Lake Cowichan is full of campers and tubers this long weekend.
Also, tens of thousands from across British Columbia and beyond are in town for the Sunfest country music festival, which returns after two years of cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to draw around 40,000 people.
“Oh it’s amazing, we’re having a great time, we’re living the life,” said tourist Jamie Howden.
On Friday, countless tubers floated down the Cowichan River in an attempt to stay cool in the scorching heat wave.
“We were discovered during COVID-19, a lot of people started making left turns on Highway 18 and people discovered us. So now that the businesses are here to support tourism, it’s really important to get those people together here,” said Aaron Frisby, owner of The Tube Shack.
By afternoon, the normally quiet forestry roads were packed with visitors – full of businesses eagerly awaiting visitors.
“Festivals definitely make a huge difference. It’s also the tubers, it’s like a combination of everything,” said David Sharrow, owner and executive chef of The Cow Restaurant.
According to Lake Cowichan businesses, the traffic is sorely needed after the late start of summer.
“I think we’re almost a month late, so talking to other shop owners, tube traffic definitely started to pick up, but just after the weather warmed up,” said Arlene Vandenhoven, owner of Swordfern Boutique.
“We were down about 75 percent at the beginning of the summer just because there was rain and bad weather. So everybody’s interested in getting out now and the heat wave, the Sun Holiday and the long weekend are just piling up,” Frisby said.
With the hot weather here now, the influx of new faces is expected to continue in the growing tourist town over the summer. As more people come for music festivals, they then return for everything else they’ve discovered.
Lumpies ready to hit the water in Lake Cowichan. (CHEK News)
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