Vancouver Parks Golf Guide

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

Vancouver Parks Golf has a variety of courses across the city that offer great greens, fresh air, and a fantastic excuse to get outside and enjoy our gorgeous west coast scenery.

Vancouver Parks Golf Guide

Golf at Fraserview The scene

Full Courses

Fraserview
Location: 7800 Vivian Drive
Features: Par 72, driving range, home of the The Golf Institute, lessons available, pro shop
Green fees: Starting at $17 and going up to $45 depending on date and time of play
Twitter: @VPGFraserview

McCleery
Location: 7188 MacDonald Street
Features: Par 71/21, driving range, lessons available, pro shop, Golf Academy
Green fees: Starting at $13.25 and going up to $35 depending on date and time of play
Twitter: @VPGMcCleery

Langara
Location: 6706 Alberta Street
Features: Par 71, pro shop, clubhouse
Green fees: Starting at $13.25 and going up to $35 depending on date and time of play
Twitter: @VPGLangara

In 2004 all three courses received designation as Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries recognizing their high environmental standards. Birds chirping and dive-bombing worms, squirrels scurrying, and curious (but harmless) coyotes are on the prowl among native plant species and thick groves of trees.

Pitch and Putt

Queen Elizabeth Park
Location: Enter off 37th from Main or Cambie
Green fees: Regular 18 holes $12.95 (see full schedule)
Hours: Open February to November, 8:00am to dusk daily.

Rupert Park
Location: 3402 Charles Street
Green fees: Regular 18 holes $12.05 (see full schedule)
Hours: Open year-round, 9:00am to dusk daily.

Stanley Park
Location: Enter off Beach Avenue
Green fees: Regular 18 holes $12.95 (see full schedule)
Hours: Open year-round, 7:30am to dusk daily (winter), 9:00am to dusk (summer)

Starting April 15, 2012, Fraserview, McCleery and Langara golf courses will begin selling a summer golf savings program. The VPG Summer Golf Card will be available for $49.95 in all three golf shops and will provide loyal golfers with the opportunity to save up to 10 times their investment in green fees over the summer.

The green fee prices stated in this post do not include HST.

Starbucks Canada iPhone Application with PayPal

Comments 315 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Last Christmas Santa included a Starbucks gift card in my stocking because he wanted to show me that I could use it on the Starbucks Canada iPhone application.

After downloading the app, you can enter your gift card information and pay with your phone the next time you order your venti, grande, or tall beverage. Yesterday PayPal announced that you can now set your Starbucks application to auto-reload your Starbucks card.

Starbucks iPhone App

From PayPal Canada: “Last summer we asked Canadians to tell us the ways that making money more digital could make their life simpler and more convenient. The results were that a third of you said you would happily use your mobile device to buy a latte. Thanks to the latest update to the Starbucks Canada app for iPhone and iPod Touch, being able to use your smartphone to buy a coffee without having to ever open your wallet just became reality!

Now you can directly reload or auto-reload your Starbucks Card balance using PayPal right within the Starbucks app, and pay for your beverage simply using a digital barcode that gets scanned at the cash.”

To promote this seamless digital coffee purchasing system, Starbucks Canada and PayPal Canada have offered up three $50 gift cards for my readers. Here’s how you can enter to win:

  • Leave a comment here naming your favourite Starbucks item (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a $50 @StarbucksCanada gift card from @PayPalCA & @Miss604 #PayPalLovesLattes http://ow.ly/a6z4o

I will draw three winners at random from all entries at 12:00pm next Thursday, April 12, 2012. Follow PayPal Canada on Facebook and Twitter for more information about their payment solutions.

Update The winners are Jodi, James, and @SarahSaysStuff!

YWCA Women of Distinction Awards 2012: Tickets On Sale

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards are fast-approaching and while nominations are now closed we’ll find out who the finalists are on April 10th.

YWCA Women of Distinction Awards 2011
Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

In the meantime, tickets are now available and they’re going fast. Secure your spot at the awards ceremony, complete with dinner, prizes, and silent auction, as soon as possible. Aside from being a fun event, the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards are so important in terms of supporting our community and the YWCA. You’ll hear soul-touching stories from the nominees and distinguished guests, and chuckle quite a bit as the charming Sophie Lui hosts.

YWCA Women of Distinction Awards 2011 2010 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards
Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

I am once again proud to be the exclusive social media sponsor of this event and will be providing a live blog (complimented by John’s photos) as it happens on May 24th. Follow @YYWVanWODA on Twitter for updates and get your tickets today.

Brian Jessel BMW Charity Gala: Cabriolet with CeeLo Green

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

Brian Jessel BMW is presenting their 7th annual charity gala, Cabriolet, this summer with special guest, CeeLo Green. Each year the gala support a variety of local charitable recipients and this year the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation will benefit.

ceelo-brianjessel

Where Brian Jessel BMW, 2311 Boundary Road
When Saturday, June 23, 2012
Tickets Available now online. General admission tickets are $200 and VIP tickets are $500.

The event will feature a live performance from CeeLo Green (Gnarls Barkley, The Voice), complimentary valet parking, beverages, and appetizers, a live auction, and a chance to win a one-year lease of a new 2012 Brian Jessel BMW.

Proceeds from this event will partially benefit the new children’s ER currently being built at Surrey Memorial Hospital (which happens to be where I was born). The children’s ER will open to patients as a central feature of a 57,600 square foot Emergency Centre to be located on the first floor of the 8-storey Critical Care Tower.

Established in 1992, Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation has raised more than $60 million to purchase medical equipment, fund innovative programs, and support training and research.

If you’re looking for that one fabulous gala experience this summer, consider this event and support a great local cause. The VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation will also be benefitting from the evening.

New Vegan Cookbook: Eat Awesome

Comments 50 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Several times a day you can look at a blog, Twitter stream, Facebook post or Pinterest and find photos of food — but it’s not often that these posts turn into a full 70+ page e-book. For Paul Jarvis however, it was a natural progression. The Tofino-based web designer, musician, and vegan has just launched Eat Awesome A regular person’s guide to eating plant-based whole foods.

Eat Awesome
Cover photo by Marnie Recker

Paul Jarvis, whom I first met when I interviewed his band Mojave back in 2008, posts simple and colourful images of his food – with ingredients like almond milk, quinoa, cashew cream, and hemp seeds – to his Instagram account.

“Dozens of friends, family members, and social media buddies have been asking me how to cook like I cook, eat like I eat,” says Paul who ended up typing up recipes by email to all those who inquired. “It occurred to me that I ought to save myself (and my friends) some serious time, and just write a book.”

Eat Awesome is available for download right now for just $5 and is splashed with taste-bud tingling photos courtesy of Marnie Recker. Chapters include dressings and sauces, meals, desserts and drinks. Once you’ve read the book Paul even offers up some Twitter updates that you can copy and paste to help spread the word.

The e-book asks, “If you are what you eat, why not eat awesome?” and Paul hopes that you’ll do just that. “I don’t know everything. But food is my life, and my life is pretty awesome.” If you would like to check out the book, you can leave a comment on this post to enter to win 1 of 5 copies. You can also post the following on Twitter to enter to win:

I want to #EatAwesome & win a copy of @pjrvsWP’s book from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/a52X1

I will draw 5 winners at random from all entries on Friday, April 6, 2012 at 12:00pm.

Update The winners are @JoanneBee_, @juwelly, Jenny, Samantha, and Tamara!