'There's so much room to grow here.' B.C.'s small coastal town Gibsons has a bright new future
A profile of the home of ‘The Beachcombers’ kicks off a new season of Still Standing
For generations, Gibsons, B.C., was a working town — but the work started leaving.
As forestry, fishing and logging industries faded over the years, a big boost from an unlikely source bridged the town's past to its future: the long-running and ahead-of-its-time TV series, The Beachcombers.
The show was shot in Gibsons on the coast of British Columbia for 19 seasons, from 1972 until 1990, making it one of Canada's longest-running series. Beloved for its working-class characters making a living on the water, The Beachcombers also featured Indigenous issues and representation in a way that was rare at the time.
Filming in town brought a much-needed buzz of economic activity and, when the show ended, local entrepreneurs made the most of the series' fame.
Now, another show is coming to town. Comedian Jonny Harris and Still Standing are visiting to explore how longtime locals and newcomers alike are creating the sequel to the fascinating story of Gibsons.
Younger generations joining a historic town
The town's history stretches far back to the Squamish First Nations people, who enjoyed a summer village here for many generations before settlers arrived. Captain George Vancouver sailed through the region in the late 1700s, coming ashore a few kilometres to the west. And roughly a century after that, George Gibson, a settler from England who landed his boat landed here by accident, began the first phase of the seaside town known today.
This history remains alive even now, as Harris meets a real-life, third-generation beachcomber, salvaging lost logs off the shore, and a "shrimp lady" who started fishing at the age of four — both descendants of the forest and fishing industries.
Stephanie Heins is part of Gibsons' newest chapter. Originally from Ottawa but living in Vancouver, Heins had visited British Columbia's Sunshine Coast many times over the years, as her partner had a family cabin in the area.
Roughly a decade ago, Heins remembers "every third house was for sale" in Gibsons — an influx of young buyers, chasing affordability outside Vancouver, started to take root. Joining a strong retirement community and long-term locals, she says the younger generation is helping reimagine the town's future.
"People have figured out this place is paradise," Heins says.
'So much room to grow'
With her partner, Heins moved to Gibsons in 2017 and now owns Molly's Reach, a local eatery beloved for its own history — formerly a prime filming spot for The Beachcombers.
"I don't think we realized just how much pressure there was to preserve The Beachcombers [at Molly's Reach] … it was overwhelming and very humbling," Heins says. "We had this responsibility to carry that torch. So yeah, I found that [the show] definitely put Gibsons on the map, single-handedly."
Gibsons is the kind of town where many shops, cafes and restaurants are adorned with old photographs on the wall. Older generations here remember The Beachcombers shoots, standing in as extras in a scene, the film crew lounging around town — and they love to chat about it, Heins says. This oral history "keeps things very alive," she says.
But she's also enthusiastic for newcomers who land in Gibsons with a dream. Tourists are drawn to the town's seaside beauty, Heins says, but also its charming gathering places and high-quality boutiques.
As Harris finds out in Still Standing, Persephone Brewing Company — an 11-acre brewery and farm founded in 2012 — can see up to 1,000 visitors in a single day during their peak season. The brewery's name is another homage: Persephone was the log-salvage boat on The Beachcombers.
"Small- to medium-sized businesses really, really helped this little town flourish," Heins says. "And that is what I get excited about. You have people coming here — they have a job in Vancouver, they're trying to reinvent themselves — and all of a sudden, boom, their side passion becomes their main gig. All of a sudden, they've launched into this beautiful entrepreneurial project that they never thought was possible. And there's so much room to grow here, and on the Sunshine Coast, for small business."
New chapters are in the works
The Beachcombers was so "iconic" that a sequel is in the works: an animated series was envisioned by producer Blair Peters while he sat in Molly's Reach, looking at old photos on the walls.
The new idea brings the Beachcombers story up to present-day — just as the town of Gibsons celebrates its storied past while pushing toward its bright future.
"Our generation is the last generation to really know who The Beachcombers are," Heins says. "[The animated series] will reignite that excitement about something … that was so famous, was so well-known, so significant."
Plans for the new series were formally announced this past October, during the 50th-anniversary celebration for the original show. And that announcement was made — where else? — at Molly's Reach.
