The Developmental Disabilities Association is sponsoring their 5th annual Vancouver Canadians game this summer. The Canadians, known for their community promotions and support of local non-profits are a great partner for the DDA, which is dedicated to raising funds and awareness in support of children and adults with a developmental disability.
“In 1952, twelve parents of children with developmental disabilities came together to work towards integrating their children into public schools. By the 1990’s, that parent group, called the Vancouver-Richmond Association for Mentally Handicapped People, had become Canada’s largest charitable society of its kind west of Toronto. In 1998, recognizing changes in society, the wishes of its members, and its expanded role in the community, the Association changed its name; it is now the Developmental Disabilities Association…” [more history…]
DDA’s Night at the Nat will take place Wednesday, July 25, 2012 when the team takes on the Everett Aquasox. Tickets are just $12.50 and proceeds will suppose their work in the community. You can purchase tickets on-site with a cheque made out to the Developmental Disabilities Trust to make a direct donation or email jsmith[at]develop.bc.ca.
Donation bins will also be parked outside Nat Bailey Stadium. Through recycling items received in these bins (which can be found all around Metro Vancouver) the DDA is able to continue funding programs and services.
How to recycle with DDA:
- Bins: Drop clothing, bottles, and more items in bins as-marked.
- Pick-up: Have household items picked up (toys, games, dishes, records, stationary etc.)
- Drop-off: Donate anything from couches to tools at the Donation Station at 2643 No. 5 Road in Richmond.
The DDA is a cause close to my heart and they were kind enough to give me a tour of some of their facilities a few years ago. They have graciously offered up a pair of tickets to their special evening at the ballpark — here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries next Friday, July 13, 2012 at 12:00pm. Update The winner is Katherine Erica Son!
Heritage Vancouver has recently released their list of summer walking tours with an impressive roster of guides to help you discover more about our city.
1959 – Granville Street. Archives item# CVA 672-1. BC Jennings Photographer.
Date: Saturday, July 21, 2012 from 11:00am to 1:00pm
Tour: Vancouver’s Granville Street: 1885-2012
Guide: Michael Gordon
Where to Meet: Tour begins 200 Granville Street Plaza (North of Cordova St).
Date: Sunday, July 29, 2012 from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Tour: Delamont: Kitsilano’s oldest city block of houses
Guide: Bruce Macdonald
Where to Meet: The tour will start in the small park at the northeast corner of Arbutus & 7th.
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2012 from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Tour: A Planning tour of Vancouver’s West End
Guide: Gordon Price
Where to Meet: Barclay Heritage Square (between Nicola & Broughton, Haro & Barclay).
Date: Sunday, August 19, 2012 from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Tour: Hippie Kits: The ’60s & ’70s
Guide: Michael Kluckner
Where to Meet: Tour begins at Kits House, 7th & Vine.
The best thing about heritage walking tours is that you get a high quality of information from the city’s finest historians, authors and researches, and the tours are interesting for visitors and residents alike.
Tickets are $10 for Heritage Vancouver members and $15 for non-members and they’re available online — be sure to scoop yours up as these are known to sell out. Follow Heritage Vancouver on Twitter and Facebook for updates and event information.
The Vancouver Heritage Foundation also has a series of tours including one with an Art Deco theme next Friday.
Fresh, ripe, and locally-grown strawberries are ready for devouring around Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. With a healthy dose of rain and now a helping of sunshine, the sweet, plump berries are ready to be picked.
There are 13 farms that belong to the Fraser Valley Strawberry Growers Association so you’re bound to find a great selection from Richmond to Chilliwack.
There are pre-picked and U-Pick options along with a variety of products like pies and jams available at Bisset Farms, Driediger Farms, Ellis Farms, Emma Lea Farms, KBF Nursery and Farm, Krause Berry Farms, Maan Farms, Surrey Farms, W and A Farms, Birak Berry Farm, Abby Produce, Shoker Farms, and Neufeld Farms.
If you would like to enjoy the bounty of the strawberry harvest, I have a gift certificate available for a 10 pound box of strawberries. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Post a comment naming your favourite way to eat strawberries (pie, jam, whole, etc.) (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow the Fraser Valley Strawberry Growers Association on Facebook and Twitter for more information about the crop this year. I will draw one winner at random from all entries Friday, July 6, 2012 at 12:00pm.
The gift certificate will have names of farms on it, listing where it can be redeemed. This is a quick turnaround as this first crop of strawberries is going fast. Be sure to get out to the farms this weekend if you can otherwise there will be another crop from the ever-bearing berries later in July.
Update The winner is Shauna!
On Thursday, the Young Associates of the Vancouver Art Gallery will be throwing their annual Rendezvous on the Rooftop at the gallery’s Studio 4East and its stunning terrace that overlooks Robson Square.
This year’s “Midnight in Paris” theme celebrates the Matisse exhibition that recently opened and will include an art talk, intimate and informal tours of the exhibition, French music, 1920s-themed cocktails, and lots of opportunity to network with other young art enthusiasts.
Learn about the lasting influences of artists such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Pierre-Auguste Renoir while sampling sizzling appetizers and signature cocktails in the Parisian-inspired salon.
Also, you never know who in the art world you’ll see at one of these events. (I went to an YA event a few months ago–a transcendent and luminous talk by David Allison on how to start an art collection–and shared an elevator ride with Douglas Coupland).
To get on the roof, join the Young Associates program by enrolling online or in person at the gallery’s membership desk. The $200 membership fee (with a $80 tax receipt!) covers your gallery admission for the year and includes invitations to special events put on just for Young Associates (ages 19 to 45) such as the popular behind-the-scenes tour, gallery walks and artist talks, guest passes, and discounts at the gallery Shop.
The Associates are a diverse group of art enthusiasts who want to deepen their engagement with the visual arts through art-related social, educational, service and fundraising initiatives.
Rendezvous on the Rooftop takes place July 5, 2012 from 6:30pm to 10:00pm and members will receive two free drinks. Non-members are also welcome to attend and tickets are available for $30, which can go toward a membership following the event. Just call (604) 662-4711 for more information.
If you are unable to join just yet, or just want to get your feet wet in the whole art-connoisseur life, check out FUSE the following night — when the gallery transforms into one big party for art, music and live performance in the city.
British Columbia’s coastal rainforests are a sight to behold and up in Whistler, you can take a tour through — and over — the tress to discover more about this sensitive eco-system. ZipTrek EcoTours, the world-famous zipline company, offers TreeTrek tours which guide you up and around their Blackcomb Mountain courses, but keep your feet on the ground (or at least keep something under your feet).
On a recent trip to Whistler with a group, we participated in an abridged tour with Operations Manager, Brent Macdonald. Before we even hopped on the Ziptrek shuttle bus over to Blackcomb from Whistler Village, Brent talked extensively about the company’s eco-consciousness and how they hope their practices — or at least their awareness — can rub off on their guests. “We get them in a beautiful, natural environment and hopefully that makes them more susceptible to the idea of sustainability.”
Climbing up past the Whistler Sliding Centre, the Ziptrek shuttle carries TreeTrek and Ziptrek passengers. TreeTrek-ers follow a series of elevated boardwalks and suspension bridges between platforms that surround hearty Douglas Firs while information signs and guides provide an education on the sensitive environment. 200 feet up, this adventure is open year-round and is family-friendly — but be warned, it may create to a strong desire to escalate to ziplining.
From offering water from a tap on the tour (served in paper cups) to using untreated wood in all their boardwalks, ZipTrek is “off the grid”. They use micro hydro power, solar panel (you can see panels down on some of the zipline support cables) and wind power to create all the energy that their tours use. Brent said they they could also take out the nails, pack up and leave everything — letting all of their boards fall to the forest floor — and the Western Red Cedar planks would return to nature.
Rain or shine, the tour provides cover under the soft needled canopy, and the fresh scent of the rushing Fitzsimmons Creek below combined with the mulch of the forest floor will remind you why you live in this super, natural province.
TreeTrek tickets are $39 for adults, $29 for youth, children and seniors. You can also purchase a Peak 2 Peak combo pack and take the record-breaking gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb before or after your adventure.
