The Kitsilano Cask Carouse is coming up this month, presented by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Vancouver. There will be 4-stops on the tour, each with a different cask-conditioned ale made by one of BC’s craft breweries. Tour guests will receive an appetizer to pair with each sleeve and the stops will also feature a speaker who will educate participants on a variety of beer topics.
Where: Meet at the Safeway on West 4th at Vine
When: Saturday, April 21, 2012 check-in at 11:30am
Tickets: Available online for $50 per person or $45 for CAMRA members
Cask Carouse stops include:
Sunset Grill Tap House & Whiskey Bar featuring Red Truck French Oaked Strong Ale
The Bimini featuring Parallel 49 Imperial Wit
Darby’s Pub featuring Lighthouse Brewing Switchback IPA
Displace Hashery featuring R&B Brewing Raspberry IPA
We’re fortunate to have such a vibrant and increasingly popular craft beer scene in BC and across the Lower Mainland. This tour will be your chance to explore some new-to-you brews, enjoy favourites, and meet other local beer lovers.
Participants will be split into four groups so if you’re booking with friends, just let the organizers know. Also, vegetarian meal options are available upon request. This event is for those of legal drinking age so you must be 19 or older to participate. Follow CAMRA Vancouver on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
CAMRA has generously offered up a pair of tickets to give away to my readers. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment here naming a BC beer or brewery (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner next Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 12:00pm. You must be 19 years of age or older to enter this contest. Please enjoy responsibly.
Update The winner is @jpfaubert! Cameron!
The Big Baby Drive is heading to Surrey this month after a successful campaign at Oakridge in March. Organized by One Big Movement (“OBM”), which was founded by SFU students, the drive collected over 1,100 items for local low-income mothers and their children.
Joseph Choi & Lynn Shinto of One Big Movement. Photo by Phylicia Torrevillas of Metro News.
The Surrey event will be held at Guildford Town Centre (near London Drugs, at Customer Service) April 28th and 29th from 10:00am to 4:00pm. I asked Mercedes Book from One Big Movement if they have a wish-list for this drive based on the items received at Oakridge. She said that while they collected plenty of helpful goods and toys, they really would like to stock up on essentials like diapers.
Wish-list items:
- Unopened baby food, body care, skincare & shampoo products
- New or Washed blankets, clothes and bedding
- New diapers (open boxes are okay – sizes 4, 5 and 6 are highest in demand)
- Baby monitors, speakers and breast pumps
- Toys (nursery, bath, developmental, playhouses, etc.)
All donations and items collected are go directly to programs run by the YWCA Metro Vancouver. Guildford Town Centre is located off 104th Avenue between 152nd and 150th. Follow One Big Movement on Twitter and Facebook for more information about upcoming events and campaigns.
I have partnered with the Vancouver Canadians this month to assist with their first tweetup event happening at the end of the month. The Vancouver Canadians are the ‘A’ affiliates for Toronto so we’ll be getting together to watch the Blue Jays take on the Mariners.
What: A Tweetup (in-person meeting of people we know from Twitter) with the Canadians
Where: Mahony & Sons Public House at 1055 Canada Place (beside the large rain drop statue)
When: Saturday, 28 April 2012 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Tickets: It’s FREE but there is an online RSVP service so we can get an idea of the number of attendees.
There are many Jays fans in Vancouver but due to our proximity to Seattle, there just might be a few Mariners fans among us. Mahony and Sons will be broadcasting the game on several HDTVs (with audio), and will feature contests between innings hosted by Rob Fai (@RobFaiNation). I will be there and will be checking out the Twitter conversation using the tag #CanadiansTweetup, we’ll have a raffle, and our own section of the bar.
I admit it took me years to get into baseball but thanks to my American husband who was born and raised amidst the cornfield ballparks of the Midwest, it’s grown on me. You can’t deny the history and passion that the Vancouver Canadians have brought to our town since 1951 and the C’s also coming off a historic season, winning their first Northwest League Championship.
Canadians games are fun for the whole family with plenty of activities for the kids (I love their A&W Family Fun Sundays) and they run promotions all season long. Please join us April 28th and get to know fellow baseball fans in town. Follow @VanCanadians on Twitter for more information leading up to their own season this summer.
Related: Check out my Hall of Fame posts about baseball history in Vancouver: Arnold Hallgren, Larry Walker, Helen and Margaret Callaghan.
I recently had a conversation with some fellow 30-something Vancouverites about how our generation doesn’t really listen to classical music, nor are we ever really exposed to it (except for maybe piano lessons as a kid), nor do we really “get” it. We are so disconnected from the genre. It’s for our parents’, or our grandparents’, generation, we think.
Photo credit:
esc861 on Flickr
Well, I’ve decided it’s time to get educated and excited about classical music and what better way to start watching and listening to another 30-something play some on the piano next week.
On April 19th, the Vancouver Recital Society presents Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein at the Chan Centre. Gerstein is a rising star in the piano world. In 2010, Gerstein was the recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award—an award given to an international pianist of any age and nationality who possesses profound musicianship and charisma and who can sustain a career as a major international concert pianist.
The concert is presented by the Vancouver Recital Society, whose aim is to foster and secure the future of classical chamber music and recitals by bringing some of the world’s finest musicians from around the world to Vancouver and engaging audiences with them.
The Program:
- Bach: English Suite No. 6 in D minor, BWV811
- Mozart: arr. Busoni Gigue, Bolero and Variation
- Knussen: Ophelia’s Last Dance
(Commissioned for Kirill Gerstein by The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival)
- Weber: Invitation to Dance
- Schumann: Carnaval
- Schubert: arr. Liszt Soirees de Vienne
Follow the Vancouver Recital Society on Facebook, Twitter, or their blog for more information about upcoming events.
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards is once again presenting their summer concert series located on a hillside overlooking the South Okanagan’s Golden Mile. The winery’s outdoor amphitheatre will premiere a Canadian concert series on May 26th with The Boom Booms (Peak Performance Project finalists) followed by Acres of Lions on June 23rd, Redeye Empire July 28th, Said the Whale August 25th, and Canadian rockers Sloan wrapping up the season September 8th.
Photo courtesy of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
Tickets to the concert series are now on sale for individual shows or you can pick up a season pass for $100, for all concerts. All concerts start at 7:00pm, with gates opening at 6:30pm.
Visitors can enjoy a self-guided tour, tastings, and the cuisine of Miradoro Restaurant. They are very active on Twitter as is their winemaker and CEO Sandra Oldfield, and they’ll be hosting a social wine tasting event on May 16th in Vancouver.
Tinhorn Creek is located between Oliver and Osoyoos in the sunny South Okanagan. Family owned and operated, their wines are 100% estate-grown. They were also the first winery in Canada to support carbon neutral measures and have a commitment to land conservation and environmentally sustainable practices.
To kick off the season in style, I have partnered with Tinhorn Creek to offer up two concert tickets to see The Boom Booms at the vineyard May 26th along with a $125 gift certificate for Miradoro Restaurant.
Make a weekend out of it and enjoy all that this stunning region has to offer – from camping and canoeing on the lake to enjoying local wine. If you can’t get to the Okanagan, this would make a great birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day gift. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post naming a Tinhorn Creek wine (found here) (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner next Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 12:00pm. Must be 19 years or older to enter to win. Please enjoy responsibly.
Update The winner is Tanis!
Prize does not include transportation or accommodation.
