Summer isn’t over yet as free, music-filed events still take to the streets in downtown Vancouver. On Sunday, September 2nd you’ll be able to enjoy the Victory Square Block Party presented by Megaphone Magazine and Music Waste.
Soak up entertainment from local bands (The Ballantynes, Indian Wars, Mode Moderne, Manik 1derful, Too High Crew, Weed, and Love Cuts), DJs, an aboriginal drumming group, and more. Actor and comedian Ryan Beil will be the master of ceremonies and all proceeds from sponsors and a raffle will support Megaphone Magazine, which is sold on the streets by homeless and low-income vendors.
The Victory Square Block Party is more than a one-day music festival, it’s a celebration of the neighbourhood and community causes like Megaphone.
Stop by anytime between 2:00pm and 9:00pm on Sunday, September 2, 2012 for all of the free festivities. Victory Square is located between Pender and Hastings, Cambie and Hamilton, and is accessible by bus or SkyTrain (walk down from Waterfront or Stadium).
Follow @MegaphoneMag and @MusicWaste on Twitter for more information and event listings and use the tag #VSBP2012 when posting your tweets about the event.
A boy and girl playing with a chained bear in their front yard in Kitsilano, a horse-drawn taxi rolling down Cordova Street, the Hotel Vancouver on the corner of Granville and Georgia. These are all images that I have featured during my weekly history photo series and have mostly been sourced from the City of Vancouver Archives or the Vancouver Public Library’s collection.
Last year a reader, Christine, wrote to tell me about the CBC Archives: “The gallery features selections from the CBC Vancouver Still Photograph collection. A collection of historic photographs documenting early TV production, radio production and the city of Vancouver. The images date from 1954 to the late 1970s.”
I couldn’t resist taking a look and sharing a few shots:
View of Downtown Vancouver. [ca. 1955]. From Little Mountain, Queen Elizabeth Park. (CBC/Alvin Armstrong)
Our world-famous Corn mazes (Maize Mazes) are shaping up as temperatures cool and the kids return to school. Summer isn’t over yet but this autumn harvest-themed activity is always a hit.
Hours: Hours to change after Labour Day Long Weekend. Group nights are Monday – Wednesday from 6:00pm to 8:00pm (for groups of 15 or more). Open to the public Thursdays and Fridays 6:00pm to 8:00pm; Saturdays 12:00pm to 8:00pm; Sundays and holidays 12:00pm to (not listed).
Cost: Children 4 and under are free. Children 5-18 are $5.50, adults $7, seniors are $5.50.
Bose Corn Maze. Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr
Activities: 10-acre corn maze, a giant jumping pillow, giant sand box, a corn sand box, hay bale maze, animal display, duck races, climbing spider web, interactive storytelling through the pumpkin patch, hay rides, corn train, fire pits, swings, and more.
Hours: Before September 5th: Tuesday through Saturday 1:00pm to 9:00pm; Sunday and holidays 1:00pm to 6:00pm. After September 5th: Thursdays and Fridays 6:00pm to 9:00pm; Saturdays 11:00am to 9:00pm; Sundays and holidays 11:00am to 6:00pm.
Cost: Children 2 and under are free. Children 2-12 are $9, adults $11. See website for coupons or group deals.
Activities: 6.3km corn maze, petting zoo, bee observatory, lions “goat” bridge, hay wagon rides, full concession, Cranberry Meadows Country store, slide down Meadows Mountain, Corny’s Maze Train, pig races.
Hours: Until September 4th: Sundays to Thursdays 11:00am to 6:00pm; Fridays and Saturdays 11:00am to 10:00pm. After September 4th: Mondays to Thursdays open for schools and groups by appointment only. Fridays and Saturdays 11:00am to 10:00pm; Sundays and holidays 11:00 to 6:00pm.
Cost: Children 2 and under are free. Children 3 to 12 are $9, ages 13 and older $12.
The City of Surrey has launched an iPhone application that will help residents find things to do around town.
The landing page of the application, which is a free iTunes download shows a map with pins marking the locations of community recreation centres and listing their upcoming events.
By default, my application opened with the Youth age range selected where you can search activities by category such as nutrition, aquatics, team sports, skating, visual arts, and more. Under “Computers” you’ll find a Digital Photography program for youth happening September 11th at the Cloverdale Recreation Centre. Under “Drop-In” you’ll find dozens of youth events and lounges that are open throughout the year or special seasonal events.
To view activities and events for other age groups, click on the small “i” icon on the home screen to adjust your settings. You can select all age groups, from 0-6 parent participation to adults 55+. You can also pre-set the date range and activity type you would like to search.
For an example, I selected Adults on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays as my search filters. Drop-in badminton, yoga, childminding, spin classes, crafts and pottery came up. Each result gives you the option to register online and provides the address and phone number of the venue.
It’s a handy guide for teens looking for a safe place to hang out, attend workshops, play drop-in sports and mingle at socials, as well as families, seniors, and anyone else on the go.
We put maple leaf emblems on our backpacks and our flag is waved at sporting events, concerts, and wherever we may roam. Canadians are Canada’s #1 fan and the Canadian Tourism Commission (“CTC”) is enlisting all 35 million of us to help spread the word about how awesome our country is to explore.
The 35 Million Directors project encourages Canadians to add their own footage and contest to a promotional video for Canadian travel.
Starting today, Canadians can upload experiences from coast to coast of videos or images, to a new website. Footage and photos must showcase Canadian travel experiences – from a favourite hike to a music festival, a sporting event to dining al fresco downtown. ‘Directors’ will want to capture moments that will whet the appetite of international travelers looking for unique and authentic examples of what is available across Canada. In the end, the CTC will create a commercial montage from all the footage and give away prizes to every ‘director’ who’s footage was used.
The final two-minute video will debut at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (“TIAC”) Congress in November and be shared with Canadians before CTC starts using the video in international travel campaigns.
To promote the 35 Million Directors project, the Canadian Tourism Commission has offered up a sweet prize for one lucky Miss604 reader. The prize, valued at $450, includes a GoPro HD Hero 2 Outdoor Edition camera, a chest mount harness, a 16gb SD/HC card, and an Explore Canada satchel. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment naming a place in Canada you would love to explore (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a GoPro camera prize pack from @CTCCCT #35MDirectors & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/dgwGc
I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Friday, September 7, 2012 at 12:00pm.
