During the month of April I will be featuring a Cherry Blossom Photo of the Day, sourced from the Miss604 Flickr Pool and/or the #Photos604 tag on Instagram. You can barely walk a full block in the city without encountering a photographer capturing this pink blooms — or stopping yourself — so it’s the perfect time to start this series. Enjoy!
I think this is the quintessential Vancouver cherry blossom photo, showing a pink canopy draped over a neighbourhood street.
View more photography posts on Miss604 along with the Vancouver Photos of the Week.
Central City Brewers and Distillers (“CCBD”) is hosting their 2nd Annual Evening For Autism charity fundraiser, taking place May 24, 2014 at SFU Surrey.
CCBD, in partnership with the Simon Fraser University (“SFU”) Faculty of Science, will host the black-tie fundraising event complete with live and silent auctions to aid in the funding of a new clinical trial of HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) for children with autism, the first of its kind in Canada.
What: Central City Brewer and Distillers 2nd Annual Evening for Autism
Where: Simon Fraser University, 250-13450 102 Ave, Surrey
When: Saturday, May 24, 2014 from 6:30pm to 11:00pm
Tickets: Available online
“Autism is a condition very close to my heart as my son Callum was diagnosed with autism when he was two and a half years old,” says Darryll Frost, President and Founder of Central City Brewers + Distillers.
“Every day, we face the challenge of how to help our son and we’ve invested in a number of therapies to support him, including HBOT treatments. Our goal is to assist scientists in proving the effectiveness of HBOT for children with autism, so that everyone can have access to this therapy.”
Latest statistics estimates that autism affects 1 in 68 children: one in 42 boys and one in 189 girls, and rates have been steadily increasing with a recent jump of 78 per cent since 2006. Early research indications suggest that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve communications and behavior in children with autism. [Source: Press Release]
CCBD’s goal is to raise at least $400,000 to make this trial possible. They will also run their Imperial IPA for Autism campaign (starting today, World Autism Awareness Day) where $2 from the sale of each bottle will go towards the trial.
Over 2,000 cases of the limited release Imperial IPA for Autism will be released to liquor stores this month. Central City will also be accepting donations at its Liquor Store and Brewpub + Restaurant in Surrey.
Follow Central City Brewers and Distillers on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the Imperial IPA and the Evening for Autism. Please enjoy responsibly, must be 19+ to attend.
GO Fest is Whistler’s Great Outdoors Festival that will say goodbye to winter and welcome summer with open arms, kicking off May Long Weekend in BC. Go Fest will combine three days of outdoor challenges with a free concert series headlined by The Sheepdogs.
GO Fest Whistler Sport
Friday, May 16, 2014
GO Enduro Mountain Bike Race
Saturday, May 17, 2014
The Great Green River Challenge; DiscGO Disc Golf Tournament; Whistler 5 on 5 Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The Great Snow-Earth-Water Race; Whistler 5 on 5 Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
Monday, May 19, 2014
The Great Slush Cup
GO Fest Whistler Concerts
Friday, May 16, 2014
The Sheepdogs
Sunday, May 18, 2014
She Stole My Beer
GO Fest is also on the lookout for other bands, DJs or musical acts to bring awesome energy to the Victoria Day May Long Weekend. Interested parties can inquire online (click “music inquiries” at the bottom of the website).
More details will be released in the coming weeks. In the meantime, follow GO Fest on Facebook and Twitter for updates.
April is one of the most significant months in Vancouver history since it was incorporated on April 6th in 1886. Here are a few more interesting moments in our city’s story that occurred this month, sourced from The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver.
April in Vancouver History
April 2, 1920 The Japanese-Canadian War Memorial, designed by Vancouver architect James Benzie, was installed at Stanley Park. Chuck Davis writes: “It commemorates Japanese-Canadians who fought in World War I. It’s there to this day, a handsome structure surrounded by flowering cherry trees. A Japanese-Canadian entrepreneur, Koichiro Sanmiya, sold war bonds to raise the money for the memorial.”
April 5, 1917 Women were awarded the right to vote in BC (unless they were of Asian decent or Indigenous, that didn’t happen for many more decades).
1886: City Hall and 1st Council. Photograph taken in September, after the City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886. Archives# CVA 1477-419.
April 6, 1886 The City of Vancouver was incorporated.
April 7, 1993 The Friends of the City Archives group was founded.
April 16, 1913 Bob Brown (“Mr. Baseball”) opened Athletic Park stadium at West 6th and Hemlock. Babe Ruth once played there in an exhibition game.
April 11, 1865 The first telegraph message in the area was sent from Moody’s Mill on the North Shore to New Westminster. It was followed, three days later, by the first telegraph message from the ‘outside world’ telling of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
April 13, 1950 The Ridge Theatre opened on Vancouver’s Arbutus Street, it met its demise in the fall of 2013.
April 2, 1977 The Orpheum reopened and became the home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. It was bought by the City of Vancouver in 1974 before it could be gutted and turned into a multiplex theatre. It was closed in 1975 for a complete renovation and restoration, and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1979.
1946. Archives #CVA 1184-2290. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
April 2, 1978 The Vancouver Park Board voted to rename Capilano Stadium after Nat Bailey.
April 29, 1875 Mabel Ellen Boultbee was born at Moodyville on the North Shore. She was the first white child born on Burrard Inlet.
April 30, 1792 The HMS Discovery, Captain Vancouver’s ship, entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Sources: Vancouver History. Related Posts: January 1st in Vancouver History, February in Vancouver History, March in Vancouver History, July in Vancouver History, August in Vancouver History, September, October in Vancouver History, November in Vancouver History, December in Vancouver History.
The Vancouver South African Film Festival (“VSAFF”) takes place this Saturday and Sunday, introducing and showcasing South African film to local audiences.
What: 4th Vancouver South African Film Festival
When: April 5 & 6, all day
Where: Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, SFU Woodward’s
Tickets: Available online
Vancouver South African Film Festival Highlights
This year’s gala film is Soft Vengeance (Saturday, April 5th at 7:30pm). This documentary is about Albie Sachs, a lawyer, writer, art lover and freedom fighter, set against the dramatic events leading to the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Shining a spotlight on Albie’s story provides a prism through which to view the challenges faced by those unable to tolerate a society founded on principles of slavery and disempowerment of South Africa’s majority black population. Albie, who was appointed as a judge on Mandela’s first Constitutional Court in 1994, will be in attendance for a Q&A session.
The Creators (Saturday, April 5th at 5:30pm) has won awards at the National Geographic All Roads Film Fest, the World Music Independent Film Fest and the Rosebud International Film Fest. A graffiti artist, a budding opera star, a breakdance activist, two Xhosa Afro-blues artists, a spoken word performer who works in a prison, and a radical black/white duo from Soweto and Pretoria – each charts a course that both shines the light on today’s South African questions and presents unique artistic answers.
The VSAFF gala will take place in Gastown at Fluevog Shoes following the gala film, Soft Vengeance. Tickets for the gala film and party are limited. The $90 full festival pass also gets you into the party. Check out the full festival lineup online.
Win Tickets to the VSAFF
I have the opportunity to give away a pair of tickets to any of the VSAFF film features. 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 at random from all entries at 11:00am on Thursday, April 3, 2014.
The Vancouver South African Film Festival also raises funds for Education without Borders, which works with township schools in South Africa and to date the festival has contributed $55,000 thanks to your support. Follow the VSAFF on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
Update The winner is Jae!
