Parksville and Qualicum Beach take relaxation seriously, say mayors

PARKSVILLE, B.C. – Two Vancouver Island mayors are promoting an idea they say they’ve borrowed from the United States – National Relaxation Day.

Parksville Mayor Chris Burger and Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek say their neighbouring oceanfront communities, favoured year-round by retirees and in summer by families seeking beach vacations, are uniquely qualified to mark the Aug. 15 occasion.

“We take relaxation seriously here, so there’s no question where Canada’s relaxation destination rightfully belongs,” says Westbroek.

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Adds Burger: Parksville-Qualicum Beach is all about “a chilled-out lifestyle.”

Among the more stress-inducing local activities: swinging a club at one of the six area golf courses. Low-key summer events include the annual Parksville Beach Festival, which features a sand sculpting competition and exhibition running until Aug. 19.

The two mayors recently issued a photo of themselves at their desks, right on the beach, and raising funny drink containers.

For anyone looking for ways to chill on National Relaxation Day in the laid-back communities north of Nanaimo, Burger and Westbroek offer suggestions like taking a nap, watching a sunset and splashing in “the big bathtub of Parksville-Qualicum Beach with some of the warmest water this side of Mexico.”