Thirty one international students from 27 countries will rendezvous in Courtenay for four days of fun beginning Feb. 21.
These are Rotary Youth Exchange students who are living with host families on Vancouver Island and in Western Washington State, which collectively comprise Rotary District 5020.
The annual gathering — dubbed Rendezvous 2018 — will be a true Canadian experience for the visiting teenagers. They’ll be skating, curling, skiing, snowshoeing, singing karaoke, engaging in theatre sports, and chowing down on pizza with friends at local high schools.
“Some of them have never been on ice before,” said Scott Agur, a member of the Strathcona Sunrise Rotary Club and convener of Rendezvous 2018.
Saturday, Feb. 24 features storytelling and dance at the K’ómoks First Nation Big House, and a scavenger hunt culminating in a tour of Hot Chocolates in downtown Courtenay.
“This is a very special day for them,” Agur said, noting the students will wear their blazers adorned with pins, badges and flags.
This is the 38th year for Comox Valley Rendezvous, which is a joint effort of the four local Rotary clubs: Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland Centennial and Strathcona Sunrise.
“It attracts good people,” Agur said of Rotary Youth Exchange. “They come back (home) with a larger sense of the world. And they apply that.”
www.rye5020.org