Get ready to show your favourite local food producer a little love: it’s time for the third annual We Heart Local Awards!
For the last three years, these people’s choice awards has highlighted the most popular food and agriculture businesses and organizations across the province. Your vote helps support the local economy, spread the word about why local is better…and it also tells your favourites how important they are to your community.
If you want to support your local butcher, baker, or ice cream maker, nominate them for a We ♥ Local award!
We Heart Local Awards 2015
Anyone living in BC can nominate and vote for their favourites in the following 15 delicious categories:
Favourite Farmers’ Market
Favourite Store to Buy Local
Favourite Local Meat or Poultry Supplier
Favourite Local Seafood Supplier
Favourite Local Cheese Maker
Favourite Local Sweet Treat
Favourite Local Advocate
Favourite Local Winery
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Favourite Local Brewery
Favourite Local Food Truck
Favourite Local U-Pick Farm
Favourite Local Orchard/Fruit Supplier
Favourite Local Restaurant or Chef
Favourite Local Florist or Nursery
Favourite Local Greenhouse or Veggie Grower |
Nominations started August 17th, and voting is open from September 7th to September 14th, 2015. When you vote, everyone’s a potential winner: nominating and voting for your local BC favourites also enters you into weekly draws for a chance to win one of five $100 gift cards to your local BC VQA store. Plus, you’ll be automatically entered in the Grand Prize draw for a luxurious three-night stay at Taku Resort and Marina along with your choice of a cooking course for two, valued at $1,800. This prize includes $300 gift card for BC Ferries to cover the cost of ferry transportation to Quadra Island. It’s an unforgettable way to experience local – especially once you hear Taku’s family story. Grand prize winner will be announced on September 15, 2015.
To cheer on your favourite local loves (and discover new ones), head to We Heart Local, or download their mobile app for iPhone to find what’s in season right from your pocket.
Be sure to get your nominations in this week and then follow the program online, on Facebook, Twitter #WeHeartLocal and on Pinterest.
VQA Wine Giveaway
For even more incentive to nominate and vote for your favourite BC growers and producers, I have a $100 VQA wine gift certificate to give away. Established in 1990, BC VQA certified wines must meet specific standards with respect to origin, vintage and varietals. These wines are also tasted by a qualified panel for quality characteristics prior to being able to use the BC VQA designation. To put it simply, when you see BC VQA on a bottle, it is your guarantee that you’re sipping a wine that is 100% from British Columbia! [WineBC]
Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Comment with the name of a BC grower, producer, winery, or brewery (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Friday, August 21, 2015. Must be 19+. Remember to get your nominations and votes in for the We Heart Local Awards!
Update The winner is Nancy!
There are three activities I will always recommend for visitors to Vancouver (and locals) if they’re looking to fully enjoy our city: The first is to get up a mountain (hiking or by taking a SkyRide), the second is to explore Stanley Park (SeaWall and forest trails), and the third is to get out on the water. There’s still plenty of time this season to take to the waters off English Bay, Deep Cove, or Port Moody and what better way to explore than in a kayak.
Where to Rent a Kayak in Vancouver
If you’re looking to rent a kayak, canoe, stand up paddleboard (“SUP”) this summer check out the following locations, many of them are right on the beach. Summer hours for most run until September, with limited winter rental options past October. Click through to each listing to find the very best location and provider.
Vancouver
Who: EcoMarine Paddlesports Centre
Where: Granville Island (1668 Duranleau St), English Bay (1700 Beach Ave), Jericho Beach (1300 Discovery St)
What You Can Rent: Kayaks, SUP, dragon boat
Extras: Long-term rentals, seasons passes, rack and gear rental, some winter rentals
Facebook / Twitter
Who: Vancouver Water Adventures
Where: Kitsilano Beach, Granville Island (1812 Boatlift Lane)
What You Can Rent: Kayak, SUP
Extras: SeaDoo rental, Flyboard rental
Facebook / Twitter
Who: Creekside Kayaks
Where: #1 Athletes Way
What You Can Rent: Kayak, SUP
Extras: Introduction to kayak courses
North Shore
Who: Deep Cove Kayak
Where: 2156 Banbury Road, North Vancouver
What You Can Rent: Kayak, SUP , surf ski
Extras: Lessons and tours, seasons passes
Facebook / Twitter
Lower Mainland
Who: Rocky Point Kayak
Where: 2715 Esplanade Street, Port Moody
What You Can Rent: Kayak, canoe, SUP
Extras: Paddle & Pints and Date Night social events, kids camps
Facebook / Twitter
Who: Natural West Coast Adventures
Where: Marine Drive & Bay Street, White Rock
What You Can Rent: Kayaks, equipment
Extras: Multi-day extended rentals, guided paddle tours locally and in the Fraser Valley
Disclosure: I have rented from EcoMarine and Deep Cove Kayak before so those are the only two I can fully endorse as having a great service and fleet options.
The Fair at the PNE returns for the season from August 22nd to September 7th and Vancity Savings Credit Union is proud to sponsor the annual Vancity Member Day on September 3rd. Vancity members and a guest can enjoy a fun-filled day at the Fair for only $5 each.
Vancity Member Day at the PNE
To receive the discounted admission, present your Vancity MEMBER CARD® debit card or Vancity enviro™ Visa, (or another form of membership verification), at any Fair at the PNE ticket booth on Thursday, September 3, 2015. Gates open at 11:00am.
Vancity Eco Alley
On top of saving $11 off adult admission to the Fair, Vancity members – and other fairgoers – can all stop by the Vancity Eco Zone to find out how Vancity is supporting the PNE on their journey of going green. Get fun facts and helpful tips on how you can go green at home through our fun and interactive activities.
Last year, Vancity worked with PNE in making Vancity Member Day a Zero Waste Event where 95% of event waste was diverted from landfill – in a 12 hour period, 58,000 PNE fairgoers only generated 9 bags of garbage! This year they will once again make Vancity Member Day a Zero Waste Event with help from community partner, Green Chair Recycling and dedicated staff volunteers.
Vancity’s Eco Alley will be a fun, informative and interactive area where PNE guests can learn about current PNE green initiatives, share ideas about further reducing the environmental impact of the PNE and find out new ways to be greener in their day-to-day lives. Vancity Brand Ambassadors will be onsite during The Fair to share the PNE’s journey to sustainability at the Vancity Eco Zone near the Livestock Barns on Saturday, August 28 through to Monday, September 7, 2015.
How can you be more green at the PNE? Ride your bike to the fair! There will be a complimentary Vancity-supported bicycle valet service. The bike valet stations are set up inside Gate 1.
PNE Prize Pack Giveaway for Vancity Member Day
In support of Vancity Member Day, I have a prize pack to give away that includes: A gift basket and $100 gift card to Sidesaddle Bike Shop, $50 in Vancity food cart vouchers, $60 in Vancity farmers’ market vouchers, and a pair of PNE Fair and Playland passes. The grand prize value is over $400!
Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment naming one way you’ve ‘gone green’ this summer (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 5:00pm on Friday, August 28, 2015.
Gates open at 11:00am on PNE Vancity Member Day. Follow the event on Facebook, and on Twitter using the tag #VancityMemberDay for more information. Check out the full PNE Concert Lineup for nightly entertainment at The Fair as well.
Update The winner is Taryn!
Kraft Project Play is helping to build a better future by building better places to play, awarding one community in Canada $250,000 for a recreational facility upgrade for their soccer, tennis, basketball, or general play. The four finalists in the competition have been named and there’s only one in Western Canada: Salt Spring Island’s Portlock Park.
Portlock Park, the recreation “heart of the island”, has the only block of public tennis courts on the island. They are used February to November, weather permitting. Along with fun play, there are monthly social and competitive tournaments, 3 public drop-in mornings, public junior tennis camps (32 youth this summer session), and a summer public junior tournament: the Rogers Rookie.
Tennis in Canada is booming, but 3 of the 1975-era courts need repair (the 4th, built later, is OK). Constructed with no proper foundation and drainage, they have had cracks and ‘bad’ spots almost since the beginning. Tennis work parties have weeded and filled the cracks for years, and money was spent to cut them out and pour ‘channels’ of asphalt to even the surface. But the channels themselves have sunk.
Voting starts August 17th and the grand prize winner will be revealed on August 21st. The three remaining finalists will receive $25,000 for their community play projects. To vote, all you have to do is go to Portlock Park’s listing on the Kraft Project Play site and click VOTE NOW. The three other finalists are Munro Park in North Sydney, NS; White Oaks Park in London, ON; Swilers Rugby Club in St John’s, NL.
The West Coast is the best coast for sunset views as we get the last glimpse of sunshine on the continent before it tucks away below the horizon to return another day. In Vancouver, we get treated to fiery orange clouds, pillowy pink hues, and bright burning glows before the sun ducks behind Vancouver Island.
5 Best Metro Vancouver Beaches for Sunsets
If you’re looking to end your summer night with some gorgeous views, here are just a few public beaches were you can setup for the evening, hold your sweetie close, and enjoy the last bit of light for the day by the Salish Sea.
Jericho Beach, Vancouver
Garry Point, Richmond
Iona Beach, Richmond
Crescent Beach, Surrey
Third Beach, Vancouver
In all honesty, any beach is great for sunsets in Metro Vancouver! Honorable mentions go to Whytecliff, Ambleside, White Rock, Kitsilano, Locarno, and of course Sunset Beach.
Related Posts: Taking Transit to the Beach, Vancouver Rock Balancing, Where to Rent a Kayak in Vancouver, The English Bay Slide, The English Bay Pier.
