CircusWest Performing Arts Society’s latest production, Circus of Oz, features talented performance students from the CirKids program, bringing L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz story to life in Vancouver.
Circus of Oz will run from May 7th until May 10th, 2015 at the historic PNE Garden Auditorium, offering something for circus fans of all ages.
CircusWest Artistic Director, Jay Nunns, continues to push the envelope of “circus through story telling” a style that is unique to the West Coast. Alongside other coaches and senior students, he has built a show inspired by the timeless L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz story infused with aerial artistry, daring acrobatics, and compelling circus acts to amaze and delight.
The Circus of Oz features an innovative set design including portable projector screens that will move throughout the show to recreate each scene. For this year’s production, the CircusWest team has built a new 15 foot trampoline wall, framed like a house, from which performers will fly into the air. The show is taken to the next level with otherworldly projections by Production Assistant, Cameron Fraser, a CirKids alumni who has created breathtaking projections for stages across Canada and recently in the US.
The show features live music, dazzling costumes and a cleverly designed set with 30 sonotubes, which move to create various structures and act as screens where projections are displayed. Shows run daily at 12:30pm and 7:00pm, and Circus of Oz for $14 to $22 with special group rates available.
CircusWest, a registered charity, offers children, teens, and adults an opportunity to explore circus arts in an encouraging, non-competitive environment. CircusWest’s programs foster respect while providing an environment to learn responsible risk-taking. As a collaborative community in which everyone can develop skills and realize their potential, CircusWest is a creative space where individuals can dream big, push limits, and defy gravity all while having fun.
Win Tickets to Circus of Oz
If you would like to attend Circus of Oz I have tickets to give away for this exciting show on Friday, May 8th at 7:00pm. 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 from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Follow CircusWest on Twitter and Facebook to learn more about their programs and special events.
Update The winner is Helen!
Cruise ship season is upon us as travellers from around the globe gather in Vancouver to set sail to ports of call up, down, and around the Pacific Ocean. Today, Port Metro Vancouver’s 2015 Alaska cruise season officially kicked off with the arrival of the Ruby Princess at Canada Place. The 2015 season is expected to be strong, on par with previous years, with an estimated 800,000 passengers on 227 visits by 32 vessels.
Vancouver Cruise Ship Facts
Port Metro Vancouver’s cruise facility has been recognized on a global stage as award winning. Vancouver was named the ”Top North American Home Port” by TripAdvisor’s Cruise Critic in the 2013 Cruise.Insight.2013Editors’ Picks Awards, and also won two Cruise Insight Awards: “Most Efficient Terminal Operation” and “Best Turnaround Port Operations” for 2013.
Vancouver is the only homeport offering both one-way and round-trip itineraries through the picturesque Inside Passage along the west coast of British Columbia to Alaska.
There are 6 inaugural ship calls are expected in Vancouver this year: Jewel of the Seas (Royal Caribbean International); Ruby Princess (Princess Cruise Lines); Carnival Legend (Carnival Cruises); L’Austral (Compagnie Du Ponant); Le Boreal (Compagnie Du Ponant); Silver Discoverer (Silversea).
Annual Statistics
To give some perspective, according to the census in 2011, there are 603,500 residents in the city of Vancouver. Our population goes up by about 50-60% during cruise ship season!
Voyages: 191 (2012); 235 (2013); 243 (2014)
Cruise lines that come through Vancouver:
Carnival Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises
Compagnie du Ponant
Crystal Cruises
Disney Cruise Line
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Holland America Line
|
Noble Caledonia
Norwegian Cruise Line
NYK Cruises
Oceania Cruises
Princess Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Royal Caribbean International
Silversea Cruises |
When cruise ships are docked, you can expect to see tens of thousands of visitors around Downtown Vancouver, enjoying their time in the city. Check out the Port of Metro Vancouver Cruise Ship Schedule for 2015 to find out which weekends will be the busiest this summer.
Sources: Tourism Vancouver: Cruise Vancouver, Port Metro Vancouver, Port Metro Vancouver.
Vancouver’s official City Bird for 2015, the Black Capped Chickadee, is retiring by giving up its adorably fictional crown and scepter and stepping aside as a new Vancouver City Bird is voted in this season. With over 700,000 votes in the competition last year, and 4,000 tweets about #VancityBird during the voting period, the popular campaign is back again this year to raise awareness about birds in Vancouver.
Vancouver City Bird 2015 – Black Capped Chickadee. Photo credit:
Tom Talbott on Flickr
Vancouver City Bird 2016
Candidates
Barn Owl: One of the most beautiful of its kind, with large eyes for night vision and a nocturnal lifestyle, the Barn Owl keeps to itself like other owls. It has a silent wing beat, so that its prey does not hear it coming. A denizen of grassy meadows, where it catches rats and voles, the Barn Owl roosts during the day in hollow trees and vacated buildings. Follow on Twitter @heyitsbarnowl
Barn Swallow: With a forked tail, the Barn Swallow is quite a dapper little bird. Perky and very chatty, it keeps up its busy schedule on a diet of insects. The Barn Swallows arrive here in April to build signature mud cup-shaped nests on rafters or walls of buildings. They readily take to open buildings occupied by humans. Follow on Twitter @thebarnswallow
Peregrine Falcon: The Peregrine Falcon is the avian equivalent to the stealth bomber. With incredible eyesight, it appears out of nowhere in a blinding flash to snatch unsuspecting birds from the ground or in short aerial pursuits. The dive is one of nature’s great spectacles. Few animals escape its attention, and it strikes fear into the minds of many. Follow on Twitter @vanperegrine
Western Grebe: An elegant creature with a long neck, the Grebe moves gracefully along the water surface and submerges on long dives. Grebes feed at night and raft up in large flocks during the day. During courtship, pairs will rise up on their feet and scurry off across the water in a highly memorable choreographed dance. Follow on Twitter @WesternGrebe
Events
Get involved in the discussions with bird experts, birders, and City Bird candidates at one of the following events on Twitter:
Thursday, April 30, 2015 Ask a Birder Twitter Chat
Experienced Vancouver birders will answer your questions on birdwatching in Vancouver on Thursday, April 30 from 12noon to 1:00pm. Use #VancCityBird to keep up with the chat and ask questions.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 The Great #VanCityBird Twitter Debate
Candidates will have an uncensored Twitter debate hosted by the Vancouver Park Board on Tuesday, May 5 from 12 noon to 1:00pm. Use #VanCityBird to keep up with the debate and suggest questions.
Vote
Voting is now open online until May 9, 2015. Read more about Vancouver Bird Week in this guest post by the Stanley Park Ecology Society.
Celebrate the tail end of Earth month with Big Box Outlet Store. This locally-owned store with over a dozen locations across BC and the USA has an Earth-friendly mandate in that they salvage products and sell them at a massive discount. Big Box purchases the products from major retailers at the end of the season or with damaged packaging that are otherwise destined for the landfill.
Big Box Outlet Store has an entire department dedicated to bringing products back to a sellable condition and often it’s just a matter of prettying up the packaging or refurbishing a toy.
The products essentially are brand new but given the nature of retail, any small damage could lead a perfectly good product into the landfill. In fact, that’s where many more goods would be going unless Big Box buys it for their stores!
Shop at any Big Box Outlet Store location (they’ve recently opened a new location in Vancouver) or online for clothing and accessories, entertainment, toys and gaming, electronics, health and beauty, home and outdoor products. They’d love to see you so they’re offering up a $200 gift card to one lucky Miss604 reader. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post a photo on Instagram reflecting on Earth Month
+ tag @Miss604 @bigboxoutletstore (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, May 4, 2015. Follow Big Box Outlet on Twitter and Instagram for more information.
Update The winner is Krista!
There’s something very special about going to the theatre in Vancouver and something even more spectacular happens when that theatre experience takes place seaside, at sunset, on a gloriously warm summer night. Bard on the Beach Summer 2015 returns this summer, with the white tents at Vanier Park hosting the award-winning Shakespeare Festival from June 4th until September 26th.
Photo courtesy of Bard on the Beach 2015.
Bard on the Beach Summer 2015
Bard on the Beach presents is a summer long celebration of Shakespeare with timeless tragedies presented with a twist, such as a Victorian steampunk style The Comedy of Errors and a 1920s Chicago feel Love’s Labour’s Lost, complete with jazz music.
Play run dates and Special Events for 2015 are:
The Comedy of Errors: June 4th to September 26th (BMO Mainstage)
Opening Night Saturday, June 13
King Lear: June 18th to September 20th (BMO Mainstage)
Opening Night Thursday, June 25th
Love’s Labour’s Lost: June 19th to September 20th (Howard Family Stage)
Opening Night Friday, June 26th
Shakespeare’s Rebel: July 2nd to September 19th (Howard Family Stage)
Opening Night Sunday, July 12th
Bard-B-Q & Fireworks: Saturday, July 25th, Wednesday July 29th and Saturday, August 1st
Includes a play, dinner, on-site entertainment & exclusive fireworks viewing.
New start time: 5:00pm. Tickets from $95.
Chor Leoni:
Manely Canadian: Monday, June 22nd and Monday, June 29th at 3:00pm and 8:00pm.
Tickets $15 to $37.
Wine Wednesdays: July 15th, August 12th and September 9th at 6:00pm.
$20 (must purchase play ticket for the same evening).
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Live At Bard
Mondays, July 13th and July 20th at 7:30pm.
Opera & Arias: Gilbert & Sullivan!:
Monday, August 24th and Monday, August 31st at 2:00pm and 7:30pm.
Discovering Shakespeare Talks:
Saturdays, June 20th and June 27th, July 18th* & August 8th at 11:30am.
A lively look at each play with Bard’s Education Director, Mary Hartman.
(*guest lecturer: Shakespeare’s Rebel playwright C.C. Humphreys)
Exploring Shakespeare Talks:
Mondays, July 13th and July 20th, August 10th* and August 31st at 7:30pm.
Delve deeper into each play with SFU’s Paul Budra.
(*guest lecturer: Shakespeare’s Rebel playwright C.C. Humphreys)
Family Nights at Bard: Tuesday, June 30th & Thursday, August 6th
Family package pricing available.
Ben Elliott (Antipholus), Dawn Petten (Dromio). THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, 2015. Photo & Image Design: David Cooper & Emily Cooper
Ticket prices for 2015 include all applicable fees and taxes and begin at $26. Early booking is recommended for best seat selection; note many performances sell out in advance. Full pricing information, the performance schedule and full site and event details are on the Bard website. To book tickets, call the Bard Box Office at 604-739-0559 or (toll free) 1-877-739-0559 or order online through the Bard website. Follow Bard on the Beach on Facebook and Twitter.
Bard on the Beach is one of Canada’s largest not-for-profit, professional Shakespeare festivals. Established in 1990, Bard is an annual summer festival with a mission to perform, explore and celebrate the genius of William Shakespeare surrounded by the natural beauty of Vancouver, British Columbia. Play performances run Tuesday through Sunday with matinees on selected weekends and weekdays. All evening performances start at 7:30pm.
