Browsing “Events”

We’re co-sponsoring a ping pong tournament this coming Thursday presented by The Quiet Life! It’s free to register to compete or if you just feel like showing up to watch and have some free drinks and appys then that’s cool too. HERE is the facebook event page.

The Quiet Life is a small clothing company out of Los Angeles that was founded by my old friend and mentor, Andy Mueller, in 1997. Our friends at Supra Distribution (remember their Home Grown?) are now distributing the line in Canada.
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Tonight! Friday September 3rd we are co-presenting Smalltown DJs at Happy Ending Fridays at Fortune Sound with Brendan Butter and the Easy Now DJs Cherchez La Femme & December Furcoat! And you can download Smalltown DJ’s exclusive Fortune Sound Club mix HERE to get you ready for the night!

I will not stop hailing the virtues of the Regional Assembly of Text’s first-Thursday-of-the-month letter writing club. Cookies, hot tea in a giant samovar, the constant clackity-clack of ancient typewriters and a delightful collection of really cool people does a fun (and free!) night on Main St. make.

Here’s a thought – for the first Thursday in February the boss-ladies (the previously Proofed-on-VIA Rebecca and Brandy) at the helm of the Regional Assembly should have a Cupid-inspired night … aka The Regional Assembly of Sext.

Provocative messages vibrating in your pocket have nothing on artfully crafted prose on specially selected stationary.

Just a thought.

Vancouver is Awesome told you about the 3rd Annual Vancouver Film Race and now it has stepped into high gear! Judging for the top ten takes place tonight at The Ridge – and Yours Truly has the honour of being a judge. (That’s what happens when Angelina Jolie is busy saving children and whatnot – she neglects the local film community. You’re welcome, Vancouver.) Come for the shorts, stay for the after party. $10, yo.

The top ten shorts selects will be screened at the Celluloid Social Club on Wednesday, September 8. The chance to win $30,000 in a national competition looms!

Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver parents and their awesome kids. Every Wednesday I post a roundup of upcoming family-friendly events and activities. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, contact me at theplayground@vancouverisawesome.com. Because Vancouver is awesome for kids too! THE PLAYGROUND IS SPONSORED BY:

In the Playground for the week of September 1-7: Clinton Park Harvest Festival, The Secret of Kells, Telus Taiwan Festival, Fall Fair at Burnaby Village Museum and more. Here are some fun things to do with the kids this week:

Okay, normally I don’t cover stuff that’s this far out of town, but I think Dusty’s Dinotown is worth a mention. If you grew up in the Vancouver area, chances are you’ve got some good memories of the park (and if you visited in the summer of 1989, you might have got a hug from yours truly in a Dino costume). We took our daughter last weekend. She loved the stage show and the mini golf, and I loved watching her climb on the same dinosaurs that awed me at my fifth birthday party. Read more

Get ready to laugh, Vancouver: “America’s Funnyman” Neil Hamburger will be opening for Tom Green at the Vogue Theatre on June 24 as part of Global’s Comedyfest. Hamburger was in town several weeks ago headlining Talent Time at the Biltmore Cabaret. Check out his high five with Hugh Phukovsky!

I recently had the distinct pleasure of chatting to Mr. Hamburger about the unfortunate reason behind his extended absence from Canada, hair products, the health benefits of canned fruit, how to woo the ladies and the best course of action Mel Gibson could take to deal with his current career crisis.

(And don’t forget – Vancouver is Awesome is presenting the season opener of Paul Anthony’s Talent Time at the Biltmore Cabaret tonight! Have you entered our giveaway to win tickets, an exclusive backstage experience and dinner from Budgie’s Burritos? There’s still time!)

“That’s my life!”

Where are you right now?

Look outside your window. See the bushes? See that rustling in the bushes? That’s me!

I appreciate when a man is being honest with me.

I’ve been here for a couple of days…

That explains the sheen. It’s been 3 ½ years since you were last in Vancouver.

Very true. You’ve done your research.

Why so long between shows?

It’s a sad situation. We had a couple of weirdos that tried to attack me at one of the shows there … we had a customs officer who insisted on viewing footage of my show and offering two thumbs down short of criticism, which was very disheartening. When you’re trying to enter the country legally to perform legally with a permit and he insists on sitting there and picking your set apart at the border … telling me which jokes were no good, which jokes were good – there was not many of them. Telling me I needed to clean up my style. The guy actually said to me – this is a Canadian customs officer – he said that tuxedos are out and he asked me if I had thought of wearing an Ed Hardy shirt, as that would make me more likable to the crowd. And this is what I had to go through to get there last time. And so I said “Jeez, I am going to take a break from this.”

I don’t even know what to say.

I don’t even know if it was legal.

That doesn’t sound right. I’m almost ashamed to be Canadian.

I’ve always had a great time up there and I was very eager to get back, and I felt a sense of loss for not having been there for so long, but at the same time I was very apprehensive that something like that might happen again. Fortunately it did not and we went without incident. We’re already discussing future engagements. We had a great time up there.

Again, I don’t know what to say. Nickelback has no problem getting into the country, so you shouldn’t either. Read more

Win Two Tickets to Wednesday’s Show and Dinner from Budgie’s Burritos!

Paul and an equine friend from a recent feature in the Vancouver Sun.

Paul Anthony’s Talent Time is back tomorrow night at the Biltmore Cabaret. Where else in Vancouver can you get amazingly memorable live entertainment for $8?! (The kind that will give you laughs, not something requiring the use of antibiotics.) Doors at 8:00, show at 9:00.

Official sponsor Vancouver is Awesome wants you to experience the full meal deal, which in this case involves getting you and a friend on “the list”, an exclusive backstage experience and insanely good vegetarian fare from Budgie’s Burritos! Check out what Bob had to say about his burrito here.

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The Vancouver International Improv Festival just got their new site up and running! The lineup, schedule, info on workshops and ticketing ($40 festival pass whaaaaat?) and more. Go have a look for yourself HERE and be sure to consider joining the VIIF 200.

On a sunny August afternoon, with a hint of fall in the air, the Rain City Chronicles embarked on our first Bike Ticket Delivery Service. For those who pre-ordered their tickets to our Olio Festival Show on September 24th Karen and I hand delivered them, zipping through the streets of Vancouver on two-wheels. (Read below to see our short photo diary). The day was such a success we will be doing another one on Sunday, September 12th. You can order tickets by contacting us here or message us on Twitter @raincityvan. And stay tuned… after the holiday weekend we will be announcing our line-up as well as having a few ticket giveaways!

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Photo by Graeme Foote.

That’s me high-fiving Margaret Cho backstage at the Queen Elizabeth on Saturday. Aside from looking totally stunned, Margaret is holding a bag filled with gelato from La Casa Gelato. In our interview I asked her if she would try kim chee gelato and she said that she would but apparently there are not enough fans of that, uh, “flavour” so La Casa pulled it. I got her chocolate chili instead.

Photo by Graeme Foote.

Take a look at Welcome to the Cho Show winner, Andrew, with a friend. See what happens when you enter giveaways?!

Win a SonyPlaystation 2, Sony MP3 Player, and tickets to the PNE!

The cow says, “Moooooooo.” John Biehler photo.

From September 3-6 the BC Dairy Foundation is going to be at the PNE with their fun (and slightly sadistic) Must Drink More Milk Bungee Run. Check out the video! They will be making and uploading more photos and videos of brave souls to Facebook during their time at the fair, so after downing deep fried jellybeans and having your fill of really cheap cotton candy you can share your fun bungee times with all your family and friends (even more sadistic!).

Fortunately Vancouver is Awesome has milked (wordplay!) the situation for you with three very cool prizes… Read more

Did you enter Vancouver is Awesome’s giveaway for two tickets to see Margaret Cho and meet her tonight at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre? Well, if you did you probably didn’t win and if you didn’t I have no pity for you because it means you’re not reading VIA as often as you should. Fortunately, you can still buy tickets.

I had a chance to catch up with Miss Margaret and ask her some questions about food, music, tattoos, and her new album Cho Dependent that came out on Tuesday. Here’s what she had to say.

On Cho Dependent you’ve collaborated with a range of talented musicians including Grant Lee Phillips, Ani Difranco, Fiona Apple and Vancouver’s own favourite musical saphic sisters, Tegan & Sara. What was that like?

They were wonderful and our song “Intervention” is great. It opens my album because I love it so much (so) I want everyone to hear it first. I love Tegan and Sara so much. We recorded at Bryan Adams amazing studio in Vancouver and spent 2 days working on the track, laughing, eating and talking non-stop. They are so much fun to hang out with and amazing artists. I am so blown away by their work and I love them. We are going to film the video for the song with Liam Sullivan directing in Houston where my tour and their tour cross paths and I can’t wait!

Listen to the track here at SPIN magazine.

Vancouver is home to La Casa Gelato, famous for its insanely huge range of flavours. One of these is a kim chee concoction. Normally, I can get behind all East West gastro-marriages but this one confounds me. If I brought you some, would you try it?

I don’t know if I would like it because I don’t especially like kim chee that much. I eat it very infrequently. I like my mom’s, no others. Spicy/sweet things can be good though. I really like this one fancy dark chocolate that has chili flakes and salt in it. It’s spicy and really weird and good. I would try the kim chee gelato!!