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Vancouver Is Awesome is a proud sponsor of Beyond Downtown, the 2013 SCARP Student Symposium.

We regularly hear stories in the news about how Vancouver is one of the most livable cities in the world. As a child of the suburbs, I often ask myself if one day we might not be saying the same for the whole of Metro Vancouver rather than just our City.

We’ve got our constraints on sprawl: the mountains, the Salish Sea, the US border; and we still have pretty abundant agricultural lands in Delta, Richmond, and further up the valley to decrease our collective food miles and enjoy some good, Metro Van-grown eats. So what’s stopping us from making Metro Vancouver the greenest, most livable, most awesome region on the planet?

The Planning Students Association at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) announce the 5th annual SCARP Student Symposium, which will take place on the UBC Vancouver campus Friday, February 8, 2013.

The 2013 Symposium, which aims to bring together planning practitioners, students, business owners, developers, and engaged citizens will be focused on topics around ‘Beyond Downtown & Outside the Box’.

With the overwhelming majority of population growth taking place in suburban areas the need for a modern take on suburban design has become critical. Innovative planning and design ideas are needed to move towards sustainability across British Columbia and beyond. At the UBC SCARP Student Symposium, we will explore fresh new ideas to guide and revitalize our urban, rural, and first nations communities in the years to come.

We’re excited to welcome our keynote speakers Ellen Dunham-Jones, co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs (view her awesome TEDx talk), and Patrick Stewart, the first Aboriginal architect to become the President of the Architectural Institute of BC. They’ll be joined by a panel of local leaders in the community planning sector including Vancouver’s Brian Jackson, Surrey’s Jean Lamontagne, Coquitlam’s Jim McIntyre, and New Westminster’s Lisa Spitale.

This year we’ve partnered with the Planning Institute of British Columbia to offer 6.25 Organized/Structured CPD Learning Units to PIBC members. Everyone is welcome but space is limited so register today!

To register and find more information including a schedule of panel sessions, visit the Symposium website at http://www.scarpsymposium.ca

Extras:
Facebook Page = facebook.com/ubcscarp
Twitter = @ubcscarp
Event Hashtag = #beyondDT

See you there!

This is it! Today is the last day of the 24th annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival so if you haven’t managed to catch any films yet, get out and make it happen! They’ve even added a second showing of The Falls, a drama about two gay Mormons, at 4pm today due to the overwhelming response last weekend. Get your tickets before it sells out!

Tonight’s Closing Gala film, Abe Sylvia’s Dirty Girl is unfortunately sold out, but you can always give the Hope Line a try. It’s sure to be a good time (and Milla Jovovich looks as amazing as ever).

The quality of films this year simply blew me away. Huge respect goes out to Amber Dawn, Director of Programming, for bringing together films on such a diverse spectrum, and of course Drew Dennis for making it all happen.

We had local Vancouver films like Stock Characters, Canadian films like the shorts in From Coast to Coast is Queer, and international films like The Invisible Men from Israel, and Funeral Parade of Roses from Japan. We sang along to the drag ball musical, Leave it on the Floor, and laughed together through the short film, Putting the “I” in Trans. For a moment, we experienced the thrill of growing up with Tomboy, and the pain of moving on with Lulu Sessions.

My favourite film would most definitely be Javier Van de Courter’s Mia; an absolutely beautiful story of a trans woman from the “Pink Village” shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, whose life is dramatically changed after finding a discarded diary on the street.

As she begins to read it, Alé soon realizes it’s a suicide letter from a young mother named Mia, written to her daughter, Julia. Julia’s father, trapped in a dangerous cycle of alcohol abuse, explodes into fits of anger as he tries to cope with his loss and his new responsibilities as a single dad. Housemaids come and quickly go, and Alé soon finds an opportunity to build the kind of family she’s always dreamed of.

Van de Courter’s brilliant storytelling and the exceptional acting by Camila Sosa Villada absolutely envelop you, opening your eyes to a tragically beautiful and poignant reality – one which can’t easily be forgotten.

I absolutely recommend this film to all of you. And guess what? It’s going to be back in town (though without the director this time) for the 10th annual Vancouver Latin American Film Festival on September 1st! Make this one a priority, people. You won’t regret it! Here’s the official trailer.

(Also, make sure to vote for your OUTtv People’s Choice Award for Best Picture at Empire Granville 7 tomorrow, or via the VQFF iPhone App!)

To round off my posts from the 24th annual VQFF, I have to mention the awesome parties. I paid my very first visit to Fortune Sound Club on the first night of the festival to catch the Opening Gala Party, which featured phenomenal performances by Jovainka and Tranàpus Rex and music by DJ Jay Douglas.

Moviegoers outside The Rio for the second showing of Mia!

Then there was the Fierce and Fabulous Party with its ridiculously awesome open-mic cabaret. After Mia on Wednesday night, we had free bus rides (this was no Translink affair – check the photo!) to the Electric Owl for the Centrepiece Gala Party, where the servers provided free hors d’oeuvre, and drag superstars Celestial Seasons and Sienna Blaze put on a powerful show (I even ended up on stage myself at one point!) and DJ Cho Cha provided some dancing beats. For photos of the parties, and the festival in general, check out VQFF’s Facebook Page.

Isolde N. Barron performing at Apocalypstic. Photo by VICTORBoy.

And don’t forget about the Closing Gala Party tonight at Celebrities at 9:30, where Joan-E and one of my favs, Isolde N. Barron, will bring the house DOWN alongside DJs G-Luve and Taffi Louis. Cover is free for VQFF members, or $5 at the door. See you there!

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival is run by Out On Screen, which is also runs the Out in Schools program. If you’ve enjoyed the films this year, or even if you weren’t able to make it out to any, please consider making a donation so they can continue to develop and support these programs.

I hope you enjoyed the 24th Vancouver Queer Film Fest!

The membership table outside Empire Granville 7. Pink for everyone!

A couple weeks ago, we gave you a few recommendations on films presented at this year’s Vancouver Queer Film Festival. We’re now on day 5 of the 11-day festival, which just happens to be Vancouver’s second-largest film festival, and the biggest queer arts event in Western Canada!

Tonight the festival will be presenting a double-feature from this year’s Spotlight Director, Jeanne Crépeau (who will be in attendance). Crépeau’s eclectic work has gained acclaimation at the National Gallery of Canada, the New York MoMa and film festivals around the world. Notably, Crépeau was the first openly lesbian filmmaker from Quebec, and one of the first Canadian women artists to explore queer themes in film.

The VQFF will be showing La fille de Montréal and Revoir Julie beginning at 7pm at the Cineplex Odeon International Village. For ticket information, check queerfilmfestival.ca.

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival began in 1989 in advance of the 1990 Gay Games as Out On Screen: Vancouver’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival? In 1996, the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival changed its name to the Vancouver Queer Film Festival – becoming first in the world to adopt the inclusive ‘queer’ title, incorporating all sexual orientations.

The Festival remains true to these roots, and for the second year in a row presents a set of films with the New Genderqueer Cinema Focus. The Opening Gala film Romeos, centred around a trans female-to-male character, was a perfect way to launch this year’s festival! …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver Pride Week may be over, but one of the best summers we’ve had in YEARS is still in full-swing – as if that surreal thunderstorm a couple days ago wasn’t a good enough indication. What does August in Vancouver mean? Beaches, patios, and the VQFF!

The 24th annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival turns up the summer heat from August 16 to 26, 2012 with films for the lover and fighter in everyone. Films for lovers aim straight for the heart strings, while films for fighters touch on human rights and activism in Vancouver and around the globe. With 75 films from 16 countries, Vancouver’s second largest film festival boasts an audience of more than 14,000 attendees.

“This year at the festival we’re thrilled to have several Canadian premieres of films such as Mia, Nate and Margaret, and, Invisible Men just to name a few,” said Amber Dawn, Lambda Award-winning author and Director of Programming for Out On Screen. “We’re also proud to showcase emerging queer voices from places like Ecuador, Indonesia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Hong Kong and Israel.”

There are a number of local films watch out for this year:

Stock Characters: The Cooking Show is a documentary on an original hip-hop and World music production satirizing the Japanese television show, Iron Chef which ran out of The Cultch in 2007. From theatre director Elaine Carol, the play chronicled the journey of tough Indigenous and immigrant youth of color as they struggled through an intense music theatre & dance “boot camp”. The film made its world premiere at DOXA back in May, and is back at the Rio Theatre on Friday, Aug 24, at 7pm with the director and cast in attendance. Check the trailer!

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

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!

You guys! We did it! Week #100, and we’ve visited each of the incorporated municipalities in Metro Vancouver! Although I normally like to give you a sweet start to the week by posting my visits to the communities in the Metro on Mondays, I just had to wait for the summer sun to come out before making my first visit to beautiful Bowen Island. And I’m so happy I did! (for more photos of my afternoon on Bowen Island, check out my flickr set)

Bowen Island is located just off West Vancouver, at the mouth of Howe Sound. I like to think of it as the gatekeeper of the Sound, since it’s pretty much halfway between West Van and Gibsons. Incorporated as a municipality on December 4th, 1999, Bowen Island, the “happy isle”, has earned its reputation as a laid-back island retreat. The population of around 3,400 is largely comprised of artists, with a good dose of what I’ll call “high-society rural” residents (those who can afford the good life, but appreciate the simplicity of island living).

If you’re curious, the island was given its name in 1860 by British naval surveyor George Richards in honour of Rear Admiral James Bowen.

I must say, if you’ve never visited Bowen Island, you really are missing out. Big time. The island is so ridiculously quiet and relaxed, and about half of the island (approximately the size of Manhattan Island, I’m told) is dedicated to natural park space. Their slogan: “Within Reach. Beyond Comparison” absolutely rang true for me, and the best surprise? You don’t need a ticket to get back on the ferry to come home!

Now.

Hopefully I’ve been able to teach you a thing or two about Metro Vancouver over these past 100 weeks? If not, here’s a little map of where we’ve been!

I hope you’ve enjoyed following my adventures throughout Metro Vancouver each week. Now feels like a good time to take a break and start planning some new projects to share, but the archives of my posts, and the gallery on Nicholson Rd, Daily will remain live for as long as there’s an interest in learning about Metro Vancouver.

So do me a favour and get out and explore the Metro on your own! The weather is right, and you know where to go! Have an AWESOME summer, Suncouver!

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

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!

Oh hello, Vancouver!

If you’ve never been up to the lookout on Cypress Mountain on a beautiful, sunny day, you need to get your calendar out and make it happen. The Cypress Bowl Road Lookout, about halfway up the mountain in Cypress Provincial Park, is an excellent spot to stop and enjoy lunch in the summer, while taking in some of the best views of Metro Vancouver.

From this one spot you can see all the way across North and West Vancouver, Burrard Inlet, Stanley Park, Downtown Vancouver, and out to the southern end of Vancouver, Richmond, and Delta. You can even spot Orcas Island and a few other San Juan Islands. Look further east and you can see Burnaby, glimpses of Coquitlam and New West, and Surrey with Mt. Baker rising in the background. It’s phenomenal to say the least.

But Robert, you say, I don’t have a car and my legs aren’t up to cycling all the way up the mountain. No worries, the folks at Gigapixel Panorama Photography have a crazy panorama of the view: Enjoy!

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.