Work off a weekend’s worth of turkey by participating in Step It Up for Sophie’s Place happening Sunday, October 14, 2012.
Registration is currently open for this first annual event that will have participants climbing up 23 flights of stairs at Central City, all for a great local cause. All proceeds benefit Sophie’s Place at the Centre for Child Development in Surrey.
Sophie’s Place is a child advocacy centre focussed on providing specialized services to physically, mentally or sexually abused children up to age 16 in a child-friendly setting. It provides an opportunity to participate in the safeguarding of our children and in playing a key role in their healing process.
The Centre recently welcomed Sophie’s Place as a program under their umbrella and it is the result of a significant collaboration between the Surrey RCMP, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Victim Services and Crime Prevention, a division of the Ministry of Justice, the City of Surrey and The Centre for Child Development.
Sign up to participate in Step It Up and collect pledged to complete the stair climb (545 steps, with a smooth elevator ride back down). Upon registration you’ll receive your own pledge page where family, friends, and colleagues can support your effort.
Follow the Centre for Child Development on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
Thanksgiving is here and leaves are falling but farmers markets are still open this season with a few more opening up this winter. Here’s your seasonal list of farmers markets around Vancouver thanks to EatLocal & Edible Vancouver:
Trout Lake Farmers Market
Location: North Parking Lot of John Hendry Park at Trout Lake
Dates: Saturdays until October 20, 2012
Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm each week
Notes: There is no parking in the North lot (that’s where the market is) nor is there parking on 13th Avenue. Organizers encourage walking, cycling, or transit options.
Kitsilano Farmers Market
Location: Parking Lot of Kitsilano Community Centre (2690 Larch at 10th)
Dates: Sundays until October 21, 2012
Hours: 10:00am to 2:00pm each week
West End Farmers Market
Location: 1100 Block of Comox across from Nelson Park at Mole Hill
Dates: Saturdays until October 20, 2012
Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm each week
SFU Pocket Farmers Market
Location: Cornerstone Town Square, SFU Burnaby Campus
Dates: Wednesdays until October 31, 2012
Hours: 11:00am to 3:00pm
Winter Farmers Market
Location: East parking lot of Nat Bailey Stadium (30th at Ontario)
Dates: Saturdays from November 3, 2012 to April 27, 2013
Hours: 10:00am to 2:00pm each week
Oak Street Farmers Market
Location: Unitarian Church of Vancouver (Oak and West 49th)
Dates: Wednesdays until January 31, 2012
Hours: 3:00pm to 7:00pm each week
Holiday Market
Location: Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive)
Dates: Only Saturday December 15, 2012
Hours: 10:00am to 4:00pm
The official Vancouver Farmers Market site (EatLocal) also has interactive maps of market layouts and information about bike valets. For all your farmers market information, follow @VanMarkets on Twitter.
You can also follow Edible Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter for other community market events around the Lower Mainland.
The Vancouver Writers Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with its biggest line-up to date on Granville Island from October 16th to 21st, 2012. Over the course of six days the festival will host 77 events with a variety of panel discussions, interviews, musical collaborations, and more.
Events
Event categories include Biography/Personal Experience, Contemporary Global Issues, Crime Writers, French, Graphica/Comics, Interviews, Intimate Evenings, Late Night, Literary Fiction, Music, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Readings, Science & Speculative Fiction, Spoken Word, The Literary World, and Theatre. Everything kicks off with the Literati Gala on Monday October 15th. Taking place at the Fairmont Waterfront, the gala will be hosted by Gloria Macarenko with performances by Vancouver Good Noise Gospel Choir.
Authors
Over over 130 authors will be participating in a variety of events. Margaret Atwood, Martin Amis, Lynda Barry, Michael Chabon, Jian Ghomeshi, Douglas Coupland, Cory Doctorow, Anne Perry… just to name a few.
Collaborations
Electric Company Theatre will have a theatrical installation and collaboration events will include Chor Leoni, Ruby Slippers Theatre, singers from Christ Church Cathedral, former Rheostatics leader Dave Bidini and Radio-Canada.
Tickets
Tickets are currently on sale for the festival and can be purchased online, by calling 604-629-VTIX (604-629-8849), or in person at the Writers Fest box office on Granville Island at 1398 Cartwright Street.
Project Bookmark
This is such a neat initiative. Project Bookmark Canada is a charity that places text from stories and poems in the exact physical locations where literary scenes are set — on plaques that look like big bookmarks. There are 10 bookmarks around Ontario and a few have been unveiled in Newfoundland. Vancouver’s first bookmarks will be placed in Chinatown at the intersection of Pender and Gore with a passage from Wayson Choy’s novel The Jade Peony in both English and Mandarin. The unveiling will take place Monday October 15th, leading up to the festival.
Spoken World
On Wednesday October 17th the Vancouver Writers Festival will host a spoken word event called Spoken World with three of the best spoken words artists. Hosted by Brendan McLeod on Wednesday October 17th at 9:00pm at Performance Works, tickets are $30.
Storyteller Ivan Coyote has a reputation for swinging her audience from hysterical laughter to tears in the space of a few paragraphs. England’s Lemn Sissay is an official Olympic poet, whose landmark poems engage readers on the streets of Manchester and London. C.R. Avery, beatbox poet, harmonica player, raconteur and one-man band, has performed throughout the world and recorded more than 15 albums. Be moved. Be amazed. Be there.
If you would like to attend Spoken World at the Vancouver Writers Festival I have a pair of tickets up for grabs. 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 next Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:00pm. Follow the Vancouver Writers Festival on Facebook and Twitter for more event information.
Update The winner is Lyn!
The second round of the Vancity Good Money Mob is now complete and the public votes have been tallied. Between Uprising Breads Bakery, CocoaNymph Chocolates & Confections, and Woodland Smokehouse & Commissary… it was CocoaNymph that came out on top!
This means that you can join Vancity at CocoaNymph to mob them with your business and support this local company.
How it Works
Step 1: A local business is chosen by the people
Step 2: A group of mobbers gather at the business
Step 3: Mobbers show the business some love by buying something
Step 4: Time to mingle and celebrate a mob well done
To participate head to CocoaNymph at #4 West 7th Avenue in Vancouver, on the corner of Ontario and 7th. The Vancity Good Money Mob will start at 6:00pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012.
Join the Facebook event and come on by next Wednesday to pick up some drinking chocolate, chocolate bars, truffles, and other delicious locally-made confections.
The Vancouver Trolley Company is bringing back their popular Haunted Halloween Trolley Tours this season featuring local history, spooky stories, and a stop over at Mountain View Cemetery.
As the night falls and shadows begin to appear, you will be whisked away by Trolley where you will see streets and homes, which seem normal, but if you look and listen close enough you will hear echoes of murders and other devastating events. Your spooky host will tell the gruesome tales of troubled ghosts, how they met their end, and where they now occupy their time.
Daily tours will depart from Canada Place from October 19th to October 31st, 2012 at 5:30pm, 6:30pm, 7:30pm and 8:30pm with 9:30pm tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Halloween night. Due to the nature of the tales told, this experience is recommended for those 13 years old and above.
Tickets are now available for $40 by calling (604) 801-5515 to make your reservation. These always sell out so be sure to book well in advance. Group bookings can also be made to reserve a whole trolley for your office, friends, or family (up to 33 people).
I have a pair of tickets to give away for the Haunted Halloween Trolley tour again this year. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment here naming a fear of yours — anything from spiders to ghosts or heights (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner next Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 12:00pm. Follow the Vancouver Trolley Company on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about their scenic tours and tour packages.
Update The winner is Michaela!
