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.

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

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.”