That Great Smell Again

The smell of gingerbread is wafting through the lobby of the Town Center Hotel as they once again host the

Gingerbread Village. Drop in to the hotel, make a donation and vote for the best creation. All proceeds go to

the local Fire Fighter's Burn Fund. And enjoy that great smell while you're there!

Everyone Loves A Parade

Sunday afternoon saw the annual Santa Claus Parade on Marine Ave. From choristers ...

... to the Assumption School float.

From the young ones on the Evangel Kids float ...

... to the perpetual kid, Nicholas Simons, our local MLA, on his bike.

We saw the lads representing Minor Hockey ...

... right down to I-don't-what-but-it's-Christmasy.

And of course, The Man himself, in the back of the firetruck.

That Wide Brim

Always wondered what it was for.

A Sad Commentary

 It says something about the state of our world that even in our semi-isolated little city, population

12,384, where you can't leave town without waiting for a ferry, the local RCMP felt
the need to have a fully-armed officer, C8 tactical carbine and all, on station at
the Remembrance Day ceremony on Saturday.

Arts Alive In The Park

Arts Alive in the Park was on once again this past Saturday and Sunday. It's a yearly event where "local artists

display their work and present it for sale". And there was a good bit of it to be had.
This was the 16th - or maybe the 17th, they're not quite sure - year of this event at Willingdon Beach.

 Painting, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, photography and much more, was on display.

Gerry Chabot, photographer, and his prints.

 The artist at work.

Musical entertainment performed on the stage ...

.. and Romeo the Fry Guy was one of several food vendors on site. Lots of people, lots of things
to run an eye over, and hopefully lots of wallets got cracked.

Cranberry Lake 75 At Lindsay Park

Cranberry Lake, one of the 4 small communities that form Powell River, was incorporated as a village

75 years ago, and celebrations were held Sunday at several venues to commemorate the event. At

Lindsay Park there was entertainment ...

... lots of people milling around, gossiping and catching up ...

... and the Rotary Club grilled lots of dogs and flipped many burgers.

You could get your photo taken by a volunteer using your smart phone ...

... or you might even have had your photo taken by the Powell River Peak photog,

here sporting his Sony α7.

Chainsaw Carving

There are still a half-dozen or so wood carvings available for viewing at the upper Willingdon

lot, and now that they've been oiled and coloured where appropriate,

we can see them finished.

The one I personally like best is these sparring eagles - all this beautiful detail carved

with a chainsaw during the Logger Sports weekend. Magnificent work.

Logger Sports - III

More event photos at Logger Sports held at Willingdon Beach this past weekend. The young

lady in the photo above was entered in the Novice Tree Climb.

 Bucking off the end of the pole in the Obstacle Pole Buck.

Age apparently is no barrier to entry. This old-timer was preparing his saw for the Hot Hot Saw Championship.

With that very big, very expensive Hot Saw our old-timer took 3 slabs off this 18 inch log in about 5 seconds.

Yes, mere seconds. Like a very hot knife through warm butter.

Preparing his small saw for the 100cc PNE Cut Championship. Still more saw than I want to handle

.A lady competitor in the 100cc PNE Cut Championship taking off her 3rd slab.
1st cut is down, 2nd is up and 3rd is down again, all 3 slabs together can be no wider than 4"

The Underhand Block Chop event.

 Buckling up for the Championship Tree Climb.

Half of another team in the Springboard Championship.

An event like this requires countless volunteer hours by many, many people, right down to the fellows

who were hauling away the chips and sawdust - kudos to them all.

Event organizer Bob Marquis.

And finally, the crowds were terrific for this great week-end event. There's not much point without an audience.

Logger Sports - II

Logger Sports main events started Friday afternoon and continued Saturday and Sunday. An

event like this is a photographer's dream. Lots of action, lots of variety and the chance to

test your skill with the camera.

Above is one man of the 2-man team  in the Springboard Championship. He's cutting a slot to
take the springboard in front of him.

On the springboard, ready to cut a notch.

With his partner on the second springboard, using the double buck saw to finish decapitating the log.

The Husky Challenge

Ladies Single Buck

Powell River's own Julian Welp at the 80 foot mark in the Tree Climb.

Canadian Championship Standing Block Chop

More to come tomorrow.