Browsing “Awards”

In mid 2013 Vancouver Is Awesome will be holding an awards ceremony and releasing a special edition print magazine honouring the people, businesses, organizations and things which YOU feel are making this city a more awesome place.

There are no categories for the awards; it’s up to you to tell us what makes Vancouver awesome. Make as many nominations as you like using the form HERE. Today is the LAST DAY to make a nomination!

Thanks to everyone who voted for us in this year’s WE Vancouver Best of the City 2013! We placed 3rd in the Local Blog category behind The Endless Meal and our friend Miss 604, who took 1st. This is the first time we’ve ever placed in the Best of the City, and we are so honoured!

And by “we” are proud, I mean our team of editors and contributors who tirelessly volunteer their time and efforts to bring you the best your city has to offer week after week. The folks below are the active editorial team for V.I.A.. This is their award (like their Georgia Straight BEST OF) and on their behalf I thank you for it.

The team is made up of:
Christine McAvoy, Keith Chan, Tina Ok, Sarah Szloboda, Susan Young, Gary Hubbs, Jessica O’Neill, Rick Chung, Kelsey Klassen, Jen Kim, Courtney Overgaauw, Destin Haynes, Aaron Alexander, Adina Spivak, Alexis Baran, Albert Yee, Amanda Lee Smith, Amber Turnau, Andrea, Loewen, Brice Ferre, Chrissy Davey, Linus Lam, Valerie Tiu, Erin Shaw, Jason Vanderhill, Daniel Curtis, Erica, Mattson, Liam Ford, Dano Pendygrasse, Jenn Perutka, Laurin Thompson, Joe Schweers, Susan Gittins, Leigh Eldridge, Lani Russwurm, Josh Hukuliak, John Whitworth, Meena Sandhu, Amanda Schweers, Lindsay Glauser, Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Liisa Hannus, Rachel Bee, Kurtis Kolt, Rhiannon Coppin, Robert White and (not pictured) Erin Ireland, Hilary Henegar, Anne Cottingham, Jessica McIlroy, Nathan Friesen, Alex Quicho and Ghazal Elhaei!

Fantastic news coming out of East Van today from our partners at the Rio Theatre: their owner and operator Corinne Lea will be receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in an award ceremony taking place this coming Wednesday, January 23rd! Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Jennie Kwan nominated her for the award in part due to the highly publicized (and successful) battle that Corinne, the Rio, and an extended community of supporters waged over changes in provincial liquor policy that directly threatened the Rio’s existence.

Photo courtesy Rio Theatre

The medal (pictured below) was created to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. 60,000 Canadians will be honoured with their own medal for significant contributions to their particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or an achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada. It’s a big deal.

“The fight to save the Rio Theatre and get BC’s outdated liquor laws changed was not only a personal desire to save my business, but a fight to save our community’s theatre and arts and culture in BC,” says Lea. “To my surprise it also became something bigger.”

She goes on to say:

“When the LCLB first banned movies at the Rio in January of 2012, it was suggested by well-meaning advisers to ‘not speak to the media’ because if I did, ‘the government will come down on you harder, and you will be punished for speaking against them.’ The common belief that we should all ‘lay low and fly under the radar,’ is exactly why things don’t change.

I did not do this alone. Power to the people!”

With the ominous chill of largest iceberg break-up ever recorded on video circulating earlier this week to remind us, it is abundantly clear that the Arctic is transforming rapidly.

Sometimes the urge to climb a treacherous peak and await the stormy, ocean-acidity, high-tide-forever future to wash over me as I laugh maniacally with a nice gin martini is great.  Sometimes hiding under a blanket with my cat seems like the best option.  The good news is, while my fight or flight instincts with climate change both tend to lean more towards different forms of “flight,” there are hundreds of people working with the changes head-on to ensure we are knowledgeable, prepared, and supportive as a society in what the future holds. This week at the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting, over 450 researchers, NGOs, and stakeholders came together in Vancouver to discuss the future of the Canadian Arctic and to award the first ever Arctic Inspiration Prize of $1 million to Canadians whose projects create positive change to address issues facing the land and its peoples.

Last night four teams awarded parts of the $1 million total. The projects focus largely on the people who call some of the coldest regions in Canada their home.  $360 000 was awarded to The Arctic Food Network to help with their food-gathering system that enables communities to strengthen traditions of hunting and sharing.  Team leader, Mason White, says the prize will “[enable] our project to embody the transformation of knowledge into real and applicable expressions addressing community integration, celebration of culture, access to healthy food, and stewardship of land for Nunavummiut.”

The Nunavut literacy counsel received $300 000 for the development of non-formal education programs for youth to imbed literacy skill.  $240 000 was awarded to the “Inuit Qujimajatuqangit” which roughly translates into the name of their book project; What Inuit Have Always Known to be True. The project will describe Inuit culture and traditional knowledge, and will serve as a resource for academics, researchers, educators, and the next generation of Inuit.  The Thaidene Initiative will be using the $100 000 they were awarded to help with the protection of a 33 000km² national park reserve in the Northwest Territories.

Congratulations to the very first Arctic Inspiration Prize winners!

Did you hear that we were awarded the title of Most Reputable City in the world by Copenhagen-based Reputation Institute? CTV News Channel had me on as a guest this afternoon to chat about it during their national show based out of Toronto. Have a look by clicking below.

Mo Dhaliwal (a past subject of my 50 Coffees series) has been awarded the national 2012 The Arnold Edinborough Award for his work with the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society of which he is the founding director. This is a unique distinction that annually rewards a business professional in Canada who goes above and beyond in their volunteerism and commitment to the arts.

The VIBC cites him as “the ongoing cheerleader for an army of people, including a volunteer Board of Directors at VIBC, who work tirelessly in their commitment to developing a diverse and harmonious community through arts and culture.”. Congratulations, Mo!