FOX’s Vancouver Seeds competition, seeking out the ultimate local band or artist, is currently in its showcase stage with the Top 20 acts taking turns playing The Roxy.

The Top 19 bands were selected by Fox Vancouver Seeds judges and the last spot to make the Top 20 was determined by fan votes online. Over eight nights, starting last night, the Top 20 bands will perform live and from the group, three winners will be chosen.

Participants will be judged on songwriting, stage presence, musicianship, originality, and marketability. Seeds has been a launch pad for musicians since 1979 with previous winners such as Nickleback, Bif Naked, Matthew Good Band, Gob, Daniel Wesley, Default, Faber Drive, Theory Of A Deadman, State Of Shock, Incura, Goodbye Beatdown, Louder Then Love, Head of The Herd, Gentalman Prefer Blonds, and more.

This year’s winner will head out on the road with The Arkells, receive $10,000 in brand new gear from Long & McQuade, do a 5-song EP produced by Gggarth Richardson which will be distributed by Maple Music, do songwriting sessions with Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat, recieve $5,000 tour support and full radio play from CFOX.

Support local music by attending these showcase events at The Roxy (932 Granville). Doors are at 8:00pm each night, with the first bands hitting the stage at 9:00pm. No tickets are required, the event is free before 9:30pm. This is a 19+ venue. Follow FOX Seeds on Facebook for more information.

Free outdoor movies return to Holland Park in Surrey this August with free nights of family films every Saturday.

Movies Under the Stars features activities and entertainment from 5:00pm with the feature movie beginning at dusk.

Saturday, August 4, 2012: Toy Story 3
Saturday, August 11, 2012: The Muppets
Saturday, August 18, 2012: Despicable Me
Saturday, August 25, 2012: The Lorax

Holland Park is located on Old Yale Road between University Drive and King George Boulevard. You can get there easily by either the King George or Surrey Central SkyTrain stations. There is also free WIFI in the park that was installed during the 2010 Winter Olympics and is still a feature to this day.

Movies Under the Stars is presented by the Downtown Surrey BIA, local sponsors and partners.

The BC Sports Hall of Fame is teaming up with the Vancouver Canadians once again this summer to honor the past and inspire the future. Vancouver has quite a history in baseball and I’ve only ever touched a bit on it myself, recently doing a feature on the old Athletic Park.

2011 Induction Ceremony. Photo credit: John Bollwitt for Miss604.com

The BC Sports Hall of Fame re-opened last fall in BC Place and you can visit daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Save your ticket stub from a Vancouver Canadians, BC Lions, or Whitecaps FC match and bring it to the Hall for 1/2 price admission for up to 2 weeks following game day. You can browse through the hall of inductees (including the class of 2011), learn about the legendary Asahi baseball team in old Japantown, and check out special galleries like the Vancouver 2010, Terry Fox, and Rick Hansen exhibits.

Last year I partnered with the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the Vancouver Canadians for three weeks of giveaways and inductee features including Arnie Hallgren, Larry Walker, Helen and Margaret Callaghan. We’re doing it again for two games this season, the first being the Vancouver Canadians vs the Everett Aquasox on July 9th with special guest George Bell.

You can enter for the chance to win 10 tickets to the game and throw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of family, friends, and the whole Nat Bailey crowd. Here’s how you can enter to win this incredible experience:

• Leave a comment naming a BC Sports Hall of Famer (full inductees list) (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries next Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at 10:00am. Update The winner is James K!

Today is Carrotmob Day in Vancouver where you can purchase lunch at the Cascade Room and 100% of sales will be used to green their operations. This is actually the culmination of a longer campaign that began with finding a participating business in the area and having a public vote.

In May, over 300 Mount Pleasant businesses were offered a free energy assessment, and asked how much of their sales they’d commit to green their operations. Between May 24 and June 7, the public voted and selected Cascade Room as the contender with the strongest and most innovative green commitment.

Carrotmob is the international organization behind the campaign that encourages businesses to commit to boosting their sustainable practices.

“Carrotmob gives you the power to make the world a better place by influencing how businesses operate. Instead of organizing boycotts, we offer to spend money as a group if a business agrees to make a socially responsible change.”

The Cascade Room (at 2616 Main St) is open from 12:00pm to 2:00pm today, and then from 5:00pm to closing.

All revenues from Carrotmob bay will go toward the purchase of new ENERGY STAR low-flow dishwashers while they also commit to reduce the amount of oil used for deep-frying by installing a VITO oil filtration system. They will also implement a “ask for water” policy, and expand their waste diversion to include composting.

This is the second Carrotmob to hit Vancouver as a campaign was organized at Salt Spring Coffee in May with a goal of getting energy-efficient lighting in the shop.

Learn more about Carrotmob on Twitter and stop by the Cascade Room today to help ‘green’ your local businesses.

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation hosts a variety of interesting and unique walking tours with guides John Atkin and Maurice Guibord. One upcoming walk that caught my eye is the Art Deco Tour happening July 13th, 2012.

Photo credit: PiscesDreamer & PiscesDreamer on Flickr

With its origins in 1920s Paris, the Art Deco style is best embodied in Vancouver by the iconic Marine Building. Located throughout the downtown core are lesser-known examples of the style such as the Gotham Steakhouse building. Explore this fascinating architectural style on the inaugural VHF Art Deco walking tour.

Vancouver Heritage Foundation tours with either John (Saturdays at 10am) or Maurice (Fridays at noon) from April to October. The cost is just $12 and you can book in advance as many of these walks do sell out — walk-ups are welcome though. The Art Deco walking tour will run July 13th, August 31st, and September 28th.

Follow the Vancouver Heritage Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for more special event information.