Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,200 located in southwestern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 on the Strait of Georgia

Strait of Georgia

The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...

. It is the main marine gateway to the Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

The Sunshine Coast is a region of the southern mainland coast of British Columbia, on the eastern shore of the Strait of Georgia, and just northwest of Greater Vancouver...

.

Although Gibsons is on the British Columbia mainland, it is not accessible by road. Vehicle access is by BC Ferries

BC Ferries

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...

 from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, a 40 minute crossing. The town is also accessible by water, by float plane to the harbour, or by small aircraft to Sechelt Airport, approx. 20 km northwest of Gibsons. Gibsons is best known in Canada as the setting of the popular and long running CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 series The Beachcombers

The Beachcombers

The Beachcombers is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that ran from October 1, 1972 to December 12, 1990 and is the longest-running dramatic series ever made for English-language Canadian television...

, which aired from 1972 to 1990. The storefront "Mollys Reach", now a cafe, the restored tug Persephone

Persephone (tugboat)

Persephone is a steel logging tug used in the filming of the CBC Television series The Beachcombers. Built as a small tug named John Henry, it is today preserved as a museum ship in the town of Gibsons, British Columbia....

 and a display about the series at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives are popular Gibsons attractions. Other movies that have used Gibsons as a filming location include Charlie St. Cloud (2010), starring Kim Basinger

Kim Basinger

Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...

 and Zac Efron

Zac Efron

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...

 (as a stand-in for Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...

), and Needful Things

Needful Things (film)

Needful Things is the 1993 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name directed by Fraser C. Heston, the son of actor Charlton Heston...

(1993), starring Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...

 and Ed Harris

Ed Harris

Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...

.

In February 2005, Gibsons won the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting contest, coming first in the world.

In October 2009, the town was declared the "Most Liveable Community in the World" (under 20,000 population) at the international Livcom Awards. Endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme, the LivCom competition focuses on Best Practices for management of the local environment.

In 2009 Gibsons also won an Energy & Climate Action Award for Community Planning and Development, awarded by the Community Energy Association. http://www.communityenergy.bc.ca/ A major factor in this award was a new housing development, which will be heated by the first publicly owned geo-exchange system in Canada.

The Sunshine Coast has seen a three-decades transition from a forestry and fishing based economy, to a more diverse economy with construction trades, business services, retail and tourism becoming prominent.

Gibsons is a popular retirement destination, and also has attracted many artists and musicians, as well as professionals who commute by ferry into nearby Vancouver, or are able to work from home. Between 2001 and 2006, the population of Gibsons grew by 7.1 % (faster than the overall British Columbia growth rate of 5.3%). The median age in Gibsons in 2006 was 50.2 years; significantly higher than the Provincial median of 40.8 years.

History

The town was established in 1886 by George Gibson and his sons. It was incorporated in 1929 as "Gibson's Landing", and in 1947 the name was changed to "Gibsons" at the request of the residents. The town is now split between the seaside area known as "Lower Gibsons", which is mostly residential but also includes Molly's Reach, which achieved fame in The Beachcombers, as well as shops and restaurants catering mostly to vacationers, and "Upper Gibsons", which is clustered along Highway 101, and which contains the commercial areas of town including Sunnycrest Mall, the town's two major supermarkets, and a variety of fast food restaurants. Gibsons is also the first town in British Columbia to have a styrofoam recycling facility (Gibsons Recycling Depot). This recycling depot has toured to many places advertising styrofoam recycling and has even been invited to Brazil.

Notable people

Notable people from Gibsons include environmentalist Paul George, evangelist Todd Bentley

Todd Bentley

Todd Bentley is a Canadian Christian evangelist. He was the key figure of the Lakeland Revival. After a brief period of retirement connected with the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent re-marriage, he has returned to ministry....

, and major league baseball player Ryan Dempster

Ryan Dempster

Ryan Scott Dempster is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Dempster bats and throws right-handed. He has been both a starter and a reliever in his career.-Professional career:...

.

Awards

Gibsons has won a number of awards:

• the "World's Most Livable Community" with a population of less than 20,000 by the United Nations-endorsed International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom).

• Gibsons was also recognized with a first place award, among all finalist cities, for outstanding achievement related to the "Planning for the Future" category.

• "Energy & Climate Action Award in the Community Planning and Development" (2009) by the Community Energy Association for development of the Upper Gibsons Neighbourhood Plan.

• "Communities in Bloom awards" (2008 Provincial Champions overall winner; 2007 Provincial Champions award for "Environmental Awareness"; 2006 Provincial Champions for "best floral displays").

• "Best in the world municipal water" (2005) award at the Berkeley Springs Winter Festival of the Waters.

• OCP award, SmartGrowth BC, 2007

• National Research Council award for environmentally-sensitive development (2006)

External links

• Town of Gibsons