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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. |
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!
