The Georgia Straight has released their 18th annual Best of Vancouver survey results and I am very honoured to be included among the list again this year.
Voted #1 Best Local Blog (tie with Vancouver is Awesome) Voted #1 Best Local Twitterer (4th year in a row)
The Straight’s Best of Vancouver issue is always highly-anticipated, not only because it showcases local businesses, services, and personalities, but it’s also a fantastic resource throughout the year. They have so many listings that you can visit all of the top restaurants (in various categories), the top spas, find a local podcast, or plan a Vancouver Island getaway. Here are a few of the winners:
Media, Arts, Culture
Best local TV news anchor(s): Chris Gailus (Global)
Best local cable show: Breakfast Television
Best afternoon radio host(s): Stephen Quinn (CBC Radio 1)
Best dance company: Ballet B.C.
Best live music venue: Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville Food and Drink
Best restaurant (fine dining): Hawksworth Restaurant, 801 W. Georgia
Best patio: Dockside Restaurant, 1253 Johnston Street
Best kid-friendly restaurant: White Spot, Various locations
Best late night takeout: The Naam Restaurant, 2724 W. 4th Style
Best shoe store (independent): gravitypope, 2205 West 4th Avenue
Best local designer clothing store: Nicole Bridger, 2151 West 4th Avenue
Best spa (independent): Linda’s Urban Spa, 1888 West 1st Avenue Living
Best scooter dealer: Vespa Metro Vancouver, 590 Clark Drive
Best car-share service: car2go
Best florist: The Flower Factory, 3604 Main
Best kitchenware store: Ming Wo Cookware, Various locations Mind, Body, Soul
Best yoga studio: YYoga, Various locations
Best dance studio: Harbour Dance Centre, 927 Granville, 3rd floor Travel
Best weekend getaway: Whistler
Best Interior destination: Kelowna
Best hotel (Metro Vancouver): Fairmont Pacific Rim, 1038 Canada Place
Best out-of-town spa getaway: Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa
Best B.C. wilderness resort: West Coast Wilderness Lodge, 6649 Maple Road, Egmont City Life
Best community centre: Mount Pleasant Community Centre, 1 Kingsway
Local hero: Trevor Linden
Best neighbourhood: Kitsilano
Best neighbourhood/community bike store: Our Community Bikes, 3283 Main Street
There are hundreds of more listings and you can find them all online and be sure to pick up your paper copy around town this week.
Thank You!
I sincerely appreciate all of the engagement and encouragement from my readers, from social media shares and comments, to feedback and event listings. I have loved writing over 5,600 posts over the last 9 years and I have no plan to stop any time soon. Thank you very much for following my adventures into Vancouver’s past, present, future, and even over to Iowa when I visit John’s family.
As a very proud sponsor of the Vancouver International Film Festival I have the honour of sponsoring an individual film as well. This year I have chosen the world premiere of Leap 4 Your Life. This afternoon I caught up with the film’s writer and producer Taylor Hill who also stars in this mockumentary about a dance competition.
Backstage drama meets reality TV in this juicy mockumentary. April Telek hisses up a storm as Maureen, the leader of a teen dance troupe. She’s a dedicated woman, although she seems to be driven by spite as much as passion. Her team includes Hilary (Allie Bertram), a rich girl who knows how pretty she is and isn’t afraid to flaunt it; Molly (writer Taylor Hill), a flaky eccentric; and Matt (Reece Thompson), the “token guy” on the team. We follow them in the lead-up to a competition, in which Maureen will face rival coach Laine (Jill Morrison), a woman with whom she has more in common than she’d like to admit.
“It’s such a little indie that could. We don’t have a lot of money backing it but we do have a lot of heart and passion so I hope people get that out of it.”
“I used to be a dancer when I was younger and I’ve always been obsessed with Christopher Guest films,” Hill told me. “I’ve always had an obsession with reality TV and I’ve always thought that a dance competition would make a great mockumentary.”
Hill said that it was her mother who initially encouraged her to write. “I was kind of feeling down about not working enough in the acting world, and instead of waiting around for someone else to tell me to be creative, my mom was like ‘just be creative yourself’.” Hill set out to write the original script, inspired by the likes of Christopher Guest, Lena Dunham, and Tina Fey who write, produce, and act – as she has done with Leap 4 Your Life.
Praising her friends and colleagues for helping to make this film a reality, Hill said many volunteered their time and efforts, and they take turns supporting each other’s projects. “You click with people, you want to work with your friends, it just makes it so much more fun.” It’s a reflection of the BC film industry as a whole, with a strong community bond that can shine during events like VIFF. “There’s just so much talent here in BC,” she added. “We just need more avenues to showcase that.”
Tickets are available now through the VIFF box office for screenings on September 30th (world premiere) and October 10th. Check out the official trailer and follow Leap 4 Your Life on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the film.
Leap 4 Your Life is also a part of the new #MustSeeBC spotlight on British Columbia film at the festival. The campaign invites audiences to preview trailers, promote BC filmmakers across social networks, and vote on the Audience Must See Award.
Hey Bartender (Douglas Tirola, 2013) | Two bartenders try to achieve their dreams through bartending: An injured Marine turns his goals to becoming a principal bartender at the best cocktail bar in the world. A young man leaves his white-collar job to buy the corner bar in his hometown years later he struggles to keep afloat. The bar is three deep and the bartenders are in the weeds at the greatest cocktail party since before Prohibition.
A hit as SXSW 2013, Hey Bartender is the story of the rebirth of the bartender and the comeback of the cocktail. Featuring the world’s most renowned bartenders and access to the most exclusive bars in New York with commentary from Graydon Carter, Danny Meyer and Amy Sacco.
On Monday, September 23, 2013 a VIP cocktail reception will take place before the screening, featuring concoctions created some of Vancouver’s top bartenders such as: Canadian Professional Bartending Association BC Chapter President Trevor Kallies (Donnelly Group), CPBA BC Chapter Vice President Grant Sceney (Fairmont Pacific Rim), Jon Smolesnky (Hawksworth), and Donnie Wheeler (Clough Club), and more.
VIP tickets (film + reception from 6:00pm to 8:00pm) are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Tickets for the film only (at 8:30pm) are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
As a sponsor of this event, I have a pair of VIP tickets to give away in a quick contest. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win VIP tix to #HEYBARTENDER at the @RioTheatre from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/oXDez
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, September 19, 2013. Must be 19+ to attend. Please enjoy responsibly and plan a safe ride home. Follow the Rio Theatre on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about special events and film screenings.
Hastings House Country House Hotel will host their next “Chefs Across the Water” dinner on Monday, September 30, 2013 with Irish Chef Denis Cotter. Known for his cutting edge vegetarian fare, this edition of Chefs Across the Water with Chef Cotter will be the first meatless dinner and also the first to feature a chef from outside of BC.
Chefs Across the Water at Hastings House
When: Monday, September 30, 2013 What: A 5-course dinner prepared by a visiting chef, using local island ingredients. Where: Hastings House on Salt Spring Island, overlooking Ganges Harbour. Tickets: $115 plus $45 for wine pairings. Call Hastings House at 1-800-661-9255 to reserve.
Chef Cotter joins the prestigious roster of celebrity chefs to cook at the dinner series that include Chef Vikram Vij, Chef Pino Posteraro, Chef John Bishop and sushi Chef Tojo.
Chef Denis Cotter is the proprietor of the acclaimed Irish restaurant Paradiso in Cork City. He is the author of four cookbooks, “Café Paradiso Cookbook”, “Paradiso Seasons”, and “wild garlic, gooseberries & me”. His latest offering, published by Harper Collins, is “for the love of food”. He now divides his time between Cork and Ontario.
As with other Chefs Across the Water dinners, which began in 2010, all ingredients will be sourced from Salt Spring Island and prepared by the visiting chef. To date, proceeds from the chef dinners have gone to Salt Spring Agriculture Alliances’ efforts to establish an abattoir on island, which opened this year. Proceeds from the September event will go towards the installation of a cold storage and distribution facility.
Salt Spring Island is without a doubt one of our favourite places on earth and the Dining Room at Hastings House has been listed by the renowned Zagat Guide as one of the top rated in Canada. There are only 75 spaces available for the dinner so if you’re looking for an incredibly unique dining experience, Chefs Across the Water is not to be missed.
The Vancouver LEGO Games were first hosted back in April with 140 participants of all ages participating in a LEGO-building challenge. Members of the Vancouver LEGO Club brought in some amazing showpieces and funds were raised for Canuck Place. This season the event returns as The Brick Games which will take place in Langley.
The Brick Games: Charity LEGO Building Event
On Saturday, October 26, 2013 LEGO enthusiasts are invited to this family-friendly challenge at the Langley Events Centre. This (big) new venue will host the LEGO competition, exhibitors, entertainment, and more. Funds will be raised for the LEGO Foundation and the Love Global Foundation.
As a competitor, you can sign up in two different categories. The first is “Ready. Set. Build!” where you will race to build unique model that demonstrates a theme within 60 minutes. The second is “My Own Creation” where competitors are asked to bring a unique creation (no exact sets) to showcase their unique LEGO building skills.
You can also stop by to check out the action as a spectator, without competing in any challenges, between 10:00am and 5:00pm on Saturday, October 26, 2013. Information about each of the challenges (for ages 5 and up) is available on The Brick Games website along with online registration and ticket sales.
Contest
Enter to win this Dino HQ 5887 set that includes four minifigures, three dinosaurs, a T-Rex, a Raptor, and a Coelophysis along with two vehicles, a helicopter and a rover, and a large base.
To help promote The Brick Games I have a Dino HQ 5887 LEGO set to give away along with two spectator tickets. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tickets to The Brick Games @vanlegogames and a LEGO set from @miss604 http://ow.ly/oVjmZ
Follow this event on Twitter and Facebook for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm Monday, September 23, 2013.
This contest is not sponsored by nor is it in partnership with LEGO. The prize sponsor is The Brick Games.
Hey Bartender (Douglas Tirola, 2013) | Two bartenders try to achieve their dreams through bartending: An injured Marine turns his goals to becoming a principal bartender at the best cocktail bar in the world. A young man leaves his white-collar job to buy the corner bar in his hometown years later he struggles to keep afloat. The bar is three deep and the bartenders are in the weeds at the greatest cocktail party since before Prohibition. 
