As August opens, East Vancouver Island will come alive with art, crafts, music and more as Comox and the nearby Coombs/Parksville area offer up a great few days of entertainment from August 3 through 6, 2012. Learn more about these upcoming events and make your lodging plans at our member bed and breakfast inns to enjoy a stay as memorable as the events themselves.
Filberg Festival
Friday August 03, 2012 – Monday August 06, 2012
2012 marks the 30th year of the Filberg Festival in Comox, BC; the largest of its kind for Canadian arts, crafts and music.
Filberg Festival Celebrates the Canadian Arts
Over 120 artisans from all across Canada will present their artworks at the Filberg Festival and there is something for everyone to enjoy. Categories of these displays to browse (and buy from) include:
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Tasty Treats to Accompany Your Filberg Festival Experience
In addition, food vendors with cuisines from around the world will be on hand to keep you fueled for your festival journey.
Filberg Festival Entertainment Offers a Diverse Selection of Music
This year’s entertainment line-up includes blues, country, folk, jazz, old-time gospel, rock-n-roll, roots music and much more.
Beautiful, Historic Setting for Canadian Arts, Crafts & Music
Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park offers nine acres of ocean-side splendour at Comox on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
The 4,000 square foot Filberg Lodge itself is open for tours. The authentic stone and wood Arts & Crafts structure features a front door sculpted from Douglas fir, western cedar beams and yellow cedar plank walls. The stairway is built from a single yew tree, using the trunk as the center post and a limb for the banister. Surrounding the lodge are acres of gardens and landscaped grounds dotted with over 100 trees from all over the world and distinctive outbuildings. The wooded areas are home to native wildlife such as deer.
While in town, Check Out Comox Nautical Days

Comox Nautical Days celebrate the maritime heritage of the area with boat races, fishing derbies, music, dancing and more.
The 2012 54th Annual Comox Nautical Days will happen August 4-6, the same weekend as the Filberg Festival, so it will be convenient to slip over to downtown Comox to enjoy the maritime merriment of this festival. Highlights include:
Build, Bail & Sail
This flotilla features boats built on-site with only hand-tools, meaning there is some thrills and hilarity as the boats get out on the water.
Bullhead Derby
The largest catch-and-release fishing derby for children to be found in the Pacific Northwest offers categories ranging from largest fish to weirdest catch.
Plus Canoe Jousting, Dragon Boat Races, live music, a parade, the largest fireworks show on Vancouver Island and much, much more!

Pete "Dr. Banjo" Wernick is just one of the many legendary Bluegrass players who will perform at the Coombs Bluegrass Festival.
Bluegrass and Sand Sculpture Await Nearby
On that same weekend there is also more to explore nearby including:
34th Annual Coombs Country Bluegrass Festival
Thursday August 02, 2012 – Sunday August 05, 2012
The Coombs Rodeo grounds plays host to the Coombs Country Bluegrass Festival. Drop in for old-time good music from masters of Bluegrass such as:
- Dr. Banjo & Long Road Home
- Old Time Fiddlers, Branch 11 Coombs, B.C.
- The Breakmen
- Cloverpoint Drifters
- Pete & Joan Wernick
- Great Northern Plains
- Rural Delivery
- The Still Blue
- Scout Mountain
- Riverside Gospel Trio
- and many more!
While You’re in the Area, Drop by Parksville to See the Sand Sculptures

Sand comes to life in wild and wonderful ways at the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition and Exhibition in Parksville, BC.
Saturday July 14, 2012 – Sunday August 19, 201
The Canadian Open Sand Sculpting event takes place in nearby Parksville and is a must-see celebration of sand art!
This world class competition brings together Master Sand Sculptors in an event to qualify for the Word Championship of Sand Sculpting. The sand sculptors hail from all parts of the world and each has 24 hours over the course of three days to sculpt their entries from just two ingredients: sand and water.
The competition will be finished by the weekend of August 4, but the sculptures will remain through the middle of August, so take the side-trip to Parksville and marvel at the incredible exhibition of sand sculpting talent that will still be on display.
Choose East Vancouver Island Lodging as Unique as the Work of an Artisan

The bed & breakfast inns of East Vancouver Island ensure "artisinal accommodations" to enhance your Filberg Festival experience.
Our member East Vancouver Island BC inns and bed & breakfasts provide a singular lodging experience to enhance your experience of the Filberg Festival, Comox Nautical Days, Coombs Bluegrass Festival and all the attractions and activities the East Vancouver Island region of British Columbia has to offer.
Enjoy a broad spectrum of breakfast options, B&B guest rooms that offer unique and pampering accommodations, and the personalized service and area knowledge of the innkeepers at locations all across British Columbia’s East Vancouver Island region.
What’s Your Filberg Festival Expectation or Experience?
The Filberg Festival has been celebrated on East Vancouver Island BC for over three decades and has since grown to become the largest Canadian arts and craft fair of its kind.
Please share your plans for this 2012 event and memories of past Filberg Festivals.