New Year’s Tickets on Sale
Welcome 2024 by celebrating at the rockin’ New Year’s Eve party at Youbou Hall, hosted by the Youbou Community Association. The Joints (aka Eagle Eyes) is returning to play for the hometown crowd, with music starting at 9 pm (doors open at 8 pm). Yes, included are the midnight balloon drop, noise-makers, non-alcoholic drinks, pre-midnight buffet, and all the trimmings, plus free shuttle service for those who wish. Tickets ($50 each) are on sale in Youbou at Youbou General Store, Daly’s Auto Centre, and Youbou Bar & Grill, as well as in Lake Cowichan at Ed’s Coffeehouse and Pemberton Realty. YCA Board members are also selling tickets. For the shuttle (with This Ride’s 4 U Ltd.), reserve your spot by calling the phone number printed on each ticket, by December 30, please.
Church Christmas Celebration
The Youbou Community Church will be celebrating the holiday with a special Christmas candlelight service on Saturday, December 23 at 6 pm. Pastor Shawn Beliveau will be conducting the service. Hot cocoa will be served after the service in the upper hall. Everyone is welcome.
Youbou Bar & Grill Events
The pub wants to make it easy for you to support those in need this season. On December 9, the Youbou Bar & Grill is hosting a fundraising dinner for the food bank. Contact the pub for more details. The Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce will be enjoying its Christmas dinner at the pub on December 11. On Saturday, December 16, bring the little ones to decorate gingerbread cookies (the pub closes early at 7:30 that day). Winding up the year, Kent Ball will play on Saturday, December 30, the night before the big New Year’s shindig at the hall.
YCA Annual General Meeting
The YCA will be hosting its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, January 21, at Youbou Hall. We’ll be electing board members for 2024, giving our year-end report, and listening to what you think we should plan for 2024. If you’re interested in serving on the board, contact julia@raedwulf.org. We hope to see you at the meeting!
Take It Off
Shedding a few pounds after eggnog and fruitcake season may be on your New Year’s resolutions list. You can find positive support and company at the TOPs meeting every Tuesday at 10:30 at the church. TOPS stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly.
Generator Installed at Youbou Hall
Members of the CVRD and Youbou Community Association board met at Youbou Hall on November 20 to celebrate the installment of a generator strong enough to power the entire hall in an emergency. We are thankful to a local family who stepped forward anonymously to donate the generator, enabling us to take care of each other in a crises. This is the first step toward the Youbou Community Association, CVRD, and trained Emergency Support Service (ESS) volunteers being able to help those in need when power failures happen in the winter or when cooling is necessary during the summer. In the new year, you’ll be hearing more about how we can help each other in our neighbourhoods and prepare the hall to serve as a daytime respite when needed.
Youbou Community Music Fest
Mary Jane’s Last Dance offered up a healthy dose of Tom Petty tunes at Youbou Hall on Saturday, November 11. The concert was the second offering from the Youbou Community Music Fest series, which is working to bring more live music to Youbou. The concert was held on Remembrance Day, so it was fitting that $5 from each ticket would benefit the Lake Cowichan Legion Branch 210—a generous sum of $710 was awarded to the Legion by the organizers. The folks at the Youbou Community Music Fest thank everyone who attended the first couple of dances and helped make their vision a reality. They are already planning another performance in February with a different band. Stay tuned for announcements on the Youbou Community Music Fest Facebook page.
Remembering in Youbou
For people who wanted a smaller, quieter event than the Remembrance Day commemoration offered in Lake Cowichan, the Youbou Community Church Society (YCCS) hosted a special Remembrance Day tribute at the Youbou Church (two hours before the Lake Cowichan event so as not to conflict). A dedicated group held a moment of silence, listened to a recitation of In Flanders Field, then sang the national anthem and Amazing Grace, with bagpipes in the background. The rain held off until after the brief ceremony. The YCCS plans to offer this short service again next year.
Youbou Christmas Craft Fair
Holiday shopping slipped into high gear on November 25, when Cowichan Lake Recreation offered its annual Youbou Christmas Craft Fair. Browsers were treated to an array of baked goodies and home-crafted treasures, made by the truly talented among us. The Youbou Community Association boosted the energy levels of the tired and true with bowls of steamy soup and coffee at lunchtime.
Pickleball at the Hall
Youbou Hall is open for pickleball most weekday mornings, but if you want to be sure other players will be pickling, opt for Monday mornings around 9:30.
Bowling
It’s not too late to work in a game or two at our historic Youbou bowling lanes this year. Take advantage of one of the many bowling opportunities:
Drop-In
Fridays, 6:30 to 9:30 pm: Loonie night is the first Friday of each month.
Saturdays, 7:30 to 10:30 pm: Toonie night is the third Saturday of each month.
Leagues
No experience necessary, no equipment needed, drop-ins welcome.
Thursdays: Ladies’ 10-pin, 7 pm.
Tuesdays: Men’s 10-pin, 7 pm.
Private parties: Lane reservations are available for non-league nights.
Pinsetters wanted: The bowling alley is welcoming applications for Pinsetters and a substitute Bowling Alley Host. To apply, contact Cowichan Lake Recreation at 250-749-6742.
Wier Update
By Shalu Mehta, Reprinted from the Discourse
Calls for the province to support the construction of a new weir in Cowichan Lake are stronger and filled with more urgency than ever. These calls come on the heels of a summer that saw one of the most significant fish die-offs in the Cowichan River in recent decades. Cowichan Tribes, the Cowichan Watershed Board, the Cowichan Valley Regional District and Paper Excellence — the owner of the Catalyst Crofton paper mill, and the operator of the existing weir — have been working together, with community input, for about three decades to come up with a plan that ensures water flows in the river are healthy enough for fish and people through the summers. The best solution, they say, is to replace the existing weir with a higher one so more water can be stored in the lake during the rainy seasons and released into the river during periods of drought.
The project is shovel-ready, according to Cowichan Watershed Board strategic priorities director Tom Rutherford. But another $14 million in funding is needed to build the weir, as well as some big decisions around ownership and responsibilities associated with the weir. Weir project partners and community members are now urging the province to support with funding and take on some weir-related responsibilities.
Editor’s note: We’re all affected by high and low lake levels. To find out the latest on the proposed weir, read Shalu’s entire article at thediscourse.ca.
Are You a YCA Member?
The Youbou Community Association is involved in helping community activities happen, such as the monthly newsletter, Crabfest, garage sales, clean-up, New Year’s Eve, and other events throughout the year. While we love our facebook friends, an official family lifetime membership in the organization is just $10 and involves filling out a form. It is a key to knowing what’s going on around Youbou as well as giving you a vote at our annual meetings. We’ll email you our colourful community newsletter every month. To join, reach out to cherylmtutor@gmail.com
Got News?
Note that this newsletter covers December and January. The next newsletter will arrive in early February. If you’d like to contribute news for the newsletter about a public event happening (or not happening) in or around Youbou and Area I, please send particulars about date, time and place to julia@raedwulf.org, by the 20th of the month, please. You can also check our web site at youbouyca.com and our Youbou Community Association facebook page for the latest information.
Calendar
December 1: Loonie Night, Bowling Alley
December 9: Food Bank Fundraiser, Pub
December 11: Chamber of Commerce Christmas Dinner, Pub
December 16: Gingerbread Decorating, Pub
December 16: Toonie Night, Bowling Alley
December 23: Christmas Candlelight Service, Church, 6 pm
December 30: Kent Ball, Pub
December 31: New Year’s Eve, Youbou Hall, 8 pm
January 5: Loonie Night, Bowling Alley
Jannuary 20: Toonie Night, Bowling Alley
January 21: YCA AGM, Youbou Hall, 2 pm
Fridays: Drop-In bowling, Bowling Alley, 6:30 pm
Saturdays: Drop-in bowling, Bowling Alley, 7:30 pm
Fridays: Open Gym, Youbou Hall, 6:30 pm
Your YCA Board
Chair: Julia Martinusen
Vice chair: Sandra McAfee
Secretary: Randall Wilson
Treasurer: Steve Watt
Membership: Cheryl Morgan
At large:
Monica Ash
Joelle Belanger
Pat Miller
Debbie Smith
Joe Tatham