The South Surrey Arena is the home of championship hockey around these parts as the Surrey Eagles have started their season as reigning BCHL Champions and Western Canadian Cup champions, as well as RBC Cup Semi Finalists.

On September 27th, the Eagles will host a special banner unveiling ceremony honouring their stellar efforts last season, the most successful in the recent 21-year history of the franchise.

Following the banner ceremony, where the BCHL Coastal Conference Champions, BCHL League Champions, and (for the first time ever) the inaugural Western Canadian Cup Champions banners will be raised, the Surrey Eagles will face off against the Vernon Vipers.

The ceremony will begin at 7:00pm at the South Surrey Arena (2199 – 148th Street) on Friday, September 27, 2013. Tickets are on sale now for just $13 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $7 for children 6-12, and children 5 and under are free (if they do not require a seat). Order online in advance or call (604) 531-GOAL (4625).

If you would like to attend this very special ceremony and the game that will follow, I have a 4-pack of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

Follow the Surrey Eagles on Twitter, Facebook, and the Eagles Insider Blog for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, September 25, 2013.

Update The winner is @dolfin61!

The Stanley Park Seawall officially opened on September 26, 1971 although it had been under construction for decades — and wouldn’t be declared “officially complete” until 1980. That September though, the loop was 9 kilometers around Stanley Park and it completed James Cunningham’s vision for the Seawall, which he began working on in 1917.

View of Brockton Point lighthouse from the Seawall
LEFT: 1938. Photo by James Crookall. Archives# CVA 260-856. RIGHT: 2013.

View of Lions Gate Bridge from the Seawall. LEFT: 1938-1939. VPL# 39769. RIGHT: 2013.

Seawall at Second Beach
LEFT: 1940s. Archives# CVA 1184-2402. RIGHT: 2010 by rbrtwhite on Flickr.

Cunningham was a stonemason from Scotland who arrived in Vancouver in 1910, serving with the WWI Canadian Expeditionary Force. As a stonemason, he worked on various homes, pools, and hotels around the area until he started the Seawall. In 1931 he was named master stonemason for the Vancouver Park Board, tasked with securing Stanley Park’s shores. Work began at Brockton, building the lighthouse. Even after retiring in 1955, Cunningham supervised the construction until he passed away in 1963.

Seawall at Pipeline Road.
LEFT: 1930. Archives# CVA 260-312. Photographer: James Crookall. RIGHT: Google Maps 2009.

Looking toward Second Beach from the Seawall
LEFT: 1960. VPL# 42809. RIGHT: 2013.

LEFT: 1948. Photographer: Walter Edwin Frost. Archives# CVA 447-129. RIGHT: 2010 by Junnn on Flickr.

Read more about the Seawall and its ongoing construction in my mini-series for Tourism Vancouver’s Inside Vancouver Blog Part 1, Part 2.

The Canadian Red Cross has recently released a mobile application that serves as a First Aid guide, emergency preparedness tool, and more.

As a member of the Red Cross’ Social Media Team, I downloaded the app when it was released and I talked about it on Dotto Tech’s radio show on AM650. Once a month Steve Dotto gathers a handful of mobile technology geeks (myself included) and we all vie for the title as “App Wednesday” champion by introducing 4 apps. By the end of the hour, a winner is chosen and this month it was me — with the Red Cross Canada First Aid App.

Available for iPhone and Android, this free app is a “must have”. Here are just some of its features:

• Simple, step-by-step instructions guide you through everyday first aid scenarios.
• Fully integrated with 911, so you can call EMS from the app at any time.
• Videos and animations to help you sharpen your first aid skills.
• Safety tips for everything from severe winter weather to hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes, to help you prepare for emergencies.
• Preloaded content means you have instant access to all safety information at any time, even without reception or an Internet connection.
• Interactive quizzes allow you to earn badges that you can share with your friends and show off your lifesaving knowledge.

While there is an emergency mode, this is the kind of app that you should study in advance so that you are more prepared in an emergency situation. There is so much information to go through that is provided with instructions and in video format.

Follow @RedCrossCanada on Twitter for more information about local, national, and global campaigns along with helpful updates and be sure to download the app for your device.

It’s only fitting that Canada’s first sustainable and green eyewear company is based in Vancouver, our beloved city that has a goal of becoming the Greenest City by 2020. Green Glasses, in Yaletown, makes Canadian-designed, handcrafted glasses using all natural organic, sustainable materials. Even the machinery used to make their lenses uses 50% less water than typical operations.

Green Glasses are are non-toxic, phthalate-free, renewable and 100 percent biodegradable. Better yet when you purchase a pair, partial proceeds are donated to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Green Glasses Giveaway

To promote their fashionable frames, Green Glasses has offered up two pairs of the “Robson” style for me to give away to my readers.

ROBSON (value $159)
Canadian Designed, handcrafted with all natural organic sustainable material. Medium/Large Fit Sizing: Width 53mm, HT 35.6mm, Bridge 17mm, Arm 140mm.
Pop into your local eyecare professional to confirm correct sizing.

Here’s how you can enter to win “Robson” from Green Glasses:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw two winners at random from all entries on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. Each winner will receive the Robson frames. Follow Green Glasses on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about their products and sustainability.

Update The winners are Jeff and Jess!

A park so nice they named it twice! Fun Fun Park in Surrey is hosting a recycling fair this Saturday to help raise funds for a new playground. In partnership with ElectroRecycle, you can drop off your electrical products for recycling (toasters, microwaves, coffee-makers, power tools, etc.) throughout the day to support this community green space.

What: Fun Fun Park Recycling Fair
Where: Fun Fun Park (1472 128 Street in Surrey)
When: Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm

The event on Saturday will include activities for kids, food, a raffle, and more. You will also be able to learn about ElectroRecycle and its drop-off locations throughout BC.

ElectroRecycle accepts more than 300 electrical products ranging in size from electric toothbrushes, countertop microwave ovens, hand-held drills to treadmills. Products are divided into categories including: kitchen countertop (motorized and heating), time measurement, weight measurement, garment care, air treatment, desk and tabletop fans, designated very small items, floor care, personal care, test and measurement tools, hand-held power tools; bench-top, demolition, and free-standing power tools, sewing/textile machines, exercise machines, sports, leisure, arts, crafts, and hobby devices, as well as additional designated very small items.

The program recycles small appliances designed for residential use only and powered by batteries or plugged in to 12 Volt or 120 Volt power.

The goal is to raise $5,000 for the new playground at the park, which is in need of enhancements to better serve kids of all ages. For every kilogram of electrical products recycled, $1 will be donated to Fun Fun Park, up to 5,000kgs.