Spring news! CBC Radio orca series… new ‘Stories and Songs’ dates with Joel Plaskett and Lindi Ortega… Desolation Sound summer tour…

Emma Shuparski lit the spark when she told me, “the family of orcas that you see in Desolation Sound has a really interesting history.” That was all it took. Ever since, I have taken a deep-dive into a salty story that is seeped in adventure, tragedy, and triumph, and shrouded in a mystery that has endured for over 55 years… which I now have the honour of sharing with you, this spring, on CBC Radio 1 in BC. 

Backstory: For the last dozen years or so, my family, our Desolation Sound neighbours, and countless kayakers, have been lucky enough to spy a pod of orcas swimming through our inlets on a fairly regular basis (this simply did not happen when I was a kid in Desolation Sound, but for my kids, the orcas have become a common sight.) 

I didn’t know much of anything about these four or five orcas, except that they always filled us with a sense of awe and delight. One of them was absolutely huge, and another, a smaller one, had a crooked dorsal fin that lagged behind a bit. That intel was enough for my new friend Emma Shuparski, Straitwatch Quadra Coordinator for the CETUS Conservation Society (dedicated to educating boaters on safe practices and distances around whales) to identify them, and send me down the blow hole of their fascinating family history. 

The episodes of “Whale Tale” will air each Saturday morning just after the 8am news on CBC Radio 1 in BC throughout the spring, and can be heard anywhere, any time, on demand at CBC Listen starting next week. 

Thank you to Garry Henkel of Aboriginal Journeys – Whale & WIldlife Tours for the incredible photo of ‘Tasu’ and to my longtime designer Naomi MacDougall for the graphic. And feel free to get in touch if you can add anything to this story. 

Unrelated to the series above, I am also thrilled to announce that I will be taking my Stories and Songs show back on the road / water this spring with my dear and incredibly talented musical friends Joel Plaskett, Ashleigh Ball, Lindi Ortega, and my lovely wife Jill Barber. 

I’m sharing a few new stories and a few requested favourites from my books at three unique venues in the communities of Brackendale (the eagle capital of the world, near Squamish), Errington (on central Vancouver Island, near Coombs, the “Goats on the Roof” place), and Port McNeill (on northern Vancouver Island, gateway to the Broughton Archipelago). 

Tickets for all three shows are limited and on sale now! (Please note that while Joel and Lindi are on all three shows, Jill is playing Brackedale and Ashleigh Errington and Port McNeill.)

Speaking of touring, we are once again launching our Desolation Sound Stories and Songs tour this July. This is mostly a “boat access only” tour by which we get to each show in our boat, Cliffhanger, with the musicians, instruments, kids, and family dog all thrown in. Last year was a whole lotta fun (see pic above from the Dockside Kitchen in Refuge Cove w/ Ashleigh Ball, Jill Barber, and Sarah Jane Scouten) so Jill and I are doing it again this July with a new musical line up and a few extra dates. 

The tickets are not on sale yet, nor are the other musicians announced, but just in case you’d like to plan on being at one of these special shows where a lot of my stories actually take place, you can put these dates in the book!

Mon July 21, Laughing Oyster, Okeover Landing (accessible by boat or car)

Tue July 22, Dockside Kitchen, Refuge Cove (boat access only)

Wed July 23, La Hacienda, Savary Island (boat access only)

Thu July 24, Community Hall, Whaletown, Cortes Island (car or boat)

TBA: Heriot Bay Inn, Quadra Island 

Sticking with the spring newsletter theme of ‘shows’, we had an absolutely incredible time at my semi-regular “hometown” Stories and Songs event at the Kay Meek Theatre in West Vancouver on Sat April 12. I went DEEP into West Van legend and lore on this show (including a loving tribute to Harry’s, my childhood corner store.) I was truly honoured to feature a stellar, all-star line up of musicians that included (left to right) my ol’ high school pal Jeanne Tolmie, Neil Osborne (54-40), folk legend Shari Ulrich, Jill Barber, Dave Osborne (54-40), Dawn Pemberton, and Hilary Grist (Jeanne, Hilary, and Shari all play in the Luckies.) Thank you to all who attended this special show!

And one more thing: I’ll be reading a story in the afternoon of the first-ever Chilliwack Book Festival on Saturday May 10! Free!

Happy spring, happy life, and I hope to see you around somewhere soon.

All the best from the watery west,

Grant Lawrence