This Episode Features:
(29:45) Award-winning performer Zachary Stevenson, who grew up in Parksville, shares his remarkable journey from Vancouver Island orchards to international stages across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Zachary discusses his Holly Jolly Christmas tour coming to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo this December, blending classic Buddy Holly hits with festive rock and roll favourites from Elvis and Chuck Berry. Living between Chicago and Vancouver, Zachary reflects on what Vancouver Island means to him, his award-winning Chicago theatre success, his wife Molly’s acting career, and his deep appreciation for returning home to Island audiences.
(06:14) Cheryl Dill, President of the Parksville Beach Festival Society, announces the 2025 festival gave a record-breaking $88,201 back to Vancouver Island community organizations—pushing their total community contributions to an impressive $1.2 million since implementing the pay-it-forward model. With 119,092 visitors experiencing the world-renowned Quality Foods sand sculpting competition, the festival successfully relocated to a new venue in Parksville Community Park. Cheryl discusses plans for future entertainment at the outdoor theatre, including another major Canadian band for the 2026 opening concert.
Episode Highlights & Quotes:
“We gave away $88,201, which was tremendous for a little old Parksville Beach Festival Society. And that pushes our total giveaway since we’ve been incorporating this pay it forward model to $1.2 million back to the community.” – Cheryl Dill, President of Parksville Beach Festival Society
“Growing up in Parksville, I realize what a privilege it is to grow up on Vancouver Island. Now that I’m an adult and I’ve spent time working and travelling and living in a whole bunch of different cities… Every time I come to Parksville, I think, wow, what a beautiful place. This is what an awesome place it is to live.” – Zachary Stevenson
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Transcription:
Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island’s most advanced real estate business network since 1996. Marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate, you’ll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.
Rockin’ Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter. Here comes Dave. Oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missin’. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So much laughs and insights everywhere. Peter and Dave, they’re on the mics. Alright, join the ride. It’s gonna feel just right.
Peter McCully: Welcome back to the Pulse Community Podcast. I’m Peter McCully and we’re tracking the pulse of life on Mid Vancouver Island as the holiday season approaches.
Dave Graham: And I’m Dave Graham. You know, I’ve just realized that my Christmas shopping strategy of waiting until the last minute is really less a strategy or a recipe for panic, now that I think about it. I’ve bought some pretty weird stuff while panic shopping. Peter, when do you start your Christmas shopping?
Peter McCully: Well, Dave, I’d like to have everything wrapped up and ready by early December. It kinda gives me peace of mind.
Dave Graham: You call it peace of mind. I call it showing off, frankly. Actually, I got a jumpstart on things this year. I have my Christmas cards ready to go into the mail. That’s only because I didn’t send them last year. Oh, you know, we happen to have a little Christmas content on the programme today.
Peter McCully: Well, that’s right. Dave Parksville is Zachary Stevenson, known for his legendary musical characters is back with his Holly Jolly Christmas. It’s a rock and roll musical extravaganza.
Zachary Stevenson: I started to imagine if Buddy Holly was to put on a Christmas show, what would it look like? And it has just evolved from that. And this year I’m still playing Buddy Holly’s songs and Christmas songs, but I’m continuing to expand it and make it a little bit more my own. I’ll be giving people some of what they expect. Some Buddy Holly songs, some Rock and Roll Christmas from Elvis, Chuck Berry, but I’m also bringing in a few modern, but in a vintage kind of voice songs that maybe people haven’t heard and introduce them to something a little bit new.
Dave Graham: A Buddy Holly Christmas show. That’s like combining, oh, I don’t know. Uh, peanut butter and mayonnaise. Two great things that taste even better together is a sandwich. Why, why are you looking at me like that?
Peter McCully: Peanut butter and mayonnaise. Now you’re just being silly. I mean, that’s not really a thing. You’re just, you’re nodding yes. You know, this is an audio show, right? Moving on. Cheryl Dill, of Parksville Beach Fest is here to talk about the 2025 event. It’s tremendous success in giving back to the community.
Cheryl Dill: Last year we gave about $80,000 away, which was super high for us. We were in the low seventies. Before this year, we gave away $88,201, which was tremendous for a little old Parksville Beach Festival Society. And that pushes our total giveaway since we’ve been incorporating this pay it forward model to $1.2 million back to the community.
Dave Graham: 1.2 million back to the community. That’s one of the many reasons why Beach Fest is my favourite time of the year. Well, actually tied for first place with the toy drive breakfast at town tomorrow. Dave, have you already written your letter to Santa Claus this year? Peter, I’m a grown man. I don’t write letters to send anymore. I send
Peter McCully: them emails. Much more efficient. Well, we’ve got a new contest for you here at The Pulse Podcast. We’re pleased to be giving away a couple of tickets to see Zachary Stevenson’s Christmas show, Holly Jolly Christmas at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo.
Dave Graham: Here’s how you can enter to win. Go to our website, thepulsecommunity.ca, or our Facebook page, the Pulse Community, and tell us either your favourite Buddy Holly song or your favourite Christmas song. Simple enough. The draw will be Thursday, November 27th.
Peter McCully: Looking ahead, future guests to the podcast will include Laura Palmer, host of the award-winning Island crime podcast. Laura recently launched the eighth season of the show.
Dave Graham: When I was in high school, I won an award for my contribution to theatre. So does that mean I can say I’m an award-winning podcaster? No. Dave? No. If there were an award for best podcast about mid Vancouver Island life, I bet we’d win.
Peter McCully: Well, I think that would be a win by acclamation, which really doesn’t count.
Dave Graham: Okay. Just checking. I spoke recently with one impressive lady who was just awarded a first. She was named the first executive director of the Parksville Qualicum Community Foundation. The foundation has grown to the point where they need someone with some specific skills to manage it. Her name is Charlene Smith and she’ll be joining us on a future episode.
Thrifty Foods Parksville: At Thrifty Foods, we love to help non-profits, charities, and schools. Our Thrifty Foods Smile Card bulk programme allows organizations to immediately save up to 6% on the purchase of Smile Cards in bulk, allowing you to keep more money in your organization’s pockets. Ask for details at Thrifty Foods in Parksville.
Fireside Books: There’s exciting news for book lovers. Fireside Books in Parksville now has a second location in Port Alberni. The Bookwyrm used books are just $5 or less. The Bookwyrm on the corner of Redford and Anderson opens seven days a week from 10 to five. Building your personal library for less, Fireside Books at 464 Island Highway East in Parksville is a book dragon’s dream come true. Browse their extensive collections seven days a week. Both locations make growing your personal library easier than ever. New and used books and so much more. Order online at firesidebooks.ca and pick up at either location. Details available online. Ask about returning books for a book credit. Fireside Books, and the Bookwyrm, two locations, one amazing adventure in browsing.
Peter McCully: Parksville BeachFest made news recently for giving a record amount of funds back to the community. All will be explained. Here’s Marilyn.
Marilyn: Cheryl Dill is president of the Parksville Beach Festival Society, overseeing the summer festival that attracts over 100,000 visitors annually. The 2025 festival successfully relocated to a new venue within the community park, featuring the world-renowned Quality Foods sand sculpting competition, and five weeks of entertainment.
Dave Graham: Cheryl, welcome to the podcast. Nice to see you again.
Cheryl Dill: It’s always great to see you, Dave. And thank you so much for this opportunity to share some great news about Beach Fest.
Dave Graham: Yes, I’m delighted to be here to talk about great news and congratulations on another successful summer event. Can you tell us just how many people did end up going through the gates at the sand sculpting competition slash exhibition?
Cheryl Dill: Yes, we were hoping for an increase over the previous year, and we did have an increase over the previous year, so we were at 119,092 visitors that walked through the gate and those wonderful gate ambassadors showed them the way and made sure that everybody was having a great time.
Dave Graham: Maybe we could take a moment here for you to explain this wonderful loop we have going with the community, supplying manpower and you giving back to the community. How does that work?
Cheryl Dill: Absolutely. Really, volunteer engagement is our mandate. The wonderful thing about volunteers is it includes the community for an event that draws almost 120,000 people. Over a five-week period into the community, if you didn’t have the support of the community, it wouldn’t be successful. And so this volunteer engagement is one way that we ensure that people are part of the event. We listen to what they have to say, and they give us feedback every year about how the site is working, what people are saying about the sculptors and about the sculptures. And as a result of their integral role, we take a portion of those gate donations and give that back to those volunteer groups. The volunteer groups apply every year in the spring to be part of our event and work those gates, welcoming people through the gate and sharing information about what they can do while they’re observing the sculptures. Basically, it’s a real pay it forward type of model where we collect donations and then we use the donations to do two things: pay for our expenses and pay for that volunteer time as a pay it forward component, and then if there’s any money left over from that, which there’s usually a little bit, if the gate donations are solid. We then invest in ourselves from the point of view of if we need to do site improvements, if we need to move the site, if we need to build a theatre. So over the years, as you probably know, we’ve done some of those things and those savings and investments have allowed us to grow and expand.
Dave Graham: Did I read that this year’s contribution back to the community was a record number?
Cheryl Dill: Yes. Last year we gave about $80,000 away, which was super high for us. We were in the low seventies before. This year we gave away $88,201, which was tremendous for a little old Parksville Beach Festival Society, and that pushes our total giveaway since we’ve been incorporating this pay it forward model to $1.2 million back to the community. How can you go wrong when you’re creating an event that people have fun? It’s great for families. It’s affordable. It helps our community grow. It engages the community from a social capacity point of view, and helps our community move forward in a positive way and puts us on the world map. When we have 30 sculptors that are masters in this field from all over the world, whether it’s Russia or the Netherlands or Colombia, and of course Canada, the US, we just get such a vast group of people travelling the world throughout this competition, the chatter amongst that group is that Parksville is one of the key destinations for their sculpting tours. So they love it here. They love the culture, they love the friendliness, how we treat them. They like the quality of sand. They will say that sand at other competitions is very different and some is better, some is worse, but they do what we present to them. We should be proud of that.
Dave Graham: I’m wondering if your impression reflects mine at all in terms of from year to year and over the years is the quality of the work, not just topping itself year after year?
Cheryl Dill: I think it is. Here’s the cool thing is that the sculptors that come back every year, they learn from what they did in the previous year and they learn how to manipulate that sand, how that grain of sand works next to the next grain of sand and what they can do to make the sculpture taller or have more cut-throughs or just be a corgi design that was responsive to the public. And we do all the voting from the public as to their favourite sculpture. Yeah. They learn and they push themselves, and I do think the quality is even better each year.
Dave Graham: Just going back briefly to the community groups that were involved and split that massive pot, can you talk about what kinds of groups get involved in this?
Cheryl Dill: Absolutely. First of all, when groups want to be involved, we have an application process, and in that application we identify that they need to be a philanthropic type group so that they give back to the community. It’s for a worthwhile cause. They may be filling a gap in the community that there’s no other service for that. Every year we strive to have groups that know our process, that have been part of our process before, and that worked well with our process in terms of what they need to do as volunteers at our event. And then also we strive to have a few new groups in there and keep the number of groups to about somewhere between 20 and 25. So this year we had 24 groups. We did have two new groups that hadn’t worked the gates before. I know one of them was the Craig Heritage Museum. They were such a gregarious group and they were happy to be involved in that because they do such good work for the community preserving that heritage is so important and these types of donations that we give back to them allow them to grow and develop that wonderful museum, and it’s wonderful that we have a museum to celebrate and have something for tourists to do. Another group that’s newer is the Oceanside Stroke Recovery Society. Now, that’s such an important group for people who have suffered a stroke and for family members of supporting those individuals. They do incredibly important work that otherwise wouldn’t be there for our community. These kind of dollars that we give back to them really help elevate their menu of services to those who have suffered from a stroke.
Dave Graham: In the interest of transparency, I am an employee of Beach Festival or have been in pastures supplying music, and I thank you for that opportunity. Aside from that, though, I’ve always had great admiration for the way things are run, processes have been evolving from year to year. Just as the sculptures get better, what they do, so do you and the rest of the crew at Parksville Beach Festival. And here’s my opportunity to express to you my gratitude and appreciation and admiration for what you and Beach Festival Society can do. The level you have brought this event to indeed worldwide attention and it is a world-class event. So congratulations and thank you.
Cheryl Dill: Dave, you’re giving me goosebumps. It really is an elevating experience for all of us as volunteers and also those who are contractors like yourself, who we rely on that level of expertise that we as a volunteer group just don’t have. So involving you, involving our event managers that we’ve hired and they’ve come back to us ’cause they love it so much. Being able to expand and provide people a fee for service for the quality of work that they do and their expertise is really important ’cause not to say that volunteers don’t have expertise, but they may be involved for different reasons. They wanted to try something different for their area of expertise or they’re involved because they believe in the meaning behind giving back to the community. As much as volunteer focus is a priority for our society, we also recognize the importance of not only the social capacity that we want to enhance, but also the economic capacity and for us to be able to hire people and engage them in this way is really important. And we have some fantastic people that we work with. Not much different from you, so we’re very lucky to be working with you.
Dave Graham: How was the new site in terms of meeting expectations and whatever is important to you for this event?
Cheryl Dill: You know what, it turned out to be a very positive shift, but I will say we as a society, we were really nervous. Really nervous about leaving the old site, leaving that wonderful circle that has embraced our event for so long and we’re so comfortable in that space. We felt like we were sticking our necks out a little bit. The park needs to change and shift as events grow and the demands on the park growth. We have the benefit of working really closely with the city, and the city has some wonderful goals in place to preserve that jewel that is in our community, Parksville Community Park. They can’t do that alone. They need to rely on input from the users and support from users like us. We were happy to contribute quite a significant amount of money towards that move and to have some input to work with their wonderful staff. We worked with Candace and Graham. They have been just key to our success. The shape of the site changed. We were worried about move from a circle to a rectangle, but it seemed to work well. The sculptures were spread out nicely at the back of the site. We had lots of room for our lunch with the castles and for our sculptors to gather during lunch because we do take care of them, make sure they have enough energy. But the best part is that it was very close to where there’s a significant area for parking and so great for visitors. Very quick to walk up to that site, wheel over to the site, bike over to the site. Also for set-up and take-down when we’re relying on contractors to bring in the sand and to bring in the fencing and do all of that prep work before and after. It was so much more smooth for our event management team and for all of us as volunteers. That was probably the best thing for us from an event management group point of view. We’re happy with that. We’ve learned from the new site what we need to do to potentially tweak it, and we’re gonna be talking with the city about some small tweaks to maybe make the space, the movement within that space, a little roomier.
Dave Graham: What about terms of expansion, or are you happy with the number of artists that you have and the way things are?
Cheryl Dill: We added one more sculptor in there and that worked well. Uh, we always have more applications than we can account for, so if we can take a few more applications next year, it will just be a gradual expansion. I think because the budget is impacted by that. We have to pay for their travel, we have to pay for their hotel, we have to pay for their food. And we pay them to be here as a presentation fee, and if they are successful, they win a prize too. We have to think about managing that component, but we feel like we have a little bit more space right now to continue with that additional sculptor and if the city can work with us to expand a little bit in terms of the length, we might be able to get in another one, but we have to see how that goes.
Dave Graham: As in past years, you featured a world map and people are invited to point out where they’re from, and aside from questions as to how many people really did come from Madagascar, it does of course show that this goes back to the home worldwide scale of this event, that people literally do come from all over and you find yourself impressed and surprised each year.
Cheryl Dill: My goodness. I think that’s what brings our volunteer gate ambassadors back every year is engaging with the people through the gate that are not just from BC or Canada or the US, they’re from all over the world. Indeed. They’re from Finland, Denmark, Russia, Japan, all kinds of islands, and yes, Madagascar. And you’re saying, what? Why are you coming here? It’s because it’s wonderful here. And what makes us appreciate what we have. We used to track that because we used to have people sign in. Joan Lemoine was adamant about the guest books, and you can imagine how many guest books we would need for 120,000 signatures, but she meticulously would go through there and record what percentages from Vancouver Island versus BC versus other provinces in Canada versus which state versus what country out there, and it was amazing. Of course the majority of people were from North America, but there was a significant component when she was doing that level of data analysis. You didn’t realize Joan was a statistician, did you? She was bound and determined to see someone from that one state that was missing on the signature book or whatever it may be. So for years we did really look closely at where are people from. So yeah, there might be a little bit of play on that map, but really we do get people from all over the world right here in Parksville.
Dave Graham: For those who are unfamiliar briefly, Joan Lemoine.
Cheryl Dill: Joan Lemoine was our honorary director for Beach Festival and she was one of the instigators behind bringing Parksville Beach Festival back to the beach, back to Parksville Community Park. It was shut down because there was some shenanigans going on here that escalated into a very scary situation in the community where there was a riot. So from there, Joan and a lot of other volunteers in the community said, how can we bring this back and how can we manage the risk and make it successful? She, along with, you know, a small group of maybe six or seven people did, we owe them a lot of credit to create what we have today. Joan was on our board for years. She was, you know, our most amazing ambassador, always recruiting, whether it was volunteers or directors, always spreading the word in her travels about what we did. The sculptors loved her and sadly we lost her in, I think it was 2022. It was a very sad, she didn’t get a chance to see our theatre. She didn’t get a chance to see the new site, but Beach Fest was at her heart and the essence of who Joan Lemoine was about giving back to the community is what all of our directors on our board possess within their hearts too. She’s in our memories and in our hearts, and that’s what we bring forward when we are doing this wonderful volunteer work. Yes.
Dave Graham: The theme for this past year was Circus by the Sea. How was that received by the public and the artist and everyone else?
Cheryl Dill: You know what we thought, how is this gonna work? What’s a circus by the sea theme gonna look like? The sculptors never cease to amaze us as to what they come up with. So you saw juggling mermaids. You saw elephants in bikinis. Gosh, there were so many beautiful sculptures, you know. All kinds of different takes on what it meant to be at a circus and incorporating the seaside. So it was a wonderful thing to incorporate a theme this year. The sculptors loved it. We had lots of positive feedback from the public too, and of course the kids just loved going through there and doing the scavenger hunt and finding all those special circus-related theme elements.
Dave Graham: You always have wonderful entertainment every summer. And Chilliwack doing a farewell tour just was magnificently timed. How did that play out for you in terms of success and reception?
Cheryl Dill: We were so proud to be part of their Farewell to Friends tour. I had a chance to talk to Bill Henderson, who was just an amazing performer, and his band was just right on par and kudos to Van Rock Enterprises for their sponsorship to help us bring Chilliwack here. We had a great attendance. I think we were 3000 plus there. And of course, it’s our opening night is our chance to honour our sculptors, and they had a wonderful time at that concert and so did our sponsors. We honour our sponsors by having them attend. So in addition to those fee payers, there were all of these 400 sponsors there too. So it was a really busy night. The weather was perfect. It’s such a beautiful site to sit and enjoy a concert in the shade of the trees. You know, it’s in the evening, so the sun’s down between five and nine o’clock is just the perfect venue at that wonderful outdoor theatre.
Dave Graham: I’ll go on and on about it at the drop of a hat. Can you talk about next year’s musical attractions or are we just too soon to get into them?
Cheryl Dill: We are working on another Canadian band that many of us have danced at a high school dance to, perhaps. I can’t really say who, but I’m super excited about it. We’re just securing the contract now and we also have some really fun stuff planned for beyond our opening concert that I can share yet, but I’d love to talk about it next year. We are continuing to grow and expand the use of that theatre and still keep it affordable for family. It’s really important to our society to do that. We don’t want to make that theatre exclusive to only a certain percentage of people that can pay those prices of the tickets. The expenses are still there, but the extra donations that we have at the gate for sand sculpting, the sponsorships, the ticket sales, help us keep that theatre operating and affordable for renting, and also affordable for people to come and enjoy.
Dave Graham: Coming over here, I was thinking Tim Hortons, they’ve been so wonderful through the years with their free concert series. I’m thinking this kind of experience, this beach festival event could just as well get away with charging for everything. Yet you don’t. You’ve arranged for these free concert series and you’ve already expressed how important that is, and I’m just wondering if there are any other perceptions about how important it is to have these kinds of events available to everyone.
Cheryl Dill: You’re absolutely right, and we’ve been very grateful for Tim Hortons for helping us to put on those eight nights of free, wonderful local entertainment. And when I say local, Vancouver Island or close to Vancouver Island entertainers, putting on those eight shows is not inexpensive. It does cost us quite a bit of money, and Tim Hortons certainly helps us alleviate those pressures. But the feedback we have from the community. Yes, we get a lot of visitors in the park from outside the community, but we know that those Tim Hortons concerts host a lot of local residents, and what a wonderful thing to do. Grab a meal or bring a picnic lunch, bring your lawn chair and just go down to the park for free entertainment and just be blown away by the quality of the musicians and the sound in that theatre. So we remain focused on keeping that up. That’s the last thing we want to get rid of. But in order to expand upon that, we need to be successful in the ticketed events too. So if you haven’t come down to see a ticketed event, please do and help us give back to the community.
Dave Graham: Cheryl Dill, thank you so much and congratulations again on yet another successful summer with Parksville Beach Festival.
Cheryl Dill: It’s my pleasure to spend time with you, Dave, and thank you for such great questions.
Peter McCully: Dave and I enjoyed meeting so many people from here, there, and everywhere. When we dropped by the sand sculpting competition, a fantastical summer event on Vancouver Island.
Dave Graham: As is so often the case, something done well can look easy. You know, I tried my hand at sculpting and well, the result was less sculpture and more, uh, lumpy mound, but I thought it was a fairly artful lumpy mound.
Peter McCully: If you would like to be a part of the Pulse podcast, speak to us, head to our website under the contact page, and send us a voice message about what’s on your mind or your upcoming event. We also have the option for you to type in a message if that’s more your style. Contact us at thepulsecommunity.ca.
Dave Graham: I will add that we also welcome sponsorship inquiries. I believe we might be able to find room for another one or two, and I offer the reminder that the Pulse Community Podcast is available on Apple, Amazon, iHeart, Spotify, TikTok, and YouTube. We’re also on Facebook and Instagram.
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Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island’s most advanced real estate business network since 1996. Marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You’ll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.
Dave Graham: You know, something else I like about this time of year, Peter, it’s Christmas concerts now. I lived in England for a while when I was a kid and as a family at Christmas time, we would all get dressed up and go to the Royal Albert Hall for Christmas carols, and that kinda set the precedent for me. Just doesn’t feel like Christmas unless I can get out to see a Christmas show of some kind that Zachary Stevenson, Holly Jolly Christmas Show. Sure. Sounds good. You’re not eligible to win tickets, Dave, I’m sorry. No, uh, of course not, but it’s still going to be a fabulous show and it stars a local. Here’s Marilyn.
Marilyn: Parksville-raised performer Zachary Stevenson has brought legendary rock and roll icons back to life on stages across Canada, the US and Europe. The award-winning actor and musician returns to Vancouver Island this December with his Holly Jolly Christmas show, bringing festive rock and roll magic to audiences alongside his wife, Molly.
Peter McCully: Zachary, thanks for making time for us today on the Pulse Podcast. Oh, my pleasure, Peter. Thank you for having me. You grew up in Parksville, what do you remember most fondly about those years?
Zachary Stevenson: Many things. Many things. Growing up in Parksville, I realize what a privilege it is to grow up on Vancouver Island. Now that I’m an adult and I’ve spent time working and travelling and living in a whole bunch of different cities. When I was a teenager, I started to feel like Parksville was a little bit boring. You know, I was kind of growing out of it. Like many people, I moved to the city, but now every time I come to Parksville, I think, wow, what a beautiful place. This is what an awesome place it is to live. You got the community park. I always go down. Every time I’m visiting my mum and I go down to the boardwalk just to take in the view there, the scent of the ocean. There was a lot available to me as a kid at both at school and just in the community and at home. We grew up on a small apple orchard up on Four-O Way at the edge of town, so I have many fond memories of picking apples, working on the orchard to earn some baseball cards and things like that. Long walks into town with my siblings, you know, to go rent a video at Crazy Mike’s video store. Lots of fond memories at Ballenas High School. Doing the plays there, getting involved in the Arts, choir, big band, Whalebone Theatre. I had some really great teachers. I was fortunate to grow up in Parksville.
Peter McCully: Have you been back since the completion of the outdoor theatre at the community park?
Zachary Stevenson: What an amazing— hats off to Lloyd Dairy. It’s incredible. He had a vision for it and really rallied the community behind building, and he actually approached me a couple of years before it was built, when I was doing a show at the Chemainus Theatre and showed me blueprints for the plans as he’s putting this together. It was very ambitious. Admittedly was a little sceptical. Sometimes you have these great plans, especially when it comes to the arts. It’s not always easy to get support and funding to do things like that, but what an incredible accomplishment. It’s a great space. I got a chance to play at the inaugural Rock the Park Festival. Such a fun, fun space. Obviously it’s a nice venue for the community and for the patrons, but it’s also really well designed for the artists, for the backstage amenities they have there in dressing rooms built into the back of the facility. It’s so cool.
Peter McCully: How did Parksville and Vancouver Island in general shape you musically?
Zachary Stevenson: In several ways. Like I mentioned that I had some really great teachers in the beginning. My parents put me in piano lessons and my teacher was Faye Smith in Qualicum Beach, and I went every Friday for many years. I went through eight grades of conservatory with her. That was really the foundation of all my musical training. Then my family, we all really love music. Everybody plays or sings something. We love The Beatles, things like that. We sing together parties or just jam for fun. It was always encouraged to play music in my household. In school, Oceanside has some pretty nice musical opportunities and teachers in high school. Rick Robson, great teacher. He is retired now. I played saxophone in the school band. I got involved in the choir. And then Whalebone Theatre, which Rick was also a part of, and then Doug Campbell, who’s still there, teaching drama at Ballenas, did some musicals in high school. That really launched my interest in pursuing it professionally. And if those opportunities weren’t there and it wasn’t encouraged, I would’ve taken a different path.
Peter McCully: When did you first discover your ability to channel some of these legendary performers that you played?
Zachary Stevenson: I’ve always enjoyed singing just for pure joy. I didn’t really think at the time, oh, this is something I’m gonna do professionally. I just enjoy singing songs. So I went to UVic. I took some music electives on the side, but I was in the theatre drama stream, and I think the combination of exploring characters, dissecting what makes someone who they are, backstory, physicality, and then of course voice. What are the elements that affect how someone speaks? Of course it’s upbringing, regional dialects, language, all that kind of stuff. Studying that, then combining that with an interest in music and singing. It just came together in a kind of a natural way. Actually, the very first singer that I, for lack of a better term, mimicked, is a singer named Phil Ochs. He’s a folk singer from the sixties era. Came up alongside Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, that folk song revival. I got really interested in his songs and story when I was in my final year of college and decided I wanted to put on a one-man show about Phil. Just wanted to really immerse myself in becoming Phil with what I was learning through the theatre programme, and just honing my guitar skills and voice. And by incredible happenstance, there was a one-man show that had been written about Phil. Phil is relatively obscure, but there was a show written about him by Ross DePrey, an Island local and I just got his number, called the mum and said, “Hey, I hear you got this great play about with Phil Ochs. I’d love to do it at school as a graduating study. Can I get a copy of the script?” And the rest is history in a way. He was really encouraging. Gave me a copy of the script. And I put it on as the really, the last thing I did at school, I felt really proud of it. I thought I was able to capture the sound of Phil and his character essence, and as a lot of BFA holders will tell you, the next couple words are “now what?” I knew that I had this show that I was really proud of, so I took that. Just started cold calling concert producers and folk festival bookers and things like that. Or I would just go and rent a space myself and put on the show. That’s really how the whole thing kind of started rolling. Then I started to develop a reputation as someone who is musical, who can play guitar, has some acting skills. When those other roles came up, I got some invitations to audition for, say, Hank Williams, the show. He Never Gave the Buddy Holly story. A Million Dollar Quartet, roles like that. So it all comes back to that Phil Ochs show, the Ballad of Phil Ochs.
Peter McCully: It’s fun to talk to somebody who started here and then performed across Canada, across the United States, internationally, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany. But you always love coming back to Vancouver Island.
Zachary Stevenson: I appreciate it even more now that I’ve travelled so much. It really has a kind of magical quality to it. There’s something in the air. Every time I land at YYJ, that first breath of fresh air, I smell the ocean and it is like my shoulders drop a little, and I feel a sense of home and then that’s just magnified going to the island, just the pace of the island, the people, the trees, the mountains. It’s got a little bit of everything and there’s a real heart to it. My mum is an old-growth forest defender. Really proud of her going to the protests every Friday, really protecting what remains of the old growth on Vancouver Island, and obviously it goes beyond that, but in specific thinking about Vancouver Island and preserving what makes it a beautiful place, especially with its natural treasures.
Peter McCully: When you were playing the Buddy Holly story at the Chemainus Theatre Festival, I remember reading somewhere you mentioned of following the footprints on the sidewalks and checking out the murals and getting ice cream and, and now you’re creating memories for new generations of Vancouver Island audiences. That’s what Dave and I call a full circle moment.
Zachary Stevenson: Yeah, this is true. My dad taught at Chemainus High School for many years would commute from Parksville, so we would spend time in Chemainus, ride along sometimes, and play in the chemistry lab, and then especially in the summers, just go and check out the murals. I remember having a Chemainus T-shirt. I’m pretty sure the first professional theatre performance I saw was at the Chemainus Theatre, and so it’s really neat to come back and as an adult and be a part of that theatre festival. I’ve done a few shows there. The Buddy Holly story a couple of times we did Ring of Fire and recently I’ve been coming back every year to do a concert series in their Playbill Dining Room, and it’s been just wonderful. I love coming back and connecting with the island audiences, and everybody is very sweet and supportive. Coming to the shows over the years, especially after everything had shut down for a couple years there, due to COVID, my first time back on the island, I was stranded south of the border for a good 18 months where I couldn’t come home to Canada in the thick of it. Landing in Victoria, that absence was very emotional. The first time back performing for a live audience was at Chemainus, at that Playbill Presents series, and I’ll always remember that I’m very grateful to Chemainus to have created that opportunity for artists like myself who were struggling at the time. What a way to bounce back to play for what I consider a hometown crowd on the island and the island feels like, it doesn’t matter which city I’m playing at, that it feels like a hometown crowd. It really does, and the audiences have really embraced me as a hometown kid. When I play, it’s not lost on me. I’m very grateful to have that opportunity and that connection.
Peter McCully: You’re touring some spots in BC this December. You’ve got stops in Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Victoria and just down the road, Nanaimo at the Port Theatre. Mm-hmm. Tell us about Holly Jolly Christmas. How did the holiday show come together and what makes it different from your traditional Buddy Holly type tribute performances?
Zachary Stevenson: Yeah, it’s been so much fun. Back when I was doing the Buddy Holly story in 2010, a producer of tribute type concerts approached me about joining one of their shows. It was with an Elvis, a Fats Domino, and a Roy Orbison performer. I had some trepidation. I thought, oh, I’m an actor. I’m not an impersonator. I don’t know if this is for me, but I thought, oh, what the heck? I’ll give it a try. And our first shows were actually in northern BC, in Terrace and Rupert. Those audiences were so energized and appreciative of the show that we brought up there, and I thought the spirit of these shows is unpretentious and really fun. From that moment on, I’ve really enjoyed doing the in-concert tributes to some of these artists. So I’ve done the Buddy Holly Show all over. We did a rock and roll Christmas show one year, and then it just grew from there. I started to imagine if Buddy Holly was to put on a Christmas show, what would it look like? And it has just evolved from that. And this year I’m still playing Buddy Holly songs and Christmas songs, but I’m continuing to expand it and make it a little bit more my own. I’ll be giving people some of what they expect. Some Buddy Holly songs, some Rock and Roll Christmas from Elvis, Chuck Berry. But I’m also bringing in a few modern, but in a vintage kind of voice songs that maybe people haven’t heard and introduce them to something a little bit new. I have a version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town that I arranged in E minor, which really has been a hit with the crowds, gives the lyrics a little bit of a different mood and even have an original song that I’ve included in the show. And so it’s a real variety show.
Peter McCully: Zachary’s version of Deck the Halls. Did I hear Summertime Blues in there as well?
Zachary Stevenson: You sure did. Making the Holly Jolly Christmas record was definitely one of the most fun projects that I’ve done because things like that, I— Deck the Halls is a traditional song, but I wanted to rock it up a little bit. I borrowed Groove and some of the chord changes that you hear in Summertime Blues to make it sound like a vintage rock and roll track.
Peter McCully: Now for a guy who has lived his life in the fifties and sixties, even though we’re not there, you know what that reminds me of is Chet Atkins, because I remember as a young guy watching him on television playing Yankee Doodle and Dixie at the same time on his guitar. I’m not there yet, but I am working on my guitar.
Zachary Stevenson: And this year is a little bit different. I’m on my own. For years I’ve been doing these shows produced by Legends of Rock and Roll Promoters, but they’ve retired and so this year I’ve picked it up myself and I’m doing all the booking and promoting and all that stuff. It’s been a real learning curve and challenge. Usually we’ve done a bigger tour, but this year it was official that they’d retire. So I was a little late booking some venues. So for anybody who’s listening to this who’s wondering why we didn’t come to Duncan or Campbell River, it’s not ’cause we don’t love you, it’s just wasn’t able to get all of the dates that I wanted to this year. But I’m already working on getting a nice full tour booked for next year.
Peter McCully: Now you perform with various ensembles, including the Lovettes, the Fortunate Sons who have just been here. You’ve been featured at festivals, switching those hats constantly. That must be a little dizzying some days.
Zachary Stevenson: That is a good way of putting it. Yeah, I feel a little dizzy right now, to be honest. I’ve got many irons in the fire later this week. The Oh Boys, my original trio. We’re gonna do a show live to radio here in Chicago, and then I’m flying back to the mainland and I’m doing my Dead Ringer Cabaret in White Rock at the Blue Frog. Then a couple days later, a Buddy Holly show on the Sunshine Coast, and then it’s only about a week away before we start the Holly Jolly Christmas tour. It can be a lot. I’ve got a lot of lyrics in my brain at any given time, and you must pack a lot of suitcases for all those costumes. Oh man, this is the challenge. See, people don’t realize that half of my suitcase are my show clothes. I only have one half of a suitcase to pack anything that I want to wear. So if you see me wearing the same thing over and over when I’m not on stage, ’cause I just don’t have room.
Peter McCully: Now you mentioned that living in Chicago, how long have you been living in Chicago and how did you land there?
Zachary Stevenson: I’ve been on and off here for the last seven years. Back in 2013, I met Molly, one of the Lovettes, who is now my wife, and so when we got married, she was ready to move out of Kansas City. I was in Vancouver at the time and we thought about maybe considering taking those big leaps, go to LA, go to New York. But she had some friends here in Chicago and it’s a good middle ground. It’s a little bit closer to Canada too, more of a travel hub. So we came here not knowing how long we would stay, but it’s been really good to us. So we’re still here for the time being, although I do maintain an apartment in Vancouver as well. So I get back and forth as much as I can. When we first got here, there was a run of the Buddy Holly story about to start. So I auditioned for that, got in and it was so well received. We were nominated for five Chicago Theatre Awards and we sweeping it, came home with all five of them, including really nice one for me for best performance in a musical lead actor. So what an honour to show up in a big city like Chicago and immediately get recognized for that role. That was awesome.
Peter McCully: And Molly seems to be doing well. I remember reading that she showed up in episodes of Chicago Fire in Chicago Med.
Zachary Stevenson: Yeah, that’s right. Yep. She’s a singer as well as actor and has had some good opportunities here in the acting scene as well. Yeah.
Peter McCully: When you get a chance, would you ask Oprah to return the books that Dave lent her from the Oprah Book Club.
Zachary Stevenson: Okay, I’ll, if I see her, I’ll definitely make a note to tell her.
Peter McCully: Zachary, you’ve been very generous with your time today. We look forward to seeing the show in Nanaimo.
Zachary Stevenson: Yeah, I look forward to it. Port Theatre, December 8th. Still got some tickets left, but it is selling pretty well, so don’t want to get around to long.
Dave Graham: Zachary Stevenson, again, the Holly Jolly Christmas Show coming to the Port Theatre, enter to win tickets through our website or Facebook page.
Peter McCully: And the Pulse Community has so much more to offer. Last week, our expanded podcast family included a football podcast with Aaron and Jonathan Frazier from the Courtenay-Comox area. They talked NFL, CFL and offered a bonus downloadable recipe from Chef Jonathan. Last week’s recipe was Cincinnati-style chilli. Oh,
Dave Graham: chilli. That’s one of my weaknesses. Love my chilli. Chilli and chocolate. Hmm. And chicken Cheetos. Chutney chips, cheese, chalupas. You know, food that starts with “chew” is a wonderful group, but I digress.
Peter McCully: New members of the Pulse Community include Parksville councillors, Joel Gerads, and Sean Wood. The non-partisan hacks took listeners behind the scenes of municipal advocacy work that directly impacts Vancouver Island taxpayers and Sean Woods’ announcement to run for mayor of Parksville in October of 2026.
Dave Graham: And cherries. Can’t forget cherries. Our Skookum Kids Story last week featured Captain Dave and the crew of the Mellow Submarine making a special delivery to the Tigh-Na-Mara toy drive. This week, Peter and Gracie, the Eskimo dog, make a special Christmas gift for Peter’s mum.
Peter McCully: Our kids’ stories now offer colouring pages to go along with each new episode. And our radio archaeology classic radio series this week features an original episode of Dragnet featuring Sergeant Joe Friday.
Dave Graham: You’ll find these podcasts and more at thePulseCommunity.ca. Oh, Christmas cake. Chowder. Cheddar. Chorizo. Chives. Jimmy Cherry. Yep. Point made. Dave, thanks, chunky Kit Kat Chuckles. Charleston Chew. Chocolate, cherry cheesecake.
Peter McCully: Okay, it’s, it’s time to wrap this up and hey, don’t forget about writing those letters to Santa. It’s a tradition that brings joy to children everywhere.
Dave Graham: And to adults who are children at heart? Champagne. Chablis and Chardonnay. I hadn’t even thought about beverages. Ooh, chai tea, chamomile. Oh man. I could be at this all day.
Rockin’ Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter, here comes Dave, oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missin’. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So to speak. Laughs and insights everywhere. What a treat. Peter and Dave. They’re on the mics alright. Join the ride. It’s gonna feel just right.
