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Business notes: Mark’s moves to new Duncan location

The latest from the Cowichan Valley business community
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Mark’s clothing store in Duncan has moved to a new location.

Spokeswoman Victoria Kasaic said Mark’s has moved from its former site in Cowichan Commons to the Duncan Village Plaza.

Mark’s Duncan location was previously a combination store inside of Canadian Tire and has now become its own solo shop to better cater to the Duncan community.

The new location has an additional 3,000 sq. ft. to offer more product and variety to Duncan.

This has allowed for up to 40 per cent more space to offer industrial and casual clothing, footwear, and accessories to loyal Mark’s shoppers.

“Mark’s is the casual clothing and footwear destination for all Canadians, and out of every province, city, and town, Duncan’s Mark’s location is one of the most popular in all of Canada,” Kasaic said.

“The adoration for Mark’s has been heard and we’re excited to bring this new destination to all the excited Mark’s customers in the region.”

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After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the popular Paint Nights are back in the Cowichan Valley and on Vancouver Island.

Tyler Bate and his wife Ginja ran the franchise Paint Nite Vancouver Island from 2015 to 2020, but have recently launched their own local company called Island Art Night.

In a nutshell, Bate said the couple brings art supplies to various venues; like pubs, restaurants, school gyms and people’s homes and sets up everything needed for people to paint along with a host artist at each event.

He said the host artist leads the group step-by-step in how to create the “art of the night”.

“It’s more of a party than a class, and we encourage people to relax into it with fun music, food and drinks if they choose,” Bate said.

“Zero previous painting experience necessary. We travel from Sidney to Sointula, bringing art to many cities and small towns along the way.”

On Oct. 27, Bate said Island Art Night is celebrating Cowichan Valley’s Carrie S., who was a huge supporter of his previous business, at the Mill Grill in Mill Bay.

“She always came out with a very fun group of ladies and brought so much joy to the events they attended,” he said.

“We almost celebrated her 100th event in 2020 but that event was canceled, as with all our business, until now.”

Tickets to the event are $40 each and Bate said Island Art Night is using Eventbrite.ca for most ticket sales until its new website is built.

Tickets for Oct. 27 are also available at the Mill Grill.

“People can find our events listed on Eventbrite.ca by searching ‘Island Art Night’,” Bate said.

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After a couple of years of large-scale events being laid to rest, the Downtown Duncan Business Improvement Area is resurrecting its Spooktacular event on Oct. 29.

The DDBIA is hosting two separate events that day to pump up people’s Halloween spirit.

The first event is a family-friendly spookticle to revival “Spooktaculars” of the past which begins at 10 a.m. at Duncan City Square and features live entertainment, games and a costume contest with prizes.

And to spread some festive icing on the cake, a select group of downtown businesses will be handing out candy in their stores.

Be on the lookout for places with a pumpkin poster in the window to indicate trick-or-treat-friendly places.

After the sun has set and the wee princesses and goblins have gone home, the DDBIA is inviting all ghosts and ghouls of the 19+ variety to the “Thirsty Zombie Halloween Crawl”.

Party your brains out as you saunter between four downtown establishments rife with festive entertainment.

Each party place has put together signature cocktails and/or food specials fit for thirsty zombies far and wide.

Crawlers collect stamps at The Fort, Fresh Kenny’s, and Craig Street Brew Pub to gain free entry to the closing bash at The Old Firehouse Wine & Cocktail Bar.

The last hoorah at the Cocktail bar features a deejayed dance costume contest with awesome prizes.

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In other DDBIA news, the improvement area is looking to replace its larger-than-life real Christmas tree that it has been placing in Station Street Park each Christmas season for years.

“As we begin to plan our holiday season this year, we have opted to shake it up and try something new, and for us, that means we wish to move away from our tradition of a real tree in hopes of putting up something eclectic and handmade to reflect our unique and beautiful downtown,” the DDBIA said.

The DDBIA put out a call for submissions from the public for designs on what creative people would like to see replace the tree that ended on Oct. 25.

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The weekend of Oct. 28-30 marks the 28th anniversary of the Cowichan Valley Fall Home Show.

At the ultimate one-stop-shop for your home, which will take place at Cowichan Exhibition Park, people can connect with experts in home improvements, renovations, décor, design, and much more.

“You’ll find the products, services and samples you need to make your projects come to life,” said an ad for the show.

As always, admission and parking are free.

The home show will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 30.



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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