The Vancouver Curling Club and Curl BC are excited to host 16 teams from across the province at the Canadian Direct BC Men’s Curling Championships Presented by Automation One next week.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

From February 5th until February 9th, the legacy curling facility from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will host this championship tournament.

The field will include defending Champion Team Bilesky and Team Morris which won the silver medal at the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings in Winnipeg in December. John Morris, skip of Team Morris, will be back in the building where he won gold with Team Martin in 2010. Five of the 16 teams are from curling clubs in the lower mainland, including the 2013 Champion. The semi-final and final will be broadcast live on Sportsnet. The winner goes on to represent British Columbia at the Tim Hortons Brier in Kamloops in March.

Spectators at the event can be out on the ice or up in the lounge enjoying a beverage and watching the games. Tickets are available online or at the Vancouver Curling Club.

The experience of the 84 participating curlers ranges from those with less than four years of curling under their belts (making their first trip to a provincial championship) to seasoned veterans with more than 40 years of curling and multiple trips to provincial, national and world championships.

Win Tickets to The BC Men’s Curling Championships

Thanks to the Vancouver Curling Club, I have two event passes (value $35 each) to give away. Each pass allows the holder to take advantage of 9 draws plus the four playoff games. The pass also allows entry into the “Rise with Russia” event which will include complimentary muffins and coffee and watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics on a big screen, while enjoying an early morning draw on the ice.

Here’s how you can enter to win two event passes:

• 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 12:00pm on Sunday, February 2, 2014. The Vancouver Curling Club is located at 4575 Clancy Loranger Way in Vancouver, at the Hillcrest Centre. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook for more information.

Update The winner is Tawcan!

Squamish Valley Music Festival announced their biggest lineup yet this morning with top acts including Enimen, Bruno Mars, and Arcade Fire. The festival that started out as a big ol’ party in a field up the Sea to Sky Highway is reaching new heights with am impressive range of talent this year.

Squamish Valley Music Festival 2014 Lineup

Virgin Mobile Presents The Squamish Valley Music Festival on August 8th, August 9th and August 10th, 2014. This morning the first lineup announcement was made:

Eminem, Bruno Mars, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Broken Bells, Foster the People, The Roots, Lykke Li, Thievery Corporation, The Head and the Heart, Sam Roberts Band, Atmosphere, Serena Ryder, Tokyo Police Club, Boys Noize, Danny Brown, Gramatik, Walk Off the Earth, Lord Huron, Mayer Hawthorne, Kevin Drew, Hollerado, Mounties, Whitehorse, The Zolas, Felix Cartal, Cyril Hahn, Herobust, We Are The City, Head of the Herd, Topless, Good For Grapes, Aidan Knight, Rykka, City Real, The Courtneys, Louise Burns, Zerbin, Slam Dunk, The Oceanographers.

Overall investment in the Squamish Valley Music Festival is in excess of $12 million for 2014. “This event represents a turning point not only for BC’s live music industry, but also for Canada’s event industry as a whole,” says Paul Haagenson, President, Live Nation Canada. ”To date, Squamish is Eminem’s only Festival announcement in 2014, and will be his first western Canadian show in more than a decade.” Headliner Bruno Mars picked up the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album this past weekend and will perform at the 2014 Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show, while Arcade Fire has gone from Canada’s little secret to global superstardom.
[Source: Press Release]

This year, Squamish Valley Music Festival has expanded onto the Centennial Fields, allowing the event to increase its footprint from 32 acres to 81 acres, safely accommodating more than 35,000 guests per day, up from 19,000 per day in 2013.

Produced by Live Nation Canada in partnership with festival creators brand.LIVE Management Group, Squamish Valley Music Festival has engaged Blueprint Events, western Canada’s leading Electronic Dance Music (EDM) promoter, to curate the Festival’s newly redesigned EDM arena.

Past Squamish Festivals, photo by John Bollwitt for Miss604

Past Squamish Festivals, photos by John Bollwitt for Miss604

The event is also expanding its use of an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) enabled wristband system. Ticketholders will receive their RFID wristband via registered mail in the weeks leading up the event and must register online to activate it. The RFID system will allow for smoother, more efficient access at gates, faster processing for all onsite transactions and will allow Festival staff to better assist guests.

Squamish Valley Music Festival 2014 Tickets

Pre-sales for three-day festival passes will be available for Virgin Mobile customers on February 3rd for $250. Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster. Virgin Mobile Members presale starts Monday, February 3rd at 10:00 am and ends Thursday, February 5, 2014 at 4:00pm. Members who purchase a Festival pass will receive a $20 credit applied to their RFID wristband, while quantities last.

Weekend passes to Virgin Mobile Presents The Squamish Valley Music Festival go on sale Friday, February 7, 2014 at 10:00am for the general public.

The regular weekend pass ($295) also includes entry the evening of August 7th. A deluxe VIP pass ($599) will give you access to “secluded VIP area with wider variety of food and drink, flushing washrooms, shade/rain cover, phone charging, DJ and comfortable seating,” as well as fast-tracked options for entry into the grounds. Single day tickets will also be available closer to the festival date. Prices do not include service charges.

UPDATE!

Squamish Valley Music Festival 2014 Day Schedule

Single Day Passes are $149* and will be available for purchase on Friday, February 28 at 10:00am from www.ticketmaster.ca or Charge By Phone 1-855-985-5000. *Prices do not include tax and service charge.

UPDATE!

Artists Added and Camping Update

New artists joining the Festival (announced May 2, 2014) include:

NAS (performing Illmatic)
The Temper Trap
Chvrches
Phantogram
tUnE-yArDs
James Vincent McMorrow
Magic!
Wildlife
Reuben And The Dark

“These new artist additions represent a continuation of our grand vision for the Festival and its programming, showcasing all contemporary genres of music,” says Erik Hoffman, Senior Vice President of Talent for Live Nation Canada. “This will be an unprecedented festival experience and music sampling from around the globe and our own backyard.”

New for 2014: Campers’ Kickoff takes place on Thursday, August 7th and will feature exclusive performances for all weekend pass holders.

Artists scheduled to perform at Campers’ Kickoff include:

A Tribe Called Red
Herobust
Kastle
The Matinee
The Strumbellas
Sleepy Tom

With the first two campgrounds, Diamond and Circle, completely sold out, the Festival has added two new campgrounds for festivalgoers. Guests looking to secure camping are encouraged to reserve their spot in the new Triangle and Square Campgrounds quickly.

Follow all festival announcements on Twitter (#vmsquamish) and Facebook.

Launching just in time for Family Day in BC, Science World at TELUS World of Science invites everyone to get on board and experience their new feature exhibition, LEGO® Travel Adventure, opening Saturday, February 1, 2014, presented by Vancouver International Airport (“YVR”).

LEGO Travel Adventure at Science World

Imagine becoming a pilot, sailor or racecar driver and travelling to exotic destinations. You can! All you need is your imagination and the LEGO® Travel Adventure exhibition.

LEGO® Travel Adventure is mapped out into different areas where visitors can explore, create, experience and immerse themselves. Dress as a travel adventurer from one of the costume bins. Jump behind the wheel of a large Travel Vehicle and travel around the world. Experience exotic destinations and wonder at the history of travel. Design the ultimate travel vehicle. And of course, build any kind of vehicle you can imagine and play with it on a three-dimensional play area.

Science World will host an opening celebration on Saturday, February 1st and Sunday, February 2nd. Visitors can also take part in building the largest LEGO® mural in Canada as each participant will be provided with LEGO® bricks that represent pixels in the mural.

LEGO® Travel Adventure is at Science World from February 1st, 2014 until May 6th, 2014.

The 2nd Annual Pet Lover Show is returning to TRADEX in Abbotsford where you can celebrate every aspect of being a pet parent and pet enthusiast.

Dates: Saturday, February 15 & Sunday, February 16, 2014
Times: 10:00am to 6:00pm Saturday and 10:00am to 5:00pm Sunday
Where: TRADEX: 1190 Cornell Street, Abbotsford, BC
Tickets: Available online in advance or at the box office. Adults (16+ years) $12; Seniors (65+) or Youth (6-15) $8; Child (5 years and under) free; Family (2 youth, 2 adults) $32.

Photo credit: Nattawot Juttiwattananon (NJ) & P Squared Pics on Flickr

The Pet Lover Show brings together animal lovers and pet owners from across the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and the BC Interior. It is the one-stop venue for lovers of animals of all shapes and sizes and offers insight into animal behaviour and husbandry, access to unique and practical animal-related products, as well as entertaining live events.

The Show will feature informative seminars and exhibits by top professionals on everything from hydro-therapy for animals to reactivity with dogs. There will also be fun live entertainment including rabbit, dog and even llama agility shows, raptor shows, an International Cat Association affiliated cat show, dog fashion shows, horse clinics, and K9 detection demonstrations.

Win Tickets to the Pet Lover Show

If you would like to attend, I have a family 4-pack of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment naming something you love about pets (1 entry
• Post the following on Twitter

Follow the Pet Lover Show on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, February 7, 2014.

Update The winner is Kathleen Michelle!