Vancouver ComedyFest begins this week as some heavy-hitting comedy legends and newcomers grace stages from the Orpheum to the Rio.

The 10-day festival will feature the likes of Doug Benson, Jeremy Hotz, Charlie Demers, David Cross, Todd Glass, and many more. Tickets and downtown hotel packages are still available for many of the performances.

I have teamed up with Vancouver ComedyFest to offer up 3 amazing prize packages to see influential female comics Carol Burnett, Betty White, and Margaret Cho. There are many ways to enter to win these exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett
Tickets
When: Friday, February 17, 2012 at 8:30pm
Location: Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe
Our Prize: 2 tickets to the show and a meet n’ greet with Carol

A Conversation with Betty White
Tickets
When: Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 9:30pm
Location: The Centre, 777 Homer
Our Prize: 2 tickets and you get to personally ask Betty your question during the show

Cho Dependant Tour: Margaret Cho
Tickets
When: Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 8:00pm
Location: The Centre, 777 Homer
Our Prize: 2 tickets to the show and a 1-night stay in a Downtown Vancouver hotel

Here’s how you can enter to win one of these awesome prize packages:

• Leave a comment naming who you would like to see: Betty, Carol, or Margaret (1 entry)
• Post one the following on Twitter (1 entry)

You must be 19 years of age or older to enter and win. The downtown hotel stay is only valid on the night of the Margaret Cho show, February 19, 2012. I will draw 3 separate winners from all comedian-specific entries received. For example, all comments stating Carol Burnett and all #MeetCarol tweets will have 1 winner. Contest closes at 12:00pm, Thursday, February 16, 2012.

Update The winners are: Laurel (Meet Carol), Rob (See Margaret), & @kelsvest (Ask Betty)

Science World at TELUS World of Science has always been a place for young and old to learn and have fun. Now, they’re reaching out to teens through their SWEET programming (Science World Extravagant Evenings for Teens) with special events aimed at youth ages 13 to 18.

Photo credit: Wynonna on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool

The first SWEET event was December 9th and they’re planning another for March 2nd. The theme for the evening will be “A SWEET Heart Murder Mystery” running from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Participants will have their run of Science World to solve clues and be entered to win prizes. Admission is just $10 and tickets can be purchased online.

Teens can also learn about work experience opportunities and the Future Science Leaders program that runs on Tuesday nights from September to June.

Be sure to check out Science World’s Blog while you’re exploring their website. While the entries aren’t posted on a regular basis, they have some really interesting content such as: “Why do my earphones tangle so much?”, “Is it Drier to Walk or Run Through the Rain?”, and “What Does a Giraffe Sound Like?”. Follow @ScienceWorldca on Twitter for more information and to learn about their recent renovations.

The Vancouver Sun celebrated 100 years this past weekend, marking the occasion with tweets, articles, blog posts, a video collage, photo galleries, and the following editorial:

The first words to appear in the editorial columns of The Vancouver Sun, the space the newspaper reserves for its own expression of opinion upon public events, disclosed that its sympathies were Liberal but that the owners’ goal was a publication that would reflect credit upon its publishers, the city and the province.

1918 – Vancouver Sun Digital Archives

Their optimism reflected Vancouver’s, for 1912 was an extraordinary year. The city’s population, a scant 27,000 at the turn of the century, had swollen to more than 100,000 on a tsunami of immigrants. The growth had sparked a real estate boom, peaking just as presses began to roll. City lots had typically sold for under $200 a decade earlier, now a lot at the corner of Granville and Robson was priced at $250,000. Conservative Premier Richard McBride was stoking the boiler for his vision of a railway to Prince George and the Pacific Great Eastern Railway was incorporated, already controversial and accompanied by a whiff of scandal that would still be there 100 years later.

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1923 – Advertising department of the Sun Publishing company. VPL Accession Number: 21685.

In 1912, Vancouver got its first professional hockey when the Millionaires blew out the New Westminster Royals 8-3 at the Patrick brothers’ Denman Arena. And the Vancouver police department became the first in Canada to hire female officers, the second police force in the country to unionize — and lost its first officer in the line of duty when Const. Lewis Byers was shot and killed, his murderer later dying himself in a gun battle with police on the waterfront. The University of British Columbia held its first convocation. The province got its first pulp mill at Powell River and appointed H.R. MacMillan chief forester, two harbingers of changes that would transform the economic landscape. Conservative Premier McBride would call an election and crush his Liberal opposition. The unsinkable Titanic would sink, carrying to the bottom Charles Melville Hays, founder of Prince Rupert and president of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.

It was an exhilarating time to launch a newspaper.

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Left) 1946 – Sun Building at Night. VPL Accession Number: 27181
(Right) 1960 – Magee students picket Vancouver Sun. VPL Accession Number: 41908

Congratulations to Vancouver Sun staples like Dean Broughton, Patricia Graham, Kim Bolan, Gillian Shaw, Randy Shore, Francois Marchand, Iain MacIntyre, and more for their work with the paper and for helping it keep pace with the digital age.

Starting tomorrow morning, and until Friday, I will be sharing an article that has been published in the Vancouver Sun over the years. From world wars to class wars, the newspaper’s perspective on civic and international affairs has been a part of local lives for the last century.

An interesting note: BC’s longest-lasting newspaper was New Westminter’s “British Columbian”. Its first issue was published February 13, 1861 and it ran for 122 years, ending in 1983. – Source: Chuck Davis’ History of Metropolitan Vancouver.

This morning John and I set out from Black Rock Ocean Front Resort to explore a small portion of the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet. We walked the brisk Lighthouse Loop which is about 2.5km long, winding through wind-swept forest trails along the ocean’s edge.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

I used my Olympus PEN E-PM1 for this photowalk instead of my Nikon D90. John’s photos (as marked) are with his Nikon D90. View my full photo set on Flickr & John’s full photo set on Flickr.

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching as I hear both grumbles and giggles about the romantic Hallmark holiday. In Vancouver, there are plenty of ways to spark some romance. Long walks on the beach, strolls under the wooded canopy of a local park, spa treatments, and of course a candle-lit dinner. Tableau Bar Bistro, located in the Five Star Diamond award-winning Loden Hotel, will be serving up a special supper for sweethearts:

Photo credit: Ariane Colenbrander – ArianeCDesign

Menu item choices at Tableau for Valentine’s Day
Prepared by Executive Chef Marc-André Choquette and his team

Starters:
Cream of Permentier (leek & potato soup, nutmeg whipped cream, grated winter black truffle)
Dungeness Crab Salad on Toast (celeriac-remoulade, toasted pecans, herb focacci)
La Pate en Croute (foie gras terrine baked old fashion “en croute”, pickled vegetables, croutons)

Mains:
Seared Scallops & Ravioli (eggplant ravioli, smoked tomato, kale & pinenuts, sunchoke)
Duo of Lamb (braised shoulder “backeoffe” style and grilled chop, garlic & rosemary sauce)
Arctic Char (pan-roasted arctic char, lobster sauce, cauliflower fleurets, mixed mushrooms)

Desserts:
Le Quatre Quart (citrus pound cake, kumquat, marmalade and whipped cream)
Marquise au Chocolate (buttered dark chocolate slice, huckleberry, vanilla ice cream)
L’assiette de Fromage (selection of imported & local cheese plate with seasonal jam)

Tableau has a table booked for one lucky Miss604 reader and their guest to enjoy this dinner menu on the house February 14, 2012 at 9:00pm. Here’s how you can enter to win this reservation and dinner for two:

• Leave a comment naming what you consider the most romantic public place in Metro Vancouver, such as a park, beach, plaza, etc. (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

Follow Twitter and Facebook for more information. Tableau is located in the Loden Hotel at 1181 Melville in downtown Vancouver. This prize is only redeemable/valid for the 9:00pm reservation on February 14, 2012. It is based on (but cannot be exchanged for) a $110 dining certificate for Tableau Bar Bistro. I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:00am.

Update The winner is Mary! Carmelle!