Spring showers are tapering off and some sweet summer sunshine is about to help our gardens grow in Metro Vancouver. To assist green thumbs across Canada, Real Canadian Superstore Garden Centres are offering plants and colourful blooms sourced from Canadian growers, including DeVry Greenhouses in Chilliwack and Bylands Nurseries in Kelowna.
Other products include flowering baskets, edible plants, ornamental grasses, designer planters and more, which are all available in local nofrills, Extra Foods, and Real Canadian Superstore locations in the Lower Mainland.
Real Canadian Superstore Garden Centres locations also host Canada’s first and only national recycling program for gardeners. Receive a $5 coupon per 25 pots returned (valid until July 4, 2013, coupons can be found at cash registers of participating Garden Centres).
To get your garden growing, Real Canadian Superstore has offered up a prize pack valued at $100 for a Miss604 reader. This includes a $50 gift card, a Guy Wolff white clay pot (pictured above), and an assortment of beautiful new plants.
Here’s how you can enter to win this gardening prize pack:
- Leave a comment here naming your favourite thing to grow in your garden (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, June 7, 2013.
Update The winner is @ChristieBuono!
Stanley Park is 125 years old this year and to celebrate, the Vancouver Park Board is hosting a weekend of festivities in Vancouver’s Crown Jewel. On Saturday August 24th and Sunday August 25th, everyone is invited to a party in the park.
Highlights of the event include free family entertainment, performing and visual arts, interactive sports, heritage experience, and First Nations cultural presentations. Earlier this week the Park Board approved more liquor licenses for summer festivals and with Stanley Park Brewery as a lead sponsor, beer gardens can be expected.
“Stanley Park is a place of remarkable significance to Vancouver’s past, present and future. It was recently ranked again as one of the world’s most stunning urban parks,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “This summer’s Celebrate! Stanley Park festivities will showcase the Park’s best ecological, cultural, and historical attributes, with a special focus on First Nations experiences and stories. I look forward to celebrating Vancouver’s first and biggest park and the special place it holds in the hearts of all Vancouver residents and visitors.” [Source: Press Release]
Vancouver 125 Summer Live & Voices in the Park concerts.
Stanley Park’s 125th anniversary celebration will be hosted in several sites including:
- Second Beach
A community picnic with a diverse showcase of mainstage performances by local musical talent will take place at Ceperley Meadow.
- Lumbermen’s Arch
Bring the family to Lumberman’s Arch for local children’s performances and roving entertainment. Visitors can also experience Coast Salish artisans and performances with members of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. The Stanley Park Ecology Society will also be involved, hosting a BioBlitz.
- Malkin Bowl
Theatre Under the Stars will host backstage tours and ticketed performances.
- Rose Garden
There will be historical tours of the rose garden and Shakespearean sonnets and soliloquies among the blossoms.
- Lost Lagoon
There will be another stage at Lost Lagoon, roving entertainers and ecological displays at the Nature House.
- Brockton Point
All-ages sporting demos and drop-in games will take place at Brockton Sportsapalooza along with outdoor theatre in the evening presented by Boca del Lupo.
More information about entertainment and activities will be available online in the coming weeks. Follow the Vancouver Park Board on Twitter for updates as well.
Second Beach Live
Update: July 15, 2013. The line-up for the concert stage at Second Beach was announced this morning on 102.7 The Peak. Artists include:
Saturday, August 24th:
Ali Milner
Watasun
Washboard Union
We are The City
You Say Party
Born Ruffians
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Sunday, August 25th:
Hilary Grist
Kuba Oms and Velvet Revolution
The Belle Game
The Matinee
Arkells
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Check out the Stanley Park 125 website for more information and updates.
I am proud to once again be the Social Media Sponsor of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (the Jessies) and as such, I will be featuring a local theatre company every Thursday.
These profiles contain basic information about each company, as supplied by their team, and a list of their upcoming productions that you can check out in the coming season. Today’s feature company is: Carousel Theatre For Young People:
Kayla Dunbar and Mack Gordon in
The Cat in the Hat. Photo by Tim Matheson.
Carousel Theatre
Date Established: February 6, 1976
First Play Produced: Merlin
Total number of plays/events produced: 154
Founder: Elizabeth Ball
Artistic Director: Carole Higgins
General Manager: Aliyah Amarshi
Mission Statement
Carousel Theatre for Young People inspires young people, families and artists with playful, accessible theatrical experiences which strive for artistic excellence. We support and educate emerging artists and audiences while enriching their hearts and minds.
On Now
Registration is now open for this summer’s Theatre School for Young People [PDF Brochure] and Hamlet will be their next show from July 26th to August 10th, presented by the Teen Shakespeare Program.
Latest News
This season, through a partnership with the Vocal Eye, Carousel Theatre for Young People began offering an audio described performance for blind and low vision patrons.
Carousel Theatre has also received 7 nominations for the Jessie Awards — in the Theatre for Young Audiences category — that include: Outstanding Performance (The Cat in the Hat); Outstanding Design (Arthur: Boy King & The Cat in the Hat); Significant Artistic Achievement (2012/13 Season & The Cat in the Hat).
Follow
Stay up to date on the latest from Carousel Theatre For Young People by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
View all of my Theatre Thursday profiles by browsing the Jessies tag.
Heading down to the Piggly Wiggly for a quart of milk is something you would hear in Memphis, Tennessee where the revolutionary grocery store chain was founded in 1916. However, you could also go to the Piggly Wiggly over on Granville Street in Vancouver about 80 years ago.
The Vancouver Sun, March 27, 1931
In 1925, Piggly Wiggly (BC) Limited opened its first store in Vancouver. By 1929, there were 28 Piggly Wiggly locations in Vancouver, Victoria, and New Westminster and Piggly Wiggly (BC) Limited merged with Piggly Wiggly (Canada) Limited. On March 27, 1931 the Vancouver Sun had a full page ad for Piggly Wiggly, celebrating six years in Vancouver:
The Vancouver Sun, March 27, 1931
The Piggly Wiggly Corporation, established by Clarence Saunders, offered the first self-service grocery shopping experience in America, the first checkout stands, price marks on store items, refrigerated cases, employee uniforms and many more of the standards used in the grocery store industry today.
1928: Piggly Wiggly on Denman at Nelson in the West End. Archives Item# Str N267.2.
(Left) 1930: Piggly Wiggly in the Walden Building on Main. VPL# 4764. Photographer: Leonard Frank.
(Right) 1939: Piggly Wiggly on West 41st. VPL# 25055. Photographer: Dominion Photo Co.
In 1929, Safeway came to Canada just three years after it was founded in Maryland. Eventually Safeway would take over the Piggly Wiggly chain in Vancouver. Stores like Piggly Wiggly No. 4 in Kerrisdale remained until at least the end of the 1930s.
Vancouver Craft Beer Week (“VCBW”) kicks off this Friday and many events have already been sold out for weeks. Through partnerships and collaborations with venues, pubs, and breweries there is a wide variety ways to get involved. The #YVRBeerTweetup group has partnered with The Portside Pub (7 Alexander St) in Gastown to host The Riverboat Showdown on Thursday, June 6th starting at 7:00pm.
In keeping with this year’s VCBW theme, The Portside Pub will be decked out like a riverboat casino and attendees will be able to take part in 5 casino games with professional dealers, served by ladies and gentlemen in true ‘saloon style’ costume.
Attendees will vote for their favourite brews on-site (each brewery bringing a special cask just for this event) and the #YVRBeerTweetup hosts will be posting updates and results from the awards portion out to Twitter.
Participating breweries for The Riverboat Showdown include: Deep Cove Craft Brewery and Distillery, Lighthouse Brewing, Vancouver Island Brewery, Parallel 49 Brewing, Central City Brewing, R&B brewing, Red Truck Brewing, Russell Brewing, Howe Sound Brewing, and Tofino Brewing.
Tickets are available online for $25 and admission includes “casino” playing tokens, a VCBW tasting glass, a ticket for one 4oz. cask taster, and live music from The Sweetpea Swing Band. Additional cask tickets are only $1 each. There will be prizes and other fun surprises throughout the night. Attending in costume is highly recommended!
If you would like to attend this event, I have a pair of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment here naming a participating brewery at this event (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 5:00pm on Sunday, June 2, 2013. Must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly and plan a safe trip home.
Update The winner is Rosemary!
