Cammidge House is a very nice venue for a summer event. Situated in the Boundary Bay Regional Park, it is a picturesque heritage home with a large lawn on which to hold the wedding ceremony and reception thereafter. The venue lends itself very well for a fine weather event of any kind.
In the summer, the parking lot to the beach inside the park fills up quickly and they often post a park ranger to prevent cars from coming down to the beach and causing traffic congestion. It can be a bit confusing to see a park ranger preventing cars going down the road to the park, but if guests and vendors inform him that they are with an event at Cammidge House they will let you pass. If you’re not familiar with the area this can be a bit tricky to even see the road so it’s probably a good idea if you provide a map for your guests.
Driving down the provincial Park road to Cammidge House in the simmer, it is a bit congested with pedestrians walking to the beach. Although the rangers prevent cars from going down the road, many visitors park cars on the main road way and walked down to the beach. So, during those hot summer days guests and vendors must be careful that they don’t hit anyone. The road is narrow and you must sometimes drive into the oncoming traffic lane to get around the pedestrians.
Once at Cammidge House, you will find ample parking close to the venue for your guests and vendors to load equipment and supplies into the house.
There is a convenient ramp to roll everything up into the house or on the veranda. This is also convenient for your mobility challenged guests and the veranda is a nice area to sit in the shade and enjoy the breeze from the beach.
The house itself is rather small and would not fit many guests. They recommended for 40 guests downstairs and another 125 in a tent set up outside.
There is an upstairs area. There are rooms up there but I believe they are used as dressing rooms for the bride and groom if you were having a wedding event. There is no elevator to the upstairs… there is only a stair case. As with most heritage and character homes, there is no air conditioning. However, there seemed to be a nice breeze coming from the beach so that helps keep the heat down.
In the summer, with good weather, many functions are held outside. In my case, I was providing music services as a DJ. Where I was set up in the tent, it was a bit far away from where the wedding ceremony was held so the music could not be heard very well. For more complete music coverage I would recommend a small separate PA for the wedding ceremony. A battery-powered PA would be the most convenient. The house is nearby where they normally hold the wedding ceremony so power would be available if you didn’t have a battery powered PA system.
There is a power box for your entertainment close to where they put the DJ… which is usually in a tent. I brought an electric fan that helped to keep things cooler in the tent. There is a noise bylaw and speakers have to face North away from the direction of the house. The music volume has to be controlled, so you really don’t need a very large PA system.
All in all, Cammidge House is a pleasant venue to hold an event…especially in the summertime. It is a picturesque setting and the breeze from the beach to moderates heat at this enjoyable venue. As mentioned before, you can even sit on the porch of the house for more intimate conversations and to take advantage of that breeze. The lack of air conditioning may hamper the enjoyment and the noise bylaw might be a concern for you as well as the smallness of the house. For a small outdoor event with nice weather in the summertime, I give the venue a 4.8 out of 5 stars.