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General Meetings & Special Events


General Meetings

Our General meetings start with an invited speaker, and may be followed by a business meeting, where committees report on activities, and club motions are presented and voted on. For the upcoming Speaker Series, we have a varied program of topics and speakers, covering a broad range of topics. An overview of the year is shown below in the Speaker Series Calendar. More details of the next topic and speaker are provided below in Next Speaker – Outline, and the Previous Speakers section contains summaries of previous sessions. 

We meet on the first Monday of the month either at the Qualicum Civic Centre, or at the Parksville  Civic Centre in Parksville. We invite members and guests to come along at 6:30 pm to catch up with each other, and meet mew members. All programs begin at 7:00 pm unless specified otherwise.

Special Events 

In addition to General Meetings and our regular Speaker Series, we have a number of special events throughout the year, to which members of the public are typically invited. Some events are hands-on activities in the community; others are with invited speakers:

  • We honour the memories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW); and also recognise the UN 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence with civic ceremonies in Qualicum and Parksville.
  • We celebrated International Womens’ Day, March 08 2023,  with a talk from a distinguished speaker, Dr. Brenda Trenholme,  a retired physician who cycled from Cape Town to Cairo, and then The Silk Road, and who shared some of her experiences with us.
  • Many of our events combine fun with a charitable purpose too. An example is our CFUW PQ Christmas Auction. There have been Christmas auctions for at least 25 years, and originally they were silent. When a live component was added, revenue increased. We have supported shelter/help for abused women in Oceanside for over 20 years. At one time our Christmas contribution amounted to 10% of Haven Homes’ local budget. Our connection with Haven House Parksville is long-standing and was the recipient of of the 2022 Christmas Auction proceeds, during our lunch at the Bayside Inn  on December 05.

News on upcoming events can be found below in the Special Events Updates section. 

Current Special Events

Coldest Night of The Year (CNOY) 2024

a team of CFUW PQ members, family and friends will take place in the 2km walk on the afternoon of February 24, to raise awareness and funds for Island Crisis Care Society  (ICCS). Please consider joining or donating to  the CFUW PQ Ramblers 

IWD 2024

International Womens’ Day 2024 (IWD 2024) – March 08

We have an exciting plan for IWD 2024. Instead of an evening public lecture from a notable woman, this year, on Friday March 08,  we are planning a club-only potluck brunch, to celebrate each other’s friendship and camaraderie, and to honour two young women who came to Canada as refugees and have made successful lives for themselves and their families. 

This will truly be a celebration of  International Women 

When: Friday March 08. ~11:30 am to 1:30pm

Where: Knox United CHurch, Parksville, in the lounge

What: sit-down main course and desert, informal presentations, meet and mingle, chat and fun

How much: just bring a meal item for the potluck table, and your enthusiasm

    Speaker Series Calendar

    2023-24 Programme 

    September 11, Norma Cameron, Storyteller, 30 mins. OBCC

    Introduction Val Gunn

    October 16, Selina Pope, Winter Gardening for Birds, Bees & Butterflies. QBCC

    Introduction Lisa Marshall

    November 6, Andrea Blakeman, Affordable Housing, Answer for The Housing Crisis.  QBCC

    Introduction Janet Farooq

    December Lunch/Dinner TBD

    January 8, Nancy Randall, Linda Fullalove, Climate Actions for All. Parksville CC

    Introduction Catherine Khan

    February 12, Silva Mangue, Vancouver Island Black History. Zoom

    March 8, International Women’s Day: Potluck brunch at Knox United Church, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm 

    April 8, Resolutions and Budget. Parksville CC

    May 13, Deep Bay Marine Centre, Protection of Our Coast. Parksville CC

    Introduction Brenda Pengally

    Next Speaker

    February  12,  by Zoom (details to follow)

    open from 6:30 pm, talk commences at 7:00 pm

    Speaker: Silvia Mangue Alene

    Topic: Vancouver Island Black History, in celebration of Black History month

    Recent Special Events – – Red Dress memorial 2023

    Red Dress Ceremonies

    To honour the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women of Canada, and the UN 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence ( November 25 to December 10), CFUW PQ  will be hanging red dresses in Qualicum Town Hall, and in Parksville City Hall. 

    The purpose of these actions is to raise awareness on both gender-based violence in general, and also the targeted violence against our Indigenous sisters in particular. 

    The use of red dresses to represent missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls was originated by Métis artist Jaime Black in 2010. In her exhibit. The REDress Project, Black displayed over one hundred red dresses around the University of Winnipeg campus to raise awareness about this issue. Today, red dresses continue to be used across Canada as a representation of the Indigenous women and girls lost to violent crime and as a call for action to prevent future violence. Many CFUW Clubs spread awareness about violence against Indigenous women & girls by hanging red dresses in high-traffic areas of their communities.

    Members are asked to visit the Member Area Page to view specific club-based toolkits on how to ‘take action’

    International Womens’ Day

    From Cairo to Capetown on a Bicycle!

    March 08, 2023 – Knox Church, Parksville, 7:00pm. We celebrated International Womens’ Day with a talk from a distinguished speaker. Our speaker was Dr. Brenda Trenholme,  a retired physician who cycled from Cape Town to Cairo, and then The Silk Road, and who shared some of her experiences with us.

    A self-described “endurance fanatic,” Brenda had completed several cycle tours through Europe when she decided to take on an even longer cycling challenge. in 2016, she set off from Cairo with 15 others to cycle 12,000 km to Capetown. This exciting adventure whet her appetite for exploring exotic places and two years later she joined 15 others to cycle 13,000 km along the so-called “Silk Road” from Beijing to Istanbul. As our speaker for International Women’s Day, Brenda’s presentation focussed on her trip across Africa and and highlight the cultural aspects unique to some of the African women she encountered.

    At the CFUW National 2023 AGM, CFUW PQ was the recipient of the International Women’s Day Award for our 2023 International Women’s Day Event.