It’s date night in the West End. You enjoy a lovely meal at a neighbourhood bistro, you hold hands walking down towards Lost Lagoon, the setting sun casts a beam of light across the water illuminating weeping willow trees, and then… the birds start to swarm. Seagulls, swans, ducks, Canadian Geese and an American Coot.
It will be tempting to take a photo to post to Instagram, and that’s just fine. But be sure to resist the urge to feed any creature you see in Stanley Park.
Ducks eat a mix of aquatic plants and insects to stay healthy and anything aside from that can be severely detrimental.
This summer the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”) launched #QuackSnacks, an event with the purpose of educating park visitors about this practice. SPES asserts: “Feeding ducks is so unhealthy that organizations including the US National Parks Service and the BC SPCA consider it indirect animal cruelty.”
The way I see it, we are a culture concerned with eating local, natural and organic so why do we impose the exact opposite on our feathered friends in the park? A commenter on the #QuackSnacks event added that as long as bread and seed mix is handed out, [ducks] will not move on to forage for their natural foods.
So be a good neighbour to the creatures in our city’s crown jewel. Visit, enjoy, play, photograph, and soak up its natural beauty. But please, don’t feed the ducks in Stanley Park.
For more information check out the Stanley Park Ecology Society online and read about the The Birds of Winter in Stanley Park.
On Saturday, October 25th, 55 awards were handed out in 21 categories for the BC Beer Awards. The fifth annual event included a consumer tasting event at the craft beer festival as well as the BC Beer Awards ceremony.
BC Beer Awards
If you’re looking to drink local beer, the list of winners is a great place to start. Here are just a few of the breweries that were honoured this year:
Light Lager
1st: Turning Point Brewing Company
Stanley Park Noble Pilsner
Pilsner
1st: Steamworks Brewery
Steamworks Pilsner
Special Lager
1st: Tree Brewing Co.
Captivator Doppelbock
Hybrids
1st: Steamworks Brewpub
Steamworks Brewpub Kolsch
UK Ales
1st: Tin Whistle Brewing Co.
Stag Apple Scotch Ale
North American Ales
1st: Main St. Brewing Co.
Main Street Sessional IPA
Browns and Porters
1st: Yellow Dog Brewing Co.
Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter
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Vegetable / Spice Beer
1st: Parallel 49 Brewing Co.
Lost Souls
Strong
1st: Steamworks Brewery
Steamworks Blitzen
Fruit and Sours
1st: Driftwood Brewing Company
Bird Of Prey- Flanders Red
North American IPA
1st: High Mountain Brewing Co.
5 Rings IPA
Imperial IPA
1st: Brassneck Brewery
One Trick Pony
Best of Show (of 465 entries)
Yellow Dog Brewing Co.
Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter
The Dan Small Homebrew Award
1st: Matt Anderson & Family
Anderson Estate IPA – Fresh Hopped |
All of the winners and runners up can be found online. October is Craft Beer Month in BC, with events through to October 31st.
Dress for Success will host the Success Luncheon on October 29th to celebrate and inspire business leaders in our community. Featured panelists include Nancy MacKay, Founder & CEO of MacKay CEO Forums; Jill Schnarr, VP, Community Investment & Engagement, TELUS; and Donna Wilson, SVP, People, LifeLabs. Dress for Success Vancouver client, Deepika Gupta will also share her story of personal and professional growth, adversity, and success.
Success Luncheon
What: Dress For Success Vancouver Success Luncheon
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Where: Pan Pacific Hotel (300-999 Canada Place, Vancouver)
Tickets: Purchase online for $100 with group/table option available
About: This signature event will be emceed by Fiona Forbes, Host & Producer, Shaw TV and Moderated by Laurie Schultz, CEO, ACL Services. All proceeds will go towards Dress for Success Vancouver’s programs committed to empowering women into the workforce.
About Dress for Success Vancouver
I first heard about Dress for Success over 5 years ago and I recently made it to their downtown Vancouver headquarters to learn more about their important work in the community. Volunteers streamed in and out of the space as Christina Florencio, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager, gave me a tour. Christina also filled me in our the three core services that Dress for Success provides.
I was aware of the dressing service that provides a professional attire for disadvantaged women returning to or entering the workforce but there are two other key components to Dress for Success.
There is the Career Centre that provides clients with career guidance, technology skills and support in their job searches. Career Center staff members work one-on-one with clients and the program also has the support of volunteers who come from varied professional backgrounds including job developers, career specialists and human resources executives.
The Professional Women’s Group program is then an 18 month program that provides education, mentoring and professional guidance.
How You Can Support Dress for Success
There are several ways to support Dress for Success on top of online donations:
- Planned giving: Support one women or specific programs for clients by sponsoring an interview suiting, job preparation, or the Professional Women’s Group. Use the gift tool to plan your contribution throughout the year.
- Item donations: The organization is currently in need of specific types of item donations (and wish list items) such as handbags (appropriate for work), plus size interview attire (18 and up), small size interview attire (size 00-2), outerwear, and new makeup.
- Special events: Attend events like the Success Luncheon on October 29th or Shop for a Cause November 14th and November 15th.
For more information about Dress for Success Vancouver, follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their blog.
Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver’s only cemetery, is as old as the city itself. Made up of 106 acres along Fraser St between 21st Ave and 43rd Ave, it is home to several specialized tours and events throughout the year.
All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery
The 10th annual Night for All Souls is Saturday, October 25, 2014 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. The Celebration Hall will be open for tea until 9:00pm and there will be personal memorial making and evening programming throughout the entire memorial week until Sunday, November 2, 2014. Mountain View’s All Souls events are free and include talks, presentations, crafts, and music that explore various traditions and rituals.
Walking Tours
Mountain View is the final final resting place of almost 150,000 people, including Vancouver mayors; first responders who died while on active duty; WWI and WWII veterans; Freemasons, Knights of Pythias, and Odd Fellows members; and victims of disasters such as the SS Sophia, Lakeview Tram, and Rogers Pass.
Walking tours are held rain or shine for $10 cash per person. Scheduled tours are promoted on Twitter and this page. For self-guided tours you can download PDF maps online for Self Guided Walk; Interesting Citizens: Vancouver’s Mayors; and Interesting Citizens: Princess Sophia Sinking.
