Held at the Tofino Botanical Gardens in late August each year, the Tofino Lantern Festival is our 'signature' community event & fundraiser, drawing the young and old with an unbelievable variety of hand made lanterns. Don't miss out on the magic! During the week leading up to the Festival, we hold lantern-making workshops so you can create your own original lantern. Location: Tofino Botanical Gardens 1084 Pacific Rim Hwy, Tofino More Info: Raincoast Education Society info@raincoasteducation.org 250-725-2560 Details at: http://www.raincoasteducation.org/res-events.html

By Krista Bryce, The Daily News August 17, 2009

The Most Fun you Can Have with Sand in your Pants! Parksville's Sand Sculpting Competition history dates back to 1982, when we hosted our first "B.C. Open". A total of 100 people attended the first event, and it was reviewed as a "great success".

Nanaimoites experienced a great show when the Canadian Snowbirds 431 Air Demonstration Squadron wing into town and put on a spectacular  aerial demonstration over Nanaimo Harbour.  All those staying at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse traveled the 2 blocks to the waterfront to take in this special event.  See the videos. [youtube]Fnv9C7Vsdcc[/youtube]

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="280" caption="8th Annual BC Cultural Crawl"][/caption] The BC Cultural Crawl is a self-guided tour of community-initiated events: music, theatre and dance performances, visual arts, festivals, museum and heritage exhibitions, culinary arts, community art walks and more. Your self-guided exploration of supercultural British Columbia begins here.

With Nanaimo full of retail and big block stores, you would think all that us locals did was shop.  But in fact, us Nanaimo-ites would prefer to be outdoors and this city offers more than enough to satisfy our craving for adventure...not retail therapy.  One of the most popular activities in the area is hiking.  Whether it is a leisurely stroll to the beach, a moderate hike along the many designated trails in the city, or a more challenging hike up a mountain, Nanaimo has something for all abilities. If you are looking for a bit of a more challenging hike, I would highly recommend Mount Benson.  It is the pinnacle of hiking in Nanaimo, is approximately 1 kilometer high, and has amazing views in all directions from the summit.  You can start from three different points near the base of the mountain.  There is the eastern climb from Morrell Sanctuary, the northern climb from Westwood Lake, or an alternative northern climb from Witchcraft Lake.

In the News: Expanded Transportation Makes Games Travel Easier When the 2010 Winter Games begin in Vancouver next February, smooth transportation systems could make the difference between a frustrating experience and top-notch Games memories for visitors. Moving people around and ensuring that tourists and residents alike don’t get bogged down in long lines and traffic jams will be a huge undertaking considering that Games venues

Hello Everyone! My name is Sandra, I'm 19 years old and I'm from Germany. I grew up in a tiny, but nice little town called Sparwiesen, near Stuttgart.

If you didn't have a chance to pickup your own Painted Turtle t-shirt or hoodie, don't fret.  Now you can order your favourite PTG wear through our website.  Just email the Painted Turtle staff (PTG email link) with the colour and size you would like.  We will then contact you to finalize the order and arrange shipping. T-shirts - $22 each... or $20 if you buy 2 or more Hoodies - $44 each... or $40 if you buy 2 or more

This week guests of the Painted Turtle Guesthouse will once again venture down to Maffeo-Sutton Park for a weekend of fun and excitement. The International World Championship Bathtub Race and Nanaimo Marine Festival Events kicks off Thursdays and promises to offer a little bit for everyone. With food fairs, hours and hours of live music, fireworks and the GREAT race, this year's list of events is long. Make sure you head down early; you'll want plenty of time to take it all in.