This post has been contributed by Dan Straker, Urban Wildlife Coordinator with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End a decade ago and I have been a member for three years. I wanted to offer the team an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I have created “SPES Saturday” where they contribute and share stories with my audience once a month.
Vancouver Bird Week is for the Birds
International Migratory Bird Day is coming up on May 9th which reminds us just how important migratory birds are to our environment. But why only celebrate for one day when you can celebrate for a whole week? Whether you are a bird nerd or just bird curious, celebrate Vancouver’s third annual Bird Week from May 2nd to May 9th with great events and activities in locations all around Vancouver. Vancouver Bird Week has walks, talks, art workshops, a film screening, planting events, and great activities for free and open to all ages. Visit the Vancouver Bird Week website for information on events and activities.
An evening presentation series is hosted by Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch on May 2nd, May 8th, and May 9th. Topics will include an introduction to birds and birding, the fascinating mating behaviours of sandpipers, plus specific events related to owls and ducks living in cities.
There will also be a screening of “Birders: The Central Park Effect” at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts on May 6th. All evening events start at 7pm, are free and first come first served.
As well as all of the other walks and events, for those of you with little ones, there will be a number of art workshop activities at Hillcrest and Roundhouse Community Centres throughout the week.
Vote for Vancouver City Bird
This year the City of Vancouver is also holding its second City Bird competition that runs from April 15th – May 9th, pitting four birds in an election to see who will become Vancouver’s City Bird for 2016. Currently, the black-capped chickadee reigns as last year’s City Bird and will be featuring on resident’s parking decals and promotional buttons. The nominees selected for this year are the barn swallow, barn owl, peregrine falcon, and western grebe. The nominees have been chosen based on the theme of “rare gems”, in other words, birds that were once more common in the lower mainland but are now endangered.
Learn more about the City Bird competition and vote online. The winning bird will be announced on May 9th following the final Bird Week event at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch.
Maybe you are wondering, why should I care about birds, anyway? Vancouver is known for its awesome diversity and abundance of birds. It is a major stop-over on the Pacific Flyway, traversed by more than a billion migratory birds every year. Vancouver itself supports over 250 species of birds year round and has four, count them, four internationally designated Important Bird Areas that surround it. Vancouver Bird Week is all about raising awareness for birds and their value to our environments and ourselves. It is part of a larger initiative called the Vancouver Bird Strategy — adopted by the City of Vancouver in January 2015 — which seeks to create the conditions for native birds to thrive in Vancouver through a number of targeted actions – and you can help! Come out to Bird Week and find out how.
Bird Week is organized as a collaborative effort of many local non-profits and other agencies working in partnership with City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board. Stanley Park Ecology Society is proud to have played a key role in coordinating the events for Vancouver Bird Week and hopes that you will participate and take some time to learn about birds in your city.
Presented by Honda:
Over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to drive Honda’s full fleet of vehicles, from the peppy, family-friendly Odyssey to the much-bigger-than-it-seems Honda Fit. With all of my Honda experiences, from Mount St Helens to Sasquatch Park I thought it would be a good time to hear from someone else about how Honda has brought them happiness.
Finding #HondaHappiness
“We did a 5 week road trip down the Oregon and California coast for our honeymoon in 2007,” Kristi Ferguson told me after I put the call out on social media to find a Honda owner. Kristi is a a wife, mum and marketing professional from Greater Vancouver who loves exploring BC wife her family, in her trusty Hondas.
“We also took our 1997 CR-V down during record temperatures in California. There were cars all over the road stopping from the heat, but our CR-V kept on trucking!” Kristi told me that when her family got home from the California trip they knew it was time for a new vehicle — and they knew just what to get. “We purchased a 2008 CR-V, without looking at any other vehicles, which we still have today. It’s an awesome vehicle for commuting, great on gas.”
After replacing their CR-V in 2008, they added an additional vehicle to their family lineup when they purchased a 2014 Honda Odyssey. “Honestly, we don’t even look elsewhere now. When we need a new vehicle, we go straight to Honda, as we know we’ll be happy with the vehicle.”
Happiness comes with a Honda!
Where’s your happy place in BC? The local mountains? The big hockey game with your family? Or your yoga studio at sunrise? Tell us about yours on Twitter and share a photo if you like! You’ll be entered for a chance to WIN $1,000 towards your happy place. Just make sure you include #hondahappiness and follow @hondacanada. Contest runs April 17 – May 10, 2015. For full contest details visit: http://my-honda.ca/happiness.
Canstruction, a design/build competition now in its 13th year, returns to Downtown Vancouver as engineers and architects bring their interpretation of this year’s theme “Fact or Fiction” to life using canned goods.
Imagine an 8 foot tall Sasquatch, a giant optical illusion or huge talking watermelon built with thousands of cans of food! After the event, 100% of the food used will go to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Canstruction sculptures will be available for viewing (free) between Sunday, April 26, 2015 and Friday, May 8, 2015 at three venues:
Rotunda at Pacific Centre Mall, (5 sculptures) 701 W Georgia St at Howe St
Four Seasons Hotel, (2 sculptures) 791 W Georgia St at Howe St
Pendulum Gallery, (12 sculptures) 855 W Georgia St. at Howe St
Follow Canstruction on Twitter and Facebook for more information. Hours depend on the opening hours of the buildings in which the display will sit.
EAT Vancouver, the largest festival of its kind in Canada, returns to BC Place — and beyond — April 26th to May 3rd. This 13th annual gastronomic feast for the senses features an expanded eight-day program with more than 35 collaborative workshops, dinners and events taking place throughout Vancouver before culminating in a three-day show at BC Place Stadium May 1st to May 3rd.
EAT Vancouver Dinner Series
Happening around Vancouver from April 28th to May 3rd, tickets for the Dinner Series events are on sale now, with some already sold out:
- Hidekazu Tojo of Tojo’s Restaurant welcomes Susur Lee, restaurateur/chef and former Iron Chef America competitor, Toronto, ON
- Jackie Kai Ellis of Beaucoup Bakery & Café welcomes Toronto’s Anna Olson, host of Food Network Canada’s Bake With Anna Olson, at The Dirty Apron
- Pino Posteraro of Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca welcomes Mark McEwan restaurateur/chef and Food Network Canada notable, Toronto, ON
- J-C Poirier of Ask for Luigi welcomes Jérémie Bastien of Restaurant Leméac, Montreal, QC
- Wesley Young of Wildebeest welcomes Jesse Grasso of The Black Hoof, Toronto, ON
- Joel Watanabe of Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie welcomes Michael Caballo and Tobey Nemeth of Edulis Restaurant, Toronto, ON
- Andrea Carlson of Burdock & Co. welcomes Connie DeSousa and Jessica Pelland of CHARCUT Roast House, Calgary, AB
- Trevor Bird of Fable Kitchen welcomes Carl Heinrich of Richmond Station, Toronto, ON
- Lucais Syme of La Pentola welcomes Nick Nutting of Wolf in the Fog, Tofino, BC
- Angus An of Maenam welcomes Nick Liu of DaiLo, Toronto, ON
- Chris Whittaker of Forage welcomes Andrew Winfield of River Café, Calgary, AB
EAT Vancouver Workshops
Thirteen workshops take place in several venues across the city from April 26th to May 1st, giving behind-the-scenes access to some of the city’s hottest restaurants, markets and production facilities:
- Baking at Home with Jackie Kai Ellis of Beaucoup Bakery & Café
- Explore the World of Coffee with Grady Buhler of JJ Bean Coffee Roasters
- Pizza Workshop and Gelatini Workshop with James Coleridge of Bella Gelateria
- Fermentation Master Class with Jonathan Chovancek of Bittered Sling Extracts and Café Medina
- Making Terrines at Home and For the Love of Bacon with John van der Lieck of Oyama Sausage Co.
- Market Shop, Cooking and Lunch Experience with Pino Posteraro of Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca
- An Evening of Bourbon & BBQ with Darryl Lamb of Legacy Liquor Store and The Belmont Bar
- Cheese and Wine Workshop with Allison Spurrell of Les Amis du Fromage
- The Art of Butchery with Sebastian Cortez of Sebastian & Co. Fine Meats
- Kickoff to BC Spot Prawn Season with Robert Clark and Mike McDermid of The Fish Counter and Steve Johansen of Organic Ocean
- Outlandish Shellfish Kitchen Party with Ned Bell of Chefs for Oceans and YEW seafood + bar, and Tim Bedford of Vancouver Aquarium
There’s also a Hospitality Symposium at the Pinnacle Hotel in Downtown Vancouver on April 29th, a Pastry Tasting and Panel Discussion on April 29th, and the Canadian Flavours Gala on April 30th at the Terminal City Club.
All EAT Vancouver dinners and workshops, as well as the Canadian Flavours Gala and Hospitality Symposium, include a complimentary ticket to EAT Vancouver at BC Place.
EAT Vancouver at BC Place
The weeklong festival culminates with the biggest celebration at BC Place from Friday, May 1st until Sunday, May 3rd. Tickets are available now (or at the door) for under $20 and children 12 and under are free. This event features more than 250 exhibitors celebrating food, drink and cooking.
All-new programming takes centre stage, including: VIP Experiences; the “Talk & Taste” Stage; the Canadian Food Artisan Pavilion, sponsored by Edible Canada; the Craft Beer Alley, sponsored by the BC Craft Brewers Guild; an On-site Legacy Liquor Store; as well as appearances by luminary chefs such as Rob Feenie, Vikram Vij, Ned Bell, Anna Olson, Susur Lee and Mark McEwan.
Follow EAT Vancouver on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for more information.
EAT Vancouver 2015 Giveaway
I have an awesome EAT Vancouver and Cactus Club Cafe prize pack available for one lucky reader (and guest) that includes: 2 tickets to EAT Vancouver, VIP seating to see Rob Feenie (Canada’s first Iron Chef America Champion) on the Celebrity Stage at EAT Vancouver, and a $100 gift card for Cactus Club Cafe. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly.
Update The winner is Jennifer Woodley!
