The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is hosting a salvage sale this Friday, August 17th. This sale, contrary to their annual salvage sales, is a final clearance sale as they will be closing their warehouse.

The warehouse is located at Unit 115 – 7011 Elmbridge Way in Richmond. The public is invited to stop by on Friday, August 17, 2012 between 10:00am to 2:00pm

Items up for sale during their recent salvage sale included fireplace inserts and fire tools, Clayburn bricks and guilded ornamental plasterwork from the Pantages Theatre, a partner desk, pedestal sinks, and stained glass windows.

For this final sale, they will consider any and all offers on items. They have doors, pedestal sinks, windows, and more. They “would rather see things go for a song than go to the landfill.”

Follow the Vancouver Heritage Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the sale, other heritage events, and walking tours throughout the summer.

White Spot is hosting Pirate Pak Day tomorrow. When you order a Pirate Pak at a White Spot restaurant in BC on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 they will donate $2 to the Zajac Ranch for Children.

Zajac Ranch is a local charity that gives children and young adults with life-threatening illnesses and chronic disabilities an unforgettable summer camp experience.

You can order the Kids Pirate Pak (which is always available) or on this day only you can order the special-edition Adult Pirate Pak. This comes with your choice of one of White Spot’s legendary burger combos complete with fresh-cut fries, a soft drink, a scoop of ice cream and a chocolate “gold” coin. It’s a chance for everyone to feel like a kid again and support a cause that helps kids be kids.

Over the past four years, White Spot has raised more than $152,000 for the ranch, giving 75 children the opportunity to meet new friends and experience traditional camp activities, such as canoeing, archery and horseback riding.

“White Spot’s Pirate Pak Day fundraiser has resulted in very generous contributions to our camp program, providing life-changing experiences for special needs kids across B.C.,” said Mel Zajac, founder of the Zajac Ranch for Children. “We are excited to be reuniting with White Spot on this initiative again in 2012 and encourage everyone to get out and enjoy a Pirate Pak on August 15.” [Source: Press Release]

Options for the Adult Pirate Pak (available only tomorrow, starting at $10.99) feature a choice of four burger options, including the Legendary Burger, Bacon Cheddar Bigger Burger, Provolone Veggie Burger on a multigrain bun and the BC Chicken Burger.

The original Kids Pirate Pak is celebrating its 44th anniversary this year as well. It’s not the same Pirate Pak that I remember as a child (and always thought I could make a hat out of the cardboard boat). There are now Pirate Pak options like a grilled cheese sandwich, Pirate Pals, spaghetti and meatball, macaroni and cheese, lightly battered Pacific Cod, or Health Check approved Lifestyle pizza combo. Of course you can also get the classic hamburger with finger-licking Triple “O” sauce as well.

To promote Adult Pirate Pak Day on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 in support of Zajac Ranch for Children, White Spot has offered up a $25 gift card for one of my readers. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment here naming what you would have in your Pirate Pak (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:00am. Follow White Spot on Facebook and Twitter and Zajac Ranch on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

Update The winner is Sandra!

Over the years I have profiled bloggers from the Northwest Territories to the Fraser Valley, anyone that interests me and that I hope will interest you as well. A few years ago I started asking a standard set of questions and I’ve sent these out to a few local bloggers for this week’s series. Click, share, explore, and enjoy.

Photo courtesy of Keira-Anne

Keira-Anne Mellis

Blog: Keira-Anne.com
Twitter: KeiraAnne
Facebook: VancouverIslandBlog

How long has your blog been around?
In its current incarnation? Just over six years.

What is your role?
Author, Editor, Photographer

What does your site do/what is it about
Primarily, it’s my personal blog and I started it as a means by which to write and post photos about the things I do, places I visit and what I find interesting. Over the years it has evolved into a Vancouver Island Blog for a few reasons.

Vancouver Island is where I was born and raised, so it’s a very special place to me. Once I moved to Vancouver, I started to find that people either didn’t know much of what there was to see and do on the Island, or that a lot of people thought that Victoria was all there was to Vancouver Island. While Victoria is a stunning city in its own right, there are so many wonderful communities and so much more to see and do on Vancouver Island. It’s my hope that my blog will capture a bit of that.

What can people see, read, and do when visiting your site?
One of my favourite features on my blog is Island Profile. Each Island Profile highlights a different community, business or Island-specific product and shares more in-depth information with my readers. People will also find information about events that I find might be interesting, ideas of ways to spend a weekend or even just a personal experience I’ve had.

Why do you blog?
I love language and I love to write. A blog initially seemed like an always-evolving means by which to write. Plus, it’s always going to be about a topic that interests me, so the words flow.

Beyond that, blogging is also a really valuable way to have a bit of reach and connect with like-minded people. For a long while I’ve been passionate about animal welfare causes. Since 2008, my readers have helped me to raise, literally, thousands of dollars for the BC-SPCA. 2012 marks my fifth year of fundraising, something I hope to continue in future years.

What is the ultimate goal for your site, how would you like to see it grow?
I’d like to say that I have an ultimate goal for my site, but it’s a side project that I tackle in my spare time. As long as I can keeping writing about and photographing Vancouver Island, I’ll be a happy gal!

Follow Keira-Anne: Keira-Anne.com, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Read all entries in my Blogger Profile series and feel free to suggest a blogger for possible feature in the comments of this post.

Vancouver’s summer Fair at the PNE kicks off this weekend with entertainment, exhibitions, demonstrations, and food creations that go far beyond the beloved mini donuts. The team from FortisBC (natural gas, electricity, and energy solutions) is returning this year with an info booth about how you can save energy in your home throughout the year.

Anyone who stops by the FortisBC booth at the PNE and checks-in on Foursquare or Facebook, or puts a shout out on Twitter (@FortisBC) will instantly receive a prize. Make it a destination on your way to check out the latest deep-fried creation, the SuperDogs, livestock, a PNE concert, Family Feud or the new Star Trek exhibition.

They have also offered up two prize packs for me to give away that include 4 day passes to PNE and 4 all-day ride passes for Playland. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment with your top energy-saving tip for summer (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw two winners on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:00am. Prize packs will be couriered to the winners so that they can get out and enjoy the Fair at the PNE while it runs August 18th to September 3rd. Each prize pack is valued at approximately $200.

Follow FortisBC on Twitter for more information about energy savings, rebate offers, home improvement projects, and more throughout the year.

Update The winners are Luba & @zojirushi!

Recently, Honda invited me to go on a roadtrip with some other local bloggers in the new CRV. We gathered at their headquarters in Richmond early on a Saturday morning. Once divided into teams (I was paired with Gwen from LeftCoastMama.net), we set about loading up our CRV with some typical things you’d take on a weekend getaway… and we crammed it pretty full:

Unfortunately, it was raining as we departed Richmond and made our way through downtown and onto the Sea to Sky highway.

We made a quick stop at Shannon Falls…a place I haven’t actually stopped at in years. There was a large amount of people there that didn’t seem to mind the light rain.

After a brief stop in Squamish for lunch at the Cup Cafe/Bistro, we then switched drivers for the last part of our trip to Whistler.

Upon arriving in Whistler at the Fairmont, the group split up and either hit the Spa or the Peak to Peak. Fortunately, the weather had cleared up and it got nice and warm for the afternoon.

The group then reassembled and headed to Rainbow Park in the Whistler Valley for the Araxi Long Table dinner series:

Seeing that enormous row of tables in the meadow was pretty stunning. We were all a little concerned about the weather but the folks at Araxi had a Plan B (popup tents for the tables) that fortunately went unused.

We were then treated to a four course meal that was simply amazing… easily one of my top ten favorite meal experiences ever.

After an amazing dinner, we headed back to the hotel. A nice soak in the hot tub capped off a great (albeit long) day.

Sunday morning came too quickly and we loaded up the vehicle again and headed back down from Whistler.

One of the many things I enjoyed about the CRV was all the new technology that it has. Like the new voice command system that makes it very easy to say something like “Radio, 100.5” and then the stereo switches to The Peak without taking your eyes off the road. You can also use your voice to control your phone, the navigation system and other parts of the car.

I also really liked the custom wallpaper option on the upper clock screen too. Such a little thing goes a long way to me, especially as cars get more sophisticated displays inside, it makes sense that you can personalize it with a few different photos.

We enjoyed a brief getaway but we were able to cram in plenty of activities, leaving the city behind and making a quick escape (in style, with the CRV).