As the cherry blossoms fill our streets, parks, and yards with pink confetti, March arrives with free admission for kids at VanDusen Garden, Spring Break, dance celebrations, fashion, festivals and CelticFest fun. As always this list is updated several times a week so if you have an event to add, simply send it in for a free listing.
Sumac Ridge is kicking off a yearlong do-good campaign and they invited me to help them Pay it Forward this month. The Summerland, BC winery offered up $500 so that I could help out a local charity, and after touring the Dress for Success Vancouver offices last fall, they immediately came to mind.
Dress for Success Vancouver is a community empowering women into the workforce by providing them with professional attire, career services, and skills development programs. Their purpose is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty. Dress for Success is part of a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures.
They provide each client with professional attire to secure employment, but are about much more than simply a new outfit. Besides physically equipping the client with apparel and accessories, their programs furnish her with a confidence that she carries forever and the knowledge that she can actively define her life, the direction she takes and what success means to her.
To Pay it Forward, I met with Christina Florencio from Dress for Success last week, along with Kate Colley on behalf of Sumac Ridge, and together we spent $500 on much-needed interview and office attire for clients. We then delivered our haul to volunteers in the Dress for Success sorting room, and from there the contributions will be picked up by clients.
If you think a shopping spree for yourself feels good, let me tell you that there’s no rush like a shopping spree for someone else – many others – who are all very much in need of what you’re buying!
Pay it Forward with Sumac Ridge
Throughout 2015, Sumac Ridge want to continue to Pay it Forward, and that’s where everyone else comes in. The idea is as simple as doing something nice for someone who has made you feel special. Starting in March, Sumac Ridge will share a special treat with one of their loyal supporters and from there, it will be a chain reaction. The March recipient will select April’s, the April recipient will select May’s and so on. The campaign, and those being celebrated will be shared on Sumac’s social media channels using hashtag #SUMACPIF.
Sumac Ridge will also recognize those doing good in the community by celebrating individuals nominated throughout the year on their Facebook page. British Columbians will be asked to tell the winery who deserves a “random act of kindness” and why. The winery will select 12 additional individuals to receive a “People’s Choice” giveaway in the third week of each month from March 2015 through February 2016.
For more information, and to join the conversation, find Sumac Ridge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Kids get free admission at VanDusen Garden Botanical Garden from March 1st to March 31st, 2015! Bring the family to explore the 55 acres of the gardens with pink cherry blossoms, sculptures, a hedge maze, local wildlife, and over 7,000 different plants from around the world.
Get up to two free child admissions (for kids 12 and under) when you purchase a regular priced adult, senior, or youth admission. VanDusen is open every day in March, from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Full details about this offer are available online.
According to the garden’s bloom calendar you can expect to see early Rhododendrons, Helleborus, Winter Aconite (Eranthus hyemalis), Crocus, and Cornelian Cherry blossoms.
Bring a picnic to enjoy in the garden or grab lunch at Truffles Cafe and browse the gift shop. Follow VanDusen on Facebook for more information and programming updates.
The Chutzpah! Festival, which began on February 19th, is going strong through to March 15th at the Norman Rothstein Theatre and various off-site venues around Vancouver. Now in its 15th year, it brings to the stage awe-inspiring dance, insightful theatre, hilarious comedy, and engaging music from international and Canadian artists.
The wide range of performances entertains audiences with everything from an Ethiopian-fused Reggae band and the Borealis String Quartet to stand up comedy from three hilarious South Asian, Italian and Vietnamese American-Jewish comedians Samson Koletkar, Mike Capozzola and Joseph Nguyen.
Tickets
Single tickets for Chutzpah! are $20 to $36 and can be purchased online or by phone at 604-257-5145 (box office) or 604-684-2787 (Tickets Tonight). Chutzi Packs are also available, which allow you to see four different shows of your choice for only $85. Tickets are also be available in-person at the Jewish Community Centre (950 West 41st Avenue).
What You’re Missing
If you’re not attending any Chutzpah Festival performances, you’re definitely missing out so the aptly named “What You’re Missing” should be at the top of your list of shows to check out before the end of the festival. Chutzpah! will host the Canadian premiere of this play from March 10th to March 15th, 2015.
What You’re Missing (Cailtlin McCarthy & Amitai Marmorstein). Photo by Tim Matheson.
What You’re Missing is a bright new comedy about yearning and stifling, freedom and control, assets and liabilities, culture and class, and of course, strong dominating mothers. Vancouver-born, UK-based playwright Tamara Micner paints with a smile as she colours the streams of implications for two young people in love, living in the shadows of two very different histories – the Eastern European and Chilean Jewish experience.
The effervescent, talented Tamara Micner has us laughing deeply as we celebrate the universal in fumbling our way through difference. It’s 1974 in Vancouver. Isabel and Ed really like each other – and really like each other’s parents (a lot) more than their own! They want to travel together, but Ed’s mother refuses. Isabel’s dad won’t speak to Ed, Isabel’s mum won’t shut up about Pinochet, and everyone’s too hungry or too full. As the two families meet, eat, misinterpret and overreact, will the older generation be a catalyst, or a catastrophe? Is it only the young couple who are coming of age?
What You’re Missing premiered at the ADC Theatre, Cambridge in 2011 and has previously sold out at London’s King’s Head Theatre in 2014.
Gracing the stage in Vancouver will be six of Western Canada’s finest actors: Stephen Aberle, Natascha Girgis, Luisa Jojic, Amitai Marmorstein, Caitlin McCarthy and Jeffrey Renn. Directed by the award-winning director John Cooper, who has directed over 130 productions across Canada.
Showtimes are March 10th, March 11th, March 12th, and March 14th at 8:00pm; March 13th at 3:00pm; and March 15th at 1:00pm. Tickets are $29 (adult), $25 (senior), $20 (students), plus taxes/fees.
If you would like to see What You’re Missing at the Chutzpah! Festival, I have a pair of tickets to give away for the opening on March 10th. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tickets to #WhatYoureMissing at @ChutzpahFest from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/JGVhO
Follow the Chutzpah! Festival on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, March 5, 2015.
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Review — This is not a paid post. My experience was a part of a media trip with Destination BC, Ski BC. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Even the black diamond runs are green this season on the local mountains as a lack of snow has left the chair lifts motionless and lodge doors closed. Fortunately, I did get a taste of winter earlier this season when I was whisked away to the Okanagan to experience three stunning resorts and discover what “champagne powder” really was.
Okanagan Spring Break Skiing
Over six days I visited Sun Peaks (near Kamloops), Silver Star (near Vernon), and Big White (near Kelowna) and I strapped on my snowboard for the first time in many years. Aside from the groomed slopes, friendly guides, and family activities, I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed some of the very best meals I’ve ever tasted in the region, let alone at a ski resort. If you’re thinking about heading on an Okanagan ski trip with the family this spring break, here are a few useful pieces of information to help you make the best of your getaway, based on my recent experience:
About: Sun Peaks is Canada’s second largest ski resort with 4,270 acres of terrain on three mountains. You’ll find light and easy runs, rolling cruisers, alpine bowls, tree skiing and lots of powder. The longest run is called 5 Mile, and it really is 5 miles (8km) long!
Where to Eat: It’s tough to get me to try sushi when I’m inland but OYA Sushi was delightfully delicious and fresh. Also try Voyageur Bistro where you’ll get a healthy helping of Canadian and BC history knowledge served up alongside your wild salmon.
Special Offerings: The guided Breakfast Fresh Tracks was a highlight. Kick off your day on the mountain with exclusive access to exceptional alpine terrain accessed by the Crystal chair until 9:00am, followed by a hearty breakfast at the Sunburst Mid-Mountain Restaurant. There are a lot of events and family programs coming up for spring break so check out their full calendar for details.
About: Silver Star Mountain Resort is BC’s third largest ski area, with 128 runs and over 3,269 acres of terrain. It’s a big mountain with a small town feel in the village with mid-mountain ski-in/ski-out access. It has a great ski school program (I took a refresher/intermediate lesson here with a really fun guide), nicely groomed cruisers, steep powder filled chutes, and back country that one day I’ll explore, when the more lessons pay off.
Where to Eat: Breakfast at Bugaboos Bakery to start your day, lunch at The Den (except on Trivia Night, have dinner there first), more upscale (and romantic) dinner at Silver Grill by the fireplace.
We met up with a few Vernon tourism partners and producers at the Pinheads bowling alley, a state of the art 4 lane venue with an impressive bistro that provided us with a vibrant spread of local cheeses and meats. It was safe to declare our charcuterie and fruit plates the best bowling alley food I’ve ever had.
Special Offerings: Silver Star is the first resort in Canada to offer an all-inclusive experience with the My1Pass. In addition to unlimited skiing and snowboarding, all Silver Star alpine season passes and day tickets include free upgrades allowing unlimited access to the nordic and snowshoe trails, tubing at the Tube Town Adventure Park, and ice skating. Check out their deals page online for upcoming packages and promotions.
What I loved: Friendly staff, beautiful views, delicious dining in the village. Oh, and my room at the Snowbird Lodge had its own private hot tub on the balcony!
About: Big White is known as Canada’s Family Resort with over 750cm of light, dry, fluffy powder falling annually. It has Canada’s largest fully ski-in/ski-out village and an impressive Ski School. Accommodations range from hotels, luxury apartments, modern mountain vacation homes and themed log cabins.
Where to Eat: Gunbarrel Grill for après drinks, and the Globe for lunch or dinner with award-winning drinks and wines, tapas, and family-style s’mores cooking house-made marshmallows at your table.
What I loved: The wide range of activity and dining options. When my group arrived at Big White it was socked in with fog, which didn’t deter quite a few who still took to the slopes. Being unfamiliar with the mountain, and having taken refresher lessons all week, I opted to join the part of the group that was going to check out everything else the resort offers. Ice skating, ice climbing, tubing, snowshoeing, sleigh rides, nordic skiing, are just a few of the other activities — then there’s the wining and dining. Gunbarrel coffee, s’mores, and house wine commissioned at a local Kelowna winery.
For more information about these three resorts and more throughout our beautiful province, check out Destination BC’s Ski BC hub online and follow HelloBC on Twitter and Instagram.
