SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3

2:15 -3:00 PM: Jonathan Askholm 

Presentation on olfactory health and how our sense of smell can help facilitate brain and memory function.

Jonathan asks What if one of the most powerful tools for protecting your brain health has been right under your nose all along? In this fascinating episode, Jonathan Askholm explores the science of olfaction and its direct connection to memory, emotion, and cognitive function. Drawing on emerging research and personal experience, he explains how intentional smell training may improve memory, mood, and even support healthy aging. This conversation opens a new and highly accessible pathway to brain health, reinforcing that a simple daily practice can have profound effects on how we age.

Jonathan Askholm is a brain health educator and co-founder of Memorease, a company focused on olfactory training for cognitive wellness. He has a background in psychology and a passion for teaching practical strategies that support mental and emotional well-being. His work is deeply influenced by his personal experience of losing his father to dementia, which inspired his mission to help others take proactive steps toward brain health. Jonathan collaborates with experts in scent creation to develop structured olfactory training tools grounded in scientific research. He regularly delivers workshops and presentations to older adults and community groups across Canada. His current focus is on making this brain health practice, simple, accessible, and empowering for everyday use. 

11:30 AM outside NICOLE COENEN

Nicole is a wood-chopper and outdoor enthusiast. Nicole has close to six million followers on her social-media platforms. This Pender Island resident has just released her first book: Axe in Hand: A Woodchopper’s Guide to Blades, Wood & Fire. When she is not entertaining the masses she is trying to get people to step into the woods—preferably without getting lost—and making a case for environmental sustainability.

The internet’s self proclaimed “lesbian lumberjill” grew up an uncomfortable tomboy in the suburbs of Ontario, and she found both her refuge and her calling in the woods. She’s amassed a huge following from the forest that surrounds her adopted home of British Columbia, and her videos are more than just wholesome, self-effacing clips of her wood chopping skills. They’ve a living journal of a woman who was saved by trees.

She is also pretty involved in her local community, working on projects that connect people to their ecosystems. Sometimes that means helping protect our natural spaces; other times, it’s just reminding folks that the outdoors is way more fun than doom scrolling for hours on end (it’s okay though, we’ve all been there) www.nicolecoenen.ca 

UPSTAIRS HALL

10:00 AM -11:30 AM INSPIRATIONAL CHANGEMAKING
“We are the radically hopeful. We stay. We act. We refuse to look away” MSF 2026

RYAN HILPERTS MODERATOR 
SONIA FURSTENAU [CITIZENS ASSEMBLY] 
GEORGIA TEMPLE [ GLOBAL HOPE IN ACTION, MSF ] 
ROB FAWCETT [COMMUNITY BUILDER ] 
FATIMA DA SILVA [NOURISH DUNCAN ] 
musician LEEROY STAGGER TBC

Ryan is an Assistant Teaching Professor at UVIC in the Department of Environmental Studies. Her research and teaching lies at the intersections of environment, community engagement and education.She has taught ecology, ecological restoration, and global food systems, and she researches the ways in which ecological restoration transforms both human and ecological communities. She believes one key to transformative education is developing the ability to ask constructive critical questions not only of others, but of ourselves.


Sonia is the co-founder of the Community Assembly Network. She served for ten years in elected office, including seven years as MLA for Cowichan Valley and four years as leader of the BC Green Party. Her focus now is on democratic engagement. She believes that we will get better outcomes when more people are actively involved in decision-making. 

Georgia  is a disaster management, security and humanitarian operations specialist with more than ten years of experience in both Canadian and international contexts. Georgia came over to Pender August 2025 as a speaker for when The Crips organised a fundraiser concert for MSF featuring Mac Demarco and the Pender band, The Dip. We are very pleased to welcome Georgia back this year as part of the festival.

Rob is a community builder, entrepreneur, and advocate for healthy, connected communities. Rob has spent much of his life combining business, adventure, and a strong commitment to community. An avid cyclist, Rob once rode his bicycle around the world—an experience that shaped his appreciation for people, places, adventure, and the importance of connection. Today, his passion is focused closer to home on Pender Island, where he has become actively involved in creating opportunities for people to be healthier, more active, and more connected to one another and to their community.

Rob is also a founding force behind the Pender Island Foundation, a community foundation focused on supporting the health, wellness, and vitality of the people of Pender Island. Through the Foundation and initiatives such as the Run, Walk, Wheel for Wellness, he is working to build a culture of giving and community investment that supports local organizations and the people who make Pender a vibrant place to live.

Fatima, born and raised in Mozambique, Fatima moved to Canada in 1987 and to Vancouver Island in 1990. The Cowichan Valley has been her home since 2000.  Fatima is best known as the driving force behind Nourish Cowichan, a successful initiative to provide equitable school food programs in the Cowichan Valley. As Nourish's Co-Founder, her focus is primarily on improving the nutrition of children living in poverty. She has a strong belief that the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. "

Under Fatima’s leadership, Nourish Cowichan has become a lifeline for families living with food insecurity, Nourish ability to pivot and meet the community’s demand truly shone and skyrocketed during the pandemic when every school shut down. With her determination the program expanded their services to reach not just students but their families as well. Her upbringing taught her how important community is, and it shows in her ability to bring people and organizations together to take care of their youth. Currently under Fatima’s guidance Nourish Cowichan provides school meals to over 3500 students

Leeroy is a beloved, award-winning Canadian Singer-Songwriter, Producer and Master Storyteller. Stylistically his music moves between Folk, Roots and Rock’n roll. He is inspired as much by John Prine and Nick Drake as he is Tom Petty and Joe Strummer. For the past twenty years, he has been touring North America and Europe, making records and gaining a strong and, more importantly, dedicated following. His music is written through the lens of a spiritual path through addiction and recovery; he cuts a trail through the human condition in only a way that a veteran observational traveller and artist can. 

11:45 – 1:15 BROWN BAG LUNCH 
“FOOD SECURITY, WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU AND ME”

MARYANNE PARE MODERATOR
ADAM OLSEN [FORMER MLA]
PAM WRIGHT [PENDER FOOD BANK] 
MADELIN EMERY [FARMER]
MICHAEL TENNANT [LONGVIEW FARM] 
Musician LUKE WALLACE 

Mary Anne has been a bank teller, farmer, municipal secretary, group home parent, with a 35 year career as practitioner, trainer and  supervisor of child and family therapy. She is now, in retirement, a conscientious member of the SDA’YES/Pender  Island community AND a devoted gardener.

Adam Olsen (SȾHENEP) was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saanich North and the Islands and member of the B.C. Green Caucus in 2017 and re-elected in 2020. Adam has a deep love and respect for his home in the W̱SÁNEĆ territory. As an advocate and facilitator, he is committed to good relationships and improving public participation to strengthen all aspects of the community.

His 16-year career in elected public service began when he was elected Councillor in the District of Central Saanich (2008, 2011). Prior to that Adam worked for two decades in the service and communications sectors where he gained valuable experience in building relationships, connecting people, problems, ideas and solutions.

Born in Victoria, B.C., Adam has lived, worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula. He is a member of Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), where he and his wife, Emily, are raising their two children, Silas and Ella.

Pam is a professor emerita in Ecosystem Science and Management from the University of Northern British Columbia. Pam researched and taught about conservation science and planning focusing on connectivity conservation and climate change at large spatial scales. ​A relatively new resident of Pender, she is still active in national and international conservation initiatives but is loving the focus on connectivity conservation in her own backyard. In addition to working on stewardship projects with the Conservancy (as Chair of the Stewardship Committee) and volunteering at the Conservancy Nature Centre, Pam also runs the Pender Foodbank.

Madelin - bio coming

Michael - bio coming

Luke is a dynamic force in the world of folk music, using his talent as a songwriter, speaker, and choral arranger to champion environmental causes and inspire positive change. Hailing from the Coast Salish Territory known as Vancouver, Canada, Luke has been on a decade-long journey of touring, recording, and organizing for the betterment of people and the planet.

1:45 - 2:45 PM Community/Family Dance – All welcome!
Q BROOKE BACHAND AND CHARLIE GANNON with Caller, Cohan Lynn

3:00 - 4:15 STARRY, STARRY NIGHT
HOW DO WE AS HUMAN BEINGS FIT INTO THIS AMAZING UNIVERSE? 

DAN MACISAAC [MODERATOR, LAWYER AND POET]
ELIZABETH MAY [SPIRITUAL VIEW]
KEVIN CASTEELS [ASTRONOMER AND PHYSICIST]
STEPHANIE MCCARTHY [EMBRACING MEANING]
STEPHEN FAIRCLOUGH [PHILOSOPHER]
musician ADAM BEATTIE

Dan is a writer and lawyer from Metchosin, BC. Recently, his work appeared in Event, FreeFall, Stand, and Canadian Literature. Brick Books published his poetry collection, Cries from the
Ark; and in 2022 Alfred Gustav published his chapbook, Jazz Sessions. His poetry has received awards including the Foley Prize from America Magazine. His work was short-listed for the Walrus Poetry Prize, The Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest, and the CBC Short Story Prize.

Elizabeth is one of Canada’s best known parliamentarians and is a life-long environmental advocate. Prior to running for elected office, she worked as a lawyer, a governmental policy advisor and was for seventeen years the Executive Director of Sierra Club of Canada (1989-2006). The ninth leader of the Green Party of Canada (2006 – 2019), she was the first Canadian Green to win election in 2011. Once she broke through the psychological barrier that Greens cannot get elected in a First Past the Post system, sixteen other Greens have been elected federally and in four provinces of Canada.

Kevin is an astrophysicist and educator closely associated with the University of Victoria (UVic). He splits his professional time between teaching at the university and working in technical operations within the Canadian astronomy sector. His professional background spans robotic observatory automation, software development, data analysis, and telescope operations. He earned his PhD in Astrophysics from the Universitat de Barcelona. 

Stephanie McCarthy is a coach, facilitator and researcher with a deep curiosity about what makes life meaningful and how we might more intentionally cultivate what matters. Drawing on psychology, her work considers meaning, belonging, relationships, wellbeing, and the ways we make sense of our lives and experiences. Stephanie holds an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology and leads leadership and people development within a large healthcare organization. Her research and writing have explored positive relationships, coaching, wellbeing, and the human experience of leadership.
Her interest in meaning extends to the many places we find it: through our relationships, how we contribute, the stories we hold, experiences of beauty and wonder, and those moments when we feel part of something larger than ourselves.

Read more of Stephanie’s writing and reflections at Wholehearted Leadership.
Please let me know if you'd recommend any changes and the link should go to my Substack at https://wholeheartedleadership.substack.com/. 

Stephen grew up in the Cowichan Valley where he raised a blended family, enjoyed being a jazz musician and had a career in fine woodworking. He has travelled extensively, highly respects critical thinking and enjoys pondering the nature of the universe. He has been a fulltime Pende resident for thirteen years

Adam London-based Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist ADAM BEATTIE’s roots lie in Scottish folk music.This combines with a lifelong interest in jazz, blues and other folk styles to inform his genre-spanning gritty roots style. With four albums spanning a 16 year career, he has played opening shows for many of his musical heroes; Bert Jansch, Jolie Holland and Sean Hayes, collaborated on guitar and bass with Brooke Sharkey, Scott Hirsch and Micheal Chapman, and recently released an album on the legendary Rough Trade label as part of four piece PicaPica, alongside Radio 2 Folk Award winner Josienne Clarke, acclaimed songwriter Samantha Whates and Grammy, Mercury and MOBO nominated producer/engineer Sonny Johns (Ali Farke Toure). He is also part of Band of Burns, the 12-piece band of singers and instrumentalists featuring stellar talents of the UK and Irish folk world. Oh yes, his lovely partner is Fiona Bevan!