Skip to content

Garden of Hope

Communities in Bloom is joining with the Canadian Cancer Society for a fundraiser that will result in a Garden of Hope for Castlegar.

Castlegar Communities in Bloom (CIB) is joining with the Canadian Cancer Society to create a Garden of Hope for Castlegar. The new garden will feature 1000 daffodils and be planted at the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce. The daffodil is a symbol of hope for many people with cancer and represents a promise to continue the search for a cure.

Allison McCarthy, Revenue Development Coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society explained, “A Garden of Hope is the perfect way to honour, pay tribute or host in memory of someone dear to them who is on a cancer journey or has succumbed to this horrible disease. It is a way to help fight back against cancer.”

Bulbs will be sold in the form of a sponsorship for the new garden with all the proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society. After purchasing the bulbs, the purchaser is then invited to plant the bulbs in the Garden of Hope. CIB members and the Kootenay Robusters Dragon Boat team will be selling the bulbs at the Heritage Credit Union on Friday, October 23 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The bulbs will cost $1 each and any gift of more than $25 is eligible for a tax receipt from the Canadian Cancer Society.

Our committee came up with the idea of this colorful fundraiser in support of the Canadian Cancer Society where 100 percent of the proceeds received from the sale of over 1,000 daffodil bulbs will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society,” said CIB chairperson Darlene Kalawsky. “Every daffodil represents hope. Every donation helps the Society in the fight for life.”

The planting ceremony will be held Thursday, October 29 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce grounds. Participants are being asked to come dressed for the weather conditions and bring gardening gloves, kneeling pads and rakes. If you cannot attend the public planting, you can leave your purchased bulbs with the Castlegar CIB and they along with Dragon Boat members will plant the bulbs in the Garden of Hope.

If you would like to help with this project or need more information, you can contact Darlene Kalawsky at 250-365-2155 or darlene@kalawsky.com

As a result of the public planting, the Garden of Hope is expected to come alive with magnificent, yellow daffodils next spring.



Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
Read more