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About Salt Spring
Island
On Salt Spring Island
there is something for everybody whether one is
looking for a yurt, or a 6,000 square-foot, waterfront,
architectural extravaganza.
Diverse, eclectic,
multi-faceted,
and known for its artisan
community, Salt Spring has a well educated and
well-traveled population of approximately 12,000. There is a theatre for the
performing arts, a cinema, at least two world-class
restaurants, pubs, cafes,
gift shops, bookstores, galleries, and boating that
is reputed to be the best in the world.
Author, John
Villani names Salt Spring Island the
"best art town" in Canada and the ninth best in
North America in his latest edition of "The
100 Best Art Towns." He was quoted
in the local paper in March 2005 as saying, "You guys deserve it.
Salt Spring just gets better every year I visit and
I've never had anything but the greatest of experiences
there." He attributed the natural beauty of the
island, the people, and the many outlets
available to the artisan, such as the famous
Saturday Market, the studio tours, and the
galleries, as being the contributing factors that
ranks Salt Spring 91 towns ahead of the100 towns considered.
The Saturday Market is a huge draw
and local farm produce and crafts are for sale in a
constantly shifting venue that is in the waterfront
park of Ganges, the island's town centre.
There is also a hospital, healing spas, yoga, our
Salt Spring Centre which has varying retreats, and a thriving musical
community. There are several elementary schools, and
one high school, which is architecturally one of the
best designed in Canada. Many different churches, a
Buddhist Monastery, and a thriving spiritual
community, abide alongside a lively community spirit.
A gardener's dream come
true,
we have a climate that is moderate,
where Iris Reticulata and Cyclamen bloom in
February, when the rest of Canada is predominantly
in snow. Picking parsley out of the garden for most of
the year is not unusual.
Golf courses, hiking
trails,
lakes for swimming,
extensive parks, where the stunning beauty of
Arbutus, Garry Oak, sea and sky may be enjoyed,
are all a part of the nature
surrounding us.
Access to the island is by ferry from
Swartz Bay and Crofton on Vancouver Island, or
Tsawwassen on the Vancouver Mainland. Sea planes
land in Ganges Harbour several times a day. |
