Beach Blog

June 7 to 9 marks the 11th Tofino Food & Wine Festival, an annual destination weekend event celebrating BC’s bounty of food, award-winning wines and more. The main event on June 8, Grazing in the Gardens, is at the magical Tofino Botanical Gardens; a 12 acre stage of foodie fun surrounded by rainforest trees, flowers, ponds and boardwalks. It’s sort of like “Alice in Wonderland” meets Tofino…with a glass of wine and a smorgasbord.

If you’ve never seen glass blowing in action, there’s something about watching molten glass being shaped and changed with colour at around 2000 degrees that’s almost hypnotizing. Glass meets rain forest at the Spirit of the Fire Glass Studio where local Tofino artist Sol Maya plays with fire. Given the main ingredient in glass is sand, Sol has plenty of natural resources to draw from.

With so many summer camps to choose from, kids have lots to keep them busy...sports camps, dance camps, wilderness camps, and you-name-it camps. Which is probably why Pacific Sands Summer Kid’s Camps have always been a hit! Where else can kids discover the magic of a tide-pool, stroll through the jaw-dropping wisdom of an ancient rainforest, learn handy survival skills and get cozy with sea lions?!

Like every activity in Tofino – including surfing – mountain biking can either be easy or epic. Meaning you can cruise the hard-packed beaches, enjoy the bike paths from town through Pacific Rim Park, or tackle the rugged rides where only experts go. And now with the Tuff City Bike Park opening this Saturday June 16th, riders of all skill levels can check-out dirt jumps, stunt trails and North America’s first manufactured pump track.

Having cooked professionally for over 30 years including top hotels in Toronto, Whistler, Vancouver as well as The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, Chef Tim May is now blazing culinary trails with Tofino’s RedCan Gourmet. And when it comes to Pacific Sands, from Beachside BBQ’s and catering resort events to delivering breakfast and pizza, he’s our resident culinary rockstar.

Without question, Tofino is a favourite family vacation destination. With no shortage of things to do and explore, it can be as ADD on activities or as low-key as you need it to be. And yes, Pacific Sands is an ideal adventure hub, as ocean front as it gets, and the #1 resort on TripAdvisor for a reason. But why is it that Pacific Sands is the accommodation of choice for decades of returning families? Probably because it’s been built on family for 39 years.

Besides the natural attraction to Tofino’s majestic old growth rainforests, long sandy beaches, and endless crashing surf, it’s also a hotbed of annual festivals and events. From celebrating shorebirds and colourful public markets to world-class food & wine festivals, Tofino’s activity line-up over the coming months is non-stop fun.

Besides Tofino’s legendary storm watching season kicking-in big time in November, it’s a month that’s also famous for oysters. The succulent, shuck and slurp kind that the Pacific region is renowned for – over 50,000 gallons of oysters a year – are celebrated at the annual Clayoquot Oyster Festival; Nov. 17 – 19, 2011. Check out the fun details and our delicious recipe tribute: Pan-Fried Oyster & Bacon Sandwich (mmm)

It’s all about big waves and girl power this week with the kick-off of the 2nd annual Queen of the Peak women’s surf competition. Presented by Surf Sister and Shelter Restaurant, the short and longboard competitions are set for Oct 15 & 16. With $1,500 cash and a spanky new surfboard up for grabs, it’s a celebration of Tofino’s unique women’s surf culture including fun festivities for competitors and surf fans all week long.

How great would it be to know your summer vacation next year is covered? That all you have to do is pick your dates, travelling compadres, pack, and enjoy the ride to Pacific Sands. That’s the idea behind our Win a 2012 Summer Vacation Contest. Stay with us between August 25 and October 6, 2011 and you’ll be automatically entered to win a 5 night vacation next summer for up to 6 people in a 2 bedroom Beach House.

Experience the wide-eyed wonder of The Tofino Lantern Festival, a don’t miss summer event when the Tofino Botanical Gardens transforms into a Disneyesque fantasyland with candle-lit lanterns lighting up the night sky. Locals and crafty visitors look forward to this event every year… planning, plotting and inventing their handmade lanterns to show-off on Festival night. And these are not your average lanterns!

The only thing better that the slap, sizzle and smell of a BBQ is enjoying it at the beach! Add to that someone ELSE doing the cooking (and clean-up) for you and your family so you can relax, watch the surf and enjoy a refreshing libation… and you’re now in the range of BBQ nirvana. Staying with us during FEAST! Tofino-Ucluelet? We’re celebrating with Catered Beach ‘n BBQ’s on Wednesday May 18 & 25 at our beachfront Gazebo.

What do you get when you combine a renowned, regional hotbed of seafood and a month-long marathon of fun foodie events? Introducing FEAST! Tofino-Ucluelet… a culinary celebration and collaboration of local chefs and restaurants, fishermen, activities and accommodation from May 8 to June 4.

March is a celebration of many things… the arrival of spring, more daylight, new blooms, and all-things-fresh. It’s when Mother Nature takes her coat off and exhales a deep, warm breath. In these parts, March is also all about whales… lots of them actually because March is when we celebrate the arrival of over 20,000 grey whales as they migrate north from the Baja Peninsula, up our coastline on their way to Alaska.

We did a bang-up job welcoming 2011 with a fireworks celebration for the record-books! The moon was shining over Cox Bay as the festive spectacle lit up the surf in a dance of colours to ooh’s and ahhh’s from the crowd. Turns out we’re not the only ones who think Pacific Sands is a magic place to bring in the New Year – travel bloggers Alex and Luke voted the resort one of the Top 3 Places in North America to Spend New Year’s Eve.

With over 50,000 gallons of Pacific oysters harvested in the region annually, Tofino has plenty to shuck and slurp about having declared November the official month to celebrate these abundantly yummy bivalves. Oysters will take centre stage all month long at local restaurants and the Clayoquot Oyster Festival November 19 - 21.

Hard to believe it’s already been a year since Tofino was in the spotlight for Canada’s first ever international surf competition. It was the 2009 O’Neill Cold Water Classic and local hero Peter Devries tore up the waves and won on home turf. Talk about making a surf statement!