March Events in Metro Vancouver 2012

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

We have to wait a little longer for March this year, with a bonus leap day in February, but it will be well worth it. From events surrounding International Women’s Day to CelticFest Vancouver, there will be plenty to do around town . I will also have a round-up next week listing some of my favourite places to visit with family so that you can plan your local spring break activities.

Granville Island Harbour
Photo credit: Basedigital – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

Thursday, March 1, 2012
Social Feed at the Irish Heather
SFU Surrey 10th Anniversary Open House
Secrets of a Soccer Mom at Presentation House Theatre (until March 10)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (until March 3)
Friday, March 2, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Reason to Care Art Sale
Vancouver Diversity Health Fair
Laugh a Litte, Give a Lot Fundraising Dinner
A Year With Frog and Toad Opens at Carousel Theatre (until April)
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Mountain Equipment Co-op North Vancouver Road Race

Monday, March 5, 2012
A Little Night Music Orchestra Concert
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Vancouver Beer Tweetup
How to Disappear Completely at Shadbolt Centre (until March 10)
Healthy Chef 13th Annual Competition
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Coastal First Nations Dance Festival at Museum of Anthropology
Ballet BC: Walking Mad and Other Works
Pauline Johnson Exhibit at Stanley Park Nature House
Women and Beer Pairing Event at Rogue
Opening Night of Art Deco Chic at the Museum of Vancouver
Friday, March 9, 2012
Spring Break at Make on Granville Island (until March 23)
Tiempo Libre (Cuban septet of singers) at the Chan Centre
Coastal First Nations Dance Festival at Museum of Anthropology
Ballet BC: Walking Mad and Other Works
Spring Break Skate at Park Royal
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Coastal First Nations Dance Festival at Museum of Anthropology
Whitecaps 2012 Season Opening Day
International Women’s Day Conference presented by YWiB SFU
Crimson Cabaret: Celebrating Creative Women
Ballet BC: Walking Mad and Other Works
CelticFest Vancouver
Spring Break Skate at Park Royal

Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

SFU Surrey 10th Anniversary

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

SFU Surrey is hosting an open house on Thursday March 1, 2012, in honor of its 10th anniversary. Visitors can enjoy interactive exhibits and activities, live music, learn about SFU’s programs, and enjoy a cupcake with staff, faculty, and students.

campus-06-014 campus-06-017
Photo credit: Team Tanenbaum on Flickr

Schedule of Events
4:05pm Official welcome presentation on stage and the exhibits will be open until 7:20pm.
4:30pm Participate in the scavenger hunt for your chance to win a prize.
6:20pm A birthday ceremony for SFU Surrey will take place (cupcake time).
7:30pm to 8:30pm The prize draw for the scavenger hunt and door prizes.

The Central City area has come a long way since its former incarnation as Surrey Place Mall (where, a long time ago, I had my first job working in retail). They’re celebrating a decade of learning by sharing demonstrations, experiments, and exhibits from SFU Surrey’s Arts & Social Sciences, School of Criminology, Beedie School of Business, Health Sciences, Interactive Arts & Technology, and more.

OPENHOUSE2009-103
Photo credit: helenchanchan on Flickr

Engineering will also showcase their Lego Mindstorm Robots, Quarter Car Model, Ocean Turbine Emulator, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and you can play some trivia or stop by the Co-Op photo booth.

It’s free to attend the open house so just stop by between 4:00pm and 8:00pm. You can also register to win an Apple iPad2 ahead of time by filling out an online form.

Metro Vancouver Parks: Garry Point Park

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

My Metro Vancouver Park Series has laid dormant for several months but with spring around the corner, what better time to profile some of our region’s best green spaces. Today’s feature is on Garry Point Park in Richmond.

Garry Point Reflections
Photo credit: Clayton Perry Photoworks on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

Basics
A 39-acre waterfront park at the mouth of the Fraser River in south Richmond, at Steveston.

How to get there
Head West on Steveston Highway then turn south on No 1 Road until you reach Chatham Street. Turn right on Chatham and head all the way to the end of the road.


View Larger Map

History
Walk over to the Scotch Pond Historic Moorage Site in Garry Point Park. It was originally a slough then was dredged in the early 1950s and connected by a channel to the Strait of Georgia.

Along with the pond are the remains of wooden boardwalk pilings which run directly along the south edge of the pond and were constructed in 1899 as part of the Scottish Canadian Cannery operation. The Pond is located on Garry Point Park in the tidal flats of Sturgeon Bank, on a line that is a western extension of Chatham Street.

Scotch Pond’s heritage values include its historical associations, first with the use of the original slough at Garry Point as the location of a year round Musqueam Indian settlement until the late 1890’s, with the Scottish Canadian Cannery built by Malcolm and Windsor in 1899, with the Atagi Boatworks located at the head of the slough and operated until Japanese internment during World War II, and finally with the dredging operation undertaken in the 1950’s by the Canadian Fishing Company. [source]

Tall ships in Steveston Olas de Viento (Wind Waves), Yvonne Domenge
Photo credit: Ruth and Dave & Popejon2 on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

Garry Point Park
Photo credit: Americanuck – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

September Rainbow

Fuori dal Mondo
Photo credit: rbrtwhite on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

Features
From sunsets and watching boats on the Fraser River to views of the Gulf Islands, fishing, and sandy beaches, there’s plenty for all ages to enjoy at Garry Point.

Golden Sands

Scotch Pond Reflections

Catch The Sun [Explored - Front Page]

Take a quick walk over from Steveston and return for lunch in the village or check out the Japanese Garden, Fisherman’s Memorial sculpture and the Scotch Pond Historic Moorage site. Kite flying is also a popular activity. Parking, picnic tables, washrooms and a food concession stand are available.

West Dyke Trail: The popular West Dyke Trail provides excellent view of the Sturgeon Banks marshes, distant Howe Sound mountains, and the Gulf Islands along a 5.5 km path between Terra Nova and Garry Point Park.

Find more parks by browsing all 37 entries in my Metro Vancouver Park Series.

Vancouver Beer Tweetup

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Tweetups (Twitter meetups) “back in the day” used to be when you were out at a restaurant or pub, picked up your phone, and told others on Twitter to spontaneously join you. Arriving with a pint in their hand, you would chat up new friends and old thanks to social media.

Now that things are a little more organized in the online realm, Vancouver has its very own, official beer Tweetup that organizers hope will become a monthly event.

Beer glass
Photo credit: Landfeldt on Flickr

@YVRBeerTweetup was founded in early 2012 by Jonathan Evans (@JonnyBeers) and Nick (@VancityBeerGuy).

“We just had a few tweets back and forth about how there was a lack of Tweetups in Vancouver, in January,” Jonathan told me over the phone. “We both like beer so we said ‘let’s do a beer Tweeetup’, then we both laughed about it… then thought ‘why not?’.”

The very next day Jonathan and Nick started up the Twitter account and saw a rush of 100 followers almost instantly. Within 2 days, they already had the interest of 8 local breweries and venues.

The first YVRBeerTweetup happened at Doolins just 2 weeks following their brainstorm and the second is on its way. The instant popularity can be credited to the wide reach of Twitter, pulling in audiences from all professions and corners of the region and of course, as Jonathan says, the common denominator is the beer.

The plan is to make YVRBeerTweetup a monthly occurrence and now with over 10 venues interested, they’re looking to diversify the event’s activities. “We don’t want to have the exact same thing every time,” Jonathan added. Beer dinners, bus tours, and expanding beyond Vancouver – reaching out to Howe Sound, Surrey, the Fraser Valley, and the interior could be next.

Join the next Tweetup at Malone’s on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The beer special will be $5 sleeves for a Central City cask espresso vanilla bean oatmeal stout. You can also order a BC beer taster paddle (five x 4 ounce samplers) for $6. For food, there will be poutine for $5 and burgers for $6. Just show up and enjoy.

Find out everything you need to know about upcoming events by following @YVRBeerTweetup on Twitter.

Vancouver Diversity Health Fair 2012

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The 8th annual Vancouver Diversity Health Fair is happening this Saturday with a theme of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection. The fair will feature cooking demonstrations, a kids activity zone, free health screenings, multicultural performances, and over 50 health-related exhibitors.

Diversity Health Fair 2012

Where Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive)
When Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 10:00am to 3:00pm
Tickets Admission is free, no tickets are required for entry.

The Diversity Health Fair is in initiative of the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Services Agencies of BC (“AMSSA”), which also operates the Safe Harbour workplace campaign. AMSSA is “committed to a vision of a just and equitable society in which everyone benefits from social and economic inclusion.”

Follow the Diversity Health Fair on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about this weekend’s event and other AMSSA projects. Miss604.com is a sponsor of the 2012 Diversity Health Fair.