The Winter Olympics appear to be drawing more attention to Nanaimo's eponymous goodie, with several blogs and articles touting this "Olympic dessert." And despite the Nanaimo Bar's worldwide fame, local tourism gurus say they're glad to see the extra exposure. The Chicago Tribune ran a story about the iconic bar and its origins in its food section last week with the headline "An Olympic dessert," while Cory Hostetter, marketing co

[caption id="attachment_923" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Dinghy Dock Pub - Nanaimo, BC on Protection Island"][/caption] In a city famous for unique pubs, it takes something a little bit extra to stand out. The Dinghy Dock Pub in Nanaimo certainly offers that so let’s take a look at this local hot spot. All right; technically the Dinghy Dock Pub is not in Nanaimo but is part of the community of Protection Island, a special place in its own right. There are no paved roads and not many permanent residents, and the Island can be seen from the Nanaimo Harbourfront and Seawall walkways. It is a mere five minute boat ride from downtown Nanaimo. Built in 1989, the restaurant is the first pub to be registered as a boat in Canadian history… and it took a lot of effort to get that designation! As with many pubs, it features a menu developed in house, with fresh seafood the specialty but with many other offerings as well. Unlike many pubs, there is a family section so everyone can enjoy the experience.

The inspiring Broadway hit, Godspell!, is playing at the Bailey Theatre on Rosstown Rd. starting February 17 and running through March  6 (Wednesday to Saturday, 8:00pm).  There are two matinees, Sunday,  Feb. 21 and Feb.

A good Italian Restaurant in Nanaimo Nanaimo, for whatever reason, has not had a truly Italian restaurant for years, and happily, there is now a very good newcomer on the dining scene. The Grapevine Trattoria in the city's old quarter (it used to be Christo's Greek restaurant) is a wonderful example of experienced people opening an establishment that understands the market.

Most people who are planning to view events in the 2010 Olympics are madly making arrangements to stay in Vancouver or the surrounding area. Those who do stay downtown will face incredible amounts of traffic and lineups, not to mention ridiculously inflated prices on everything from meals to bread and butter. So what is the alternative?

[caption id="attachment_923" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Dinghy Dock Pub - Nanaimo, BC on Protection Island"][/caption] Finally it was Wednesday (January, 13) and the clock showed 6.50 pm! The Painted Turtle Guesthouse lobby was overcrowded with about 15 people - all very excited and with the best mood you can have. Our plan was to spend the evening having tons of fun at the Dinghy Dock Pub on Protection Island. After a short walk, we arrived at the Protection Connection Ferry. Because of the fabulous idea of a food bank ferry[1] we all got the ferry for free. So we enjoyed the ride and after 10 minutes we arrived at the floating pub.

Saturday, January 9th, 2010 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

The winter of 2010 has shaped up nicely. Only one real day of snow so far (although it was a doozy and then melted the next day) and not an overly annoying amount of rain... Temperatures have been really nice and all in all - shaping up for a great winter destination for tourists and snowbirds. That certainly was NOT the case last year!! One of the reasons why so many people in Canada love living in and visiting Southern BC is because of the mild winter weather. However, during the winter of 2009 the snow on Vancouver Island had many long-time residents shaking their heads as they desperately tried to dig their way out of more than one record snowfall. Most years Nanaimo and the surrounding area receive an average of 93cm of snow over the winter, however in 2008-2009 many snowfall records were broken as moist air combined with many an arctic cold front. In December 2008 traffic and commerce ground to a halt while 116cm of the white stuff fell in just under three weeks, including a record-breaking 33cm overnight on December 13, 2008.

Although winter in Nanaimo has been cold and wet this year, we at the Painted Turtle haven't let the weather dampen our spirit!  Recently, we enjoyed a get-together at a local ice rink in Nanaimo, to try our hand at curling! Here, Verena gets ready with a special pair of curling shoes.