Archive for December, 2011

Welcome to the latest series of Super, Neighbours blog posts where we highlight incredible travel destinations in British Columbia! For this adventure we’re taking you to Bodega Ridge on Galiano Island. If you’re just coming in have a look at PART 1 about getting there along with some information about the population of this sweet little island that’s only about an hour ferry ride from Tsawassen. Once you’ve driven off the ferry you’ll go about 20 minutes along that two lane main artery and eventually you’ll take a turn and find yourself on the 22 acre parcel of land that Bodega Ridge resort calls home. On this piece of land is a great deal of nature to enjoy (we’ll get to that later), as well as seven self-contained, three-bedroom cabins and a main lodge. The rental price on the cabins is $200 a night in the peak season or $150 in the off season (THIS season!) and they were kind enough to host us for a couple of nights so that we could deliver this feature to you.

This is the exterior of the cabin we stayed in. Cabin #6. I’m not sure if they all have the same floorplan but they’re all the same number of rooms and they all share the same look. I think we lucked out with the rope swing on the left though, and this one is a little more private than the rest, perched atop a small ridge with it’s own little private driveway.

Here’s one of the three beds. This room is on the main floor and boasts that sweet log cabin framing.

Here’s a look at one of the other two bedrooms, both of which are upstairs and one of which has a private balcony overlooking the ocean. You could sleep a lot of people in one of these cabins, in fact …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

LOCATION: Burnaby, BC I chose this image for many a reason: 1. It made me look twice and hard. 2. It was taken in my home-burb, where I was last night, looking at old photos and wishing they still came with rounded edges. 3. It’s title has to do with current events. 4. The Skytrain (or Spytrain, as me and mine lovingly call it) is awesome! 5. It is a truly beautiful image which incorporates amazing colours and leaves us with a lovely warm feeling about the end of another year. Glorious indeed. Thanks again Nicole. Happy New Year everyone!

There was a lot of amazing photography in the pool this week folks, please keep posting and spreading the word about the Unplugged Flickr Pickr.

It’s that point in your consciousness where you can feel at one with nature, escaping the trappings of the day-to-day to an almost dream-like place where nothing else seems to exist besides you and your natural surroundings. It is our opinion here at VIA that Vancouver holds a unique place in the civilized world in that reaching this state often requires no more effort than simply pulling off to the side of the road, pocketing your keys and taking a few steps into the forest

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

Long exposure photography night is cool. I love doing it, although I must admit, it takes a fair bit of dedication to go out at night, stand around in the cold beside a tripod looking like a tool while people stare at you, wondering what the “H E Double Hockey Sticks” you’re doing. By when you get it just right, the end results are well worth it. Take this Untitled photo by mchenphotos.com submitted to the Daily Flickr Pickr pool for example. And what a fine example it is. Taken down at the Olympic Village site in South East False Creek looking towards The Telus World Of Science, it’s a fantastic photo with awesome styling, colors, and composition. The same photo could have been taken with a much faster shutter speed, but it wouldn’t have ended up the same. The movement of the water and clouds wouldn’t have been captured, giving the photo a much much different look. I think it’s turned out awesome with the long exposure length. Nice work mchenphotos.com. Nice work indeed.

Enjoy Untitled by mchenphotos.com

John

The Canadian Design Resource launched a feature today on what they saw as the top 10 Canadian designs of the past year. Tenth on this list was Ken Lum’s penny from the PENNY SMASH project that Vancouver Is Awesome co-produced earlier this year! What an honour. Have a look HERE to see what the other 9 great Canadian designs are.

I feel pretty damned proud about this as one of my roles as a producer was that I personally got Ken on board and had a lot to do with this particular piece being included. I championed it from the very beginning and after months of planning I was so happy to turn the crank on the machine and press the very first Monument for East Vancouver penny ever made.

If this is the first you’ve heard of it, the idea behind PENNY SMASH is simple: affordable artwork pressed onto pennies with 100% of the proceeds going directly back into the community. You go up to the machine, put in one toonie and one penny, choose the design you’d like and then you crank the wheel and press that penny of yours.
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Everyone has their own idea of what the holiday season is all about. For me, it’s family. I’m so lucky to be able to spend the holidays with my son, my husband, and my mom. Someone else very special to me is on my mind and in my heart. She is with me always, but during the holiday season I find myself thinking of her more than usual. This person is my grandma. She had a way of making the holidays extra special for me when I was growing up. One fuzzy, though very wonderful memory I have is of her taking me to see The Nutcracker.

This past Wednesday I attended opening night in Vancouver of The Alberta Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. This time I had the pleasure of sharing this experience with my mom. It brought back fond memories and I now have new memories to hold dear. My mom and I both enjoyed ourselves immensely. She loved the music and dancing. She adored the dance of the Sugarplum Fairy. I, of course, enjoyed the music and dancing as well, but my favourite part by far was the costumes and sets. They were designed by Emmy Award-winning designer Zack Brown and they were absolutely amazing! A must see.

Something that makes this production so wonderful is …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver comedy fans know GIANTS III centerpiece, Ryan Beil, from his weekly performances with improv heartthrobs The Sunday Service. But Beil is also a dramatic actor (pronounced act-ooore) of the highest caliber.

It all started many years ago in a room in Lord Byng High School, most likely full of black ‘imagination cubes’ and covered in wall-to-wall speckled carpet. Drama class. That special place where young minds search for the purest expression of the human condition…or at least a ‘skipable 3^rd period’. Occasionally, in that strange adolescent melting pot of nerds, creatively repressed bullies and marginally talented ‘hot girls’, a student with real dramatic potential will come along. Ryan Beil was that student.

If you once were or currently are a 16-year-old male, you know that life at that age consists largely of misguided attempts to grow a ‘tough mustaches’, random and inexplicable erections and Friday nights spent in public parks drinking from water bottles filled with several drops from each and every bottle of alcohol in your parents’ house. 16-years-old. That was Ryan Beil’s age when he wrote the GIANTS III centerpiece, a play entitled Self Quest (yes, that’s the real title).

Self Quest emerged from Beil’s self-described desire to “express himself and get attention from girls.” The play stars a young man who voyages into the deserts of self-discovery as well as the actual desert. Spoiler alert: he learns something about himself AND about getting attention from girls. This adolescent time capsule was lost to humanity as Beil went on to become a classically trained actor of the highest order.

He earned a BFA in acting from the University of British Columbia and when on to star in productions like A Comedy of Errors (Bard on the Beach), Billy Bishop Goes to War (Arts Club) and American Buffalo (Main Street Theatre Co). Beil recently won a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role, Large Theatre (or a JRTAOPALRLT as it’s called in ‘the biz’). By all accounts, he’s a pretty big deal.

Ryan Beil’s recent ascension to the top of the theatre world makes this one-night-only remount of Self Quest all the more exciting. It’s a wonderful opportunity to watch one of Vancouver’s most engaging performers rediscover a hormone-drenched work from his ‘early period’. On January 14^th, Ryan Beil will dust off Self Quest one more time before putting it to rest forever. With an all-adult cast and starring Beil himself, Self Quest is a joyous exploration of one actor’s self-described “massive and confusing ego”.

Tickets for GIANTS III feat. Self Quest by Ryan Beil are available now! The show also features performances from Charlie Demers, Adam Pateman, Fancy Pants, Ryan Steele and Amy Goodmurphy. January 14^th at The Cultch. Be there.

Location: The Vancity Culture Lab 1895 Venables Street

Tickets: $10 Available at the door or in advance at www.giantscomedy.com

Follow GIANTS on Twitter @giantscomedy

Like GIANTS on Facebook

Find out more! www.giantscomedy.com

A new kitty once a week! Click here to find out how your cat can appear on Van City Kitty.

Submitted by VIA reader Courtney Komonasky, it’s Eddy. An original East Van toughie:

Name: Eddy Breed/Colouring: DSH/ black (duh) Hood: Mount Pleasant Habits: Resident tough guy. He’s super social and goes and hangs with the neighbours when I’m at work to mooch love and food. Loves to sit on any sunny front porch or directly in front of the heater. He recently broke a tooth and fractured his jaw doing who knows what, protecting his turf most likely. If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our Happy Tails feature or our monthly Van City Kitty Take Us Home editions (most recently here or here.) 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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VANCOUVER DAZE showcases and highlights the social life and scene of our beautiful city, covering all the misadventures and shenanigans at various cultural events, mixers, parties, meetups, and local happenings. We fiercely promote all the fun times the city has to offer along with the interesting people behind them. Follow more of my work/coverage over at RICKCHUNG.COM and on Twitter at @RICKCHUNG. You can pitch me HERE.

Mirrorball New Year’s Eve 2011 party at Jewel Ballroom on December 31, 2010. More photos available on Flickr.

Greetings from all the holi-daze hullabaloo. For my new year’s entry, I’d like to rewind to last year’s 2010/11 eve with memories and photos of that celebration.
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