I’m a big fan of gifting experiences — tickets to the ballet, a concert, sporting event, theatrical production, attraction, etc. as it’s a memorable occasion spent with friends and loved ones. The Vancouver Park Board must have had this idea in mind when they came up with their gift card program. You can purchase a Vancouver Park Board Gift Card this season that will give the lucky recipient months of activities and a lifetime of memories:
Gift Card Options
Recreation
Visit a participating community centre, rink or pool. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a free $10 bonus coupon. Receive one coupon for each $50 purchased. Bonus coupons are valid from February 1 to May 31, 2013 for $10 off a purchase of $20 or more.
Golf
Visit any of the championship golf courses or pitch and putt golf courses. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a 2 for 1 weekend twilight green fee bonus coupon (Friday through Sunday). Bonus coupons are valid from January 1 to April 30, 2012 at all Vancouver Park Board golf courses.
Gardens
Visit VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a 2 for 1 garden admission bonus coupon for VanDusen Botanical Garden or Bloedel Conservatory. Bonus coupons are valid from January 1 to April 30, 2013.
The gift cards are only available for purchase until December 31, 2012. Find them at local swimming pools, ice rinks, community centres, fitness centres that accept Flexipass, golf courses (pitch and putts, driving ranges), the Stanley Park Miniature Train, VanDusen Botanical Garden, Bloedel Conservatory, and Marinas. Full gift card terms and conditions are available online.
On Thursday, December 6th, the Bloedel Conservatory will have its 43rd anniversary which makes it a valid candidate for this week’s Vancouver Icons photo profile:
The conservatory was built thanks largely to a $1.25 million donation through the Bloedel Foundation from lumber magnate Prentice Bloedel and his wife Virginia, and smaller amounts from the city and provincial governments. Mayor Tom Campbell officiated, joined by Mr. and Mrs. Bloedel and Bill Livingstone, the Vancouver parks board assistant superintendent “responsible for the main creative inspiration.”
This is Canada’s largest single-structure conservatory. Its domed design is based on the geodesic principle, which utilizes a structural space-frame to support the roof, enabling a large interior volume to be enclosed without the need for internal supporting columns. The Conservatory dome consists of 2,324 pieces of 12.5 cm (5 in.) diameter extruded aluminum tubing and 1,490 triodetic plexiglass “bubbles.” The bubbles were designed by Thorson and Thorson, structural engineers. [Source: Vancouver History
Lady Gaga is kicking off her North American tour right here in Vancouver with two shows, January 11th and January 12, 2013. She’ll be hitting the stage at Rogers Arena before making her way to Tacoma, Portland, San Jose, Los Angeles and more during her Born This Way Ball tour.
Photo credit: PictureGroup via Live Nation
Tickets for both Vancouver shows are on sale from $49.50 to $175 plus service charges. I also have a pair to give away for her show on January 12th — here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment here naming your favourite Lady Gaga song (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tickets to see Lady Gaga in Vancouver from @LiveNationWest & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/fMGUe
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, December 17, 2012. Prize includes two tickets to Lady Gaga in concert in Vancouver on January 12th.
Founded by the Vancouver Aquarium, Ocean Wise is a conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood. You’ve most likely spotted the Ocean Wise logo in local restaurant menus and last month, Vancouver’s Szechuan Chongqing restaurant on West Broadway became Canada’s first Ocean Wise restaurant. Now to make your sustainable seafood choice choice even easier, Ocean Wise released an iPhone application in 2011.
The first thing I look for in a dining guide on my iPhone is a feature to see what’s around me right now (like I can do with Yelp). The app has “Restaurants and Markets Near Me” as its first menu option. You’ll need to allow the app to see your current location to provide accurate details otherwise results for all of Canada will appear.
The “Ocean Wise Directory” lists restaurants, retail locations, caterers, private clubs, schools and suppliers. The “Seafood Guide” lets you learn up on species, their region, and their harvest method. For example the wild Northern Anchovy is from the Northwest Pacific Ocean, its harvest method is Purse Seine, and is recommended by Ocean Wise. However the Basa (catfish) is not recommended. It is harvested in open net pens, farmed, and from Cambodia and Vietnam.
The Ocean Wise Gallery is an interesting touch, where you can upload your own photos, but I’m not sure of the relevance unless you can tag your photos for a specific restaurant and then your image will show up in that listing.
For a free app, it packs in a lot of information. I find the Seafood Guide and location-based restaurant options the most helpful. You can pick it up in the app store today, available for iPhone, iPod, iPad.
Recreation
![Conservatory Autumn [Explored, Oct 16]](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4089/5086692742_c8e11a6737_z.jpg)
