It’s the first weekend of spring and it’s Spring Break! The cherry blossoms are here are so is a lineup of events for you to enjoy this weekend:

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Friday, March 22, 2019
Another Night Out For Music Heals
Festival du Bois
The Choir of Clare College Cambridge
Cooking Class for Kids: Mexican Cooking
Children of God at Surrey Arts Centre
Perspectives: An Anti-Racism Arts Festival
Spring Break at The Polygon Gallery
Re/Form Conference Squamish
Vancouver International Auto Show
Monster Theatre: Jesus Christ: The Lost Years
Historic Stewart Farm: Spring Break Drop-In: Farm Life
Spring Break at Burnaby Village Museum
Gateway Theatre: Gross Misconduct
Sonic Boom Music Festival
Vancouver International Dance Festival
Spring Break at Fort Langley National Historic Site
Spring Break at the Space Centre
Spring Break at the Cannery
Vancouver Fashion Week

The 11th G Day Vancouver takes place on April 29, 2019 at the Nikkei Cultural Centre in Burnaby. This day-long event is a meaningful experience that welcomes and recognizes girls as they take their first steps on the journey toward adulthood.

G Day Vancouver

• When: Monday April 29, 2019 from 9:30am – 4.30pm
  (Pro D Day for Vancouver, Burnaby and New West school districts)
• Where: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby)
• Tickets: $60 each (girls/adults) available online now

Tween girls ages 10 to 12 are invited, along with their parents or other supportive adults, to an immersive learning experience that celebrates the transition between childhood and adolescence. G Day Vancouver offers a unique emotional imprint that supports positive self-esteem, peer and family relationships in a community context.

Since the first G Day launched in 2014, over 1,300 girls and 700 adults have attended across five Canadian cities.

In addition to inspiring speakers and interactive activities addressing topics including leadership, positive self-esteem and body image, the day includes a multitude of diverse, fun, creative activities. The girls are encouraged to sing together, create art and share stories and experiences in both small as well as larger groups. G Day also features dance, martial arts or other forms of movement.

G Day Vancouver’s presenter lineup boasts several well-known local personalities including:

• Tamara Taggart, Broadcaster, Activist, Philanthropist and nomination candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in Vancouver-Kingsway
• Jocelyn MacDougall, Community Convener, Activist and Singer
• Michelle Wilson, Transgender Rights and Inclusion Advocate Tickets are $60 each; limited quantities of sponsored tickets are available for families who would not otherwise be able to attend for financial reasons.

“G Day is designed to build girls’ self-esteem, as well as compassion and respect for other girls,” says G Day Founder Madeleine Shaw “Taking time to honour key life transitions in-person is a profound experience that is increasingly precious in today’s rapid-fire, screen-filled world. Entering their tween years, girls inhabit an increasingly sexualized, socially competitive landscape that can undermine their self-confidence and make them more vulnerable to destructive influences and behaviours as they enter their teenage years.”

Follow G Day on Facebook and Instagram for more info, and get your tickets today.

38 artisan distilleries from across the province will be bringing their spirits to the 6th annual BC Distilled Festival on Saturday, April 6, 2019. Attendees – including a lucky Miss604 contest winner and their guest – will have the chance to taste some of the best spirits in Canada.

BC Distilled

Where: Croatian Cultural Centre, 3520 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
When: Saturday, April 6, 2019
Trade/VIP Tasting: 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Public Tasting: 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Tickets: On sale now for $69.99, VIP $79.99, plus additional event tickets are available online.

25 of the distilleries in attendance this year won medals at the recent Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition – Canada’s only national spirit competition reserved exclusively for small distilleries, with a national panel of independent judges completing blind assessments of artisan spirits submitted by distillers across the country.

Here are 4 awesome things that make BC Distilled unique:

• Samples are not ticketed. Attendees are encouraged to try spirits without the pressure of finishing every drop to get their money’s worth out of a sample ticket.
• The venue is not sold to maximum capacity, so there is room to move and relax, and attendees won’t face long lineups to try spirits and other samples.
• Each distillery is represented by staff (in most cases the distiller is present), which means attendees get to talk to the people who actually make the spirits – not just agents.
• The Legacy Liquor pop-up shop is one of the most popular aspects of the show – it has the best selection of BC spirits anywhere in the province – for one night only!

BC Distilled is once again partnering with Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), whose participation is among attendees’ favourite parts of the event. Volunteers with dogs will be roaming the event while offering tickets to a 50/50 draw.

Participating Distilleries

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to the public tasting event on April 6th, here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to post an entry on Twitter

Follow BC Distilled on Facebook and Twitter for more information. Please enjoy responsibly. Must be 19+. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

It’s the first day of spring so in my morning perusal of the City of Vancouver Archives I thought I’d make it the subject of my keyword search. It turns out, Spring – the coiled red sculpture at Robson Square – turned up the first results.

Spring at Robson Square

The steel feature was installed in 1981 and is the work of artists Alan Chung Hung. “He moved to Vancouver in 1969 and studied at the Vancouver School of Art. He was one of the founding members of the Chinese Canadian Visual Arts Society in Vancouver. Chung Hung died of cancer en route from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 1994.” – City of Vancouver Public Art Registry

Spring won a juried competition funded by BC Building Corporation during the development of Robson Square.

Hung’s other works include Clouds above 938 Hornby, and the iconic Vanier Park mainstay, Gate to the Northwest Passage that frames beautiful views of the city and mountains.

Read about more public art in Vancouver in the Vancouver Icons series here »

The inspirational, triumphant, and incredible true story of the Preston Rivulettes women’s hockey team, GLORY, is coming to the main stage at Gateway Theatre in Richmond this April.

GLORY at Gateway Theatre

When: April 4-13, 2019
Where: Gateway Theatre, Main Stage (6500 Gilbert Road, Richmond)
Tickets: From $29 online or call the box office at (604) 270-1812

A woman’s place is on home ice.

In 1933, four friends set out to prove to Canada that hockey isn’t just a sport for men. As they fight through the Great Depression, prejudice, and personal upheaval, can they overcome the odds and forge their own path to glory? Gateway Theatre is proud to present GLORY, the inspirational, triumphant, and incredible true story of the Preston Rivulettes women’s hockey team.

Hilda (Katie Ryerson), a natural-born mucker and grinder, brings together a team of fierce women, including her sister Nellie (Morgan Yamada) and the Schwartz sisters Helen (Kate Dion-Richard) and Marm (Advah Soudack) to compete in the Ontario Women’s League championship. With support from their coach Herb Fach (Andrew Wheeler), the women take to the ice and create hockey history.

Featuring electrifying dance choreography and original scores inspired by swing music from the 1930s, GLORY captures all the thrills, excitement, and tension of a great hockey game. Go Rivulettes!

Special Performances

Ticket and Wine Combo*: All performances except Friday, April 5. Save $5 per person when you buy four (4) or more of this combo to the same performance of GLORY.

Theatre Club: Dinner and Show*: Tuesday, April 9. Dinner at Kove Kitchen @ 5:15pm; Show at Gateway Theatre @ 8:00pm.

You Play Like a Girl: Why We’re Still Talking about Women in Sports: Join the panel of experts as they discuss gender equality in sports, how women in sports has changed over the past century, and what can be done to even the playing field. Panelists include:
(1) Patricia Vertinsky, UBC Professor: Social Historian in Sports Studies,
(2) Natalie Korenic, Coach of the Richmond Ravens, and
(3) Alexa Loo, City Councillor, Olympic Snowboarder.

*See website for full details.

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to the opening night performance on Friday, April 5th. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to post an entry on Twitter

Follow Gateway Theatre on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00pm on Tuesday, March 26, 2019.

I think Vancouverites love the Oregon Coast because getting there includes a road trip through lush and familiar Cascadian forests, along with the unbeatable proximity of a coastal campground where wind-swept dunes meet the Pacific. I like it because it’s wild, it’s rugged, it’s sunny and sandy. What made me fall in love, was learning about and experiencing its history first hand when John and I got to stay in the Heceta Head Lighthouse B&B last fall.

Located between Yachats and Florence, around the bend from Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve (where we watched from a highway viewpoint as humpback whales breaching) is Heceta Head Lighthouse. The iconic fifty-six foot monument is known as the most photographed lighthouse in America – and you can not only stay over in the light keeper’s house, it’s a darling B&B!