Powell River, BC
Saturday Oct 28, 9 – 5, at Sycamore Commons (Townsite Anglican Church)
Sunday Oct 29, 9 – 5, at the Cranberry Seniors Centre (Cranberry and Manson)

This full weekend of workshops, classes and demos focuses on food preservation and processing, with excursions into gardening and other homesteading topics. It will take your urban or rural homesteading to the next level, whether you’re just starting or have been doing it for years. Many sessions are hands-on and all are taught by local experts. You can attend the whole weekend, just one day, or specific sessions, as you wish.

Click here to register

Class Schedule

Location & Cost

This weekend aims to be zero waste and support local producers. Please help us reduce our carbon footprint by carpooling, biking, walking or using the bus to get to and from the sites.

Location:
Saturday: Sycamore Commons at the Townsite Anglican Church, 6310 Sycamore St. Please enter through the rear basement doors. Bus route 1 stops right outside, or across from, the church.
Sunday: Cranberry Seniors Centre, corner of Manson Ave and Cranberry St. Please enter through the back door off the parking lot: we’ll be using the large and small kitchens, not the main hall. Bus route 1 stops right across from the centre.

See below for information useful to out-of-town visitors!

Cost:
Full Weekend: Regular price $135 Oct 9th onwards
Special deal: 15-18 year olds only $40 for the whole weekend!
Single Day: $75
Single Workshop: $30 for standard length session (1.5-2 hrs), $45 for double-length (2.5 hr or more)

Non-refundable deposit $20 on registration, remainder due by Oct 20
You can pay up to 50% in Powell River Dollars PR$

Click here to register

Work trades are welcomed (and necessary!) and part scholarships are available – contact Kevin directly: 604 483 9052 or uhspr@fiddlersfarm.com

Skookum Coop members – Skookum may pay 20% of your fee in PR$!

Cancellation policy
No refunds, but you are welcome to send a substitute

Planned Workshops

CANCELLED Beginner Rabbitry
At the Beginner Rabbitry workshop, people will learn the “how” and “why” of raising rabbits for meat, show, fibre and manure. As well as how to choose breeding stock, sex rabbits, breeding, feeding, and how to safely handle the animals, we’ll cover many other aspects of raising a healthy herd whether you plan to raise a single rabbit or many.
Instructor: Samantha Sherman
Materials Fee: none

FULL Lacto-Fermentation
Lacto fermentation is a way of preserving food that uses just salt, whey (optional), vegetables, water and some canning jars. There is no need for canning, freezing, blanching, drying etc., minimizing the time you need to spend on these processes.
The fermented food you are left with is teeming with flavor, lots of life enzymes, higher levels of nutrition and healthy probiotics.
Instructor: Kitty Clemens
Materials Fee: $5

Sprouts and Microgreens
When the garden is feet deep in snow, what do you do for green stuff? It’s very easy to sprout seeds for salad shoots right on the kitchen counter, and not much harder to grow “microgreens”, which are the next stage of growth. Learn how to use DIY equipment to grow your own, and leave with a mini-sprouting kit already on the go.
Instructor: Kevin Wilson
Materials Fee: $2

FULL Building Soil Fertility – Parts 1 and 2
Don’t put your tools away yet – next year’s garden starts right now! Fall and winter is the time to work on rebuilding your soil’s fertility and improving conditions to get your plants off to a running start in the spring. Learn about seasonal cycles in the soil food web, strategies for reducing pests and diseases, and fertility building techniques for different kinds of soils in our region.
Instructor: Erin Innes
Materials Fee: none

Protecting Your Harvest: Electric Fence Workshop
The goal of local food crops is to feed humans and not contribute to the food conditioning of local wildlife. A properly installed electric fence can be an effective deterrent to prevent bears and other wildlife from accessing attractants such as chicken coops, apiaries, fruit trees and gardens. This workshop will review the guidelines prepared by WildSafeBC which is based on standards established by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC). We will install a functioning electric fence and test it. This workshop is interactive and active participation is encouraged. Please be dressed for the weather and wear boots or other protective footwear.
Instructor: WildSafeBC Community Coordinator Francine Ulmer
Materials Fee: none

Water Management and Harvesting
Learn how to catch and keep water in your garden or property. This class will cover the ways that water flows above and below ground, and how you can use these principles to create healthier, more drought-tolerant gardens with less irrigation.
Instructor: Simon Natrass
Materials Fee: none

Tree Crops – plant a forest, feed a community
An overview of the range of different woody species we can grow for food in this region.
Instructor: Ron Berezan
Materials Fee: none

Dehydrating Foods for Camping and More
Dehydrating food is a really neat addition to your food preservation techniques! In this class, we’ll be discussing and prepping food for dehydrating, and going over ways to use your dehydrated products including making mixes for camping food or a quick meal. As a bonus, we’ll get to sample some delicious rehydrated dishes, and you get to mix and take home a complete dehydrated meal!
Instructor: Katie McLean
Materials Fee: $5

Boiling Water Canning

CANCELLED Tea blending with Common Kitchen Ingredients
How to make your own tea blends packed with flavour and health benefits using common ingredients in your kitchen.
Topics will include: basic blending principles, preparing and storing ingredients, and health benefits of common ingredients. Hands-on blending and sampling (you’ll go home with at least three of your own personalized blends).
Instructor: Mara Jones, Urban Earth Teas
Materials Fee: TBA

Rough Puff Pastry FULL
Learn how to make flaky, puffy Rough Puff pastry for fancy baking that doesn’t take forever. This is a hands-on workshop, expect to get floury. You will leave with pastry treats to take home.
Instructor: Kevin Wilson
Materials Fee: $5

Beginner Cheesemaking
Learn the basics of cheese making; in two and a half hours you’ll learn how to make farmers cheese, ricotta and butter. We’ll use both cow and goats milk during the cheese making process and the learn the differences between the two.
Instructor: Samantha Sherman
Materials Fee: $5

Out of Town Visitors

How to reach Powell River:

By Road:

From Vancouver: take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, drive North on Hwy 101 to Earls Cove (about 1 hr 20 mins), take a second ferry to Saltery Bay, then drive North on Hwy 101 to Powell River. Continue as Hwy 101 becomes Marine Ave until you reach the Westview ferry terminal.

From Vancouver Island: take your best route to Comox, then take the ferry from Little River to Powell River Westview terminal.

Follow instructions below to reach the event venues from Westview.

By Bus

Sunshine Coast Connector runs buses up the Sunshine Coast between Langdale Ferry Terminal and Powell River. Please check the schedule to see if the bus runs when you need it.

By Air

Pacific Coastal Airlines flies from the South terminal at Vancouver Airport (YVR) to Powell River 4 times daily.

How to reach the site:

On Saturday, take Marine Ave North to the Historic Townsite, turn R up Oak St to Sycamore St, turn R and the site is the second church on the right. On Sunday, head East (uphill) on Duncan St from the ferry to the four way stop at Manson Ave: turn left. Continue on Manson until it forms a T junction with Cranberry St: the Seniors Centre is right there on your left.

Accommodation

In Townsite:

Old Courthouse Inn
Rodmay Hotel
Island View Lodge

In Cranberry:

The Seniors Centre is only 5 mins drive from Townsite so I recommend the hotels above. There is a motel opposite the Seniors Centre but it’s combined with a bar, pool hall, liquor store and convenience store and is noisy.