Archive for June, 2011

Can anybody tell me what’s going on in this front yard off of Kingsway near Knight? It appears to be some sort of dirt pile with rocks covering it topped by a clump of lavender. This is obviously a very rudimentary description but for the life of me and my limited landscaping knowledge I don’t really know what I’m looking at here. Is this something that exists elsewhere or did the landscaper freestyle this?

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 kind of funny – I’ve always tried to use recently-taken photos here in this space, in an effort to make these posts as timely and as fresh as possible. But on occasion, I cross paths with an image from the pool that can persuade me to deviate from this approach – if rules are indeed made to be broken, then from time to time I reserve the right to break a self-imposed rule myself. Today is that kind of day.

While perusing the pool last night, I couldn’t help but notice a photograph by Bruce McPherson that dates back to 1976 – June of 1976 to be more precise. This image sent me on a research mission that didn’t reveal as much about the event depicted in the photo – Habitat ’76 – as I otherwise would have liked. From the Habitat 76 website comes this description: “Habitat Forum was a non-governmental people’s forum held in Vancouver in 1976. It was an adjunct to the UN Habitat Conference on Human Settlements, also known as Habitat I. This was, at the time, the largest conference the UN had ever assembled. It was the first time the world community met to discuss the growing challenges of urbanization, the accelerating human migration from rural to urban areas, urban problems including clean water, sanitation, poverty and homelessness, as well as the nascent field of sustainable urban design.”

The Vancouver event was primarily held at the then-recently reclaimed RCAF Jericho float-plane base, inside re-purposed hangers that were demolished shortly after the conference. A google search also turns up this VIA post from 2009 that includes images from an Arthur Erickson pavilion set up outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery during the conference.

Here is 1976~06~06-003.

I should further mention that if you click through the photo to view it on Flickr, you will find it part of a larger set on photos from the time, 15 in all.

Extra-bonus trivia: the railings you see in the photo are original 1938 railings from the Lions Gate Bridge; likely replaced as part of a 1975 rehabilitation of the viaduct at the north end of the bridge. The railings remain there to this day.

Gary

Our own Christine McAvoy wants to bring an Awesome Photobooth to your next event and we’re helping her get the word out! See the note below about what the deal is and look HERE for samples from a New Year’s booth she did, HERE from a Fluevog event and HERE from our very own Expo 86 event. Christine is a ridiculously talented professional photographer and one of the friendliest folks you’ll ever meet.

Email Christine at cmcavoy@mcavoy.ca or give her a call at 604-345-0727 to discuss.

On July 1st Canada Place is holding their annual day-long free event celebrating our nation’s big day! We’re partnering with them and Miss 604 to bring you a Social Media Hub where local bloggers interested in covering the event can have access to Wifi, power outlets and free coffee. HERE is Rebecca’s preview of the day’s festivities and HERE is the info about the Social Media Hub.

One of the things we’re the most excited about for July 1 is to check out the Face Of Canada exhibit that they’re debuting down there. It’s an art exhibit by renowned Canadian artist, William Meire, and it features more than 100 original oil portraits of notable Canadians who have helped shape our nation. Below are a few samples of the paintings being shown.

Louis Riel

John Candy
…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

I started this project called A Stranger A Day to overcome my shyness and talk to people. The challenge: talk to a stranger a day for a year of my life and try to convince them to let me take a picture and share a story. Since most tattoos have a story behind them, this will be my conversation starter and a common thread that links them all. Every week I will be sharing the story of the week here on Vancouver Is Awesome. Join me in this Stranger a Day adventure and let me know what you think!

Stranger #264

Location: guess? Bon’s!

I came by for breakfast food at 5pm (because why wouldn’t you?) to the epic $3 all-day/day-after breakfast place. Sitting on a table nearby were a couple of guys, and one of them had lots of ink showing. While I waited for my food, I decided to go up to them and tell them about the project. And guess which tattoo he shared?

“Well, maybe I can tell you about this one since is very topical ‘cos we’re here. I really dislike the stories behind significant tattoos. You know, there is always the ‘it was for my dad’ or whatever, but it is always some lame… I don’t know, it always disappoints me. So the reason for this one is that I like Bon‘s.

My buddy and I each got one. We’ve been coming here for years and we always enjoy the cheap food, and also I’m a big fan of East Van, and this is an East Van ‘place’ so yeah, this is where we grew up, where we eat. It’s definitely of significance within us and our people as it is a very recognizable area. And everyone knows Bon’s, so they see this and they say ‘OH MY GOD IS BON’S!!!’, you know?

So yes, I have a lot of skin to fill so I can’t have a reason behind everything (every tattoo), and the ones that have a reason now make me think ‘why did I get that?!’ haha. I think the ones that look cool and/or are funny are the best ones. So that’s that.”

They were both super chill guys. I took the picture and soon enough my food was ready, so I thanked them, shared the blog and went to eat bacon. :)

Thanks strangers!

To check out the daily strangers, click here: astrangeraday.com

Nicholson Road is part of an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring one of the latest, 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!

Believe it or not, when some of my friends from Langley City say they’re going downtown, they really mean downtown Langley. I think that’s sort of neat, cause downtown Langley is another one of those awesome, small-town areas in the Metro. Fraser Highway becomes a one-way road, with restaurants and mom n pop stores lining the route. Then you come across a couple alleyways, one of them being McBurney Lane which has become the focal point of a revitalized downtown district.

As far as I’ve been able to gather, the site used to be the home of the Oddfellows Hall, which burned down a couple decades ago. While planning to construct a road through the newly vacated lot to connect Fraser Highway with Park Avenue, the area became a small haven from the surrounding streets and parking lots, and around 1996 evolved into the public plaza it is today. Outside of being a great spot to relax and grab a cup of coffee, it’s also been used for countless small-scale public events, and even the set of a few film scenes here and there. The name McBurney is a dedication to Dr. Albert McBurney, “for his care and attention to the citizens of Langley.”

In no time, the plaza may soon extend another block, creating a great public link between the downtown district and Douglas Park. Pedestrians for the win!

More from Nicholson Road can be found HERE.

That is all.

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver.  With 26,075+ artists, boasting 119,682+ tracks, the CBC Radio 3 web site is the absolute ultimate authority, and the home, of independent music in Canada. With that massive library along with tools for members (free to join!), we’re taking advantage of what they’ve set up by bringing you a fresh batch of music every week featuring local groups who have tracks (entire albums, even!) on the R3 site.

Happy (early) Canada Day! This year VIAindie will be celebrating, outside of Vancouver, in Surrey with the Peak Performance Project Top 20! There will be two stages running side by side in the Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre showcasing each of the artists…check out the schedule below:

Celebrating Canada Day and the Top 20, I’ve put together a playlist with a song by each of the artists. Take a listen by clicking below and come down and celebrate in Surrey!