Joys of Winter on Pender Island
Pender Island winters are lovely. Due to our Mediterranean climate, our winters are quite mild compared to the rest of Canada. As a co-worker describes it: “frost is rare, and while the chance of rain is greater, the mild temperatures encourage hikers, cyclists, and kayakers to carry on with their activities right through the season." Most of the trees and plants stay green all year round on Pender,
We do get snow, usually it's short-lived and utterly beautiful. The Winter season on Pender Island is about woodstoves, fireplaces, and social gatherings around bonfires. It's about the island returning to the locals after most of the tourists are long gone. It's about the Santa Ship – Santa visits Pender Island kids by Ship! It's about artists and crafters devoting quiet hours to their work, and the Winter Craft Fair where Pender's artisans and crafts people sell their makings.
Winter on Pender is about rain, and almost every winter a sunny burst or two of summer-like weather to give everyone a surprise! It is about windstorms and the power going out sometimes. Many locals opt to keep their appliances going with generators, others prefer the respite from technology and enjoy quiet times with candle-lit card games and stews cooked on the woodstove.
Winter on Pender is about mystical foggy forests, bucks showing off their full antlered glory, and time to enjoy local musical and theater performances. It's about warm sweaters and hot cups of tea. It's about the sentimental aroma of smoke from chimneys and sights of little ones toddling through puddles in shiny rain boots. It's even about winter gardening, for those keen to grow their own all year round!
For some full-timers, winter on Pender Island is the favourite season of them all for its quietness and strong local-centric feeling.