What’s Up on Vancouver Island

Market-style tables with ribbons, resources, a memory tree and naloxone training will be hosted by Island Health at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. International Overdose Awareness Day takes place on Aug. 31, with this year's theme 'one big family' representing that everyone is connected and through compassion and awareness people can honour the lives lost and support those impacted by the toxic drug poisoning crisis.  Starting Monday, Aug. 25, purple chairs will be stationed at 18 Island Health locations as a memorial exhibit for those who have died during the toxic drug crisis. Each location will include information and resources, purple ribbon pins and an interactive memory board. On Aug. 29, Nanaimo will host an open event with naloxone training from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tracey Thompson, Island Health harm reduction coordinator, told the News Bulletin that learning about and carrying naloxone is one way the general public can participate in reducing overdose deaths in the region. According to the B.C. Coroners Service, Nanaimo lost 94 lives in 2024 due to unregulated drugs. As of June 30 of this year, Nanaimo had 32 recorded unregulated drug deaths. "It's important for community members to know what resources are available to support them and if people are engaged in substance use and wanting some support, to understand what services are available," Thompson said. "That could be in the community through community agencies or through their physician, or through Island Health." She said it can sometimes be difficult for people to understand what motivates substance use and some may have preconceived ideas. "It's really important for us to try to reduce the stigma and think about how we can support people to get the help they might be looking for, rather than focusing on criminalizing or being punitive." In a press release, Dr. Réka Gustafson, Island Health's chief medical health officer, said preventing overdose deaths requires "actions beyond health services including investment in the social determinants of health, like housing, income, education and social connection, which shape people’s vulnerability to substance use." “These deaths are preventable,” Gustafson said. “Remembering those we have lost honours them and keeps them in the centre of the dialogue about a meaningful response to the crisis from the entire community.” Other events marking the day will be held in Port Alberni, Campbell River, Duncan, Gabriola Island, Crofton, Parksville, Sooke, Campbell River and Victoria.  In addition to in-person memorial stations, Island Health is hosting an online memory wall [https://app.mural.co/t/islandhealth6899/m/islandhealth6899/1747869109631/439e504eb6be0a4da5dfcf71e7c940e300813c0f], available until Sept. 20. People can visit the website to share memories, special words and photos at app.mural.co/t/islandhealth6899/m/islandhealth6899/1747869109631/439e504eb6be0a4da5dfcf71e7c940e300813c0f [http://app.mural.co/t/islandhealth6899/m/islandhealth6899/1747869109631/439e504eb6be0a4da5dfcf71e7c940e300813c0f]. Island Health advises that residents may call 1-888-885-8824 [tel:1-888-885-8824] to learn about supports that best meet their needs, and if someone is experiencing a crisis, they can contact the Vancouver Island Crisis Line, available 24/7, at 1-888-494-3888 [tel:1-888-494-3888]. Additionally, mental health and substance use services can be viewed at Island Health's mental health and substance use services page [http://www.islandhealth.ca/our-services/mental-health-substance-use-services] at http://www.islandhealth.ca/our-services/mental-health-substance-use-services [https://www.islandhealth.ca/our-services/mental-health-substance-use-services]. To sign up for toxic drug health alerts via text message, text 'join' to 253787.

Five distinct one-person plays will bring a mixture of comedy, drama and LGBTQ programming to an upcoming Gabriola Island performing arts festival.  The plays, part of the Gabriola Theatre Festival, will showcase talents from Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Toronto, England and the Gulf island itself.   Associate festival producer, Dibs Barisic Sprem, said the selection committee whittled the original 18 applicants to the selected five, and focused on productions that could inspire, uplift and challenge audiences.  The festival is also planning for an opening night party and a closing night party. First to the stage will be an autobiographical story by Frank Moher called Boy Player on Tuesday, Aug. 26 and Aug. 30. Boy Player tells of Moher's experience as a child suddenly orphaned and transplanted from Edmonton to New York City.  The following production, The Heterosexuals by Jonnie McNamara Walker, will be staged on Tuesday, Aug. 26 and Aug. 27. Walker's performance will take a tongue-in-cheek 'deep-dive' into the shocking world of heterosexuality. "As a queer person, I love material that flips the script on cultural norms," Sprem said. "Johnnie McNamara Walker has been receiving rave reviews after having sold-out shows in Hamilton, Montreal, Orlando, Edmonton, and an off-Broadway run in NYC."  Next up will be Jem Rolls: Adventures in Canadian Parking Lots on Wednesday, Aug. 27 and Aug. 30. Rolls, who has "done more Fringe Festivals than anyone on earth this century," is a high-energy English performance poet who will feature "dumb comedy, smart comedy and dark tales" in his new show. How I Met My Mother by Jon Paterson will show on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29 and follow a bachelor as he answers the call to care for his ailing mother.  "This gives me the impression that it's going to be one of those shows where people might shed a tear," Sprem said. "Paterson has described his show as cathartic … this is the first show that he has written for himself." Katie-Ellen Humphries joins the festival with her show No Worries If Not, which shows on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, and will deliver a "funny and surprising tale of love, lying and laundry." "No Worries is a show that speaks to me, as a recovering people-pleaser myself," the associate festival producer said. "Katie-Ellen has a very sharp way of writing jokes and connecting to audience members with relatable, observational humour."  All productions can be caught at the Gabriola Theatre Centre, 1475 Peterson Rd., from Aug. 26-30 with performances at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. Each production will have two stagings. Ticket information can be found online at www.gabriolatheatrecentre.ca [https://www.gabriolatheatrecentre.ca/].

A few Gabriola Island residents might just catch a glimpse of themselves in an art show this week.  Opening on Thursday, Aug. 21, artist Nic Cooper will present 'I Was Drawn To You' at the Nova Boutique and Gallery as an interpretive "portrait of a place." The show will feature a collection of drawings made on the spot at different social settings, including the Surf Lodge and Pub, Ground Up Café and Catering, and several beaches.  Cooper said the show emanated from their intuitive drive to always be drawing. "The idea is that it's kind of a diary for me. But also a portrait of the island and of its inhabitants and environments," they said. "It sort of shows the trace of the seasons as well." Their technique involves no pencils or erasers, just straight marker ink to paper. As part of picking a good scene, the artist will seek out an interesting angle with one or more subjects and a compelling vantage point to see what they're drawn to, figuratively and literally. And then they'll start drawing. Quickly and covertly, to interpret the fleeting moment.  While it's important to capture the feeling of a place, Cooper said, the 20-year practice is more about decompression and mindfulness.  "If I look back on drawings from 10 years ago, I'll have a clear memory of what croissant I ate, the cappuccino I had, where I was in the world, the time of day."  However, shortly after moving to Gabriola, they noticed their whimsically representational drawings emerged as a sort of story of the island as a whole, rather than lone, isolated scenes.  I Was Drawn To You is the first show Cooper will exhibit drawings that depict a portrait of a place, as their previous off-island showings have been paintings concerning queer history.  Cooper moved to Gabriola last summer and works as a learning and engagement coordinator at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. They attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design for an undergrad, then completed a master's degree at the University of Ottawa in visual arts. They have taught at various institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada.  There will be an opening party for I Was Drawn To You on Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. and will remain up at the Nova Boutique and Gallery until Sept. 7.