Our MCs for the evening were hilarious!

The band definitely rocked the house!

The amazing auctioneer Ken Threlkeld made the trip out from Vanderhoof. Thanks Ken!

This was the lead up to the highlight of the night: Vegetarian Pinto Bean Chocolate Chili infused with Pacific Schwarzbock. Cheers to Chef Jorge!

Chef Jorge of Eurest Dining Services prepared a selection of savory and sweet custom dishes for the evening and guests were treated to a champagne reception, silent and live auctions, and learned about the impact the Canadian Red Cross has on their community. The 2013 event netted just over $54,000, an increase of more than $13,000 from last year. Proceeds from this year’s event are supporting work in our Disaster Management Program.

See you next year!

Spring just means we’re that much closer to summer time parties and what a better way to start than with long time rockers Danko Jones and Danish imports Volbeat! On March 25 these two bands will rock the CN Event Centre in Prince George as they shred the stage all night with punk and metal influenced rock’n'roll.

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.

Volbeat and Danko Jones are brought to you by Pacific Western Brewing, 94-X, and the Prince George Free Press!

As each Winter arrives after the late sunsets of Autumn, so do the strong north Pacific swells. Marching on a path across the Continental Shelf, surging on a crash course with the rocky coast.

It begins under a midday sun with the silent wingbeat of a gull. Calm waters awaken like the intro to a song, setting the rhythm. Building suspense and evolving towards a finale, rising up, exploding for the last time like cracking thunder.

Há: Hawaiian for “breath of life.”

Just as an ocean wave originates from a breath of wind, it grows into spinning energy, destined to some shore on a distant land.

“Be patient, wave come.
Wave always come.”
- Duke Kahanamoku

If you live in Victoria and are craving a rendezvous with a wave, you could wait for a S/E gale and take a walk down to Gonzales Beach. Or if you are feeling adventurous, you could drive 570 kilometers northwest along Highway 19 to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the top of this Island.

Once you arrive at the trailhead parking lot and pay the camping fee for a few days, the journey starts with a pleasant 18 kilometre walkabout through forests and fields, reaching the first beach, Nels Bight. There are long stretches of boardwalk with overhanging berries, meandering creeks, and remnants of a century old abandoned Danish community.

This 2.4 km long N/W facing shoreline has many sandbars at mid-tide and breaks best on a two metre west swell. Crescent shaped and protected from most local breezes, it has spiraling long rides with mountain vistas and is surrounded by wildlife. Sundown here will take your breath away as orcas glide by and wolves explore the tideline.

En route to the Cape itself, another 8 kilometers, are more amazing beaches including Experiment Bight, the island’s largest sand dune. It faces perfectly north while 500 meters across the Tombolo is another beach facing due south. Rocky seastacks and bonsai trees accent the area. Taking only photographs and leaving just your footprints is important to the experience here. So is having a swim in Eric Lake on the return trip. San Josef Bay is within the park and deserves the 20 minute hike to get there.

It took me a lot of time and travel to complete my Surf Guide to Van Isl. Then I used it to light a beachfire at Jordan River. The Backroad Mapbook, Vancouver Island Edition, is a much better version anyway. Along with a VHF weather radio and a tide chart, you can search for some empty waves that have voyaged far further than you needed to get there. Dance on it while it sings and let the melody follow you home as a memory until the next wave.

Thank you for reading,
words and colors by:
Danny Amato.

This is one of the best slow cooked rib recipes out there. Why? Alright, we won’t lie to you… it’s actually pretty simple: because of our secret ingredient, Pacific Schwarzbock!

Ingredients

4 large, boneless country-style ribs
2 medium cooking onions
1 can Pacific Schwarzbock
1 teaspoon cornstarch, for thickening
Your choice of BBQ sauce
Salt and pepper

Cooking The Ribs

1. Remove any large areas of fat from the meat. Salt and pepper both sides.
2. Roughly chop onions and spread over bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Place ribs on top of onions.
4. In a separate bowl, mix Pacific Schwarzbock and barbeque sauce.
5. Pour mixture over the meat and cover. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8-10 hours.
NOTE: The time for your particular cooker may vary somewhat from these times, so be sure to keep an eye on the ribs as they’re about to finish.

Preparing Your Ribs To Serve

1. Remove ribs and onions from the slow cooker to a plate for serving.
2. Pour the leftover liquid into a narrow jar or glass, let stand 1 – 2 minutes. Spoon off the fat that rises to the top.
NOTE: The sauce should have a mild consistency, if you want to thicken sauce, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch into 1 tablespoon water and add to sauce.
3. Boil in a small saucepan for 2-3 minutes, or until clear.
4. Pour the sauce over the ribs and serve.

Well, what are you waiting for? DIG IN!

What are the origins of surfing on waves?

Who slid down those aqua walls first and felt the power of the whole Pacific Ocean chasing them over the shallows?

The ancient Incans of Peru rode waves onto the beach after fishing on reed mats that they named the Totora. The first peoples of the Pacific N/W used dugout canoes for travel, fishing, and war and rode the swells to shore out of necessity. Sea voyaging Polynesians and Hawaiians constructed surf craft from solid wood that they named the Olo, the Alaia & the Paipo. The Ali’i (Kings) rode the longest boards and competed with other royalty to maintain command over their people.

It is historically believed that these waveriders also traveled to all corners of the Pacific to share their knowledge and culture with other tribes. To them, the ocean was not a barrier, but a link between different civilizations. In December I made my pilgrimage to the Mecca of Surfing, the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, to learn more about this age-old sport of Kings and witness the world’s top professionals ride at the famous Banzai Pipeline.

To many surfers, a session in the ocean is not only a challenge of man against the elements, but a contest in its own right, of fear versus joy. When you commit to riding a wave, time is frozen, life is contemplated, then Mother Nature judges the outcome and we are only along for the joyride. A wipeout on a wave is granted a low score during competition and also a close encounter with the jagged reef, or the sharp end of your board.

“Whenever, from stormy weather, or any extraordinary swell at sea, the impetuosity of the surf is increased to its utmost heights, they choose that time for this amusement… twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out together from the shore.” – Captain James King of the HMS Resolution, after the death of Captain James Cook, 1779, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Captain King’s journal entry is the first description of he’e nalu, the Hawaiian word for surfing. “The boldness and address, with which we saw them perform these difficult and dangerous manoeuvres, was altogether astonishing, and is scarcely to be credited.”

The Billabong Pipemasters at Ehukai Beach Park has been running annually since 1971, and this year the command of the High Seas did not dissatisfy. The epicenter of the the Men’s World Tour and the final contest of the 30th Vans Triple Crown, this year’s event had three days of non-stop dramatic surfing action with enormous breakers deafening over the ecstatic beach fans.

In the semi-finals, a new World Men’s Champion was crowned, Joel “Parko” Parkinson of Australia, a crowd favourite and a 12 year veteran pro. He faced and conquered an Aussie comrade, Josh Kerr, in the finals. Kerr had knocked out eleven time World Champion Kelly Slater in a previous semi-final heat. Slater, a six-time Pipemaster, won his first “Pipe” trophy in 1992 at age 18 and has been on the World Tour ever since.

This was “Kersey”‘s first ever ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) final and, on the final day of excitement, he came back after two serious wipe-outs in his first heat of the morning. He surfed four heats with non-stop energy and radical expression but was just short of Parkinson’s combination of power-surfing, finesse, and downunder style. Parko, who in past years finished runner-up to the World Title four times, claimed, “I’ve been to hell and back and it makes this so much sweeter.”

Whether you prefer intense competition or the simple joy of the “glide”, surfing is a passion, a pure pleasure, and a channel to world travel. Try a Hawaiian plank in tropical climes or enjoy sliding across a sub-zero Canadian Roller. Your first ride may be as pleasurable as all the rest.

Words by: Danny “chico” Amato

Photos by: Marc Alonzo & Danny Amato

As the temperature starts to drop and your winter jacket becomes a regular addition to your winter wear, this Pacific Pilsner Chili with Corn Bread recipe is classic comfort food and exactly what you need to survive the winter… Enjoy!

For the chili you will need:

1 can kidney beans
1 can white kidney beans
1 can Italian plum tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can of Pacific Pilsner (1 for the recipe and 5 for you?)
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 tbsp. chili powder (add more to taste)
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 tbsp. ground cumin
3 garlic cloves (add more to taste)
1 bunch parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking the chili:

1. Dice carrots, celery, onions, and green pepper
2. In a large pot, heat oil and toast chili powder, cayenne, and cumin until fragrant
3. Add diced vegetables
4. Cook for 3-5 minutes until onions are translucent
5. Add garlic, cook until fragrant
6. Add one can of Pacific Pilsner
7. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, beans and simmer for an hour or so

For the corn bread you will need:

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 ½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 ½ cups of milk
2 eggs
½ cup creamed corn (fresh corn or other corn will do in a pinch — toast the kernels first to kick them up a notch)

Baking the corn bread:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF
2. Butter and flour an 8 inch square cake pan
3. Combine dry ingredients
4. In another bowl, combine wet ingredients
5. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix
6. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a wooden skewer pulls out clean

For the daring chef in all of us, additions such as cilantro, chopped green chilies, and/or cheese will give this winter warmer a real kick!

Bratwurst and onions, classic!

If this is your first time enjoying your favourite beverage from a plate rather than a glass, you’re in for a treat! Quintessential Canadian cuisine, this brats and onions recipe uses our national drink to enhance the flavour of this simple and familiar fare.

Ingredients:

2 Bratwurst sausages (don’t worry, other types of sausage will work too)
2 cans Pacific Pilsner
1 large cooking onion
1 tbsp. salted butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by cooking the sausages:

1. Place the sausages in an aluminum broiling pan and BBQ at 400F, or, if you don’t have a BBQ at your disposal, use a frying pan on medium heat
2. Pour in the can of Pacific Pilsner and simmer until the sausages are ready

But don’t forget the onions!

1. Once the sausages have started to cook, slice the onion very thin — use a mandolin if you have one
2. In another pan, saute the onions in a little butter and olive oil with salt and pepper until they begin to turn translucent
3. Add the other can of Pacific Pilsner and let the onions simmer until the beer has reduced to a syrupy glaze on amber-coloured onions
4. The sausages should be ready by now. Combine and serve with hot mustard, relishes, chutneys, sauerkraut, and plenty of cold ones

By: Chico (Danny Amato), Victoria, B.C.

A lot of surf sessions these days on the Pacific North-West coast begin with a weather forecast and then a phone call or two to some select fellow surfers. Just like going camping, you wouldn’t want to take a surf trip to the beach alone or with a large group of strangers. I like to bring my dogs and some friends to enjoy the serenity of the forest and the ocean’s energy. It’s also nice when other surfers show up unexpected.

The waves along the west side of Vancouver Island, like every other area of surf further south, have become popular enough to attract groups of all ages, character, and flavour. Small boards, big ones, inflatables, indestructibles, kayaks, and swimfins that all come in red to camouflage. The more the merrier!

While the majority of surfers are weekend warriors that work hard to jump into a wetsuit before the break of day (AKA dawn patrol) to avoid the crowds, others like myself are on permanent vacation and enjoy watching the sun rise from the outside peak and hang out in the water with the brunch patrol surfers. Coming to shore to talk about the waves with friends, borrow some surf wax, share a beer, invite a new friend to the campfire, educate newcomers about surf etiquette, and keep the beach clean are what make surfing more than just a sport for me.

It is easy to get grumpy about the rise in numbers of surfers on these once desolate point breaks, but it is even easier to join the crowd and share a smile. Left your smile at home? Like surfing by yourself? Well, Long Beach is about 14 kilometres long and breaks every day.

Surfers are the some of happiest people around and on this island we are the most blessed. I share waves with friends from all over: Nova Scotia, Russia, Brazil, France, Mexico, Australia, so if you see me in the water or on the beach, come by and tell me where you’re from and we’ll sit by the fire a share some cold beer or hot tea.

Catch a wave, light a fire, and meet a beach lover.