was there, while living in quiet isolation, Chanda began to focus on music. Her confidence and talents would begin to flourish, and she soon went on to record her first album. Chanda shares stories from...

Gregory was born in Birmingham, England during the Second World War. While still quite young, the death of his mother, would create a set of circumstances for him that ultimately led to a very challenging childhood. When he entered his late-teens he joined The Royal Air Force and began a career in the military for the next decade. By his thirties, a desire for something more in life lead Gregory t...

Judith grew up in post-war America in the state of Virginia. While in her twenties, she would have many interesting work experiences, which included teaching children with disabilities and pregnancy counselling. In her thirties, on a visit to Costa Rica to see her father, she became inspired to move there. She lived there for five formative years and eventually met her future partner, Brent. Judit...

While growing up in Alberta, Curtis had his first job experience at his Mom's health food store. As he entered his teens, he would begin working in the restaurant industry, and years of amazing experiences would follow. By his mid-twenties, he decided to shift gears and began selling commercial real estate in Vancouver. This career path took on various forms for nearly two decades, until he sought...

In 2009, Sherry Anne has a chance meeting at a music festival with a man named, Mathew. They fell in love, moved to Pender, got married and had a child together. While living on the island, they became deeply involved in the music scene and would eventually open a restaurant, which provided a unique space for touring and local musicians to perform. Sherry Anne will share stories from these times,...

While Deb was growing up in Gibsons, BC, she spent a significant amount of time exploring the outdoors. This helped her form a deep connection with the natural world, and later, would serve as an influence for her to study geography and resource management in university. A fascinating journey followed including, unique work environments, travel, teaching, exploring creative ways to manage forests...

In the late-sixties, Jon moved from his birthplace of Montreal to Calgary. It was there he began working in the airline industry and would become his career for more than three decades. The job led to many profound experiences for him, including meeting his partner of over forty years, John Cowan. Their life together on Pender Island has allowed them to slow down, and discover great benefits from...

While living in Ontario in his late-teens, Mike played guitar in a music duo. He and his musical partner were successful enough to both earn a living from it for six years. In his twenties, he shifted gears and opened a restaurant with his wife, Kelly. After a number of years, they sought change and in the late nineties, moved to the West Coast. Circumstances and chance would lead Mike to his next...

While growing up in Montreal, Annette spent a lot of time at the local swimming pool. It led to her discovering the sport of water polo, which would become a very important part of her life. She will speak about those years in the water, her love of singing, stories from the service industry, English literature and how she is now starting a new career as a real estate agent. All that and much more...

Having grown up in various locations throughout British Columbia, Jim was witness to some fascinating provincial history in his youth. While in his teens, he landed a summer job working at the Vancouver Stock Exchange, this would lead him to a lifelong career in the investment business. Jim will speak about some of the life experiences he had along the way, the lengthy history the MacDonald family...

Laurie will share stories from the cross-Canada cycling trip they and a friend went on and describe how the experience changed their life. They will also talk about the construction business they started and how the encouragement they received from their boss at the time, helped to make it happen. As well, Laurie will talk about supporting others through music promotion, and how misconceptions abo...

After growing up in a suburb of Montreal with eight siblings, Mary Anne found herself in Berkeley, California as a young adult in the late sixties. She even made it to Woodstock! She will explain how those experiences shaped her, why she transitioned into becoming a subsistence farmer for six and a half years, and how she began a thirty-five-year career working with children in a therapeutic role....

This time around I interview the wonderful, Madelin Emery. We talk about the journey she has been on while building her house, her passion for pottery and how she became involved with a truth and reconciliation circle on Pender Island. Madelin will also speak very openly about the challenges she faced due to the unexpected suicide of her partner and her path to healing. She will honour their memor...

Welcome to the fifth episode of this special series titled - Welcome Home. This is a chance to meet some of the new residents to Pender Island, hear why they chose to live here, how they are participating in the community and what the experience of living here has been like so far. Next up in the series is, Johnny Cunningham. During the spring of 2020, Johnny was living, and working in Victoria as...

I speak to Kathryn about her experiences as the Artist in Residence for the city of Victoria, between 2019 and 2021. She will describe some of the projects she developed during that time and reflect on her enjoyment of participating in community art. Kathryn will also speak about how she began playing music at a young age, which led to the formation of the three-piece band, Immaculate Machine. She...

Robert's story begins forty-nine years ago with the purchase of a summer home on South Pender Island. It then weaves through community development in James Bay, drinking kava in the Vanuatu islands, a week with an elephant, sacred dance journeys, magical happenings in Scotland and closes with the transformation of the Pender Island Health Centre. I found myself deeply inspired by the stories and e...

Welcome to the fourth episode of this special series called - Welcome Home. This is a chance to meet some of the new residents to Pender Island, hear why they chose to live here, how they are participating in the community and what the experience of living here has been like so far. Next up in the series is David Leadbeater. Having been born and raised in Calgary, the idea of living in the Gulf Is...

Welcome to the third instalment of this special series called - Welcome Home. This is a chance to meet some of the new residents to the island, hear why they chose to live on Pender, how they are participating in the community and how the experience of living here is going. Next up in the series, is the fantastic Stefani Williams. While this is actually her second time as a resident of the island,...

As the world has changed over the past few years, so has our island. Many people have decided to make a big move in their lives and relocate to our little paradise. This series is a chance to meet some of our new residents, get to know them a bit better, find out why they chose Pender, how they would like to participate in the community and ultimately, welcome them to their new home. The series co...

As the world has changed over the past few years, so has our island. Many people have decided to make a big move in their lives and relocate to our little paradise. This series is a chance to meet some of our new residents, get to know them a bit better, find out why they chose Pender, how they would like to participate in the community and ultimately, welcome them to their new home. This series b...