On Tuesday Teechuktl Mental Health hosted its first picnic in the park since 2019, returning to an annual tradition aimed at feeding the Port Alberni community.
Restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic prevented a picnic last year. While the provincial health officer’s measures have been eased this spring, limits on outdoor gathering led to team that provides the Quu’asa program to set up a pick-up location rather than its usual large-scale gathering. Paper bags were prepared by staff at tables in Dry Creek Park, where over lunches were picked up by passersby.
The annual picnic follows direction given years ago by the late Ray Seitcher, a Tla-o-qui-aht Ha’wilth and former cultural worker with Teechuktl’s Quu’asa program, who stressed the need to “feed the people” in the community.
