Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/319728
FULL PAGE AD K L A H O W YA V I L L AG E TA K AYA TO U R S B I L L R E I D G A L L E RY S K W AC H ÀYS L O D G E + ABORIGINAL TOURISM BC VANCOUVER TOFINO Sweat It Out in Gastown ere are few staycations that get you away from Vancou- ver while staying in Vancouver better than the Skwachays Healing Lodge. Equal parts modern 18-unit boutique hotel, sweat lodge, artist incubator and art gallery, the three-storey converted heritage building is one of the most striking in Gas- town. Sitting atop the converted warehouse is a traditional Northwest Coast Longhouse with a 40.5-foot story pole that towers over nearby buildings. On the ground oor, an aborigi- nal art installation extends from the storefront windows onto the sidewalk below and a bounty of aboriginal experiences awaits inside. e Healing Lodge, for example, lets guests bene t from the sacred healing experience of a traditional sweat lodge. A practicing Elder supports and guides visi- tors through the experience and is a wonderful resource for incorporating traditional medicine into your daily life. And a souvenir pretty much picks itself in the Urban Aboriginal Fair Trade Gallery on the main oor, featuring the work of Skwachays Artists in Residence. skwachays.com | 604-687-3589 He's inspired Canadian currency, his work welcomes visitors to Vancouver at YVR and his carvings have become shorthand for modern Haida art. Acclaimed Haida artist Bill Reid may have died in 1998, but he's eternally ours and the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art that bears his name is a familiar, comfort- ing place for all British Columbians, adorned with his mystical, radiating works and gold and silver jewellery. e gift shop alone has been known to eat up entire afternoons. Leave lots of time. And credit. billreidgallery.ca | 604-682-3455 So you think you know To no and Ukee? Luxuriated at the Wick and hiked the Wild Paci c Trail? ere is one recently opened Paci c Rim National Park resort you've yet to experience. e Wya Point Resort awaits you in the 1,200-year-old forests, perched on the edge of a sweeping white sandy expanse on the south side of Long Beach. is is the luxurious seedling of what will eventually be a 600-hectare resort, one that the Ucluelet Nation intends to rival the Wickaninnish Inn and Long Beach Lodge upon build-out. So far, nine lodges and 15 yurts pepper a stunning cove in the rainforest right where the sand ends. e yurts sleep up to ve and are built on locally milled cedar decks, each equipped with its own gas barbecue and views all the way to Japan. e lodges are some of the most unique places to lay your head in B.C., each named after a spirit animal and equipped with a cor- responding house pole, which is essentially your own personal totem. Beg to stay in the underbird Lodge, which looks like a totem pole itself and has decor and construction that rival the epic nature just outside its walls. wyapoint.com | 250-726-2625 A Stanley Park Secret If you've ever walked, jogged or strollered through Stanley Park and swore you heard drums, chants and giggling, you weren't imagining things. e ancient rhythms were emanating from the other side of the cedars, where Klahowya Village festivities were in full swing (the drums and chants) enchanting visitors of all ages (the giggling). e summer spectacle runs from Aboriginal Day (June 21) until September 1. Activities include guided walks through parts of Stanley Park, a ramble through the rainforest aboard the Spirit Catcher minia- ture train and weekend cultural performances. klahowyavillage. com | 604-921-1070 Float on in North Van ere's getting on the water, and then there's getting on the water and travelling back in time. is summer, do both with a gentle, fam- ily-friendly Takaya Tours expedition up Indian Arm in Deep Cove, the ancestral lands of the People of the Wolf. After a traditional welcome by Tsleil-Waututh guides, including a song, quick language lesson and safety run-though, it's o the land and onto the shimmering, calm waters of Indian Arm, where the lush contours of the North Shore seem to radiate without the man-made distractions and modern noise of the metropolis just to the south. e 25-foot traditional-style ocean-going canoes are surreal to navigate, given most of us have only seen one at the Museum of Anthropology or on the $20 bill, but glide e ortlessly as guides recount legends that add context to the land and water that we take for granted. takayatours.com | 604-985-2925 An Icon Awaits A New Luxury in Ucluelet V A N C O U V E R N O RT H V A N C O U V E R START your summer at AboriginalBC. com He's inspired Canadian currency, his work welcomes visitors to Vancouver at YVR and his carvings have become shorthand for modern Haida art. Acclaimed Haida artist Bill Reid may have died in 1998, but he's eternally ours and the Northwest Coast Art ing place for all British Columbians, adorned with his mystical, radiating works and gold and silver jewellery. e gift shop alone has been known to eat up entire afternoons. Leave lots of time. And credit. An Icon Awaits p47-51-AboriginalTourism.indd 48 2014-05-22 11:05 AM