Sweet treats for a sweet cause! National Cupcake Day returns February 24th in support of SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada.

National Cupcake Day 2014

National Cupcake Day is the most delicious way to show your support for animals in need of your help. By baking delicious treats for friends, family and co-workers in exchange for donations you will not only raise desperately needed funds for abandoned, neglected and abused animals in your community, but you will also be making everyone’s day a little brighter with a scrumptious treat.

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Register for FREE here
• Wait for your host kit to arrive in the mail or download it here
• Personalize your Online Bakery and send it out to the world
• Encourage friends and family to support you by donating online
• Bake cupcakes
• Hold a National Cupcake Day party and collect donations
• Show off your creations to the world via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

In BC, National Cupcake Day benefits the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA). The BC SPCA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality of life for domestic, farm and wild animals in British Columbia.

National Cupcake Day Twitter Chat

Join in on a Twitter chat for National Cupcake Day hosted by @Cpantazis and sponsored by @Petsecure. on February 5th starting at 5:00pm PT. The tag to follow is #HelpFindCupcake and when you engage, you could be entered to win a prize from Kitchen Aid (see full contest rules). The National Cupcake Day and Petsecure Pet Health Insurance teams will be answering questions about pet insurance, talking about animals and swapping favourite cupcake recipes.

Follow National Cupcake Day on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more information about the event, fundraising tips, cupcake ideas, and more.

I’m a big fan of Vancouver’s museums and galleries, including the BC Sports Hall of Fame which is located right at BC Place. From February 8th until February 10th they’ll be celebrating Family Day in BC along with the 4th anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

Red Mitten Weekend at BC Sports Hall of Fame

Bust out your red mittens for a very special long weekend at BC Sports Hall of Fame where kids sporting the festive red mitts will get in FREE. Once inside, here’s what you’ll find on display:

• Celebrate the 4th Anniversary of Vancouver’s Games in the Vancouver 2010 Gallery
• See a full set of the Olympic and Paralympic medals
• Say hi to Quatchi, Sumi and Miga the official 2010 mascots (not animated)
• Watch highlights of the 2010 Games on our big screen
• Stand on a real 2010 podium
• Complete a FAMILY DAY scavenger hunt
• See a unique collection of figure skating painting including: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Joannie Rochette, Johnny Weir and more.

On top of all the olympic-themed displays and artifacts, enjoy the Participation ZONE, play ping pong on the table used in the 2010 Athletes’ Village, climb a rotating climbing wall, test your time on the 14 meter running track, kick a ball and slap a puck in the sports simulator, play bubble hockey, foosball, Monster Basketball and discover even more galleries.









The BC Sports Hall of Fame is open daily at Gate A of BC Place from 10:00am-5:00pm. Follow along on Facebook and Twitter for more special event and exhibit information.

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.