Parksville is a thriving community with an exceptional variety of living accommodation from beachfront condos to patio homes, adult living condominiums, and charming rural houses. The city’s garden-friendly climate and its generous community spirit earned it first place for cities of its size at the 2006 Communities in Bloom national award ceremonies. Qualicum Beach's downtown is alive with boutique shops, galleries, bookshops, antique stores, bakeries, cafés and large, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. Coombs and the surrounding villages of Hilliers and Errington have the largest concentration of antique stores, farmers' markets and artisans' studios in BC.