We’re delighted to announce our third annual potluck community picnic and second Reskilling Fair, set for Sat. Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sunriver Community Gardens. Admission is free or by pay-what-y0u-can donation to cover our costs.

Our volunteers will offer a selection of skill-building workshops for kids and adults in the morning and early afternoon. These will be followed by a potluck picnic to which everyone is invited to bring their own cutlery and plates along with a dish to share. After lunch we will continue the program with an intro to re-wilding skills, offered by Green Man Adventures’ Dante Chicano.  

As the afternoon winds down, the relaxed scene will shift to the orchard for some peaceful contemplation (led by Michael Tacon) and lively music-making (with maestro Andrew Moore).

This year’s workshops for adults will include “Reaping 21st Century Health Benefits from Traditional Fermented Foods” (led by nutritionist Jo Phillips), “Continuous Brew Kombucha” (Marion Pettinger) and “Bear Aware 101” (Debb Read). A session on cycling will be hosted by Olena Russell in tandem with her “bike petting zoo” display of multi-purpose bikes for all occasions.

Kids, meanwhile, can wander the gardens on a NatureQuest with Sofie Hagens, learn how to make musical instruments from recycled materials with Wendy O’Connor, and attend a bike workshop led by young cycling enthusiast Kasian Russell.

All ages are welcome to join Wendy for an introduction to geocaching, the popular sport that gets families outdoors on adventures in search of buried treasures.

Once the picnic’s complete, you can join Michael for an earth-focused meditation and Andrew for a musical jam session in the orchard.

Throughout the day you’ll meet the folks behind our working groups: Bike Sooke, Wild Wise Sooke, Permaculture Sooke and Zero Waste Sooke. Learn more about their activities and perhaps even sign up as a volunteer to further their respect causes!

Here’s our working schedule. Please check back for an updated final version prior to the 27th.

Hope you can join us! It shapes up as another fun and friendly communal get-together in a truly lovely Sooke setting.

Our thanks to Sooke Food CHI for making Sunriver available for the day, and to the District of Sooke for its financial support through its Community Grant program.

Click here for the Facebook event page.