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Remember the Glass Castle?
The former local oddity is a perfect example of an addition to the virtual mapping among Cowichan's arts, culture and heritage attractions sought for the Cowichan Valley Arts Council's Cowichan Culture Speaks Easy project.
Locals and tourists alike can plot places to appear on the map as little balloons of interest on the Cowichan Valley Arts Council's website in a project the recently started with community brainstorming sessions.
The idea's simple: folks submit stories and photos of people, places, and things — such as pioneers, festivals, buildings, bridges, businesses and other landmarks — throughout the valley. They'll be added to the map.
Results can be seen, and constantly added to, during CVAC's Oct. 23 launch of Speaks Easy web-mapping in the Cowichan Theatre.
"It's a personal thing," project spokesman Frank Wall said of interest points.
"We left it broadly defined as to what's important to people; it could be events, structures, people, places, things.
"This project invites anybody to submit their own photos and stories to our online project.
"It'll be a growing, living, breathing thing."
A 'submit' function on CVAC's website receives images and data. It'll be deemed appropriate for the mapping project funded by a ? grant from the B.C. Arts Council.
"This project celebrates the small, creative acts that help shape the identity of each area of this region we call home," Wall said, "whether it's a busker or a baker, interesting graffiti, or an our-of-the way art studio.
"We're looking at what's there happening now, what happened in the past, and what could happen in the future."
Examples are Duncan's former Chinatown, now holding the round building and courthouse, while some of Chinatown's former frontal sections grace Whippletree Junction.
A gravel pad downtown once held the now-demolished Tzouhalem (The Zoo) Hotel.
Chemainus Hospital sat where Mural Town's health-care centre is.
The list is endless, Wall explained of Cowichan's cultural-treasure map to be under constant construction.
"It's to get people interested, then submit their own materials and experiences.
"It's called Speaks Easy because there's so much to talk about here in the valley."
For more, or to see the map, visit cowichanvalleyartscouncil.ca, or call 250-746-1633.
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