Less is more, especially when it comes to stripping away thousands of square feet from an iconic stadium and creating a memory-triggering graphic that has caught the attention of thousands of fans — and Major League Baseball. S. Preston Art + Designs has created a wildly popular Minimalist Ballpark graphic series that went viral online and can now be seen hanging on the walls of Target Field in Minneapolis, among others.
I caught up with my longtime friend Preston shortly after he moved back to Vancouver from Los Angeles, where he had been working for the last two years, to talk about the success of the ballpark series.
“I’ve been graphic designing for so many years for corporate clients and I love sports. Finally I merged the two together and it’s come out into something that everyone sort of loves right now.” Preston said once the designs for all 30 stadiums were complete last year, he put them online and found that they went viral really quickly. The first major outlet to pick them up was USA Today, followed by Sports Illustrated, ESPN and then Deadspin, which he credits as being the tipping point.
Preston at Target Field in Minneapolis
“It just blew up from there. Christmas was great, I was in a couple of gift guides and then the next big call was probably Target Field calling to say they wanted my whole display put up in the concourse of the stadium.” While preparing the artwork, frames, files, and everything else needed to install his collection on the walls of one of his featured ballparks he got a call from Major League Baseball. “They said they wanted to bring me under their license and that they thought it would go over really well with baseball fans.”
It was at that point that Preston realized the quality of what he had produced, and it became bigger than he had ever dreamed.
“You get really worried, especially as an artist you can get really negative and apprehensive about your own stuff. You’re not sure if people will like it but it turned out to be a massive success.” He was soon invited to set up a booth at the MLB All Star game this year, which was also happening in Minneapolis.
“I finally kind of have an idea of what I have now. I do have art and I have something that people immediately connect to. It’s sublime and subtle. It really just hits home.”
“People who saw the display in Target Field were able to come to me at the All Star game, see the artist, meet the artist, and buy their print from me and get it signed. That was the coolest thing. The stars aligned.”
During the All Star FanFest he met fans of all ages who appreciated the way that his artwork made them feel. He even had a fan come up to him and admit that he missed the first three inning of the game looking at his art in the concourse.
Preston also met a teenage girl who had just completed a stadium pilgrimage, visiting 30 stadiums in the last 30 days. “They’re buying one of each, one for every stadium that they go to and they just ask me to sign the date they visited.”
Right now his designs are the very first stop on the tours given at Target Field and he’s also had a math teacher tell him he uses his work as a teaching tool with his students, based on its minimalist expression. He said it connects to people on many levels. First as a guessing game, then on a personal level, but also as living room-worthy art.
[Editor's Note: I have to admit that I was never a fan of baseball until John and I watched all 10 innings of Ken Burns' Baseball documentary through the course of a rainy summer in Vancouver. It wasn't the actual sport that I came to appreciate, it was the history, which is one of the reasons why the Vancouver Canadians are so endearing.
Watching the documentary, memories flooded back as I remembered playing ball in a dirt field in Fort Langley and I recalled all of my favourite baseball movies, the ones that really made me feel something. I then read BC author W.P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe because I wanted to connect to the story upon which the film Field of Dreams was based. In recent years I also played catch with John at the Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa, near where he grew up. Then, Preston's minimalist version of Fenway Park, with the Citgo sign peeking over the Green Monster, made me think of the year I spent in Boston.]
Preston told me that the idea for the series actually started with Boston. “I always has this vision of the Citgo sign and the Green Monster. That one to me is truly minimalist. It’s truly abstract and minimalist, and it hits that mark. If you get it, you get it. If you’re not a fan you don’t understand.”
The hardest for him to complete was Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. as the trigger image really has nothing to do with the stadium itself. “I went on Twitter and people said the president races are such a memorable part of the stadium experience so I decided I would do that.”
Going forward, he will continue to develop other minimalist graphic series and I’m not-so-secretly hoping a new Miss604.com header will make its way onto his “To Do” list. He actually designed the current version of this fair website’s main banner a few years ago and was the first to make a digital, minimalist version of the new BC Place when it reopened in 2011.
S. Preston Art + Designs is currently offering a limited edition gallery wrap print canvas print for $395 (size 16×24) and a larger one for $800 (20×28). To make sure the art is accessible to all fans, there are 81/2x11 prints for $35 and 13×19 prints for $60. “I want to make sure that fans can buy it but also that collectors out there have something art worthy, unique, and special. I’m trying to feed both markets.”
Win a Print
Preston has offered up a 13×19 print for one lucky reader who will be able to select any ballpark they desire. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment here about what else, baseball! (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, August 22, 2014. Follow S. Preston Designs on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the latest print updates.
Update The winner is Mandeep!
We’ve been navigating the scenic curves of the Sea to Sky Highway more often this summer, and with good reason. Events, adventures, and introducing everything from Howe Sound and the Squamish Spit to Dusty’s BBQ the Tantalus Lookout to visiting family from the Midwest. While you may think of Whistler Blackcomb as a winter playground, there is an abundance of activities for summer travellers looking to take in scenic views, go for a hike, mountain bike, or sip and savour the flavours of the season in the bustling village. If you’re looking for one last adventure this season, here are some tips for making the most of your trip up Highway 99 for a hike with the family.
Late Summer at Whistler Blackcomb
Depending on your level of activity, and especially if you’re heading up the mountain, be sure to pack sun protection, a hat, and water. Bug repellant of some kind won’t hurt as up there you get some mighty large insects looking for a place to land. Wear proper footwear and make sure everyone in your group knows the plan for the day. Our activity of choice was a 60 minute hike on Blackcomb (we could have done longer but we had a late start to the day).
Peak 2 Peak
When you’re in the area that boasts the longest and highest lift in the world, I highly recommend that you go for a ride. The Peak 2 Peak reaches between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, traveling 4.4km across and 1,427ft above the valley floor. You can purchase your tickets in advance or pick them up under the GLC in Whistler Village, where you’ll find the Whistler Village Gondola.
The Whistler Village Gondola will take you up to the Rendezvous Lodge. There we stocked up on water, granola bars, and considered a quick hike on the Peak Traverse Express to take a chair to the Whistler peak first. Since it was already late afternoon we walked straight over to the main entrance to the Peak 2 Peak.
Depending how many are in rotation, you can get in line for a silver cabin with a thrilling glass bottom floor panel. The wait was 15 minutes when we were there last so we just went in line for a regular cabin, which depart every 49 seconds.
Blackcomb Hikes
Our favourite thing to do when we reach Blackcomb on the Peak 2 Peak is to go for a hike. Before we head up we check out trail maps and the sightseeing trail notifications.
This PDF is a great reference and you can also find this same information in free printed maps at the Rendezvous.
These online resources, which are also available on the mountain, let you know a trail’s length and if it is open or not. The trails are given ratings, much like ski runs, to let you know their level of difficulty from green to black. John and I usually do green and blue walks when we’re just heading up for part of the day.
The very quick Alpine Walk, the first you’ll see when you arrive from the Peak 2 Peak, has an estimated completion time of 60 minutes although walking briskly we can breeze through it in 30 minutes even after stopping to take a few Instagram-worthy photos. The ground is packed dirt, with a few sections where you’ll need to walk over flat boulders or up a reasonable incline.
It’s the Alpine Walk that will connect you to other route like the Overlord Trail (blue) that can take you around the Lakeside Loop (blue) for a view of Blackcomb Lake. One day we’ll give ourselves enough time to complete the Overlord Trail, branching off on the Decker Loop (black).
Tip: Check the hours of operation and last download time of any chair you take up the mountain. We went up around 3:30pm and the last Peak 2 Peak or chair lifts down were 5:15pm. These times were clearly marked at the lifts as well as on signs along the Alpine Walk.
Cool Down at Blackcomb’s Base
Our group decided to take an open-air chair lift down to Blackcomb, instead of returning on the Peak 2 Peak. The Solar Express connects you to the Wizard Express delivering you right into the middle of Blackcomb’s base at the Upper Village. These two chairs provide excellent views of the entire region and another small thrill for visitors like ours who aren’t used to mountain views.
At the Upper Village, a 10 minute walk from Whistler Village, you’ll find the Family Adventure Zone presented by Nintendo which is open 10:00am to 6:00pm Sunday to Thursday and 10:00am to 8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays until September 1st. Blackcomb is admittedly a bit quieter in the summer compared to the sizeable Whistler Village but this adventure zone, with 14 attractions, had it teeming with fun-seekers throughout the afternoon.
We didn’t stick around to check out the mini golf, bungee trampoline, go carts, maze or Freefall Trapezy, but we did take a run through the giant spray fountain to cool off. We walked back over to Whistler Village and grabbed some $4.95 food (yes all their food all day is $4.95) from El Furniture Warehouse to refuel.
Stay Overnight
While we didn’t stay overnight on our last trip up, we did enjoy a weekend at the Fairmont Whistler at Blackcomb earlier in the summer.
This cozy and luxurious ski lodge transforms into a bright and sunny oasis in the summer. Fragrant flowers in the grand lobby, live music in the lounge, multiple outdoor pools, an indoor pool and steam room, hot tubs, and poolside drink service make you feel like you’ve been whisked away to a tropical resort (just don’t mind all the lush evergreens on the mountain slope behind you).
Sunday Farmer’s Market
One thing I love about Fairmont hotels is that they are usually quite on the ball when it comes to social media. I had no idea there was a Whistler Farmer’s Market until I saw a photo of delicious-looking pastries on the Fairmont Whistler’s Instagram account.
The market takes over the Upper Village every Sunday until July to October, and Wednesdays in July and August, from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. Pick up fresh fruit, produce, and more from the Pemberton Valley and other local sources.
If you are looking for more summer activity options at Whistler Blackcomb follow their team on Facebook and Twitter. There you’ll also find information about Crankworx happening until August 17th, the Whistler Presents Concert Series until September 1st, Winemakers’ Dinners, and the 5 Peak Race on August 23rd.
With the arrival of the PNE this summer, Vancity will once again be hosting its Vancity Member Day. On Wednesday, August 27th, members of Vancity and a guest can explore The Fair at the PNE for $5 each – that’s an $11 savings on adult admission! Simply bring your Vancity Member Card debit card or Vancity enviro Visa (or other form of membership verification) to take advantage of this one-day offer anytime between 11:00am and 11:00pm.
Photo by Winston Wong courtesy of Vancity
Vancity Member Day at The PNE 2014
Once you’re in, you can enjoy all that The Fair at the PNE has to offer this year such as its great concert lineup, the PNE Prize Home Lottery Tour, Superdogs, Kidz Discovery Farm, and the 4th Annual Vancouver Rib Festival Competition. Additional attractions this year include Game of Thrones®: The Exhibition, Get Animated! Interactive Animation Exhibit, Mosaic Music Series, Just For Cats: Internet Cat Video Festival, YVR Fly Dome: A 360° Global Travel Experience, and much more.
Be sure to stop by the cow-powered Vancity Eco Zone to find out how Vancity is supporting the PNE on their journey to going green, and how they’ll try to make Vancity Member Day a zero waste day.
Here are a few tips that combine going green with The Fair at the PNE:
- Ride your bike to the PNE. During The Fair, there will be a complimentary Vancity-supported bicycle valet service. The bike valet stations are set up inside Gate 1. Valet your bike during The Fair to be entered to win a prize pack from Vancity community partner, PEDAL.
- Bring your water bottles on Vancity Member Day. On Vancity Member Day, August 27, a drinking-water station to refill re-usable water bottles will be provided by Metro Vancouver.
- Dispose your waste responsibly. 75 new recycling stations have been installed to collect three streams of waste: garbage, recyclables and compostables. Please follow the signage at these stations to help the PNE divert waste from our landfills. The PNE will have staffed waste sorting stations by Green Chair Recycling.
Last year, the PNE installed a new policy to ban styrofoam and plastic cutlery to encourage vendors to use biodegradable food packaging. Vendors are also not permitted to have ‘show’ lights until dusk so the PNE will decrease their energy consumption, and the PNE also got a Light Bulb Eater. This gadget breaks down the bulbs; reducing labour, storage space and recycling costs.
Photo by Winston Wong courtesy of Vancity
Enter to Win a Prize Pack
To promote all of the eco-goodness at The PNE this year and especially Vancity Member Day, Vancity has put together a super green prize pack for me to give away to one lucky reader. This includes:
- 2 x PNE Gate passes
- 2 x PNE Playland passes
- 2 x Vancity reusable glass bottles
- 4 x Vancity reusable produce bags with drawstring
- 1 x Vancity reusable lunch tote
- 1 on 1 coaching with Victory Gardens
Here’s how you can enter to win this prize pack:
- Leave a comment here with a green tip for fair goers this summer (1 entry)
- and/or Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, August 20, 2014. Follow Vancity on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the Vancity Eco Zone and Vancity Member Day.
Update The winner is Taruna!
Can you believe it’s been 10 years since The Village at Park Royal opened? To me that was still considered part of the “new” Park Royal until, upon closer inspection this summer, I discovered that there is much more in store at the West Vancouver shopping destination.
Being a West End resident it’s easy to walk up Robson Street to do my shopping but lately I’ve been drawn across the Lions Gate Bridge, thanks to the offerings at Park Royal. It takes me 10 minutes to get there by bus from downtown Vancouver — through Stanley Park and over the Lions Gate Bridge — with a 250 bus from Georgia and Cardero (you can also take the 252 or 255).
The new expansion on Park Royal South includes Anthropologie, Aritzia, Bath & Body Works, Browns, J.Crew, LOFT, LUSH, The Men’s Club, Sephora, Town Shoes, and Zara. If you’re feeling peckish, and up for something more than a food court offering, there’s also Faubourg Paris, Five Guys Burger and Fries, Trattoria, and a brand new White Spot.
Delicious lunch at Trattoria! Linguine Carbonara and Prosciutto Pizza.
All of these new shops and services, with open-air access, compliment Park Royal’s existing North and South indoor malls as well as the aforementioned Village.
Courtesy umbrellas and new public art.
The Village boasts the first Salomon store in Metro Vancouver, the first Pinkberry frozen yogurt shop in Canada, and the best Whole Foods Market in North America. Part of the attraction to The Village is the wide pedestrian friendly sidewalks, a community gathering space by Whole Foods Market called Keeper’s Crossing, and the convenient front of store parking for the ultimate shopping experience.
Prepping the buns for #10YearsFun hot dogs at Whole Foods.
Park Royal is Metro Vancouver’s second largest shopping centre and the changes will keep coming. Simons is coming to Park Royal South next (where Extra Food was located) and then they’ll get started on polishing up Park Royal North over the next few years. For now, you can enjoy everything from major retailers such as Michael’s and Home Depot to the exquisite italian cuisine of Trattoria.
Celebrating 10 Years of The Village at Park Royal
All summer long, The Village at Park Royal is hosting events and special promotions to celebrate its anniversary. You can also enter to win a $500 Park Royal shopping spree in the Snap and Share contest. Simply snap a photo of your favourite moments in The Village at Park Royal and share it on social media with the tag #10YearsFun and @ParkRoyal (see full contest rules here).
Entertainment in the village this month:
Mark & Bobby
August 16th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Adam Woodall
August 17th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Cassandra Bangle
August 23rd from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Enharmoniq
August 24th from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Nick Hope
August 30th from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Rose Ranger
August 31st from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Enharmoniq
September 1st from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Take a complimentary pedicab ride between 12:00pm and 4:00pm on weekends and holidays, and enjoy #10YearsFun treats from Cupcakes, Milestones, and Whole Foods Market.
The main anniversary event will take place all day on Saturday, September 6, 2014. There will be pop-up yoga, live entertainment, a Big Love Ball giveaway, fun family activities, and live music from Star Captains and Dear Rouge. If you haven’t been to Park Royal lately, now is the time to go. There are great things happening in this fun, festive, outdoor shopping community.
Park Royal is open Monday to Tuesday 10:00am to 7:00pm; Wednesday to Friday 10:00am to 9:00pm; Saturday 9:30am to 6:00pm; Sunday & Holidays 11:00am to 6:00pm. Follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more information.
This year Virgin Mobile Presents: Squamish Valley Music Festival was bigger than ever, and we should know. John and I have attended and covered the festival every year since its humble beginnings back in 2010. As each summer passes, it becomes much more than a “good time in a big field” and that was quite evident this year as that “big field” blossomed into 81 acres of festival space in Squamish where more than 70 artists entertained over 100,000 music fans.
All Photos © John Bollwitt for Miss604.com
The festival ran from August 8th until August 10th with Friday headliner Bruno Mars, Saturday’s Arcade Fire show, and Sunday’s Eminem performance. Tantalus, the new main stage, had Garibaldi for a backdrop as the classic Stawamus Stage still stood proudly in front of The Chief on the south side of the grounds. In between, there was a new food court area, expanded beer gardens, more vendors, more tents, and a steady flow of foot traffic. Our friends who worked the main beer garden at Tantalus said that they had so many people on staff that they never had a line – there was just a swift-moving line to get into the beer garden itself.
When we arrived on Saturday, the sound at the Tantalus Stage seemed off as it blasted vocals and left the rest of the music in the dust while band members played their hearts out to no avail. One quick trek over to the other big stage, as we did between Tokyo Police Club (Tantalus) and Kevin Drew (Stawamus), and it was evident that something was off. Stawamus sounded far superior — although I hear Arcade Fire corrected this during their set on Tantalus later that night.
Squamish Valley Music Festival Photos
We camped out at Stawamus for the rest of Saturday and enjoyed one of the best Squamish shows we’ve seen in all these years when Chvrches took to the stage. Here are some of the shots John managed to get from Saturday at the Squamish Valley Music Festival:
Black Joe Lewis
Tokyo Police Club
Having been a fan of Chvrches for the last year I had seen some live videos on YouTube that sounded great so I knew they would be good on stage — but I had no idea how blown away I would be. Crisp, clear, melodic, crowd-pumping, booming, rocking, it was perfect. Lauren Mayberry was on point with her harmonious vocals, Iain Cook rocked the bass during Lungs and Martin Doherty’s time on the mic was electric when he sang Under the Tide. Everyone we spoke to said that they were a highlight and I think they definitely made some new fans on Saturday.
Chvrches
The Roots
All of John’s photos can be found on Flickr and you can follow up on Instagram @Miss604 and @JohnBollwitt to keep up with our everyday adventures.
