The Shops at Morgan Crossing are hosting the third annual Spring Break Skate from Thursday, March 21st to Sunday, March 24th.

Each day from 10:00am to 6:00pm shoppers, neighbours, and visitors are invited to skate on the artificial outdoor skating surface, rain or shine.

Skate rentals will be available by donation to the Semiahmoo Secondary School’s Dry Grad and the school will also be selling BBQ hot dogs, soft drinks, and other snacks. On Saturday, March 23rd from 1:30pm to 3:30pm there will be a mascot skate-off, an RCMP bait car demo, the ParticipACTION funmobile, and more.

The Shops at Morgan Crossing are located at 15765 Croydon Drive in Surrey and include BC’s largest wine merchant, high-end fashion shopping, and the only Gap, Banana Republic and Olsen Europe outlet locations in BC. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter for more shopping and event info.

In this digital age, with all of our smartphones, computers, tablets and gadgets that help us get things done, a lot of time can be wasted when we don’t know how to use the tools available — or we get caught up by distractions. That’s where Steve Dotto (“Canada’s Favourite Geek”) comes in. He’s hosting a ProTECHtivity workshop next week to “deal with the productivity paradox, the fact that the pursuit of productivity often gets in the way of actually getting things done.”

Covering everything from time and contact management, project management, document management, through email and calendars to organization. ProTECHtivity shows you the best apps, the best techniques and the best ways to become far more productive than every before. You will learn to use your smartphone (any flavour) and computer, integrate the best apps and procedures to make sure you are in control of your life, and in control of your tech.

Steve has assembled a roster of speakers including Mike Vardy from Victoria, whom I have seen speak at conference before, who is a master of being productive and using your time wisely. Other guests include Brooks Duncan (Paperless Office), Darci Larocque (Everything and the Kitchen Sync), Deborah Kriger (Stop Wasting Time On Social Media), and Eileen Reppenhagen (Too Much Paper, Never EnoughTime).

The Protechtivity Workshop will take place Thursday, March 14, 2013 from 8:30am to 4:30pm at the Delta Town and Country Inn. The full day of sessions will include talks from these top productivity experts about The Paperless Office, Sync Your World, Time and Idea Management, Everything in Evernote, and email and task management.

I’ve had the pleasure of being on Dotto Tech (Steve’s radio tech talk show on AM650) so he’s given me a discount code to provide my readers. Regular tickets are $199 plus fees but you can use the special code miss604guest to get a 20% discount. Just enter the code on the registration page where it says “Enter Promotional Code” under the ticket options.

Follow @DottoTech on Twitter and Protechtivity on Facebook for more information about this workshop and upcoming events.

The City of Surrey is ramping up for another year of free, family-friendly festivals and the first major event on deck is the Party for the Planet, BC’s largest Earth Day celebration. The concert lineup was announced this morning and it’s a pretty impressive schedule of Canadian talent.

The Party for the Planet features exhibitors, vendors, activities, and displays that showcase conservation, sustainability, and eco-friendly options for the way we live in our community. Festivities take place at the Central City Plaza once again, on Saturday, April 27 2013.

If I were to make a list of some of our favourite live acts of the last few years, these three would definitely be on there: Lights, Hey Ocean!, and The Matinee — and they’re all playing Surrey’s Party for the Planet.

Lights. Photo by John Bollwitt for Miss604

The Matinee & Hey Ocean!. Photo by John Bollwitt for Miss604

Lights will be on at 7:45pm, Hey Ocean! at 6:15pm, Fighting for Ithaca at 5:10pm, The Matinee at 4:00pm, and Shane Philip (amazing didgeridoo artist) at 2:45pm. Stop by an autograph session with Lights and Hey Ocean! at 3:00pm inside Central City mall near Future Shop to meet these acts as well.

The opening ceremony will take place at 2:00pm with the Mayor and Council and before that there will be a mascot dance-off at 1:45pm, Music with Marnie at 1:00pm, Woops-a-Daisy at 12:30pm, Collabocall Productions Hip Hop Entertainment at 11:30am, Music with Marnie at 11:00am again and Woops-a-Daisy kicking things off at 10:30am.

There is no admission, there are no concert tickets, all of this entertainment and fun is free for everyone to enjoy. Central City if conveniently located in the heart of downtown Surrey with SkyTrain access via Surrey Central and King George stations. Follow @Surrey_Events on Twitter for more information about this festival and others throughout the year.

Miss604.com is proud to once again be a Media Partner of Surrey’s major festivals this year.

The Secret World of Sharks and Rays is an experience on now (and for a limited time) at the Vancouver Aquarium that showcases the lifestyles of sharks and their cousins, the majestic rays.

Photo courtesy of the Vancouver Aquarium

Engage with a beautiful zebra shark and whiprays in the Tropic Zone or take in the colossal models of the basking and thresher sharks in the Pacific Canada Pavilion. Learn about the hunting strategies, survival techniques and incredible adaptations of these fascinating fishes and the issues that threaten them.

There are 370 different living shark species and their cousins come in many shapes and sizes as a result of the incredible adaptations they have undergone in order to survive and thrive in a variety of aquatic environments.

Learn about the sharks that call the waters of British Columbia home, from the very common Pacific spiny dogfish to the endangered basking shark and the rarely seen thresher shark, in our Pacific Canada Pavilion. Then, explore the Tropic Zone and Amazon Gallery to spot a secretive shark called the tasseled wobbegong, a stealthy blue-spotted fantail ray with periscope eyes, and the freshwater stingray that sucks, literally – it sucks up snails to capture and eat them in its native home, Brazil’s Xingu River.

If you would like to visit the Vancouver Aquarium and discover The Secret World of Sharks and Rays, I have a 4-pack of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. Passes will be valid until April 30, 2013 and must be claimed/used by that time. Follow the Vancouver Aquarium on Twitter and Facebook for more information about their research, exhibits, and special events.

Update The winner is Lindsey!

Last night Broadway Across Canada announced its 2013/2014 line-up of musical theatre productions that they’re bringing to Vancouver over the next year. The shows include West Side Story (February 2014), War Horse (September 2013), and Les Miserables (June 2013).

Photo credit: “One Day More” The Company of the New 25th Anniversary of Les Miserables.

Les Miserables in Vancouver

Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönberg’s legendary musical with glorious new staging and dazzlingly re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. This new production has been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records wherever it goes.

Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score includes the classic songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “One Day More,” “Master Of The House” and many more. Les Misérables will be at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver from June 11th to June 24th, 2013.

Season Info

You can subscribe for a whole season of Broadway Across Canada productions either by signing up online or by calling 1-866-542-7469. Individual show tickets will be on sale at a later date. Billy Elliot is also coming up April 2nd to April 7th and tickets are on sale now. Follow Broadway Across Canada on Facebook and Twitter for all show and ticket information.