Samsung Canada is hosting launch parties for the new Galaxy S4 in cities tomorrow from coast to coast and Vancouver is on the list. Hosted by Jesse Giddings, the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch party in Vancouver will feature STARS for a live performance at the Rocky Mountaineer train station.
Redefining the smartphone experience, the Samsung Galaxy S4 allows users to connect with friends and family from near and far in exciting ways. To celebrate this connected experience, Samsung Canada is previewing the device to Canadian consumers with an integrated tri-city exclusive launch experience. Montreal will have a live performance by Dragonette, STARS will play Vancouver, and Walk Off-The-Earth will headline the Toronto event. Canadian fans in all three events will also be treated to a special technological experience with acclaimed Canadian musician – Feist.
If you would like to attend the launch party I have 5 pairs of tickets up for grabs. Since the event is in less than 24 hours, you’ll only have until 10:00am tomorrow to enter to win. Here’s how:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win your way into the @SamsungCanada #GS4Canada launch party in Vancouver from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/koKDu
Doors open at 5:00pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013 at the Rocky Mountaineer Train Station (1755 Cottrell Street) in Vancouver. These tickets are not being sold so you can only win your way in. I will draw 5 winners (who can each bring a guest) at 10:00am on the day of the event.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available to pre-order from Canadian carriers and retail partners with device pick-up commencing on April 27th, and in-store availability starting May 3rd. When it’s launched in Canada, two color options will be available – Black Mist and White Frost; with additional color options to follow later this year. For further product information and availability, please visit the Samsung Canada website, and follow Samsung Canada on Facebook and Twitter.
Update The winners are: Philip S, Ed Lau, Sarah C, @goolsofjewels!
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Review — This is not a paid post. Our meal was compliments of Cibo Trattoria. Views are my own. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Sounds of a city rushing by outside fades as you step into Cibo Trattoria located inside the Moda Hotel in the heart of Vancouver’s entertainment district. This boutique hotel’s Italian-themed culinary gem offers a comfortable and romantic oasis with candles, smooth music, and bottles of wine adorning the walls. John and I were recently invited to Cibo to check out their Spring Lamb Festival (featuring Fraser Valley lamb). Boasting local and BC-grown ingredients, this tasting menu is paired with Nk’Mip Cellars wine from Osoyoos in the South Okanagan — recently voted #1 BC Winery by Wine Access Magazine.
Cracking the crunchy exterior of the lamb belly’s crisp shell revealed a tender and succulent core. The salsa verde was a light contrast to the darker meat and the pinot blanc played with the lighter notes of the garnish. The carpaccio was elegantly paired with smashed peas which instantly tickle your tongue with the taste of spring. My favourite garnish of the meal was the crispy rosemary which I bundled up with the ricotta and a thin slice of lamb into one bite-sized morsel after another.
Primi
Anolini of minted ricotta, Tuscan lamb braise, ricotta salata
Paired with Mk’Mip Quam Qwmt Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Secondi
Roast Leg of Lamb with new potatoes, cipollini onions, rosemary, and honey
Paired with Nk’Mip Mer’r’iym 2009
John and I both agreed that we could have the anolini for dinner on every rainy day in this city and we would be quite content. This heavenly dish was a bowl full of saucy, cheesy, meaty goodness and unfortunately my photo of it did not turn out. I could have snapped a shot of John’s plate though, which he pretty much licked clean. The final lamb dish was much lighter than I expected with the lamb served in moist slices on top of a bed of potato and onions. I could have used a bit more moisture on the potatoes but the honey, onions, and juicy lamb medallions did help offset that.
Dolci
How do you finish off a five-course lamb pairing dinner? Executive Chef Faizal Kassam found just the right thing: Pine nut semifreddo, with orange, chocolate, mint. The citrus and mint were just the right flavour combination to compliment the meaty meal and the pine nuts added a welcomed crunch and texture to the bowl. Dessert was paired with Nk’Mip’s Qwam Qwmt Riseling Ice Wine 2011.
The service was impeccable (with the same attention given to the small family next to us) and at the end of our meal we were given the option to adjourn to the adjacent Uva Wine Bar. Completely stuffed from an evening of indulgence with great food and wine, we declined but will keep the option in mind for our next date night.
There are just a few short days left to enjoy the Spring Lamb Festival at Cibo, which runs until the end of April. Make your reservations today and look for more fresh ideas from Cibo’s kitchen each month. The multi-course lamb dinner is $69 and you can add the Nk’Mip wine pairings for $59 (plus applicable taxes). Lamb dishes are available a la carte and wines are available by the glass as well.
Cibo is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at 900 Seymour Street in downtown Vancouver. With its proximity to the Orpheum, Commodore, and the Vogue Theatre it’s a fitting pre (or post) show date destination. Follow along on Facebook and Twitter for menu updates and information.
Better Together is a non-profit online community forum (in partnership with the BC Dairy Association and the Ministry of Health) that celebrates family togetherness at mealtimes and on May 1st, they’re launching their 4th annual Hands-On Cook-Off.
The purpose of this social forum is to encourage people to cook and eat together, as the research shows that children and adults who eat together enjoy many important benefits-school performance, better health, social skills, etc. The contest is a fun way to get this message out.
To enter the Hands-On Cook-Off, submit a 3 minute video (or less) of two or more people teaming up to host their own cooking show, making a favourite recipe. Participants in the video should be either of two generations (enter in the Multigenerational category) or at least two youth (enter in the Youth category). They can be preparing breakfast, BBQ, pizza, salad, snacks, or any other home-cooked food.
The contest will be open for entries from May 1, 2013 to June 2, 2013 and then the public will be able to vote on their favourite videos. There are some great cash prizes to be handed out on top of hundreds of dollars in grocery gift certificates. Winners will be announced in each category as well as a public vote/people’s choice category. All videos that don’t win any of the other prizes will be entered in the random draw to win a $500 grocery gift certificate.
We’re getting the word out now so that you can be sure to enter during the contest period and have your video presentation down. See the Better Together website for full contest rules, regulations, and prize information.
To spread the word about the contest, Better Together has offered up another awesome prize just for one lucky Miss604 reader — a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer (like the one my grandmother had in her kitchen, but brand new of course).
Here’s how you can enter to win the mixer thanks to Better Together’s Hands-On Cook-Off:
Leave a comment naming a favourite food item you like to make at home (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Check out the @bettertogether #handsoncookoff contest + RT to enter to win a KitchenAid Mixer from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/kmpz0
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Prize may not be exactly as shown in image above. Follow Better Together on Facebook and Twitter for more information about their family, food, and fun campaigns.
Yesterday the winners of Vancouver Magazine’s 24th Annual Vancouver Restaurant Awards were announced during a ceremony at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. Hosted by Fiona Forbes and Michael Eckford, industry members and media were on hand to sip, sample, and tweet about the winners. There are over three dozen categories, with all those honoured listed on the Vancouver Magazine website. A few are featured below:
From hot dogs to macarons, ramen to pho, and sushi to tandoori, Vancouver’s restaurant scene is thriving with fresh culinary creations and timeless treats. View a full list of winners and runners-up on the Vancouver Magazine website including special award categories like Ingredient of the Year, Green Award, Producer/Supplier and more.
Browsing the Vancouver Public Library Archives I came across another photographer with an extensive collection of local, historical photos. Stanley Triggs produced portraits, street photography, and captured some downtown Vancouver scenes that I had never come across before. He’s the former curator of the Notman Photographic Archives and was born in Nelson, BC in 1928. The following images are all from the Stanley Triggs collection at the library:
1961: Vancouver’s Chinatown VPL#: 85766 & 85766H.
1961: English Bay Beach. VPL#: 85772L & 85772.
1962: Belmont Hotel & 1961: Shops at Robson and Seymour. VPL#: 85745 & 85767D.
Stanley Triggs grew up surrounded by music, photography and an extended family with a love for the outdoors. Active in sports like swimming and hiking, as a young man Stan Triggs gravitated towards an occupation that would enable him to work outdoors and in the late forties and early fifties worked for the BC Forest Service in the Lardeau/Duncan valleys. Stan Triggs left the Lardeau in 1953 to go to the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara but returned every summer until 1956, when he finished school.
He worked with Bob Wallace, the Patrolman for the area as well as for private logging contractors such as Casey Jones in drainages like Howser Creek and Glacier Creek. Triggs was well liked and went by the nickname “Trigger”, a name given to him by Vic Weber. He was accompanied in the bush by his faithful companion, Peter, a Newfoundland/Husky/English shepard dog. Througout the time Stanley Triggs was working in the Lardeau/Duncan he was recording the people, the places and the lifestyles of the valleys with his camera. Always interested in history, he studied the folk songs and oral histories of the pioneers as well as capturing their images in a series of portraits.
In the fall of 1956, Stanley Triggs decided to enroll at UBC to pursue a degree in Fine Arts and Anthropology. He was hired by the Notman Archives and started work December 5, 1965 retiring twenty eight years later. Triggs has been dedicated to the preservation of BC’s photographic heritage and on his retirement in 1993 from the Notman Archives and his subsequent visit to Nelson the following year, he donated the records to the Nelson Museum. [Source: MemoryBC]
1962: Green Mill Cafe on Homer & Smithe Coffee Bar on Homer. VPL# 85748B & 85749A.
1961: Sikh children on steps of temple & 1961: Nootka wood carver & 1962: Stevedores on ship near Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators. VPL#: 85813 & 85759A & 85781C.
1962: Nootka wood carver David Frank & 1963: Musician Barry Hall & 1962: Stevedore on ship near Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators. VPL #: 85758 & 85781GG & 85788.
1961: Lions Gate Bridge & 1962: Old Vancouver house. VPL#: 85775H & 85751D.
To spread the word about the contest, Better Together has offered up another awesome prize just for one lucky Miss604 reader — a 
