Archive for October, 2010

Nicholson Road is part of a daily photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring one of the most engaging photos from the project in order to draw your attention a little bit outside of the hyper-focus that we usually have on the city of Vancouver. Metro Vancouver Is Awesome, and you should get out and explore it!

A glimpse of some fall colours off Telegraph Trail, near Walnut Grove, Langley Township.

Did you know there are actually two Langleys in Metro Vancouver? Similar to the two North Vans (City and District), there’s the City of Langley, with the Township of Langley surrounding it on the north, east, and south, and Surrey bordering to the west.

But why? Glad you asked! The answer is simple – Street lights. In 1955 or so, while ‘Langley Prairie’ was shifting from rural community into urban hub, the citizens wanted lit streets and other urban services, and the township wasn’t willing to budge… so they incorporated their own city! Pretty awesome, eh?

More from Nicholson Road can be found HERE.

Today is DROP EVERYTHING AND READ DAY in BC! What this means is that you should stop what you’re doing at 11AM and read something. Anything.

I only heard about D.E.A.R.D. at the 11th hour so I suppose it’s fitting that I’ll be reading David Suzuki’s The Legacy, published by Greystone Books. It’s an expanded version of his Legacy lecture that he gave last year, essentially summing up everything he has learned and wants to pass on before he leaves us. The lecture was written for the documentary film, Force Of Nature, that V.I.A. PRESENTED at this year’s VIFF and while it may seem doom and gloom it is important reading with an inspiring and positive message about the world we are living in and how we still need to change in order to sustain human life on it.

Here’s a letter from Margaret MacDiarmid, BC’s Minister of Education, explaining what this day is all about (this could count as your reading but a book or newspaper or magazine or anything else would be better):

Reading is a priceless gift we can give our children and ourselves. It not only helps ensure success throughout our lives, but opens up new worlds to us every day.

So, please drop everything and read on Oct. 25 as a show of support for literacy and libraries around the province.

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!).

You know how they say “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”? The weather today feels like Walking on Barclay Street with Eric Flexyourhead.

Dano

PS: this is my 50th day in a row of Flickr Picking.

There are two fireworks stories that you can expect to follow on V.I.A. every year without fail:

1. The highly organized and awe-inspiring Celebration Of Light fireworks competition! It lights up English Bay with multiple nights of choreographed fireworks put together by the world’s best fireworks experts and is one of the summer’s most memorable events. Here are some of our posts from this year: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

2. The much less organized home grown bonanza that rolls around at the end of October and lands in your backyard. Literally! Two years ago you weren’t allowed to buy fireworks in the City of Vancouver but with a permit you could buy em in Burnaby and truck em into the city. Last year they opened it up so that pretty much anybody could sell fireworks in the city (including certain restaurants, see HERE for proof) and this year that bylaw is holding strong. As of the time of this posting (12:01AM on Monday, October 25th) you’re now permitted to stock up on pyrotechnic devices for an October 31st display in your yard. Surely you don’t have to go far to find either a popup fireworks shop or a restaurant/corner store selling them. Here’s the official word from the city:

“If you intend to buy and use fireworks this Halloween season in Vancouver, you MUST have a permit and be 19 years of age or older. Fireworks may only be purchased from October 25 to 31 and be discharged on October 31. You must show ID and your permit each time you purchase fireworks and carry both when you use fireworks.”

Photo: Squeaky Marmot on Flickr

HERE is all of the info from the COV and HERE is where you can apply for a permit online, quickly and easily.

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!).

It’s Halloween season folks, the holiday of choice of most of my friends. No longer simply an occasion for youngsters to collect candy from strangers (despite the rules), Halloween has become a night for everyone to live out their weird fantasies and blame it on the moon. Keep your eyes out this week for the freaks and geeks as they go on a pumpkin stroll or take in a flick. Thanks knitgirl for the documentation.

Dano

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!).

Cherryrae captured an absolutely perfect moment and was nice enough to share it with our pool. Everyone knows that A little steam never hurt.

Dano

It’s a new dog twice a week! Click here to find out how to get your dog posted if you haven’t sent in your photos yet!

Today’s dog featured in Dogtown Vancouver is Georgio, Robert F‘s pup. Here’s what he had to say about him…

NAME: Georgio Armanio. BREED: Husky x German Shepard. HOOD: Mount Pleasant via Saskatchewan. FAVOURITE SNACK: Kleenex. OTHER INFO: GG embodies all that is good in the world.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>