Visa is currently sponsoring a handful of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls (and some who have become champions already) as they have done for the last 26 years. They have partnered with me to showcase members of their team like bronze medal-winners Brent Hayden of Mission and Emilie Heymans, and today’s feature moves on to the Paralympics with swimmer Benoît Huot. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
The other day I was looking at an old map of Stanley Park from 1907, something I might usually come across in my weekly history research, and I spotted two watering holes on the peninsula. The first being the recognizable Beaver Lake but the other, further northwest and just south of Prospect Point, was unfamiliar.
I like to think I know the trails and pathways of Vancouver’s Crown Jewel fairly well but I should have always wondered why a “Reservoir” Trail existed. This body of water puzzled me so I searched the Vancouver Archives for additional material and found this map of Stanley Park from 1935:
Many of the same trail names exist today and the Reservoir Trail is still around but it’s much shorter. It ends here on the map in the square area marked “RESERV”:
1926: Aerial view. Archives# Van Sc P66.
Another quick search of Chuck Davis’ Vancouver History and I had my answer:
1889: “…The triumphant Vancouver Waterworks began to shape its plans. They intended to lay two mains across the Inlet in case one was damaged, and to build two reservoirs, one in the heavily forested government reserve that was soon to become Stanley Park, and the other “on the high ground south of False Creek.” The Stanley Park reservoir is remembered today only by a trail named for it. It was demolished in the early 1950s to install a picnic ground. The “high ground” location later became Queen Elizabeth Park. (The old reservoir VWW built there, which was paved over for a parking lot, would be demolished, and a new, larger and earthquake-resistant one installed in 200_.)”
Comparing a Google satellite map view of Stanley Park today with the old aerial image, one can see the baseball fields and picnic area are indeed in the same spot as the old reservoir.
Vancouver has been built up quite a bit over the last 126 years and it’s interesting to uncover one of its long-gone feats of engineering in such a familiar place.
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.
Blog: arianecdesign.com
Twitter: arianecdesign
Facebook: arianecdesign
How long has your blog been around?
In its current format, since February 2010. My Blogspot ‘Ariane Kitspace‘ is still online, a site I began shortly after my husband and I emigrated from Western Europe to Vancouver in June 2005.
What is your role?
Writer/editor/photographer
What does your site do/what is it about
ariane c design is a hybrid blog. Having said that, I try to keep articles geared to arts and culture, food and drink, travel, and well-designed products to review, as I can’t be everything to everyone. I try to see things from a designer’s perspective in the majority of what I write and photograph.
What can people see, read, and do when visiting your site?
Read about events and life in Vancouver (and beyond) and perhaps learn about a new theatre production or restaurant in town. Or discover a cycling or computer-related product that’s just what they’ve been looking for.
Why do you blog?
I’ve tracked my life through writing and photography since early childhood. Things just have a way of falling into place: I’d originally registered to be a Vancouver 2010 Olympics volunteer, however my Dad became very sick around the time of my first orientation meeting and I had to postpone attending. I asked to be kept in the loop, but as things turned out, Dad never made it through that summer nor was I contacted again by the Olympic volunteer committee. By then, I’d already had contact with the House of Switzerland via Twitter, and one thing led to another by way of media accreditation to various country houses and Olympic organizations. By the time the Paralympic Games were through, I had grown accustomed to reporting and photographing on a daily basis. It kept me going through the months after my father’s death. I also knew that he aspired to be a journalist in his lifetime, so I’d like to think this way we’re both covered.
What is the ultimate goal for your site, how would you like to see it grow?
I aim to reach out to a variety of readers who will also take interest in some of the things I report on. I’d eventually like to add guest writers to my site, as there are only so many events that one can experience in a day or evening! I also hope that people will be curious by the name that I carefully chose to keep my design business in the picture. If a great product, organization, or service has design needs, I’d like to think that this is an opportunity to continue in my career path as well as to enjoy the growing readership and community that I’ve built through my blog over the last couple of years.
Follow Ariane: arianecdesign.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.
Over the last few years I have featured many of gigapixel images captured and processed by Ronnie Miranda of Active Computer Services — from a panoramic view of Vancouver at dusk to a timelapse and even a billion pixel image of the first BC Lions game at BC Place last year.
These images can be taken by anyone with a digital SLR camera and the GigaPan EPIC instrument that Ronnie’s company (based locally) has developed. John Biehler even got his hands on one and captured amazing photos of downtown from North Vancouver and the PoCo Trail.
Last year Ronnie used GigaTag for tagging the Game 7 crowd on Georgia street and also the Whitecaps first MLS game at Empire. GigaTag is now being used by SI (Sports Illustrated) for the Olympics.
Existing platforms like GigaTag are Flash-based and each one has its own limitations. Therefore, these don’t work on the iPad and Flash will no longer be supported on Android devices beyond Android 4.0.x. However today, GPXtag was launched. It’s the new social media tagging platform for gigapixel images.
GPXtag has all the features of all existing tagging platforms combined… and more:
To celebrate the launch of this new technology, developed in BC, Ronnie has offered up a prize pack for one lucky reader. This includes a GigaPan EPIC Pro (value $895) and a GigaPan Backpack ($119).
It does not include a camera but will compliment almost any digital SLR camera setup you have already. Ronnie has made this contest international as well so anyone can enter and he’ll ship the prize anywhere in the world.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
Follow Active Computer Services on Twitter, GPXTag on Twitter, and GPXTag on Facebook for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Monday, August 20, 2012 at 10:00am.
Update The winner is Stefan!
Sweet summer berries may be ripe for the picking but a bold bulb is also ready to be harvested. Grab some garlic scapes, garlic pesto, garlic powders, garlic sauces, garlic blends, and more fresh from the farm at two garlic festivals happening around the region this month.
Stop by Limbert Mountain Farm (5493 Limbert Rd in Agassiz) on Saturday, August 18th from 10:00am until 5:00pm. The free festival will celebrate everything garlic “whether you’re interested in growing, cooking with or just eating this amazing plant”. Bring cash for purchases. Limbert Mountain Farm is just one of many stops on the self-guided Circle Farm Tour in case you’re up for exploring for the day.
The Sharing Farm celebrates its 4th annual garlic festival on August 19th from 10:00am until 3:00pm. This event is also free to attend and will feature organically-grown artisan garlic and garlic products — even garlic ice cream from Casa Gelato. There will be entertainment, a seedling sale, and cooking demonstrations by The Chefs’ Table Society of BC. The festival will be located just down the road from the farm at Terra Nova Rural Park, 2631 Westminster Highway, in Richmond.
You can find Limbert Mountain Farm on Facebook and Sharing Farm on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
