Alberni Valley Tourism will be participating in “A Taste of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast”, a media event to be held at Robson Square on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 from 3:30pm to 5:30pm, the night prior to the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics.

The Industrial Heritage Society (IHS) has taken one more step towards creating a working high-lead logging system.

On Friday at McLean Mill, climber Aaron Thom topped a straight Douglas fir tree at 75 feet, then rigged up a pass-line to begin hauling up all the heavy rigging equipment.

Powered by the newly-rebuilt steam donkey, the spar tree will be block-rigged with cables and pulleys to haul freshly cut logs to the mill.

The Alberni Valley's own Pumpkin King, Jake van Kooten, has just won the highly coveted 'Orange Jacket' and the world title from the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, for his 1,536.5 pound giant fruit. Read the full story, or better yet, come visit Jake as he nurtures next year's contenders in the garden.

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By Kristi Dobson

PORT ALBERNI — A team of local talent has been hired by the McLean Mill National Historic Site to direct its Tin Pants Theatre Company.

Graduates of Alberni District secondary school Mariee Devereux and Melissa Robertson along with retired ADSS teacher Kerry Robertson beat out tough competition in the application process.

Boogaloo Bear’s Indoor Play & Café Ltd. is now open at the former Nordley’s Centre on Fourth Avenue and Bute Street. Proprietors Annette Clement and Rick Robertson are stoked. The play area consists of 1,000 square feet of jungle gym, including three slides, tree house, soft play toddler area, and in the future will also feature an inflatable bouncy hut. See the full story by Karen Boden.

Batstar Adventure Tours of Port Alberni BC has been named to the National Geographic Adventure Magazine's list of the World’s Best Adventure Tour Companies. Batstar is the only Canadian west coast sea kayak company on the list, and the only company from Vancouver Island. Batstar co-owner Blake Johnson was delighted with the win. “For 11 years, we’ve stuck to our core vision -- providing first rate, fully guided sea kayak tours to breathtaking BC west coast destinations. We love what we do.

Now appearing at a post office near you: the Alberni Valley's new 'Bear tracks and Lumberjacks' cancellation stamp.

Neil Malbon, Chair of Alberni Valley Tourism, has announced the introduction of a branded cancellation stamp for the area's outgoing mail.

The stamp contains the new bear track logo, the slogan, and the words 'Alberni Valley BC' along with the date and Canada Post wordmark. It is available on request at the post office.

More than 500 photos have been entered in Alberni Valley Tourism’s online photo contest, and the early bird winners have been named. The following people were the first 10 to enter and will each win a 'Bear Tracks and Lumberjacks' T-shirt:
Lyn Harper, Gaylene Ruel, Wayne James, Nancy Czigany, Barbara Cooper, Barbara Schramm, Haven Acres, Solveig Albrand, Mickey Smeele, Maria Schut.

If you’ve got a picture of a bear, a logger, or even the mill at Port Alberni stashed away somewhere, you might be in the running for a prize. The non-profit Alberni Valley Tourism Council has launched a photo contest to gather images for the area’s new website and brochure. The five categories include Bears and Wildlife, Logging and Industry, City and Country Scenes, Valley People, and Water Play.

Prizes include: