Tonight a collection of Vancouver musical talent is gathering for a benefit show at the Commodore Ballroom. They’ll be playing in memory of Randy Ponzio and raising funds for his children.
“Randy Ponzio was an inspirational artist, a dynamic musician, and a compelling performer. First and foremost, however, he was a beautiful human.
The shared stories of Randy since his death have been about him as a person. His dedication to charity, his boundless compassion, and the fire with which he attacked life – music was merely the channel he broadcast on.
His lyrics are akin to those of Bob Marley, and he was one of the few artists with the sincerity to pull off songs about love, peace, foundation, and family.”
“He didn’t sing about love as a vehicle of storytelling. Randy hugged with his whole body. His music did too.
In the months before his death, Randy was reaching a new plateau in his career. He won both the Shore 104 FM Song Search and the Nimbus Showcase Event in quick succession, and the grand prize for each included recording time at the Nimbus School of Recording Arts. With that, he spent a great deal of time with the staff and students at Nimbus.
The students were inspired by his presence, as he shared his craft and made every student feel seen and heard. This consistent level of engagement is why no one that met Randy was a casual acquaintance. If you knew him, you were close to him.”
Where Commodore Ballroom (868 Granville)
When Friday, February 17, 2012. Doors at 8:00pm.
Artists Kyprios, Hey Ocean!, David Morin, Tonye Aganaba, Foundation, Beauty vs Facts, Valerie Ponzio, Jess Vaira, Alex Maher, Dan Ross, Mario Vaira, Airtights, Un-1, Aspire, Jessi Nicholson, Heads Hang Heavy, Atma, Little T, Kelsey Klassen, Ed Lam, Chantel Upshaw, Asha Moyo.
Tickets Available via Live Nation and at the door for $25.
The 20th annual Wellness Show is happening this weekend at the Vancouver Convention Centre East (Canada Place). For three full days, February 17th, 18th, and 19th, you can check out hundreds of exhibitors, workshops, demos, and products for just $16.
Exhibitors include Choices Market, Genuine Health, Integrative Health Services, Health Products for Pets, and the famous Holy Crap cereal. The stages will feature culinary talents like Executive Chefs Ned Bell and Pino Posteraro, Hidekazu Tojo, CTV’s Dr. Rhonda Low, Lorne Cardinal of Corner Gas, Michael D’Alton, emcee Kate Gajdosik, and many more.
Stop by the show today until 8:00pm, tomorrow from 10:00am to 7:00pm, and Sunday from 10:00am to 6:00pm. General admission is $16, $14 for seniors and students, $6 for children up (6 to 15) and children under 5 are free. You can also pick up a 3-day pass for $30.
To promote the Wellness Show, they have offered up a fantastic gift basket from Seaflora Wild Organic Seaweed Skincare to one lucky reader of mine. It includes: Therapeutic seaweed gel, wild rockweed exfoliant, potent seaweed serum, soothing sea kelp soak, eye sea relief, moisturizer, iridaea exfoliator, sea foam cleansing concentrate, sea kelp softening moisturizer, wild sea kelp body lotion, detoxifying focus body wash.
The total value of this gift basket is estimated at $600! Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post with a tip (big or small) for healthy living (1 entry)
Tweet a photo @TheWellnessShow & @Miss604 this weekend from the show (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a gift basket from @TheSeaweedLady from @TheWellnessShow @integrative_h_a @Miss604 http://ow.ly/98Ihv
I will draw a winner at random from all entries at 11:00am Monday, February 20, 2012. Follow the Wellness Show on Facebook and Twitter for updates and information.
Battle of the Belgians returns to BierCraft on Cambie Monday, February 20, 2012 for the first of four events. They’ll serve up 3 Tripels, and 3 dinner courses each prepared 3 ways. For this round, the battle will be between Maredsous Tripel, St. Bernardus Tripel and Houblon Chouffe (Tripel IPA).
David Turnbull from Horizon Beers will also be there to chat about the beer selections. Here’s how BeerAdvocate describes a Tripel:
St Bernardus Tripel
The name “Tripel” actually stems from part of the brewing process, in which brewers use up to three times the amount of malt than a standard Trappist “Simple.” Traditionally, Tripels are bright yellow to gold in color, which is a shade or two darker than the average Pilsener. Head should be big, dense and creamy. Aroma and flavor runs along complex, spicy phenolic, powdery yeast, fruity/estery with a sweet finish. Sweetness comes from both the pale malts and the higher alcohol. Bitterness is up there for a beer with such a light body for its strength, but at times is barely perceived amongst the even balance of malts and hops.
The lighter body comes from the use of Belgian candy sugar (up to 25% sucrose), which not only lightens the body, but also adds complex alcoholic aromas and flavors. Small amounts of spices are sometimes added as well. Tripels are actually notoriously alcoholic, yet the best crafted ones hide this character quite evil-like and deceivingly, making them sipping beers.
Battle of the Belgians will continue Monday March 19th, April 16th, and May 14th. Tickets are available for $60 (includes all of the beers and dinner courses) or $50 for CAMRA members. You can also purchase a package and get 2 tickets for $100, 3 for $150, or 4 for $200. Vegetarian options are available.
BierCraft Bistro is located in Cambie Village (3305 Cambie) and you can call (604) 874-6900 now to book your tickets.
This week Tourism Vancouver launched the world’s first destination-based music video the world’s first professionally produced destination film in music video format. It features the music of Reid Hendry and Adam Bailie of Watasun who were once buskers on Granville.
A few days before that video was launched, Thomas Stratmann of Germany emailed me a video he took while living in Vancouver during an internship. “I did an internship at cause+affect in Vancouver last year and enjoyed the amazing spirit of this beautiful town,” he told me by email. “The little movie is the official music video of The Very First Teenager, an electro DJ duo from Hamburg.”
Today, the City of Seattle and King County announced a proposal to build an arena that could bring the NBA back to Seattle and possibly welcome the NHL.
There has been an “Arena Review Panel” formed to review the full proposal. During today’s press conference it was said that “Private investor would bear the project risk” and that there would be no public subsidy. From the Seattle PI:
The plan was spearheaded by Seattle-born investor Chris Hansen, who with his investment group is planning to purchase an NBA franchise and bring it to Seattle. He also is searching for an partner to acquire an NHL team and bring it to Seattle.
Under the plan, which must still go through a newly appointed city and county panel, any teams at the new arena would be bound to stay in Seattle for 30 years. That means there could be no repeat of the Sonics fiasco for at least 30 years.
The proposed arena would take two years to construct and would be located south of the Safeco Field parking garage, where Hansen already owns a three-acre chunk of land. It would be jointly owned by the city of Seattle and King County. Several businesses would need to be relocated and several buildings would need to be demolished.
Rumours are now flying about the Sacramento Kings moving to Seattle’s court and the Phoenix Coyotes heading to their rink. The NBA left Seattle after the 2007-2008 season when the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City. As for hockey, Seattle has the WHL Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips but there has never been a National Hockey League team between Vancouver and San Jose.
Seattle is actually quite the hockey town. Its name graces Lord Stanley’s Cup several times thanks to the domination of the Seattle Metropolitans, 1917 to 1920. I found a great piece of Seattle hockey history online:
In April of 1974 the NHL announced that Seattle and Denver had been awarded franchises, both scheduled to begin play during the 1976-77 season. This contributed to the folding of the WHL following the 1973-74, and the Totems moved to the Central Hockey League (CHL) to await the launching of their NHL team… …Things went from bad to worse for Seattle in the spring of 1975, as Vince Abbey had trouble coming up with the money required by the NHL for the new franchise. He also tried to strike deals to buy either the San Francisco or the Pittsburgh franchises so that he could move them to Seattle for the 1975-76 season…
…Eventually both the Seattle and Denver deals fell apart, and Denver got a WHA franchise. Abbey opted to sue the NHL for anti-trust violations, and the case dragged on until 1986 when it was finally thrown out by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the meantime, Northwest Sports counter-sued Abbey for his share of the losses suffered by the Totems, eventually winning a judgment of over $1.3 million. So ended professional hockey in Seattle… with a whimper. Seattle would never again have a professional hockey team, and no hockey at all until the junior league Seattle Breakers came to town in 1977.
I’d love to know what Vancouver hockey fans think of a potential NHL rival in Seattle. Would this be good for the Canucks or bad in terms of splitting the fan base?
Where Commodore Ballroom (868 Granville)
