Every Spring at Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland (“Big Sisters BCLM”), they celebrate the impact mentorship has on inspiring the youth in our community to achieve more. This year the celebration is taking shape in the form of their new Spring Social event with networking, speakers, raffle and more.
Big Sisters Spring Social
When: Wednesday, June 22, 2022 4:30pm to 7:00pm
Where: Joey Bentall One (507 Burrard St, Vancouver)
The featured Spring Social speaker is Amelia Warren, CEO of Epicure, a direct-selling company that is dedicated to bettering the lives of families through healthy meal solutions that go from raw-to-ready in 20 minutes or less. She is the founder of the Good Food. Real Fast.™ Movement, and is on a mission to give every person the knowledge, skills, and tools to cook and eat well for a lifetime of good health.
Mentoring Matters
With social pressures at an all-time high and the world reeling from the long term impacts of the global pandemic, kids in our community need positive, caring role models now more than ever. Big Sisters BCLM is doing its most important work right now. Their youth are among the hardest hit by the social, financial and educational impacts of the pandemic with many coming from low-income and immigrant families. A positive mentoring relationship gives these youth a chance to realize their full potential despite the adversities they face.
82% of parents said they believe their child feels better about themselves and is more confident since being involved with Big Sisters.
96% of adults who had a mentor as a child say they are happy and 92% feel confident.
Children who are mentored are 2X less likely to be depressed and 3X less likely to have social anxiety.
Children with a Big Sister are 4X less likely to bully than those without a mentor.
This relationship helps build resilience so youth can face challenges today and in the future, ensuring that all have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Big Sisters BCLM provides supportive mentoring relationships to children who may be facing challenges like bullying, isolation, poverty, abuse, social anxiety, low self-esteem, and more. Follow on Facebook for the latest news from the organization and consider a donation if you cannot attend this event.
The final weekend in May is here then it’s a smooth sail into summer (and I even have my June event list up early). Enjoy free admission at Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby Blooms programming, Surrey SPARK Stages entertainment and these many more things to do in Vancouver this weekend listed below:
The 39th annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards winners and nominees were celebrated during a gala ceremony at Parq Vancouver tonight. 75 nominees across 14 categories were honoured and this year’s YWCA Icon Award was given to Dr. Carol Ann Lee.
Dignitaries at the awards dinner included The Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of BC, HLI HAYKWHL ẂII XSGAAK, Melanie Mark, along with Dr. Bonnie Henry, local mayors and council.
Recipients of the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards 2022
The fundraising goal of the event was $125,000 to represent the 125 years the YWCA has served the Metro Vancouver area. At last tally, before emcee Sophie Lui (Global BC) sent us on our way for the evening, the total was over $99,000 with some additional funds from matching sponsors. You can still make a donation to the YWCA here at any time.
YWCA Metro Vancouver advances gender equity alongside women, families, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people through advocacy and integrated services that help support personal, collective and economic wellbeing.
Last year they operated 72 programs and services offered in 66 locations throughout Metro Vancouver, they supported 739 single mothers and children who made their home at one of 12 YWCA housing communities, and 23,751 free meals were served at YWCA Crabtree Corner in the Downtown Eastside – and they do much more!
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, since 2010.
The team behind award-winning restaurants Miku and Minami expands its family to include its first premium Japanese Washoku concept, an elevated grocery experienceABURI Market, launching next week in Ambleside. Customers can go on a journey around Japan through specialty food counters, ready-to-eat seafood, tableware, and exclusive imported goods from Japan.
Photo credits: Top left Cody Chan; Middle Maria Gonzalez; Right Huy Tran; Bottom Huy Tran
The 4,000-plus square foot space features high ceilings, educational how-to videos, and several “stations” to explore, including fresh sushi, made-to-order bowls, sliced-to-order Iwate A5 wagyu, and desserts. ABURI Market also has a section for grab-n-go items, frozen meal kits, imported Japanese sauces, snacks and candies, similar to its popular ABURI To-Go locations.
“In 2008, I opened Miku in Vancouver, after falling in love with the city, and introducing Canada to Aburi Oshi Sushi and our contemporary Japanese cuisine,” says Seigo Nakamura, Founder and CEO of ABURI Restaurants Canada. “And now, I am excited to launch our first premium Japanese Washoku concept, ABURI Market, where people can experience authentic Japanese food and goods in a new way at home, on the beach, patio or with friends.”
Iwate Prefecture Delicacies The Iwate Prefecture in Japan is known to produce some of the world’s most exquisite produce, protein, and ingredients. At ABURI Market, customers can find an exclusive line of items, which includes its award-winning A5 wagyu, rice, in-season fruits, and more.
Shojin Shojin, vegan cuisine in Japanese, is popular for its use of beans and vegetables to resemble the appearance and flavour of meat in dishes. Featuring an abundance of healthy, plant-based Japanese meal options that everyone can enjoy, items include sushi, salads, ramen, bentos, and more.
Sashimi At ABURI Market, consumers will be able to find not only local seafood options, but also high restaurant quality fish directly from Japan. This is all made possible with ‘Hyoketsu’, a special technology where seafood is immediately frozen fresh at fishing ports in Japan.
Sushi and Bentos
Created by Miku and Minami’s chefs team, ABURI Market offers a wide range of fresh, ready-to-eat sushi and bento box selections, including sushi trays, appetizers, Aburi Oshi Sushi, creative inari, and bowls, such as chirashi.
Home Goods and Wearables
Exclusively commissioned for ABURI Market, renowned Kyoto-based artist and visionary Hideki Kimura has created a selection of home goods and wearables, including t-shirts, shopping bags, and tech accessories, all based on his dynamic and colourful style of art.
Arita-Yaki Plateware
Imported directly from Japan, Arita-Yaki plateware are handmade and embodies culinary artistry and history, created specifically for chefs to display their gastronomic talents and engage with diner’s five sense.
ABURI Market officially opens on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 11:00am. On its grand opening day, the first 25 customers will receive an ABURI Market canvas tote bag, while the next 50 customers afterward will receive two vouchers, one for a complimentary onigiri and another for $10 off their first purchase. At launch, ABURI Market will be open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11:00am to 7:00pm.
The Polygon Gallery presents Ghosts of the Machine, a new group exhibition by curator Elliott Ramsey that looks at the relationships between humans, technology, and ecology. The exhibition features a new commission by Cease Wyss (Skwxwú7mesh), in addition to works by Ho Tzu Nyen, Juliana Huxtable, Anne Duk Hee Jordan, Lu Yang, Skawennati, and Santiago Tamayo Soler.
Top: Santiago Tamayo Soler, Retornar; Right: Skawennati, Birth of an Avatar; Lu Yang, Heaven Realm #1
Admission: Admission to The Polygon Gallery is by donation, made possible through generous, multi-year support from BMO Financial Group.
Public programming related to the exhibition will take place on Thursday evenings throughout the summer. Two short film programs will be screened, in addition to VR experiences curated and programmed by IM4. Wyss and her daughter, Senaqwila Wyss, will host talks and nature walks in Harmony Gardens, their community gardens located on unceded Skwxwú7mesh lands.
“The term ‘ghost in the machine’ refers to the mind-body duality: the idea of the ‘mind’ as software inhabiting the ‘body’ as hardware,” says Ramsey, who curated Interior Infinite at The Polygon last summer. “Such binaries aren’t real. The mind doesn’t exist without the body. The same can be said about technology. We try to split the ‘virtual world’ from the ‘real world,’ but virtual spaces rely on material hardware — with ecological implications — and are experienced physically. Similarly, we have real social and political interactions on digital platforms. We can’t constrain reality into ‘real’ and ‘virtual;’ we end up sliding across these boundaries like ghosts through walls.”
The international group of artists in Ghosts of the Machine reminds us that despite its otherworldly lustre, cyberspace cannot be separated from the “real world”. It is an extension of our societies, economy, and ecosphere. Through the glowing interfaces associated with digital media, these artists constantly point back to the world offline. By defying the imaginary boundary between online and offline worlds, they slip across other made-up binaries: between human versus nonhuman, technology versus nature. They reveal how these things do not exist in opposition to each other, but are in fact continuous and fluidly interconnected.
