Archive for January, 2012

Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. 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.

Sadie gets a drum lesson while checking out the pit at the Metro Theatre.

Some of my favourite memories as a child was seeing Karen Kain and Ross Petty in the annual Christmas pantos and seeing every Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that came to Vancouver. Going to the theatre is a tradition that I like to share with Sadie but will admit that it is too easy forget that there are shows and productions for kids in this city that don’t star Yo Gabba Gabba or Elmo.  When Sadie’s idols come to town I am happy to oblige, but something extra special happens when we take her to see a play.

Here is a list of upcoming shows in the Lower Mainland the will be sure to trigger your child’s imagination and hopefully spark a life long love of theatre:

WALL TO WALL PERCUSSION
March 4th, 2pm
Orpheum Theatre
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Principal Percussionist Vern Griffiths plays everything including the kitchen sink! This spectacular concert that shows kids that music can be found anywhere – from professional orchestral instruments to everyday household items.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS
April 22nd, 2pm
Centennial Theatre (North Vancouver)
Based on adaptations of favourite fairy tales or Shakespearean classics, the stories are brought to life with tremendous wit and humour, and with a unique twist. Volunteers from the audience are invited to come up on stage and join in the story. Presented by DuffleBag Theatre which has become one of the most celebrated Canadian companies performing for young audiences.

EMILY SAVES THE ORCHESTRA
May 13th, 2pm
Orpheum Theatre
Award-winning Platypus Theatre presents a theatrical introduction to the instruments of the orchestra and the basic elements of music – melody, harmony, dynamics, rhythm and tone – in a concert that tells the story of a young girl’s battle to save music.

This series had its genesis when I began photographing Vancouver area location shoots in the summer of 2010 to get over a post-Olympics funk. Film and TV productions like Mission Impossible -Ghost Protocol, Fringe, Supernatural and Once Upon a Time showcase our city in similar fashion and sometimes put a celebrity actor or two in the frame.

Wow. The CBC is kicking simulcast-American-show butt this winter with its made-for-Canadians-by-Canadians dramas, comedies, unscripted and current affairs programs, led by set-in-Yellowknife aerial adventure series Arctic Air and set-in-St. John’s father-and-son private detective series Republic of Doyle. Both dramas premiered in the Million-Canadian-Viewers-Plus Club earlier this month and remain there after three episodes apiece, although Arctic Air dipped below a million viewers for its second outing before climbing back up.

While nothing is going to touch this country’s love for CTV’s simulcast of American comedy hit The Big Bang Theory, CBC shows like Dragon’s Den, the Rick Mercer Report, new comedy series Mr. D. and a rejuvenated Marketplace have all hit the Million-Plus Club and are winning or placing well in their time blocks. As is Global’s new hit mini-series Bomb Girls, filmed in Toronto. So what happened to CTV, proud home of Corner Gas, during this resurgence of homegrown shows? Well our most financially-successful Canadian TV network has no Canadian dramas or comedies on its prime time 2011-12 schedule so far although it remains a giant in covering Canadian news and sports.

Why are CBC’s dramas so popular this winter? Just as The Beachcombers represented B.C.’s West Coast to the world for almost twenty years, Arctic Air and Republic of Doyle showcase a specific region of Canada with adventure and humour, plus something new — sexiness. Feel free to argue, but Bruno Gerussi with his giant medallion on his overly hairy chest on The Beachcombers did not exude sexiness like today’s CBC leading men – Adam Beach of Arctic Air and Allan Hawco of Republic of Doyle.

Adam Beach has said he likes that the Arctic Air creators made his character Bobby Martin a “player”, especially because – in a sweet twist — Bobby’s first hookup on returning to Yellowknife is Frontier Hotel receptionist Candi played by Leah Gibson, who became his real-life girlfriend. Gibson is on Beach’s right in the photo below (the pair even kissed for the cameras). And Allan Hawco has been juggling dozens of women for two seasons and counting as swaggering Jake Doyle on Republic of Doyle in Newfoundland. Last week’s episode ended with his character in a hot kiss with his remarried ex-wife.

I was fortunate to be invited  by the CBC to the red carpet premiere of Arctic Air at the Vogue Theatre  on January 10th and an Actors Studio-style session at the Vancouver Film School with Republic of Doyle star and Newfoundland native Allan Hawco a week later.

It all began late last November when I got the chance to meet the stars of CBC’s 2012 Winter Season out in Aldergrove and go on a guided tour of the Arctic Air set. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

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.

Amy Pelletier Beck is a refreshing anomaly among Vancouver’s creatives. In a city full of talented urban photographers shooting daily life, Amy brings an artist’s eye to carefully curated shoots. Her Magritte-esque conceptual photography skillfully breaks down our relationships with objects. Her portraits are art directed yet captivating. The Emily Carr grad has shown her work throughout Vancouver—with solo shows at lowercase gallery and Malaspina Printmaker’s Society—and has had other exhibits in Toronto, Victoria and New York. Her work’s been published in Prefix Photo Magazine and Pyramid Power Magazine. Nice! Keep reading to find out how she’d like to collaborate with other creatives in Vancouver. Collector, 2009 …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

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 #22 Name: Andrea Dowd-Dever Occupation: Producer Beverage: Green tea

Meet Andrea Dowd-Dever. Producer for Vancouver-based brand.LIVE, the folks working in the background putting on many of the large scale events you go to in town. Andrea is yet another exception to my “meet with strangers” rule for this series as I’ve actually known her for a couple of years, since I was first brought on as a judge of the Celebration Of Light Fireworks competition that she helps produce with brand.LIVE for the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society. But she’s somebody doing awesome stuff in the city and I wanted to introduce you to her, so I broke the rule.

We met for coffee (uh, lunch and tea) at the old New Town Bakery spot in Chinatown, right before they closed their doors and reopened a new location a couple of doors down. Andrea told me all about the upcoming City and Slope Festival happening February 9th-12th, and I started planning some editorial with our editors soon after. While she’s not directly involved in managing Vancouver’s newest festival she assured me that during the event she’ll be up at Seymour in her neon 80′s ski suit by day and getting her dancing shoes on for Benny Benassi at night.

I asked her what she’d been working on the past few months and she told me she ran the Molson Canadian House at 2011 Grey Cup, the Celebration of Light (which I already knew), 2011 Canada Day at Canada Place and Live at Squamish (which she notes as a favourite, along with a Gala Fundraiser for the Sarah McLachlan Foundation).

At the end of our coffee Andrea told me THE CRAZIEST Canucks riot story about how she essentially jumped on a grenade to save the giant screens that they installed for CBC and the City Of Vancouver so a bunch of nice people (and some certifiable A-holes) could watch the Stanley Cup Finals downtown. Now picture that post-Game-7 riot mob as it first broke out, then picture a few brave workers (Andrea being one of them) successfully taking down the huge video screens before they could be destroyed, then them looking down the street and seeing an angry mob coming, then diving into a van and barely escaping injury. That’s hero status right there.

Learn more about brand.LIVE HERE and learn more about the City and Slope festival HERE. February 9th-12th!

“Binge work lifestyle and international wanderlust.  Fine single malt and champagne powder. Lil Wayne as business coach, Burning Man as spiritual home town.  If you squint, you can see elements of design theory in a life lived like this one. Contrast, texture, asymmetric balance, negative space; I wish he’d clean the goddamn office fridge.”
- Andrew Simpson  - partner in crime.

The Proof

01 This is the view onto Pender street from one of our windows at The Still Brandworks. We are in the 101 year old Duncan Building in Gastown. I like things with history and legend behind them. I’ve also spent a lot of time building this company.

02 This is something I recently worked on! 8 pound, hand blown, gold / silver inlayed, hand calligraphed and engraved special bottlings of scotch and tequila. They were gifts for our clients this Christmas. Each one has immensely thick glass walls to transmit the colour of the spirit they contain.

03 I love riding bikes up, especially down and also in the general vicinity of mountains. In the last few years, I’ve gotten into touring as well as downhill mountain biking. This was something I had wanted to do since I was a kid. This is a photo of me by Ben Taft.

04 This is my 26 year old triathlon race bike, “Dave Scott”. I do not do triathlons. I found her on Craigslist two summers ago and rigged some saddle bags onto her for touring. Since then I’ve ridden / hobo camped all over the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. Last summer I spent a month cruising around the islands of Croatia. Hence the speargun.

05 I think I’ve been snowboarding for 17 years now and it is one of my great loves. Snowboarding has defined much of …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

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…

Awesome week last week in music for Vancouver, including the first ever Steamwhistle Unsigned show! I also managed to get out and see a PuSh festival play: Do You Want What I Have Got?: A Craigslist Cantata…YOU SHOULD GO SEE THIS! It was hilarious and very entertaining…and it runs until February 11th, so there is still lots of time.

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: will start off with another PuSh Festival event: Making Art Noises at Performance Works on Wednesday w/ Ryan Beil and Charlie Demers!  Thursday you can check out Hilary Grist for free at the CBC for another Toque Sessions show! and I hope you got your seat for the Yukon Blonde one the next day! Also on Friday you can check out this week’s playlist maker, No Sinner, at the Biltmore! Have a great one!

(Craigslist Cantata photos by David Cooper)
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…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

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

Ok, I don’t have a dog now, but when I was growing up, my family had a few. A Beagle, and Irish Setter, and English Setter and a Wolf/Coyote Cross (don’t ask…), so I’m totally cool with dogs and love ‘em to death. We always lived somewhere where there was enough space to run around and let the dogs go wild and be, well, dogs. :) I don’t remember “dog parks” anywhere near where we lived, so I think the concept of said parks is relatively new? Like in the last 10-15 years new?
Anyway, this brings me to today’s awesome Daily Flickr Pickr pool photo from Ann Hung taken in an awesome off leash dog park in Richmond. I mean, come on! Look at it! You’d totally take your dog there…

I wish I had a dog…

Enjoy South Dyke Off Leash Dog Park by Ann Hung

John

A few months ago I concluded a project called A Stranger A Day made 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 was my conversation starter and a common thread that linked them all. Every week I have been sharing the story of the week here on Vancouver Is Awesome. With the year now over and 365+ strangers and their stories documented, I’ll continue to talk to a stranger every once in a while, and post a story weekly here on VIA.