Mansons Hall

A man sings and plays guitar next to a marina.

First time calendar emerges for local music scene due to high volume of events

June 21, 2024 by Loni Taylor

For the first time on Cortes Island, there are four different regular music programs offering entertainment in one summer. Jemma Hicken has created a community music calendar to keep all the programming organized in one place, for both organizers and community members to benefit from.

The Gorge Marina is bringing back its five-nights-a-week free music. The Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) is hosting free live music at the Village Commons. Moondance Productions emerged with a new entertainment program at Mansons Hall this year, while the Gorge Hall remains the most constant year space for round programming.

Hicken said that Cortes shaped her love of community music.

“I remember falling asleep with friends in the hall to the sound of my parents laughing and dancing.”

To hear more about the summer music programming, listen to the CKTZ News Update.

A large hall with cedar siding basks in the sun.

Community association welcomes new executive director, improvements to classic programming

June 21, 2024 by Loni Taylor

The Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA) held their annual general meeting on June 15 and officially welcomed their new Executive Director Cora Moret.

Moret began as a board member, evolving into facility manager, and then in April, she was appointed the executive director.

Moret shared the current highlights and upcoming events happening at Mansons Hall and beyond including Cortes Day and the second annual Skate Jam.

The surrounding Village Commons and Skate Park areas are undergoing “Phase One” of development in collaboration with the Cortes Island Community Foundation. This includes upgrades of Friday Market infrastructure and a newly completed parking area.

Moret said the market layout remains the same “with an optimized layout that is much more pedestrian and vendor friendly.”

To hear more about SCCA, listen to the CKTZ News Update.

A person holds up a T-Shirt the reads, “The Gulf Island Tour 2024”.

Victoria-based band composes a Gulf Island tour for the love of the islands

May 21, 2024 by Loni Taylor

Dylan Stone, a musician in The Unfaithful Servants band, is bringing his “brainchild” to life this month by launching a Gulf Island tour.

Stone came up with the idea after experiencing the logistical challenges of touring British Columbia and wanting to explore the places he has become sentimentally attached to over the years.

“I get out to Cortes every summer now for a couple of weeks, and that’s where I ‘vacation,’ because playing music is always a vacation. I just, I love, love, love the Gulf Island vibes and the people,” the musician explained.

The Unfaithful Servants will perform at the Mansons Hall Stage for the first time May 25 as part of the first season lineup for Moon Dance productions. Stone mentioned the possibility of local Rick Bockner joining the band for a few songs and Adam Dobres will be opening the show.

Listen to the CKTZ News Update.

Two people embrace the views of Cortes Island perched on Easter Bluff.

Dance company makes last stop on Cortes Island on retirement tour

April 19, 2024 by Loni Taylor

A dance troupe of 34 years, Motus O performed one of their last shows as a company at Mansons Hall on Tuesday night. This was also the first time performing for a Cortes audience.

The contemporary dance company performed their 29th full length, original production at the hall, which was themed around their retirement. This production was quite personal for the group, since it told their story, they said.

James Croker is one of the founding members of Motus O. After “escaping a sheep farm in Australia,” in his youth, he is now caring for three sheep on his farm in Ontario with the other two members of the company.

The performers were asked during a Q&A after the show if they would return to Cortes Island. The group responded, “maybe, perhaps we will offer a workshop next time.”

Listen to the CKTZ News Update.

A painting of a sun with a face is smiling.

Playschool seeks to expand into summer, create year-round program

March 20, 2024 by Loni Taylor

The Cortes Playschool is currently exploring funding options to expand into a year-round program.

In the past, the childcare facility has always mimicked the school year, closing operations through the summer months.

Offering a year round program would provide a stable source of childcare for working families that continue to work during the summer months, according to staff. Cora Moret is currently applying for funding to try to make the expansion happen.

“We’re just carefully planning it so that we don’t disrupt the Playschool activity. So Playschool will stay consistent,” she said, describing the process.

In 2022, the playschool successfully expanded its hours, days of operation, and range of ages it served. Moret hopes to continue expanding the hours available to provide full-time childcare Monday-Friday by September of this year.

To hear more, listen to the CKTZ News Update.

A barefoot woman stands tall on a beach.

Ceremony with cacao expands to collaborate with Kirtan and Dance Temple

March 14, 2024 by Loni Taylor

Tanya Krahn, local chocolatier, has been offering guidance through ceremonies with cacao for locals. Now she is collaborating with established local gatherings like Dance Temple and Kirtan.

Within the ceremony, a circle of participants focuses on an intention, at a collaborative altar, and everyone drinks a cacao beverage. Krahn shares how her journey has evolved since Samhain.

“It’s a beautiful combination… of ceremony and intention and then use the body in a form of celebration through dance…. I’ve also done a cacao in Kirtan evening, which is also very powerful because they combine the mantra, which means to vibrate the mind.”

Krahn will be hosting a ceremony with cacao before the Dance Temple on March 22, marking the Spring Equinox. She noted that significant times in the calendar, like the Equinoxes, are especially effective moments for collective ceremony.

To hear more, listen to the CKTZ News Update.

An espresso machine under repair shoots out steam from all directions.

Historic espresso machine lives on in Mansons Hall

March 8, 2024 by Loni Taylor

A familiar local machine now calls the Southern Cortes Community Association’s (SCCA) community kitchen home.

An espresso machine was recently donated to Mansons Hall, the same machine that was originally a fixture of Trude’s Cafe, which closed in the mid-2010s.

Trude’s was known as a community hub, hosting arts events and serving coffee for 20 years. The building was demolished in February 2022, but the espresso machine was saved by a Whaletown local. The Floathouse, also a part of the Gorge Harbor property, permanently closed in 2023 and was later demolished as well, leaving the island with no restaurants in sight.

Despite the end of Trude’s and the Floathouse, the espresso machine will live on as an asset to the community kitchen in Mansons Hall.

CKTZ News found out more about the future of the machine’s new life.

A crowd of concert-goers fills the foreground facing a dark stage.

Variety show fundraiser taking stage on Cortes Island in March

February 28, 2024 by Loni Taylor

Originally scheduled for February, Mansons Hall is hosting a Variety Show on March 9. The event is kickstarting new performing arts programming at the hall.

Cora Moret is organizing the event but wouldn’t spill what the lineup has in store.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin any of the surprises but we will have some live music, we’ll have some original music, we’ll have some comedy, we’ll have some unexpected guest MCs,” Moret shared.

There are still a couple slots open for performers, who must attend a rehearsal on Saturday, March 2.

To hear more on this story, listen to the CKTZ News Update.

Series of masks are illustrated in front of a theater curtain.

Newcomer Hungarian couple has big ambitions for community theatre on Cortes

February 14, 2024 by Loni Taylor

Newcomers to Cortes, Áron and Beatrix Beczásy, are starting a weekly theater group at the Om Studio.

The Hungarian pair have a robust background in theater, directing, set and costume design. They hope to train a group of willing locals into full-fledged actors, offering two months of training before diving into a production through the summer.

Áron Beczásy will lead the training on Friday and Saturday afternoons from 4:30-7:30pm. Anyone over the age 15 is welcome to join and no previous experience in the theatrical arts is required.

Though the fee for the program is $30 per week, Beatrix clarified that if money is an issue, people are welcome to join free of charge. The duo also has ambitions of directing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the future.

A tent in the background and a trailer with outdoor graphics printed on it, inhabit an outdoor community space.

‘Collaboration with neighbors’: update given on Village Commons development

February 13, 2024 by Loni Taylor

An update on the development of the land that is known as the “Village Commons” in Mansons Landing was given to the community on Feb. 1.

The Cortes Community Economic Development Association passed the stewardship of the Commons to the Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) last year. The land came with an established trail system, hydro, and $850k worth of grants to continue into “Phase One” of development.

At the presentation, several announcements were made and many collaborators were in attendance.

Manda Aufochs-Gillespie, Bruce Haden, Richard Andrews, Sadhu Johnston, and Coret Moret all spoke at the gathering about various grants awarded and projects underway to improve and develop community land in downtown Mansons, including land stewarded by the Southern Cortes Community Association, CICF, Cortes Housing Society, and the Cortes Island Fire Department.

To hear more, listen to the CKTZ News Update.

Different colored plywood pieces sit in a pile and appear to look like puzzle pieces.

Prefab plywood house innovations spawned on Cortes

January 5, 2024 by Loni Taylor

Wit’s End, a local company on Cortes and Hornby Island, recently designed a “Puzzle House.”

The company describes it as a “modern caravan” or “tiny home build,” and the design was made by a custom Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine.

“The bottom line is that this is a new method of creating sturdy small buildings economically, that can be assembled by anyone,” Wit’s End’s website states.

Having relocated to Cortes in December, Wit’s End founder Arne Olafson has his shop up and running now, with some Puzzle Houses already in process, a 4’ x 8’ and a 8’ x 8’ iteration. The buildings have been used as a barn to house farm animals and as sleeper cabins for residents.

Olafson is also designing furniture that would fit into the tiny buildings and working on a greenhouse design. He is showcasing the buildings on Cortes at Friday Markets at Mansons Hall.

A painting of a sun with a face is fixed, large on a wall.

Cortes family programming expanded to include ‘Babytime’

December 21, 2023 by Loni Taylor

Parents and Tots Playgroup is expanding into “Baby Time” for parents and caregivers and their babies on Cortes Island.

The program began at the beginning of December. Serene Watson, facilitator for Parents and Tots is spearheading the new programming.

“We are trying out this new program as requested by new moms of babies on Cortes,” Watson explained.

The social time is free of charge and made possible by the Whaletown Community Club and the Southern Cortes Community Association, who are donating space at the halls to provide a venue for the program.

Cortes Baby Time will take place following the Parents and Tots Playgroup on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at Mansons Hall and Gorge Hall, respectively. Babies, caregivers, and parents are welcome to join from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

First time calendar emerges for local music scene due to high volume of events

Community association welcomes new executive director, improvements to classic programming

Victoria-based band composes a Gulf Island tour for the love of the islands

Dance company makes last stop on Cortes Island on retirement tour

Playschool seeks to expand into summer, create year-round program

Ceremony with cacao expands to collaborate with Kirtan and Dance Temple

Historic espresso machine lives on in Mansons Hall

Variety show fundraiser taking stage on Cortes Island in March

Newcomer Hungarian couple has big ambitions for community theatre on Cortes

‘Collaboration with neighbors’: update given on Village Commons development

Prefab plywood house innovations spawned on Cortes

Cortes family programming expanded to include ‘Babytime’

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