The third annual Party for the Avalanche Bulletin — a crucial fundraiser for the Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin’s funding — is being held Saturday, Jan. 29 at the Cumberland Cultural Centre.
The Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre is in its fourth winter of providing safety information through its online bulletin and its public avalanche warning system. It does so without government funding, relying on sponsors and the fundraiser.
Saturday’s event features Vitamin L, the Luke Blu Guthrie Band and a silent auction that will make backcountry enthusiasts drool.
A free shuttle between the Courtenay Museum and the venue runs from 8 p.m. to the end of the evening.
“Money for avalanche safety programs in Canada is quite tight,” says the bulletin’s lead forecaster Jan Neuspiel.
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, the Vancouver Island Avalanche Centre Society provides twice-weekly bulletins that receive more than 20,000 hits every winter.
“Up to now we have only had the budget to deliver two forecasts a week,” said Neuspiel, who hopes to bump the forecasts to three times a week by February. “That will give islanders more frequent and more accurate information updates on avalanche hazard in the Island alps.”
The party raises more than half the annual operating budget.
Advance tickets are $10, available at Bop City Records in Courtenay, Tarbell’s Cafe in Cumberland and by phone at 250-400-2870.