In addition, tens of thousands from across British Columbia and beyond are in town for the Sunfest Country Music Festival, which returns after two years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to draw around 40,000. “Oh it’s amazing, we’ve had beautiful weather, living life,” said tourist Jamie Howden. On Friday, countless tubers floated down the Cowichan River in an attempt to stay cool amid a sweltering heat wave. “We got discovered during COVID-19 a lot of people started turning left on Highway 18 and people discovered us. So now that businesses are here to support tourism, it’s really important to bring those people here,” said Aaron Frisby, Owner of The Tube Shack. By afternoon, the normally quiet streets in the forest community were bustling with visitors – filling businesses eager to see visitors. “Festivals definitely make a huge difference. It’s also the tubers, it’s like a combination of everything,” said David Sharrow, owner and chef of The Cow Restaurant. According to Lake Cowichan businesses, the move is much needed after a late start to summer. “I think we’re almost a month late, so talking to other shop owners, the piping traffic is definitely starting to pick up, but it’s only as soon as the weather warms up,” said Arlene Vandenhoven, Owner of Swordfern Boutique. “We were down about 75 percent at the beginning of the summer just because we had rain and bad weather. So everybody’s interested in getting out now and the heat, Sunfest and the long weekend are built up,” Frisby said. With the warm weather here now, the flood of new faces is expected to continue in the growing tourist town through the summer. As more people come for music festivals, then they come back for everything else they’ve discovered. Tubers ready to hit the water in Lake Cowichan. (Czech News) [email protected]

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