This summer Oakridge Centre launched The Occasion, an online resource which is the good guest’s guide to attending any event in style. The fall edition of The Occasion was recently published featuring tips for attending business events.
Tips for The Business Lunch include “The Invite”:
While lunch with a potential client or business partner is often more productive and informal than an office meeting, it’s important to be respectful of your lunch date’s time and position. A busy, high-powered exec may be less inclined to leave the office for lunch, but more than happy to meet for a quick coffee.
When it comes to Business Cards, “Be Selective”:
While you should make a point of handing out your business card to those who seem interested in your product or service, exchanging contact information with every person you meet, even at a networking conference, is not always necessary — or even advisable. Successful networking is about identifying quality leads and prospective clients and employers, meaning it’s better to exchange information with one or two significant new connections than to indiscriminately hand out your details to everyone who says hello.
And when Networking in general, “Be a good Conversationalist”:
Brush up on current events to avoid a lull in the conversation, and be sure that you don’t monopolize the discussion. When entering a group conversation, don’t simply interrupt. Rather, take a cue from the party, and excuse yourself if no one appears to invite you in. Similarly, if you’re part of a group conversation and you notice a new addition, make an effort to introduce yourself, and invite the person into the conversation by catching them up.
With everything from an Apple store to Banana Republic, DKNY, Coach, Lenscrafters and Stuart Weitzman, Oakridge Centre is your one-stop shop for also looking great and being prepared for those business meetings. To promote the fall edition of The Occasion, Oakridge has offered up a $100 gift card to a lucky Miss604 reader. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment with a tip for productive business meetings and events (1 entry)
- Like, comment, or share this post on Facebook (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 12:00pm. Follow Oakridge on Twitter and Facebook for more information. Oakridge is located on the south west corner of the intersection at Cambie Street and 41st Avenue, 15 minutes from downtown Vancouver or Richmond. Get there by car or via the Oakridge Canada Line stop.
Update The winner is Tamara!
Science World, the epicentre of science and educational fun in Vancouver, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in October with the Geodesic Ball. This elegant evening is the pinnacle of Science World’s year-long silver anniversary and it will transform the iconic facility to showcase its past, present and future since opening its doors in 1989.
What Science World’s Geodesic Ball
Where Science World at TELUS World of Science
When Friday, October 17, 2014 at 6:00pm (VIP) 7:00pm (Reception)
Tickets VIP tickets are sold out. General tickets are still available online for $150.
The Geodesic Ball will be filled with sophisticated and whimsical fun. Guests will mingle and move freely from one gallery to another while enjoying culinary delights, signature cocktails, fine wine and incredible entertainment. Enjoy music, memories, and more with proceeds from this event supporting the creation of the Early Learner’s Gallery.
In early September, John and I spent a night at our favourite boutique hotel in Victoria, the Magnolia Hotel and Spa. In town to cover the Rifflandia Festival, it was the perfect way to make the most of a very quick getaway to the capital city.
We previously stayed at the Magnolia in February, for our wedding anniversary trip this year, and we find that it consistently provides a luxurious stay, fully loaded with amenities, combined with cozy comfort.
The Magnolia has everything we look for in a hotel. Wi-Fi is included, the lobby is friendly and inviting (and they serve amazing house cider in the winter months), the attached Catalano Restaurant has delicious and unique breakfasts (the potato and leek eggs benedict is my favourite), the beds are big and dreamy, the washrooms have a stand-up shower and a detached bathtub, and every room we have stayed in has had a fireplace and view of the city and the harbour combined. The decor is modern but classic, and it makes you feel special, like you’re really on vacation but you’re somewhere that feels like home.
The view from our room.
Magnolia Flight Night
During our recent stay, we enjoyed a flight of spa treatments as a part of the Magnolia’s Flight Nights package. You get your choice of two 30-minute treatments in the spa and a flight of wine at Catalano.
We arrived on a Saturday and booked the spa Sunday morning. After breakfast in bed, we went downstairs to the spa where we were setup in the double room. I enjoyed a pedicure with foot massage and wax treatment (not the clinical, scrape and file kind) as well as a facial with massage and exfoliation for 30 minutes a piece.
It was just the right amount of time to feel relaxed and pampered. My summer and sandal-worn feet were soaking in hot wax, covered in fluffy booties while my shoulders were getting rubbed and my face was being refreshed.
With the 12:00pm checkout we had enough time to grab our robes, head back upstairs and continue to unwind before another full day in Victoria followed by the ferry ride home.
For your Flight Night spa package you can choose a 30-minute Swedish massage, PureFocus Facial, body scrub & hydrotherapy tub, or the treat tired feet pedi. Until October 9th this package is $229/person based on double occupancy, additional night $115 per person. From October 12th until November 15th this package is $179 per person, extra night $69 per person. Flight Night packages include accommodation for two, one wine flight per person (sample 3 wines), and continental breakfast for two.
October in Victoria
October is such a great time to visit Victoria, and I don’t just say that because I love being there at any time of year. In October you get gorgeous fall colours, cool walks on the beach, and an abundance of Halloween events and tours of haunted places. The Magnolia also offers a Fright Night package that includes accommodation, breakfast for two, Ghostly Walks, and chocolate treats.
Until November 1st, Ghostly Walks take place every night downtown, and the Magnolia Hotel is just two blocks from the Victoria Visitor Centre where they start out. These walks (which are my favourite fall activity in Victoria) combine local and national history with spooky tales of spine-tingling haunts around every corner.
Follow the Magnolia Hotel on Twitter and Facebook for the latest package information and seasonal offerings.
The Vancouver International Film Festival (“VIFF”) is in full swing as audiences flock to local theatres for 353 films from over 65 countries, including 223 features and 130 shorts, 32 world premieres, 38 international premieres, 22 North American premieres, and 47 Canadian premieres. Miss604 is proud to once again be a media sponsor of VIFF, which includes sponsoring a specific film. This year I chose Preggoland, written by and starring Vancouver’s Sonja Bennett. Director: Jacob Tierney; Cast: Sonja Bennett, Danny Trejo, Laura Harris, James Caan, Paul Campbell.
When 35-year-old Ruth ruins a baby shower with her juvenile antics, her old high-school cronies (who are all mothers now) promptly de-friend her. But when she is later mistakenly thought to be with child, she is immediately embraced by the group. Although she initially tries to come clean, the perks of pregnancy become far too seductive to ignore and she soon finds herself living a laborious lie.
Vancouver’s Sonja Bennett shines in this expectant comedy, which she also wrote. Her creation, Ruth, is arrested in her emotional development and arresting in her dedicated amorality. James Caan plays her father who goes from being disappointed with Ruth’s lack of ambition to completely overjoyed with her apparent pregnancy and the prospect of having grand-kids! Danny Trejo is featured as Pedro, a ganja-smoking illegal immigrant (with five kids of his own) who is Ruth’s accomplice and confidant; he even goes so far as to masquerade as her radiology tech. Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky) directs this exceptional cast in a very funny and unconventional comedy about our societal obsession with motherhood and the lengths we’ll go to be part of a club.
After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (“TIFF”) earlier this season and has since received rave reviews for its strong script, and well developed characters [Read: National Post].
Preggoland premieres in Vancouver tomorrow, September 30th, at the Vancouver Playhouse (Hamilton at Dunsmuir). If you would like to attend this screening, I have 2 pairs of tickets up for grabs. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Draw takes place at 9:00pm Monday, September 29, 2014. The screening is at 6:15pm on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 so I would recommend winners arrive at the theatre by 5:00pm at the latest to guarantee a seat. I will leave tickets for the winners at the Will Call box office. Preggoland will also be screened on October 2nd at International Village.
Update The winners are bjh and Marianne Bacani!
In Vancouver we’re no strangers to rain drops, whether they are pelting down on our umbrellas or misting sideways through the thick green branches of the nearest Douglas Fir. There is one rain drop that does get more attention than others, however and it’s simply called: The Drop. This giant polyurethane-over-EPS sculpture by inges idee is prominently placed at the very foot of Burrard Street, between the two convention centres at Bon Voyage Plaza. The blue landmark, installed in 2009, is the subject of this week’s Vancouver Icons photo collection:
“Thrust into the waters of Burrard Inlet, The Drop playfully invites the viewer to reflect on our relationship with this precious commodity of water, and by extension, on the history, complexity, and future of our waterfront. The Drop pays homage to the element of water and the un-tameable forces of nature which are omnipresent in Vancouver. The slender, elongated sculpture balances as if a huge raindrop were on the verge of landing on the sea walk. Although the sculpture takes a natural phenomenon as its starting point, it displays a technical perfection, artificially coloured to correspond to the sky and contrasting with the pale yellow mass of the mountain of sulphur visible on the horizon, waiting to be loaded into cargo ships. The sculpture’s angle and orientation create a visual dialogue with the architecture of the Convention Centre West, as well as with the bows of the gigantic cruise ships frequently docked nearby. Like an abstract, radiant-blue ship’s figurehead, it marks the interface between land and water, between nature and technology.” [Source]
Previous Vancouver Icons posts: Prospect Point Lighthouse, Engagement, Ovaltine Cafe, The English Bay Slide, Freezing Water #7, Cleveland Dam, Heritage Hall, School of Theology Building at UBC, Gate to the Northwest Passage, St Paul’s Hospital, Capilano Lake, Stawamus Chief, Nine O’Clock Gun, Malkin Bowl, Search, Vancouver Rowing Club, Echoes, Point Atkinson Lighthouse, English Bay Inukshuk, Hollow Tree, Hotel Europe, Lions Gate Bridge Lions, LightShed, Granville Bridge, 217.5 Arc x 13′, Canoe Bridge, Vancouver Block, Bloedel Conservatory, Centennial Rocket, Canada Place, Old Courthouse/Vancouver Art Gallery, Dominion Building, Science World, Gastown Steam Clock, SFU Burnaby, Commodore Lanes, Siwash Rock, Kitsilano Pool, White Rock Pier, Main Post Office, Planetarium Building, Lord Stanley Statue, Vancouver Library Central Branch, Victory Square, Digital Orca, The Crab Sculpture, Girl in Wetsuit, The Sun Tower, The Hotel Vancouver, The Gassy Jack Statue, The Marine Building, and The Angel of Victory. Should you have a suggestion for the Vancouver Icons series please feel free to leave a note in the comments. It should be a thing, statue, or place that is very visible and recognizable to the public.
