Pender Harbour, British Columbia

For the Canadian racehorse, see Pender Harbour (horse).

Pender Harbour (ḵalpilin)
Harbour
Nickname: 
Venice of the North
Pender Harbour (ḵalpilin) is located in British Columbia
Pender Harbour (ḵalpilin)
Pender Harbour (ḵalpilin)
Location of Pender Harbour in British Columbia
Coordinates: 49°37′30″N 124°02′00″W / 49.62500°N 124.03333°W / 49.62500; -124.03333
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Area code(s)604, 778
Websitehttp://www.penderharbour.ca

Pender Harbour (ḵalpilin in she shashishalhem) is a harbour on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, on the east side of Malaspina Strait.[1] The name Pender Harbour also refers collectively to the surrounding unincorporated communities of Madeira Park,[2] Kleindale,[3] Irvines Landing,[4] and Garden Bay,[5] within the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).[6]

The harbour itself is an intricate amalgam of bays and coves that encroach inland for five kilometres and provide over 60 kilometres of shoreline. Once a vibrant shíshálh village site,[7] steamer stop, a fishing village, and an important logging and medical waypoint,[8] it is now home to a population of under 3,000, with over 40% of property owners being non-resident (one of them Joni Mitchell, since the early 1970s[9]).

Tourism is an important part of the local economy. The area has an arts community and several annual music festivals. It hosts the second-oldest May Day celebration in British Columbia [1] and the biggest and longest-running downhill longboard race in Canada, Attack of Danger Bay.

  1. ^ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  3. ^ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "Pender Harbour (Landing)". BC Geographical Names. (rescinded)
  7. ^ shíshálh Nation. "lil xemit tems swiya nelh mes stutula: A Strategic Land Use Plan for the shíshálh Nation" (PDF).
  8. ^ http://www.penderharbourheritage.ca/about.html Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society
  9. ^ EPISODE #002: Joni Mitchell's Dulcimers