Surrey Tree Lighting Festival 2013: Meet and Greet Contest

Comments 13 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Surrey Tree Lighting Festival is coming up on Saturday, November 23, 2013 bringing a full day of free family fun to Central City in Surrey.

Surrey Tree Lighting Festival Surrey Tree Lighting Festival

Surrey Tree Lighting Festival

Festivities will kick off at 12:00pm and run until 8:00pm at the Central City Mall plaza where a spectacular 55-foot tree will be lit after dark. Activities throughout the day will include a Kids’ World with road hockey, ferris wheel, food trucks, Storyville, Letters to Santa, Photos with Santa, ice carving, and more. Visitors are encouraged to bring a can of food for the Surrey Food Bank or a donation for the Surrey Christmas Bureau.

On the main stage you’ll find children’s entertainer Norman Foote at 12:00pm, Sweet Soul Gospel Choir at 2:00pm, Dr. Strangelove at 3:00pm, Good for Grapes at 4:30pm, Sway: A Tribute to Michael Bublé at 5:30pm, the tree lighting at 6:15pm and Victoria Duffield at 7:30pm.

Victoria Duffield Meet and Greet

I have a couple of spots to give away for the private meet and greet with headliner Victoria Duffield.

Two winners will each be able to bring a guest for this unique VIP opportunity at the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival. Here’s how you can enter to win:

  • Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a meet + greet w/ @Vduffield at @Surrey_Events Tree Lighting Festival from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/qMWHv

I will draw two winners at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, November 20, 2013. Follow the City of Surrey’s events team on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

Miss604 is a proud Media Partner of the Tree Lighting Festival

Update The winners are @ethanw_110 and Michelle!

Except in the Unlikely Event of War

Comments 18 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Except in the Unlikely Event of War is new work by two of Vancouver’s renowned theatre companies, Pi Theatre and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades (HHG) Theatre. Directed by Pi Theatre Artistic Director Richard Wolfe and written by Playwright Sean Devine (Re:Union), Except in the Unlikely Event of War runs from November 15th to 30th, 2013 at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown.

UnlikelyEventRobert Moloney and Josette Jorge. Photo credit Tim Matheson.

The first storyline, set in 1966 at a remote weather station in Canada’s arctic, follows a secret gathering of great minds to assess what the fall-out will be as society prepares for a world at peace. Their conclusions are terrifying, and anything but peaceful. The narrative is inspired by Leonard C. Lewin’s controversial 1967 work of fiction ‘Report from Iron Mountain: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace,’ originally purported to be a top-secret document leaked by an anonymous whistleblower.

The second storyline leaps forward to a rapidly melting Canadian Artic in 2015. During his nightly diatribe, the abrasively right-wing radio host Tommy Bane is interrupted by news that a surfaced Chinese submarine portends war off the sovereign shores of Resolute Bay.

The final plotline enters the realm of meta-theatre, and follows playwright Sean Devine and director Richard Wolfe in 2013 as they prepare to present their highly political new play: Except in the Unlikely Event of War. A sudden and unexplained funding cut threatens the project, catalyzing the ensemble of artists towards radical action.

Except in the Unlikely Event of War will open on Saturday, November 16th and have a preview on Friday, November 15th at 8:00pm. Tuesday through Saturday performances will be at 8:00pm, Saturday and Sunday will have 4:00pm matinees, and Wednesdays will have 1:00pm matinees. Tickets can be purchased online and are $16 for previews and matinees, and $25 general admission.

I have a pair of tickets to give away to this production as well, here’s how you can enter to win:

  • Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tix to Except in the Unlikely Event of War from @PiTheatre @HHGTheatre + @Miss604 http://ow.ly/qJNdO

The winner will receive a pair of tickets to the performance at Sunday, November 17, 2013. I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Friday, November 15, 2013 at 10:00am.

Follow HHG Theatre on Facebook and Twitter along with Pi Theatre on Facebook and Twitter for more information about their productions this season.

Update The winner is Anne-Sophie Woolnough!

Date Night In the City: Shangri-La Hotel and MARKET

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt
Disclosure: Review — This is not a paid post. Views are my own. Our package was compliments of Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

Ending a busy work week with sparkling wine, a view of twinkling city lights, and a multi-course meal at a three-star Michelin chef’s restaurant sounds like a dream but it was a much-enjoyed reality a few weeks ago when John and I spent the night at the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver.

Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel

Always up for a quick “staycation” to try out the best our city has to offer — and so that I can accurately offer suggestions and recommendations to visitors — we checked into our posh executive suite on the 14th floor (of 62) in Vancouver’s tallest tower to experience the Romance Package.

This $525 offer for a luxurious date night at Shangri-La’s AAA 5 Diamond accommodations includes:

  • One night accommodation with a complimentary one category upgrade (subject to availability)
  • Five-course tasting menu dinner for two at MARKET By Jean-Georges
  • Romantic arrival amenity of sparkling wine and chocolate-dipped strawberries
  • Daily valet parking for one vehicle
  • Daily a-la-carte breakfast for two at MARKET By Jean-Georges or in-room dining
  • Complimentary in-room high-speed internet access
  • Complimentary local and toll free phone calls

I checked in on a Friday afternoon during a week that was so busy I had only seen John for about one waking hour each day as he completed a big project at work. Usually when I walk into a hotel room I drop my bag near the door then run to the windows to see what the view is like. However, I had to spend a few minutes soaking in the inspired decor before finding the automatic switches for the shades and curtains. I then took to one balcony, followed by the other, to get a view of my city that I had never previously seen from that angle.

Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel

Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel

Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel
Automatic switches for lights and shades. The clock lit up when touched, a modern twist on a classic.

Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel

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Vancouver History: Doreen Reitsma

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

Doreen Reitsma was the first woman from BC to enter Canada’s postwar Navy and although I came across her story in a very roundabout way, I am certainly glad that I found it. I was originally searching the Vancouver Archives for photos of hats — one of my very rare fashion posts sourced from scanned historical photos. A result that came up was a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt in Vancouver. This led me to look up more information about the longest-serving First Lady of the United States’ visit to our city and how she inspired a local woman who wore a very important hat:

DoreenPattersonReitsma
1951 Naval Portrait of Doreen Patterson Reitsma

Doreen Nettie (Patterson) Reitsma was the first woman from BC to enter Canada’s postwar Navy. In 1949, while working at the front desk of the Hotel Vancouver, Doreen Patterson met Eleanor Roosevelt, who inspired her to follow her dream of a career in Canada’s military.

Two years later, in 1951, Doreen Reitsma made history as the first to enlist in the new Women’s Division of the Royal Canadian Navy. She received her basic training at Cornwallis, Nova Scotia and was trained as an elite radio intelligence operator for the top-secret wireless communications base in Coverdale, New Brunswick. (Coverdale was part of the Canada-USA Atlantic High Frequency Direction Finding Network responsible for intelligence collection.) She also served a term at the Naval Radio Station at Churchill, Manitoba in 1953-54.

On January 26, 1955, Doreen Patterson helped inspire Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent and his cabinet to create a permanent and fully integrated regular force for women in the Royal Canadian Navy. This decision—the first in the Commonwealth—paved the way for thousands of Canadian women to follow in her footsteps. Doreen married Gerard “Bill” Reitsma, a Korean War veteran, on August 18, 1960 and was the mother of two adopted children.

Photo credit: Public Domain, Royal Canadian Navy.
Story credit: Raymond Reitsma for Chuck Davis’ History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Doreen’s mother is also well-known for being a Vancouver film industry pioneer.

Archive Photos: Cambie Bridge Construction

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Cambie Bridge as we know it is the third iteration of a crossing in that particular area connecting south east False Creek with the downtown peninsula. The first Cambie Bridge, named after Cambie Street’s namesake Henry John Cambie, was built in 1891.

1920-Connaught_CambieBridge
1920 – Connaught (Cambie) Bridge horses and streetcars. Vancouver Archives # CVA 92-1

In 1911 it was replaced by the Connaught Bridge, named in honour of the Duke of Connaught’s visit to Vancouver where he dedicated the new structure in 1912. The Connaught Bridge was still referred to as the Cambie Bridge by locals, and in 1985 it was replaced for Expo86 and officially called the Cambie Bridge once more.

I recently came across a batch of scanned images of the Cambie Bridge’s construction (1983-1985) in the Vancouver Archives. These photos are all attributed to Al Ingram.

1983: Looking south from the Connaught Bridge. Archives# CVA 800-2573.

 


1983: Archives# CVA 800-2437 & CVA 800-2439.


1983: Archives# CVA 800-2567.


1983: Archives# CVA 800-2568 & CVA 800-2545.


1983: Archives# CVA 800-2563 & CVA 800-2483.


1983: Archives # CVA 800-2469.

These photos and more can be found at the City of Vancouver Archives, in person and online.

Related: Archive Photos of the Day: Granville Street Bridge History, Vancouver Icons: Centennial Rocket