Archive for November, 2011

Of course there’s prizes for our latest fundraiser to sponsor a park bench! You didn’t think we’d run a fundraiser without a raffle now, didja?

We’re trying to raise $1,500 to sponsor a park bench and are selling raffle tickets for $25 each. Making only 60 tickets available, your chances of winning are 1 in 15.

WE WILL BE MAKING THE DRAW ON DECEMBER 10, 2011

About the fundraiser:
BC Parks recently launched their 100 for 100 Park Bench Challenge, opening up the opportunity for 100 community groups, businesses, individuals and families to come together and sponsor new benches in provincial parks. We’re hoping to sponsor bench #46 in Golden Ears Provincial Park and so far we’ve raised $485 towards our $1500 goal.

Help make it happen! For every $25 you donate you’ll be entered to win one of the four prizes pictured above. Only 60 tickets are available, giving you a 1 in 15 chance of winning.

[Note: those who contribute $25 or more will also get a charitable tax receipt from BC Parks]

ItsDifferentNow.org is a site dedicated to starting a dialogue around what’s different now with HIV, how all areas of this disease have changed over the years from diagnosis to treatment and the importance of routine testing. We’ve partnered with them to get the word out and give you multiple chances at winning the prize package they’re giving away for a big night out in your city!

Should you win it, your seriously sexy prize includes a night at the brand new Hotel Georgia, $500 in locally sourced treats from Saul Good Gift Co. & a lavish couples massage & Vichy scrub from Beverly’s Spa on 4th.

We’ve given you two chances to enter (1 and 2) and you can get a third simply by liking It’s Different Now on Facebook (RIGHT HERE).

Also, did you know that December 1st is World AIDS Day? There’s no better time to get an HIV test than this week. Find a clinic that’s right for you at ItsDifferentNow.org

Vancouver is an amazing city, chock full of creative talent. WE ARE VANCVR is a simple, elegant way to showcase all that talent in one place. Every Tuesday we profile one individual from the VANCVR community.VANCVR.com is a Domain7 Labs project.

Graphic designers have a reputation for liking things neat and tidy, but Vancouver-based creative Sarah Reid has no scruples getting her hands a bit mucky. After nearly eight years as a designer for the Canadian Red Cross, where her designs were mostly conceived on screen, she has branched out on her own—freeing up time for making a mess in her studio. There she translates her love for music and style through screenprinting, upholstery and lovely hand-lettering. We fell for her clean illustrations and crisp typography. Check out her work, and find out why she likes being a creative in Vancouver, after the jump.

 [June is Bike Month campaign]

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SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. We interview some of our favourite local artists, post weekly guest playlists comprised of Vancouver artists and ‘Last Week in Music’ highlights some of the concerts happening around the city…

Greetings from Gibsons! I’m sitting with the wonderful band Fields Of Green while they record with Garth Richardson and I take a few photos, some of which I just might show you next week! This weekend was pretty much VIAindie and The Blustery Day…great music, cold weather. I checked out Ciseaux, Stellar Radio Choir and Maurice at the Biltmore on Friday and then a TON of bands playing the Grey Cup Street Party! Hope you caught some of the music this week, there was a LOT of it.

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: is low key but TOTALLY awesome…starting with TOMORROW! The 2nd annual Movember Mo Off at the Biltmore, you know the deal…moustaches, music, mayhem…well…moderate mayhem. And THEN on the 2nd of December, the CBC Open House is happening all day…and will include music from Hannah Georgas, 5440, Jill Barber, Randy Bachman, Ali Milner and more. CHECK IT OUT HERE. Have a great end of Movember!

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Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families.Every week I post a roundup of upcoming family-friendly events and activities.I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

This past weekend, the folks at Alouette Tree Farm invited us to come visit for their holiday season kick-off Pancake Breakfast with Santa.   Sadie, her dad and I joined Bob, Katie, VIA’s youngest blogger Arlo along with little Cadence and her parents Mike and Leanna for a morning filled with pancake eating, ornament making, santa fearing and tree cutting!

We toured the farm on the train. Multiple trips were made.

Starting December 1st, Alouette Tree Farm will pack every weekend with festive fun including train rides, gingerbread house contests, crafts, photos with Santa and more.

Upon on our arrival, the first order of business was going on a train ride followed by some Christmas crafts and running away from Santa.

Cadence is not too sure what to make of Santa.

Sadie is making a list for Santa but refused to give it to him.  No breaks for Santa.

With our bellies full of pancakes and hands covered in marker, we braved the rain to cut down our trees.  Alouette provided us city dwellers with a saw and some twine (and pre cut trees if you are so inclined).  All we had to do was find our perfect trees.

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I recently read a theory that going for 50 coffees with people you’ve never met is the entrepreneurs equivalent to the theory that doing anything for 10,000 hours will make you an expert on it. While I get the idea, 50 coffees is far easier than practicing something for ten years, and while I’m far from lazy I’ve decided to set out on a fairly simple mission: over the next 50 weeks I’m going to invite 50 interesting Vancouverites, most of whom I have never met before, to go for coffee. I’m going to use this as an exercise in networking for myself and for V.I.A. while also using it as a platform to introduce you to some people who are doing really cool stuff in the city you live in. COFFEE #10 Name: Philip Ireland Occupation: General Manager Beverage: Americano

Meet Philip Ireland. General Manager of the exclusive Vancouver Club and an absolute gentleman to the finish. I asked him if he’d have coffee with me after I watched a fantastic video about the Club’s rebranding and was keen to get a peek inside. The Club touts itself as “A place to dine, play, relax and connect with other professionals who are shaping the very fabric and creative energy of the West Coast” and I had hoped to see what it was all about.

Philip didn’t disappoint in quenching my thirst for knowledge about this mysterious institution that I might not ever have entered if not for my Vancouver Is Awesome credentials. After kindly introducing me to the key players who make the place tick, he took me on a grand tour from room to room, sharing the history of the Club as well as the current day goings on and the goals for the future. From the grand ballroom to the wine cellar to the business centre, from the members private liquor lockers to the private gym to the members-only JD’s Barbershop (that I bet you didn’t know was there), around every corner he had a new story to share with me. A full two hours had passed before we finally sat down for coffee and talked about Philip, the intended subject of this 50 coffees, and what I learned is that he’s been the GM here for 10 years, that he loves his job, and that he’s damned good at it. “Everything must be first class” he explains, “In everything that we do.”. He also explained the philosophy behind treating everyone who walks into the club as if they were a member and then he practiced it by ending my visit by presenting me with a couple of gifts: a Vancouver Club tie and a book that tells their story starting back in 1889.

First class. All the way.

As a creative director, I love hearing the stories of brands and branding and this video below is the one I mentioned that intrigued me to contact Philip in the first place. Watch the entire 4 minutes to get a taste of how they’ve recently freshened up the VC and know that candidates for membership require a proposer, a seconder and three references, all of which are club members in good standing. You can learn all about how to apply HERE if you’re interested.

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

A little over 24 hours ago at BC Place, the BC Lions defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-23 in the 99th Grey Cup to cap off a wild and unpredictable season. Unpredictable due to the team starting the season with five straight losses, before winning 12 of their final 13 games to qualify for the playoffs – ultimately becoming the first team in the history of the Canadian Football League to win the Grey Cup after starting with an 0-5 record. The championship was the sixth for the Lions franchise since joining the league in 1954 as an expansion team, and they became the first team to win the Cup at home since – well, since the 1994 Lions. Despite the all-encompassing media attention devoted to the Vancouver Canucks in this city, the Lions were here first and have in their history been a little more productive than their NHL counterparts.

There is something about hosting the Grey Cup that creates a wonderful festive atmosphere – almost like a mini-version of the atmosphere Vancouver enjoyed during the Winter Olympics. Having the location announced almost a year in advance combined with a full week off prior to the game, there is plenty of time for people to plan a trip to join in the fun – and CFL fans certainly do that in spades, many traveling to the host city regardless of the participants. Otherwise average and ordinary people go all-out dressing in their team colours, in many cases to the extreme, reminding us that the word ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic’.

Ann Hung shares with us today a sweet photograph of some tasty-looking cupcakes dressed in the two team’s colours, which serves to celebrate the game and the eventual outcome. In a great display of economy of words, Ann’s title tells you in 9 words what this post needed 333 to accomplish – here is BC Lions win the 99th Grey Cup in Vancouver.

Gary

Welcome to the latest series of Super, Neighbours blog posts where we highlight incredible travel destinations in British Columbia! In this current 6-part series I’ll be taking you on a family trip with BC Ferries and one of their package deals they’ve got going this year. They’ve worked super hard with hotels and resorts from Galiano Island to Sooke to Port Hardy and Tofino and back again, all to bring you a bunch of discounted packages that include ferry fees and accommodations all bundled into one price. They’ve got more than 40 packages to check out right HERE, starting at $99 and going up to $981. We settled on Poet’s Cove on Pender Island and were we not hosted by BC Ferries and the resort we still would have paid as little as $229 per person which includes the ferry ride over as well as 2 nights in their lodge.

Over the past few months I’ve taken you on a bunch of trips on different ferries to Hollyhock on Cortes Island, Rockwater Secret Cove Resort on the Sunshine Coast and finally to Victoria. Each one of these ferry trips has it’s own special charm, depending on the size of the vessel you get on and the size of the island community you’re ultimately landing on. One thing is for certain though, as soon as you reach your destination everybody wears the same type of watch and is on Island Time.

Ferries eye view of another ferry

To get to Pender Island you start out by catching the ferry at the Tsawassen terminal which makes it’s way East, ducking through tiny Gulf Islands where ferries don’t even stop. It’s easy to get caught up daydreaming about what it would be like to live in one of the log homes that are perched on top of rocks amongst wind-blown coniferous trees along the way.

This one is a bustling route where you pass by a range of …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>