For decades the North Shore mountains have been a playground for locals and visitors, especially during ski season. Grouse Mountain had one of the first double chairlifts in the world when it was constructed in 1949, Mount Seymour has been enjoyed since 1938, and Mount Strachan & Black Mountain make up the popular Cypress Mountain Ski Area that was in the spotlight during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Thanks to the City of Vancouver Archives, we can catch glimpses of what skiing (and ski equipment) on the North Shore has looked like over the years.
10 Vintage Ski Photos
Bonus
Of course I can’t leave out that epic Empire Stadium ski jump:
1958: Empire Stadium Ski Jump. Photo: Leslie F. Sheraton. Archives# 2008-022.007.
Dogtopia, an award-winning, national dog daycare, boarding and spa provider opened their first Canadian location in Coquitlam this November. Starting out as a doggie daycare centre in Virginia in 2002, Dogtopia is now expanding to Canada with 35 locations planned to open across the country along with the new Coquitlam location.
Among Dogtopia’s services are webcams, so owners can tune in to view their pets when they’re apart, and multiple play areas where dogs are separated by size and attitude. Dogs can also enjoy spa grooming services and specialty gourmet treats.
Visit Dogtopia in Coquitlam (at 822 Brunette Ave) for open play dog daycare, overnight boarding or spa services and experienced, personalized care and exceptional customer service. Their accessible and affordable 4,000 square foot location is a great spot for any size or breed of dog. Their self-serve dog wash, extensive grooming menu as well as overnight boarding make this the perfect place for your favourite K-9.
Win a Dogtopia Prize Pack
To celebrate the launch of the Coquitlam location, Dogtopia is offering up a prize pack valued at $150 to one lucky Miss604 reader. This includes a $75 gift card (for Dogtopia services) and a $75 gift basket filled with assorted toys and treats. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Like, share or comment on this post on Facebook (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, December 19, 2014. Follow Dogtopia’s head office on Twitter and the Dogtopia Coquitlam on Facebook for more information.
Update The winner is Judy!
This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Fundraising & Communications Specialist with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End almost a decade ago and I have been a member for two 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.
The Holly and The Ivy
“The Holly and the Ivy” is a traditional British Christmas carol, but for Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”), it’s a call to arms. English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and English ivy (Hedera helix) are among the most widespread invasive plants in Stanley Park – threatening native flora and decreasing wildlife habitat. The Stanley Park Eco-Stewards Program (previously called Ivy Busters) works hard to control this threat: over 325 cubic meters of invasive species were removed from approximately 11,400 square meters of forest in Stanley Park last year. That’s equivalent to 217 wheel barrows-full!
English holly (Photo: Morguefile) / English ivy (Photo: Morguefile)
That’s a lot of green waste. Rather than send it all to a composting facility, SPES launched a pilot project in 2009 to test the feasibility of repurposing English ivy to create a usable material for erosion control and habitat restoration. The results were positive and in 2013 SPES partnered with environmental artist Sharon Kallis to create “bionetting” from the ivy vines. During artist-run workshops, community members used traditional crochet techniques to knit mats of English ivy which were installed on an eroded slope near Lost Lagoon. Today, native plants thrive on the stabilized site and the natural habitat is returning.
English ivy “bionetting” (Photo: SPES)
SPES is expanding this “upcycling” project this spring to experiment with repurposing another Park invasive, Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). Himalayan blackberry is well established and widespread in most areas of the Park, especially in blowdown sites left exposed by the 2006 windstorm.
Himalayan blackberry (Photo: Morguefile) / Yellow flag iris (Photo: Morguefile)
These invasive species are some of the most prominent invasive plants in Stanley Park, but they are only four of the 111 species documented here! Ten species are considered ‘expanding’ as they are abundant in some areas, but have limited distribution in other areas. These include plants like Japanese knotweed, yellow lamium and yellow flag iris. Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) is expanding along the edges of Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake, but it is limited to freshwater shores. Eleven other species are considered ‘emergent’ or new invaders and are a high priority as they have limited distribution and the feasibility of controlling them is higher. They include St John’s wort, spurge laurel, giant hogweed and gorse.
Japanese Knotweed (Photo: Ancatdubh43 at English Wikipedia) / Yellow lamium (Photo: Teun Spaans via Wikimedia Commons)
Since at least the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, holly and ivy have decorated British churches and homes at Christmas (Wikipedia 2014) and many people uphold that tradition in holiday wreathes and decorated mantles. With the establishment of these invasive species in our parks and forests, you may think it’s helpful to harvest these plants for seasonal displays; but, please leave that to the experts. It is against park by-laws to remove any plants – even invasive species – from city parks without a permit.
You can help SPES help the Park! Stanley Park Eco-Stewards events are open to the public and are held twice per month on Saturday or Sunday. Check SPES’ events calendar for upcoming dates.
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker, presented by Ballet BC, is a beautiful, big-hearted performance that retains aspects from the original’s German and Russian traditions, while being very relevant to a Vancouver audience by being set in Canada, at the turn of the 20th Century, just before WWI.
Photo courtesy of
Ballet BC. RWB Company Photo by Vince Pahkala.
We all know the story: young Clara falls asleep after a party at her stately mansion and dreams of (or does she?) a fantastical world of live toy soldiers, dancing mice, and fairies. Though I’ve seen this ballet performanced multiple times, and know the story so well, there was something so fresh and invigorating about this performance.
First of all, Brian Perchaluk’s scenic design was so imaginative; there was so much dimension and texture to all the sets that it completely pulled the audience into the worlds he created. There were a few Canadian references in the set the design and direction that really refreshed up the classic: kids playing a hockey game in front of the house, a battle between the soldiers and mice on Parliament Hill.
Though this performance lacked some precision in technique (part of a ballet slipper fell off a dance and it didn’t always feel like the dancers were in unison with each other or the music), it gave so much in spirit and charm that these so called imperfections became my favourite part. For instance, a single snowflake seemed to fall from the sky when it shouldn’t have, but it added a magical element to performance, nevertheless.
Standout performance for me was the Nutcracker himself, Liang Xing, whose performance was exquisite as he leaped across the stage with such athleticism, grace, and perfection, he was exactly what you would expect from an doll idolized by an imaginative young girl.
Oh, and the kids! They were so cute! In their mice costumes (with bubble bums), or as baby white polar cubs, or as mounties and angels; it didn’t matter, every time a kid would come on stage, the audience would gush, and everyone just wanted to eat them up, all of them.
All of these elements–the cuteness of the kids, the imaginative set, the glorious Tchaikovsky music, the passion with each the dancers danced, and the Canadiana sprinkled throughout the performance–make this Nutcracker not just heart-warming, but almost emotional. I left full of feeling for home and family and magic and reality. The best things to feel about over the holidays.
Remaining performances of The Nutcracker at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre will be at 2:00pm and 7:30pm on Saturday, December 13, 2014 and Sunday, December 14, 2014. Tickets are on sale now, ranging from $35 to $98.50, and family packs (2 adults, 2 children) are available from $229 to $300 (including service charges). Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster online or by phone at 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS).
Follow Ballet BC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information.
Everyone deserves a little holiday cheer this season and Kaboodles Toy Stores are doing so with a charitable toy drive. On now until Christmas Eve, you can visit any of Kaboodles’ four locations to participate in this fun and meaningful toy drive.
Kaboodles Toy Drive
All donated gifts will be delivered to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau to help families in need provide gifts to their children this Christmas. The Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau has been dedicated to making Christmas a little more special for struggling families since 1930.
Visit Kaboodles in Point Grey, Cambie, Granville Island, or in Victoria to help them collect hundreds of gifts for struggling families this year. With your purchase in-store for a toy drive gift, you’ll receive a 10% discount.
Kaboodles will be offering special incentives and giveaways to those who participate in the Toy Drive each week. Follow the action (and watch the pile of donated toys grow each day) by visiting Kaboodles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (#KaboodlesToyDrive).
Playmobil Giveaway
Another BIG incentive to support the Kaboodles Toy Drive is a Playmobil Giveaway for Miss604 readers. Enter to win $200 to spend on Playmobil at any Kaboodles!
“Since 1974, the toy system PLAYMOBIL® created by Hans Beck has become a classic of children’s playrooms, with its many different play worlds – from a knight’s castle to a sunny holiday hotel. About 2.7 billion of the beloved play figures with the characteristic smile have been produced since then and delight children all over the world. Around 30 different play themes are distributed in more than 100 countries worldwide. Both parents and educators appreciate the award-winning toy system as a representative of high-value, quality play.”
Here’s how you can enter to win:
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, December 16, 2014. Follow Kaboodles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more details, deals, and news.
Update The winner is Meredith!
