When jewelry designer Peg Steley was approached by the owner of the Back Gallery Project, Monica Reyes, about an exhibition Steley says she suddenly viewed her work in a different light. “It made me perceive it as a body of work and motivated me to push the envelope,” she says.

Before a career in jewels, and before raising children, Steley had a career producing major international spectacles, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for World Expo 1986. And when you look at each piece, they explode out like fireworks and crackled with non-stop surprises.

At her opening last Thursday night, Ohhhhs and Awwws could be heard throughout the gallery.

For “Rock” Star, Steley uses unique stones and gems (including Brazialian opals, Swarovsky crystals, Indian peacock druzy, and Tibetan charms) that she has collected from all over the world (including Bali, Morocco, Mexico, Rjasthan, and Tibet), assembling them in an almost unimaginable way.

“I guess I’m still entertaining people with extravagant spectacles,” she says. A native of Sydney, Australia, Steley says that her diverse parentage has also had a huge influence on her work. “My mom and grandmother were very glamorous fashionistas. I think I inherited that for element. My father was an adventurer and loved to travel to remote places alone. I love to do that, as well.”

This duality that lives within her can also be seen in her pieces–they are glamourous yet edgy, raw yet refined, high-art yet completely wearable for every woman… an easy way to inject a little of the spectacular into everyday life.

The Back Gallery Project is located at 602 E Hastings Street and you can follow the gallery on Facebook and Twitter. Find out more about Peg Steley online.

December in Vancouver means holiday shopping at the market, ice skating at Robson Square, light displays and city views from the ski hills. Here’s a quick glimpse of this festive month throughout the last century thanks to Chuck Davis’ History of Metropolitan Vancouver:

1936: City Hall prior to opening. Leonard Frank Photos. Archives# City P19.1

December 1, 1936: Vancouver’s new city hall opened for business.

December 3, 1929: The Commodore Cabaret opened on Granville Street.

December 3, 1949: A photograph appeared in the Province showing the site for something called a “shopping centre” on the north shore. It would be called Park Royal. It was Canada’s first shopping centre.

December 4, 1972: Minimum wage for adults in British Columbia was set at $2 an hour, the highest in Canada.

December 6, 1969: The Bloedel Floral Conservatory opened at Queen Elizabeth Park.

December 9, 1962: Elected on this day, Bill Rathie was the first Vancouver mayor to have been born in the city.

December 9, 1985: The third iteration of the Cambie Bridge, that we use today, opened.

December 16, 1931: Elizabeth “Betsy” Flaherty, a buyer for Spencer’s department store, got her flying license. She was about 53, making her the oldest female pilot in Canada.

December 17, 1903: BCER pushed a button and this began to flow of electricity into Vancouver. The then Trout Lake Power Station (after 1905 Lake Buntzen) started and produced the first hydro electric power in the Lower Mainland. Two days later, on December 19th, the City of Vancouver was first lit by water power. The Province newspaper of the day printed an article titled “Steam discarded in favour of Water Power”. Prior to 1903, the electricity used to power the streetcars, interurbans, lighting, as well as power industry in the area came from a thermal electric plant located at Prior and what is now Main Streets in Vancouver. This plant was aided by a small steam plant in Burnaby near the present Newell Substation.

December 20, 1911: Denman Arena opened at Georgia and Denman, welcoming professional hockey to Vancouver. With a capacity of 10,000 it was the world’s largest artificial ice rink.

December 24, 1951: Named “most beautiful woman in the world,” Yvonne De Carlo visited Vancouver (her home town).

December 28, 1968: Chuck Davis had a note that the thermometer dipped today to -.2 F, “the only sub-zero temperature ever recorded in Vancouver.

Sources: Vancouver History.
Related Posts: January 1st in Vancouver History, February in Vancouver History, March in Vancouver History, July in Vancouver History, August in Vancouver History, September, October in Vancouver History, November in Vancouver History, December in Vancouver History.

Hop aboard the Karaoke Christmas Lights Tour with Vancouver Trolley Company to enjoy some of the best holiday activities in the city with your own festive soundtrack.

Photo courtesy of the Vancouver Trolley Company.

Karaoke Christmas Lights Tour

Upon pickup, guests will sing their way past the city lights of downtown before arriving at Bright Nights at Stanley Park. A donation to the BC Professional Fire Fighter’s Burn Fund is included in each ticket on the Karaoke Christmas Lights Trolley tour. After being given some time to walk through the light display and take in Stanley Park’s holiday magic, the tour will continue through local light displays on the way to the second stop of the evening, at VanDusen’s Botanical Garden. Here guests will disembark once again to enjoy the Festival of Lights.

Tours run nightly from December 11, 2013 to December 30, 2013, departing from Canada Place at 6:30pm.

Tickets are available for $40 (adults), $35 (seniors and students), $25 (children), and $110 for families (2 adults, 2 children). Rates include GST. There are a limited number of seats available each night, to reserve your seat please book soon by calling (604) 801-5515. Each ticket includes admission to VanDusen Botanical Garden and a donation to the BC Professional Fire Fighter’s Burn Fund. Group trolley tours can also be booked (maximum 33 passengers).

Throughout the season you can also hop-on and hop-off the Vancouver Trolley Company at popular attractions like the Vancouver Christmas Market and Capilano Suspension Bridge.

If you would like to experience the Karaoke Christmas Lights Tour, I have two spots up for grabs thanks to the Vancouver Trolley Company. Here’s how you can enter to win a ticket for you and a guest:

• Leave a comment naming your favourite holiday song/carol (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tix for @VanTrolley’s Karaoke Christmas Lights Tour from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/rnoAg

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Sunday, December 8, 2013. Follow the Vancouver Trolley Company on Facebook and Twitter for more information about seasonal tours and everyday experiences.

Update The winner is Cathy Russell!

The Rio Theatre is serving up a bundle of holiday favourites as this month’s Friday Late Night Movies. These 19+ screenings can be complimented with a beverage from the theatre’s full service bar as you enjoy a night out with friends. Tickets are available online in advance or at the door for $8 or $6 if you come in costume.

Rio Theatre Friday Late Night Movies

Friday, December 6, 2013
Scrooged (Richard Donner, 1988)
We’re kicking off the Holiday season with a Friday Late Night screening of Richard Donner’s Scrooged, featuring a pitch-perfect Bill Murray in a classic re-telling of Charles Dickens’ timeless tale. The star-studded cast also includes Karen Allen, Alfre Woodard, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, Bobcat Goldthwaite, Robert Mitchum and… Robert Goulet!

Friday, December 13
Hook (Steven Spielberg, 1991)
This 90s fan favourite has been oft-requested by our retro-loving audience, and the holiday season seemed like the perfect time to replay it. Steven Spielberg’s star-studded cast (featuring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Dame Maggie Smith and an adolescent Gwynneth Paltrow) is a modern take on a childhood classic. When Captain Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.

Friday, December 20
Elf (Jon Favreau, 2003)
This place reminds me of Santa’s Workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me… | Director Jon Favreau’s surprisingly sweet story about a man named Buddy (Will Ferrell, in one of his most endearing performances), an orphan inadvertently raised as one of Santa’s elves who decides to travel to New York City to find his birth father, became an instant classic upon its release a decade ago. Elf features memorable supporting turns from the likes of James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen, and Ed Asner.

Friday, December 27
Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)
New York City Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) has just arrived in Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his wife (Bonnie Bedelia). Unfortunately, it is not going to be a Merry Christmas for everyone. A group of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (the always wonderful Alan Rickman), is holding everyone in the Nakatomi Plaza building hostage – including Mrs. McClane! With no way of anyone getting in or out, it’s up to the street-smart (and barefoot) McClane to stop them all and save the day.

The Rio Theatre is an independent art and movie house located at 1660 West Broadway, at Commercial Drive, and is easily accessible by transit. Follow along on Facebook and Twitter for more film screenings, comedy showcases, and special event information.

The Bright Nights Christmas Train in Stanley Park returns for the season from December 5, 2013 until January 5, 2014. Stanley Park is our favourite spot in the city and at this time of year it sparkles with festive cheer among the evergreens. Here’s all you need to know to enjoy your experience:

Bright Nights Christmas Train in Stanley Park

Hours

Train Tickets

You can purchase tickets in advance through Ticketmaster online or by phone 1-855-985-5000 (tickets sold through Ticketmaster include an additional service charge) or pick them up in person at the Miniature Train Plaza in Stanley Park.

Bright Nights Train Plaza

Partial proceeds from the sale of Bright Nights tickets go to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund, which helps burn survivors and their families. $1.4 million has been raised over the past 14 years. Entrance to the Bright Nights Train Plaza is by donation (you don’t need to purchase train tickets to see the holiday lights). Donations (suggested minimum $4) will be accepted at the front gate.