I’ve spent a lot more time in Lower Gibsons lately than I usually do.
It’s not like I’ve been avoiding the place up to now; it’s a great place to go for a nice meal, I always try to get some of my Christmas shopping done there, and we usually take out-of-town visitors to see the harbour.
But, as a Creeker, I have to confess Gibsons Landing isn’t the first place I think of when it comes to the errands I have to run as part of the day-to-day business of living, the way it was when the old Lucky Dollar was around, my bank was down there, and Marine Drive was a common route to the ferry.
Twice so far this month, though, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I went the extra few kilometres just to see if I could buy everything I needed for dinner at the Gibsons Public Market (I could), fill a couple of growlers at the new craft brewery, and poke around some of the shops.
For the past few days I’ve been thinking about a comment I overheard while walking along Gower Point Road. “It’s just so nice to see all these people walking around with shopping bags.”
I was carrying two at the time, and a quick swivel of the head confirmed that most of the people on the sidewalk had one or two as well.
The weather was brilliant both days – and I’ll be curious to see what the buzz is like on a day when things are socked in and the rain gods of Howe Sound are in full fury – but, on my two visits at least, there was a feeling in the air I haven’t experienced in a while. Good old Canadian cautious optimism.
Anything that smacks of civic boosterism, especially by newspaper reporters, is considered old-fashioned, if not actively frowned upon, here in the early 21st century. It leads to grumbling and unflattering comparisons to the Tammany Hall politics of our southern neighbours. Still, I’m going to risk it.
Even if you don’t agree with using public money to help get the market off the ground, it’s worth keeping an open mind and it’s worth supporting the merchants keen to make a go of it. Once you’re motivated to get down to see what the market is all about, it’s an easy step to take a tour of the new and established shopkeepers, gallery owners, brewers, and restaurateurs elsewhere in the Landing.
It’s possible, I predict with good old Canadian cautious optimism, that the public market is already becoming a bit of a gateway drug to a Lower Gibsons shopping habit.
And there’s another reason I’ll risk taking a bit of heat for uncritical civic boosterism – something that stuck out for me during my shopping trips. There seems to be a new wave of young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs who’ve chosen to take the risk that the old gal that is Gibsons Landing has quite a bit of life in her yet. And I don’t think they’re doing it as a political statement.
