Browsing “High Fiving Celebrities”

I really couldn’t have hoped for better news this week when I opened my email and learned that two of Vancouver’s pioneering independent culture outlets, Zulu Records and Videomatica, were joining forces to create a “combined movie and music emporium” under one roof! You read that right, Zulu and Videomatica are moving in together to create a 4th Avenue indie powerhouse of audio video greatness.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been bringing you the hilarious-yet-sad-tuba-sounding web series “Support Your Local Video Store” put together by the employees of the formerly-ill-fated Videomatica who announced they were going out of business. The workers were all still trying to figure out what the heck they were going to do when the doors of the struggling video rental and sales store shut forever, and the good news is that a few of those employees are still going to be employed come November when they move across the street, dump the dead weight of rentals and focus exclusively on sales with a new Videomatica store-within-a-store at Zulu.

“Our loyal sales customers have convinced us they need a source to continue to buy movies and what better place for that than the best independent music store. Zulu is a natural fit for us,” said Videomatica co-owner Graham Peat.

Zulu founder Grant McDonagh says “I’m convinced both Zulu and Videomatica customers will benefit from being able to buy the music and movies they love at one location.”

So we figured we’d get these two together for a High Fiving Celebrities, the infamous Graham and Grant in front of the soon-to-be most even more infamous location where magic happened. Neighbours for 28 years, come November 2011 they’ll be living under the same roof at 1976 West 4th Avenue. Like I said, more awesome news for local independent culture I cannot imagine. HIGH FIVE!!!

Graham Peat and Grant McDonagh high five! Photo: Rick Tetz

Rick Hansen is more than a celebrity. He’s one of Canada’s greatest living heroes and I am so excited to be able to share this high five with you! 25 years ago I personally got a high five from Rick when he wheeled into my hometown on his Man In Motion Tour raising money for for spinal cord injury research. I will never forget the moment that his cycling glove made contact with my hand. It’s perhaps the most well-travelled glove in all of history; not only did it go around the world with Rick as he inspired millions but it also went out of this world and around it again in orbit in August 2007, when Canadian astronaut Dave Williams brought it into space aboard a mission on the U.S. Space Shuttle Endeavour!

Rick Hansen High Fiving in Newfoundland today

Along with this High Five I’m also excited to share the news that the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay kicked off today in Newfoundland and will end up here in Vancouver on May 22nd, 2012! He did the journey by himself two and a half decades ago (and I can’t imagine the number of people he high fived along the way!) and this time he’ll have help from 7,000 participants from across Canada who have made a difference in their own communities and in the lives of others. They’ll be walking, wheeling and running in the nine-month, 12,000 kilometre Relay that retraces the route of Rick’s original Man In Motion Tour through 600 communities.

Stay tuned for more from the Relay and be sure to check out this video below. It’ll give you chills.

The latest in our High Fiving Celebrities series is with none other than the BC Lions’ starting quarterback Travis Lulay high fiving a random toddler while holding his shoulder pads, helmet and a butter tart! Follow Travis on Facebook!

Click below to check out our entire collection of celebrity high fives!

I took one for the team and high fived him.

When really I wanted to hug him….and the game hadn’t even started yet….

More celebrity high fives!

Recognize any of these folks below? They’re my personal top 20 celebrities that we’ve been lucky to snag a local high five with for our ongoing High Fiving Celebrities feature!

Pictured are Nancy Robertson and Brent Butt, Jim Treliving, Peter Puck, Strombo, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Suzuki, Jian Ghomeshi, Handles of the Harlem Globetrotters, Kevin Costner, Cory Monteith, Sarah Mclachlan, Bif Naked, Will Sasso, The Smoking Man (William B Davis), Bob Lenarduzzi, Ujjal Dosanjh, Kardinal Offishall, Terry David Mulligan, Henrik Sedin and Ian Hanomansing!

There have been more than 20 which you can dig through in the archive HERE. Who will be next?

Nancy and Brent: Married people who still make time to high five.

Vancity Theatre‘s regular Cinema Salon Series – in which a local Vancouverite like Mayor Gregor or Bif Naked pick a flick they love and share it on the big screen – was hosted by the lovely and talented Nancy Robertson (Hiccups, Corner Gas). Though best known as a comedienne, Nancy chose the Gregory Peck classic from 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Following the screening was a really nice discussion (and complimentary nibbles in the gorgeous lounge!) in which Nancy and audience members talked about the film – many of us hasn’t seen it in years and practically no one had had the pleasure of experiencing the film in its original 35 mm format on the big screen. We were all struck by so many of the subtle details of the film which came alive in new, wonderful ways – a classic story that remains just as fresh and relevant 50 years on. Great choice, Nancy!

High Five Trumps Devil Horns! Lou Barlow gives it up to Mikala Taylor (aka The Backstage Rider).

A couple of weeks ago some guy named Lou Barlow was playing the Rickshaw Theatre with some band named Sebadoh. But before he rocked out on the electric he played a pretty killer acoustic set at Zulu Records (which if you didn’t already know, plays host to quite a few free in-store shows… remember when bands played music stores? Remember music stores? Sigh.)

I caught him giving is Vancouver is Awesome “frenemy” Mikala Taylor a high five. Because high fives rule! Read more about the lovely Mikala being profiled on Granville Online HERE and do check out her blog HERE (but only after you vote for Vancouver is Awesome HERE.) ;-)

Lou having fun – for an hour! – at Zulu Records.

Continuing our ongoing series of High Fiving Celebrities, I stood in line at the CBC to slap palms with a millionaire.

Earlier Jim donated $5000 to the Food Bank Day at the CBC Open House. In my head it was kinda like Oprah… and I pictured him saying “YOU get a Boston Pizza! And YOU get a Boston Pizza! And YOU get a Boston Pizza!”, but alas, he did not.

(Note, this is not the first Dragon I’ve met...)

Peter Puck followed me around the the beginning of the day. This was our 3rd high five, so I figured I’d document it: