Things to Do in Parksville

Dark wooden shelves buttress ceramic vases at Smashin’ Glass & Anything Art Co. as contemporary floor lamps illume a collection of works that range from oil paintings to jewellery and fused-glass sculptures. Owner Karena Donnelly conceived of the artist-operated gallery as a space to both cultivate creativity and showcase original work from more than 130 local artists. Karena and her husband Kevin moonlight as teachers, sharing their craft with pupils of all ages during workshops and routine dental check-ups. The facility also plays matchmaker between eligible images and professional framing services.

A waterfall surges into a subterranean river. Towering peaks dotted with evergreen trees loom on a distant shore. A fire pit billows wood smoke into the sky, and teepees huddle around a forested campsite. At Horne Lake, certified nature guides and counsellors spend each day connecting visitors with Qualicum Beach's natural splendour. The park accepts only off-the-grid living, with nearby campsites disconnected from electricity and running water, and completely scentless to most mail carriers. Certified cave guides also lead a series of excursions through the natural majesty of Horne Lake Caverns, where a network of rocky passageways wind around a subterranean river and gleaming crystal compositions reach up to four stories tall under soaring gallery ceilings. They also conduct nature-based leadership programs such as team building, ropes courses, and multiple-day summer camps.

Among Diving Locker's group of seasoned and certified underwater experts, accomplishments include inspecting Australia's Great Barrier Reef up close, swimming with fish in the blue waters of Guam, and spending more than 40 years helping snorkellers choose the right fins. Diving Locker's staff of instructors combine their wealth of collective experience to provide students with technical education—such as PADI certifications and search-and-recovery training—and to impart their genuine love for the fruits of globe-trekking. In addition to being a hub for scuba equipment sales and instruction, the business' audacious employees also organize and lead diving jaunts around the world and to a number of local underwater destinations on weekends. Diving Locker has been in operation since the late 1960s and has been operated since 1972 by Greg Kocher, the facility's resident equipment guru and mermaid interpreter.