Season’s greetings from your Community Hall board of directors. It’s been another busy year at the community hall, and we have been active in many ways. In early May we hosted our first annual May Day celebration, which turned out to be a fun-filled afternoon of Maypole Dancing (with lessons!!!), flower head wreath making, complete with a parade to show off the creations led by Bagpiper Duncan Low. Also on the agenda was a really fun Growls puppet show on the stage at the Lund Pavilion, as well as the ladies Ukelele group entertaining us while we ate our picnic lunches on the grass in front of our brand new pavilion. It was so very gratifying to see The Lund Outdoor Gathering Place being enjoyed in a capacity that made all the hard work of getting it built worthwhile. Thanks again to all involved in its creation. Your numbers are legion.
2024 May Day celebration
Our 70th annual Salmon BBQ held on August 23 gathered a very enthusiastic group of Gabriolans. Although the number of attendees was less than in some other years, (extremely hot day, and 2 weeks later than usual) many folks reported that they had the best time they’d had in years, and felt the positive vibrations of the community gathered there. The new layout of the tents and activities seemed to make everything flow more easily. Sadly, it was the final year of Julie Stewart taking the role of lead organizer for this well-loved event, and our major fund-raiser of the year. We would VERY much welcome a new leader to come forward and take over this role!!
We hosted a thankyou tea in September for all the amazing BBQ volunteers. We ALWAYS need volunteers, and not just for the BBQ, If you would like to become one, or a committee member, or occasional helper, please let us know at info@gabriolacommunityhall.com. Think of the Community Hall as the heartbeat of Gabriola. Used for so many recreational activities, concerts, special events, vaccination clinics, weddings, meetings and so on. We cannot run this building/property/events without the dedicated and numerous volunteers who come forward. Some have aged out, and we urge some of the younger citizens to step forward and help out, even if it’s only to lend a hand for one event a year. We welcome you!
On November 8th we were one of 25 organizations which took part in a Gabriola Chamber of Commerce volunteer recruitment day, at the hall. This proved to be most advantageous as we recruited a number of new members, as well as 3 new board of directors.
Here is your 2025-26 board of directors:
Front row: BJ Godson, Valerie Laforce, Brenda Upton, Bryony Gillis, Diana Moher.
Back row: Laurie McDonald, Lynda Toews, Mat Jones & Adrian Palmer.
Absent: Sandy Lucken.
Community Hall 2025-26 Board of Directors
We want to give a huge shout-out and warm thank you to Joyce Babula, Elizabeth Iachelli and Anna Paletta who have stepped down from the board. Joyce has been involved with our hall for decades, and was the president for many years. Elizabeth has had years on the board and was a driving force behind ensuring that the Lund Gathering Place was built. Anna has been involved for some time, and often acted as secretary and welcomed newcomers at sign-in tables at various events. All 3 of these ladies have volunteered to stay involved with various activities and events, and to provide important information from past knowledge that we may need from time to time.
Time to acknowledge our regular renters, who keep the bills paid, and who are flexible about being bumped if something major comes along, such as vaccination clinics. There are certainly numerous and varied sporting and fitness groups involved with the hall, and we appreciate your continued use of the facility.
This being the year end, please consider donating whatever funds you are comfortable with, to ensure that we will be able to keep the hall in decent and safe condition, make any necessary upgrades, pay all our various bills and insurance, and to guarantee that the heartbeat of Gabriola will be here for all to enjoy for years to come. Please send a cheque to Gabriola Community Hall, PO box 205 Gabriola BC, V0R1X0 or donate on line at www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/gabriola-island-community-hall-association. Year-end tax receipts will follow.
The board of Directors wishes you and yours a safe, happy and relaxing holiday season.