Archive for October, 2011

Bike to Work Week runs October 31- November 6th. The event motivates and supports thousands of people to commute by bicycle, rain or shine. This season we start on Halloween day, with treats like hot coffee and free bike maintenance ready for you along bike routes, thanks to the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition.

Register online to use the interactive commute tracker, be entered to win fabulous waterproof prizes, and help us show decision-makers that cycling for transportation is popular and growing. Let’s keep the momentum of improved cycling conditions rolling – log your bike trips and consider becoming a Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition member to keep making cycling safer, more comfortable, and more fun!

Starting October 31st, we’ll be posting profiles of folks biking to work that have stopped by the celebration stations that pop up around the city.

Morgan

This is Morgan’s first year of bike commuting during the winter!  He works for PosAbilities and visits clients all over Vancouver. He starts in East Van and ends up as far as Oak and 41st. He was at the Union and Hawks celebration station this morning enjoying delicious homemade scones and coffee from Union Market.

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

Well, today is the big day. The day when more candy changes hands than any other on the calendar, the day when lighters and matches are in more demand than they have been since the 1970′s, and the day that cats and dogs fear as much as little kids cannot sit still in anticipation of.

The unofficial Halloween, the Halloween for grown-up kids, took place over the past weekend, and that was the source of today’s photograph. Jorge Ligason was right down in the thick of it all Saturday night, checking out the scene on Granville Street. Jorge reports with a photo of some amazing face-painting that he observed, in an image he has titled From an Artist’s Eye – “The Tattooed Zombie”.

Take care and be safe tonight everybody. And if you drive, please keep an eye out for the little ones – their exuberance towards candy can often cause them to forget everything they have ever been told about safety!

Gary

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. With 27,177+ artists, boasting 126,231+ 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.

Because we just can’t get enough of her, we asked Ms Ali Milner to take some time out of her insanely busy life and make us a playlist. Click below to hear some of Ali’s favourite Vancouverites! And don’t forget to VOTE for her again this week on Cover Me Canada (and watch this week’s video again after the jump)… <3

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It’s amazing what appears right under your nose when you don’t follow skateboarding closely. I spent more than a decade working as a creative director in the skateboard industry until this Vancouver Is Awesome project stole me away, and it was a pleasant (pun intended) surprise when I drove past where the old community centre was around Main and 16th in Mt Pleasant this weekend and realized that the new skatepark was almost finished! I soon called upon V.I.A. friend, park board commissioner Sarah Blyth, and asked her what the deal was, but not before snapping this photo below of a couple kids skating it prior to the official opening.

Identities blurred to protect the innocent!

Sarah told me that “As with all of our skateparks there is a lot of excitement and anticipation for young folks regarding the opening of the Mt Pleasant Skatepark. It’s amazing to see youth successful in political process and that young people get what they need in our parks.”.

She also told me that they’ve got some work to do yet around it before they can open it, including clean up, landscaping, and grading. And though it may have been a surprise to me (I noticed it on the plan for the park – which is very close to my home – months ago but didn’t know the timeline) the Vancouver Skatepark Coalition has been working with the Vancouver Park Board for a while now to ensure the skatepark is a success, just like all of the other 7 neighbourhood skateparks in Vancouver.

The skatepark (technically they’re calling it a “skatespot”) is a small part of the overall design of the new park and they’re hoping to open the South portion of it which also includes a playground and some garden pathways over the next few weeks. It’s not officially open yet but take a look at the above photo and prepare yourself for the awesomeness that’s opening soon in a neighbourhood that is home to a great deal of Vancouver’s skateboarder population!

Nicholson Road is an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring an image from the previous week, shot in one of the many ‘hoods around town 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!

I know what you’re thinking.. Robert, this isn’t ‘Surrey is Awesome’ it’s ‘Metro Vancouver is Awesome’. Problem is there’s too much good stuff in Surrey to cover!

Remember, Surrey is the size of the University Endowment Lands, Vancouver, Burnaby, and New West combined. Or Richmond combined with Delta. It’s geographically the second largest municipality in the country, and by 2041 its population will begin to surpass Vancouver(!) at around 740,000 (Surrey’s population grows the size of White Rock every year). So how could I not write about Surrey?

Now that we’re on the same page, did you know Green Timbers Urban Forest Park, in eastern Whalley, was the first reforestation project in BC? As much of Metro Vancouver was being logged through the 19th and into the 20th century, Green Timbers was one of the last first growth forests to go. I’m told it made a bit of a name for itself as being the only virgin forest to be found highway-side between San Diego and Vancouver. And San Diego is a little ways off… (Remember Yale Road/the Pacific Highway from last week? Yep. That highway.)

Since the 1860′s there were requests to designate the area as a park. It wasn’t until the last trees were felled in 1930 that the provincial government set aside 35 acres and the BC Forest Service came in to begin replanting what would become Green Timbers Urban Forest. Various projects took bits and pieces from the area over the years, including Douglas College and the City of Surrey. Most recently, the Surrey Outpatient Centre is located on the edge of the park, and the RCMP E-Division Headquarters, consolidating all of the minor RCMP headquarters located throughout Metro Vancouver when it opens in late 2012.

There was a bit of a stir when, in 1987, 42 acres were cleared to create a sports complex. This is one of those situations that works out way better in the end, because residents were outraged, the Green Timbers Heritage Society was formed, and the group lobbied on behalf of the park for 8 years. In the end, the clearing was transformed into the lake you see above, and a surrounding meadow. It has become a hidden treasure for the city, and if you’re into fishing, the lake is stocked with Rainbow Trout during the spring and fall – usually around 250g, but if you’re lucky you might snag one of the 8lb broodstock!

Today, the Green Timbers forest covers about 560 acres, including the Ministry of Forests nursery and arboretum.

<3 Surrey.

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

Welcome to the latest series of Super, Neighbours blog posts where we highlight incredible travel destinations in British Columbia! We recently visited Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, twenty minutes out of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast and a lifetime away from any experience I’ve had at a resort to date. The main attraction I’ve introduced you to is the TENTHOUSE SUITE that we stayed in, perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. The FOOD wasn’t too shabby either and the TRIP THERE is also well worth a look. Now I don’t need to assume that the experience at Rockwater is a lot different in the summer months than it is in the fall and the winter. Those heated floors I told you about, and the gas fireplace, those don’t get as much use in the summer, if any use at all. But right now they’re part of the the difference between a miserably cold disappointment and a cozy and romantic stay in a luxury suite. Cold as it may have been outside though, we decided we’d try and get out for a kayak adventure.

Halfmoon Sea Kayaks have a boathouse/kayak launch right on the property at Rockwater, so you don’t have to go far to step into a paddling tour that’ll take you to three boat-access-only marine parks. This is the view from on top of the boathouse – the tenthouses are to the left and the lodge and restaurant are to the right.

Well stocked and well friendly, Cam Reid and his wife Shannon run this small business where they take people out for day trips and they also go on multi-day excursions that …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

It’s a new dog once 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 Ninja, Kristy M’s pup. Here’s what she had to say about him…

NAME: Ninja. BREED: Catahoula X. HOOD: East Vancouver!!! FAVOURITE SNACK: Anything humans are eating except fruit! eww… OTHER INFO: My name used to be Buck… ah no! So I changed it when I moved to the big city! I was a rescue and now have an awesome life running around town doing what I want. Ninjas don’t wear leashes, that’s just embarrassing! As long as I have my ball, frizbee or a good stick I am one happy Ninja! I can leap over lakes and open doors with my awesome mind control and take my self for walks! I love the Swiss bakery and the Legacy Liquor store, I make them give me treats! mmm… My birthday is on HALLOWEEN! OH YEAH! Best day of the year for Ninja’s to run wild with their nunchucks and the ninja stars are sharpened!! My mum takes me everywhere and Everyone loves me and that’s how AWESWOME I am! If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our Happy Tails feature. If you adopted your pet from the SPCA and would like to share your awesome story on Happy Tails, send an email to Rory.Blanchard@novusnow.ca.

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She did it again! Ali Milner moved on and is now in the TOP THREE on Cover Me Canada!

Now it’s our turn once more to give her VOTES, Facebook likes, YouTube views, Tweets, and support from our awesome community…

This week our talented songstress sang WITH the artist herself, Canadian legend Alannah Myles!:

You can also watch the whole episode by clicking here…gotta love the standing ovation by all FOUR of the judges (including guest judge, and Canada’s boyfriend, George Stroumboulopoulos).