Though it’s commonly known outside of the country as a beanie, wool hat or a knit-cap, it’s a toque to us and it’s playing an important role on Tuesday as it helps find long term solutions to end homelessness in Canada.

Toque Tuesday is a part of the national campaign that has been running for the last 16 years and this coming Tuesday over 40,000 volunteers across the country will be selling toques for a cause. They’ll be $10 each with 80% of net funds staying right in the communities where they are sold. The remaining 20% of funds raised from toque sales will go to Raising the Roof’s national projects. In Vancouver the beneficiaries are the Lookout Emergency Aid Society and Pacific Community Resources Society.

Head to one of these locations on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 to purchase your toque:

Vancouver
7:00 to 11:00am at SkyTrain & Canada Line Stations
Waterfront, Granville, Vancouver City Centre, Burrard, City Hall

7:00am to 11:00am at First Baptist Church (969 Burrard at Nelson)
Breakfast of coffee and muffins with the purchase of every toque.

6:30am to 6:00pm at TD Tower at Granville and Georgia

Volunteers will also be at the UBC Student Union Building on Wednesday, February 6, 2013.

Surrey
7:00am to 9:00am Surrey Central SkyTrain Station
Outside of the North Surrey Recreation Center (10275 City Pkwy)

10:00am at Chuck Bailey Rec Centre (13458 107A Ave)
Stop by the Raising the Roof Hockey Challenge with teams from the Surrey Fire fighters, RCMP, BC LIONS, Surrey Eagles, Local MLA’s and representatives from Community Service providers such as the Surrey Urban Mission and KEYS.

New Westminster
6:30am to 8:30am, 11:30am to 1:30pm, 3:00pm to 5:30pm at SkyTrain Stations
Columbia, New Westminster, Sapperton, Braid (TBC)

9:30am to 5:30pm at the New Westminster Public Library (716 6 Ave)
9:30am to 5:30pm Starbucks Coffee (601 Columbia St and 800 Carnarvon St)
9:30am to 5:30pm Douglas College (700 Royal Ave)
9:30am to 5:30pm Hume Park Elementary (TBC) (521 Fader St)

North Vancouver
10:00am to 12:00pm at the Lonsdale Quay Seabus Station

If you can’t get to any of these locations, you can order a toque online. Follow Raising the Roof on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about Toque Tuesday and other national and local initiatives.

Raising the Roof provides strong and effective national leadership on long-term solutions to homelessness through partnership and collaboration with diverse stakeholders, investment in local communities, and public education.

February will be full of shows, festivals, workshops, Black History Month and Chinese New Year events, and BC’s first Family Day stat holiday. The following events have been submitted for listing and be sure to bookmark this post as it’s updated every day.

Photo credit: Mack Faviell Photos on Flickr

Events in green (like festivals and theatrical productions) run for three days or longer.

Friday, February 1, 2013
Science World Opening of Creativity in Motion: Springs, Sprockets & Pulleys
Black History Month Official Launch
Canada’s Top Ten Films at The Cinematheque
Fire & Finesse: A Royal Concert
The Vagasquerade Art Exhibition
Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

Saturday, February 2, 2013
Twilight Crow Bike Ride
Seth Meyers at the River Rock
Car Free Kick-Off
Food Truck Fest at Vancouver Farmers Markets
The Vagasquerade Art Exhibition
Bagel Chase
Canada’s Top Ten Films at The Cinematheque
Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

Sunday, February 3, 2013
Stanley Park Ecology Society’s 25th Anniversary
Chinese New Year at IKEA
Vancouver’s Official Super Bowl Party at the Commodore
Emerson String Quartet
The Vagasquerade Art Exhibition
Great Digital Film Fest
Bagel Chase
Canada’s Top Ten Films at The Cinematheque
Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Vancouver loves its murals, whether they are commissioned or not, as they add colour to a city that is known to get pretty grey. To view a handful at once, four self-guided Vancouver Mural Tours lead you around some inspirational, historic, and colourful works throughout the east side of town. If you have had the chance to check them out or not, I found some snapshots of other random murals that have been contributed to the Miss604 Flickr Pool (and with a useable license on Flickr):

Photo credit: Clayton Perry Photoworks on Flickr

Photo credit: smilygrl on Flickr

Photo credit: Ruth and Dave & [travelfox] on Flickr

Photo credit: PiscesDreamer on Flickr

Photo credit: longzijun on Flickr

Photo credit: Photocat62 & Clayton Perry Photoworks on Flickr

Photo credit: PiscesDreamer on Flickr

Photo credit: dahliaphoto & S.Vegas on Flickr

Photo credit: popejon2 on Flickr

Photo credit: Gingerbeer4 & Ruth and Dave on Flickr

Photo credit: どこでもいっしょ on Flickr

Please click through on these images to view more work from the photographers and feel free to share your own photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool. View all photo collections here.

Dances for a Small Stage is a popular performance series renowned for bringing unique and innovative contemporary dance, inclusive of all disciplines, to a rough–and–tumble cabaret setting. They are preparing a special series just in time for Valentine’s Day that will examine all angles of the universal emotion of love – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

“Featuring a series of pieces inspired by the emotion that has touched us all, Dances for a Small Stage promises to be an unforgettable evening where truly anything can happen. Bring a date, grab a drink, and enjoy an entertaining night at the Legion on the Drive!”

Dances for a Small Stage 28 will have a three show run featuring performers and choreographers with backgrounds in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and tap at the Legion on the Drive. Tickets are $20 cash at the doors which open at 7:00pm nightly.

(Left) Karissa Barry (choreographer & co-curator). (Right) Yeva & Thoenn Glover. Photos courtesy of movent.

Dances for a Small Stage has been entertaining audiences since 2002 and in 2011 the Georgia Straight’s Best of Vancouver named their shows the “Best place to crack a cold one and cop some culture at the same time”.

If you or someone you know have an appreciation for all things dance, this is the perfect opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind show. I have two tickets to give away as well, here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment naming your favourite style of dance (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 12:00pm. The winner will have tickets to the show on February 15th. Must be 19+ to attend. Follow Dances for a Small Stage on Facebook and Twitter for more information about this show and others.

Update The winner is Carmelle!

He’s known for his Tasting Plates events and hosts challenges to find the best burger or the best pancake in Vancouver. This February, Richard Wolak is also bringing back his famous Poutine Challenge.

The 2nd annual Poutine Challenge will take place February 5th to February 28th, 2013 at 21 participating restaurants in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Ladner and White Rock.

The public is invited to these locations to order their poutine dishes throughout February. The restaurants will either be featuring their current poutine offerings or creating specialty dishes just for this challenge. Then, starting February 26th an online vote will open until March 3rd when the winning restaurant will be announced.

At its core, a traditional poutine is simply made with french fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy — the ultimate in down-home, all Canadian comfort food. However, poutine is popping up on menus across the country combining the basics with some uniquely outrageous toppings. Richard has already leaked a few dishes to look out for: Crispy Chicken & Waffle Poutine from 131 Water Kitchen & Bar, a Spätzle Poutine from Riverway Clubhouse, a Sweet Smokehouse Poutine from Falconetti’s, and Electric Owl Social Club has created a Poutine Tron Limited Edition.

Diners are encouraged to rate the poutines based on originality, creativity, uniqueness, traditional, non-traditional, price, value and most importantly taste. Visit the following participating restaurants next month to be the judge:

Follow Vancouver Foodster on Twitter for more information about the participating restaurants, the poutine menus, and the voting process.