White Spot employees at the Richmond Centre and Kingsway locations will once again give up their Christmas mornings and afternoons to open their restaurants and dedicate their workday to two great causes.

Locations:
White Spot Richmond Centre – Unit 1902 – 6551 No. 3 Road, Richmond, B.C.
White Spot Kingsway and Knight – 1467 Kingsway, Vancouver, B.C.

Hours: December 25, 2010 from 11:00am until 3:00pm

Net proceeds from your meal directly to the Richmond General Hospital Foundation and Variety The Children’s Charity. All staff, servers, and management will also generously donate their tips as well. Stop by for a pirate pack, milkshake, or legendary burger with your friends or family on Christmas Day. Follow @White_Spot on Twitter for more information.

The City of Vancouver’s boundaries as we know them (Burrard Inlet, Boundary Road, the Fraser River, and Pacific Spirit Park) were not always part of Vancouver. Throughout its 125-year history, Vancouver has expanded and amalgamated several times. When it was incorporated on April 6, 1886, it was made up of what we would now call the Downtown Eastside, Downtown Vancouver, Mount Pleasant, Fairview, and the northern part of Kitsilano.

1898 – North to South view of Vancouver. Markers for today:
Blue: Georgia & Burrard, Green: BC Place, Yellow: Main & Hastings, Orange: Granville Island

It was on this day in 1910 that the Hastings Townsite, East Vancouver to Nanaimo St, joined the City of Vancouver [source]. It was one of the most populated areas around and there was initially a push for it to join up with Burnaby.

It was also on this day, December 21, 1910, that South Vancouver was incorporated on its own. Its Northern boundary being 16th Avenue.

1910’s – Projection for Vancouver in the 1950’s. Point Grey, South Vancouver, Burnaby.
Archives item# LGN 558.

It wasn’t until 1929 that Point Grey (another stand-alone community) and South Vancouver amalgamated with Vancouver. When the union happened, Vancouver became Canada’s third largest city [source]. Mayor L.D. Taylor made a big push for amalgamation while he held his position but it finally happened under Mayor Malkin.

1928 – Archives item# 79-10.

In the 1930’s, Vancouver’s Mayor McGreer proposed to move City Hall, which was at 16 East Hastings (the building is still there today) over to 12th and Cambie. One of his intentions was to solidify the amalgamation with South Vancouver. The new City Hall, which we have today, opened its doors on December 1st in 1936 — just four blocks away from South Vancouver’s old border. To this day, UBC’s endowment lands are not a part of the City of Vancouver.

1926-1932 – Archives item# MAP 773.

Much of Vancouver’s street planning was done by Lauchlan Hamilton although sometimes property owners or previous boundaries got in his way and we ended up with strange bends in streets (like at Cambie and Pender or Hastings). Other modern plans were drawn up by Harland Bartholomew & Associates. As a part of the Vancouver 125 celebrations, Bing Thom Architects funded the digitization of their collection of plans and maps of the city.

Want to learn more? Pick up the new book: The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Book Warehouse was sold out but, according to their Twitter account, now they have plenty in stock.

The Secret Lantern Society is hosting the 18th annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival in communities around Vancouver tonight. The public, young and old, is invited to gather on the East Side, in Yaletown, on Granville Island, in Chinatown, and new this year – in South East False Creek.

Each neighbourhood event starts off with a procession then ends up at a community location where there will be dancing, music, and a lantern labyrinth in some.

East Side
Procession: 6:00pm to 7:00pm / Solstice House Concerts: 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Start the evening with in-the-house concerts in 3 neighbourhood homes at 2256 Parker, 2253 Parker St, and 2162 Parker Street.
Britannia Community Centre events: 6:00pm to 11:00pm enjoy the lighting of the Swedish Fire, local choirs, storytellers, bluegrass, and orchestral entertainment. There will also be a Labyrinth of Light featuring 700 beeswax candles.

Yaletown
Processions: 6:00pm at Cooper’s Park, Emery Barnes Park, and Vancouver Aquatic Centre. Each are lead by drummers along the sea wall.
Roundhouse Community Centre events: 7:00pm to 10:00pm hosted by the Master of Solstice Ceremonies Ari Lazer. Meet performers, learn about the celestial origins of winter solstice, watch aerial dancers, folk dancers, and more.

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

Granville Island
Processions: 6:00pm at Leg-in-Boot Square (where there will be a drum jam), Triangle Square, HR MacMillan Space Centre. These three processions will make their way to the False Creek Community Centre where they will have the traditional torch-lit Song Of Welcome by The Vancouver Morris Men.
False Creek Community Centre events: 7:30pm to 9:30pm Entertainment will follow from The Carnival Band, Rhythm Spirit Drummers, storytellers, jingle dancers, and more. Learn about solstice traditions from roving Mistress of Ceremonies Shauna Born (the lady in the top hat). Performance Works events: 7:30pm to 8:30pm African dance with Jacky Essombe. 8:30pm to 9:30pm join the drum circle.

South East False Creek
Procession: 6:00pm from Leg-in-Boot Square but instead of heading to Granville Island, follow the sea wall over to Creekside.
Creekside Community Centre events: 7:00pm to 10:00pm with hot chocolate, saxophone by Shane Krause, stilt-walker Lindsey Longlegs, and a labyrinth of light. More entertainment, hand-crafted instruments and festivities will follow throughout the evening.

Photo credit: [travelfox] on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool

Chinatown
Procession: 6:00pm from the Strathcona Community Centre, lead by Russell Shumsky & Friends through the streets of Strathcona.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden events: 6:00pm to 10:00pm samba rhythms, jazz, choral performances, a ceilidh featuring Toddish McWong and the Black Bear Rebels & Friends, and more will take place at the World’s Best City Garden. Heron and koi lanterns will dot the garden landscape while a floating installation by HyungMin Yoon will dazzle participants. Make a lantern, contribute to the community lantern, and view a collection of antique lanterns.

Should the weather be completely unbearable, proceed directly to the indoor venues for 7:00pm. All events are free for the public to attend although some events have admission by donation. With your support, events such as these can continue to celebrate the arts in our communities.

SunLife Financial is providing the opportunity for fans young and old to skate with Vancouver Canucks (current and alumni) at Rogers Arena on January 14, 2012 — but you have to win your way in.

I’ve had the chance to skate at Rogers Arena, and even walk around a bit on the ice to film a promotional spot, but I’ve never skated with team members – how great would that be? You can win one of 25 spots through the Canucks contest and they have also saved room for one lucky Miss604 reader and up to three of their friends or family members. Here’s how you can enter to win a spot on the ice:

• Leave a comment on this post naming your favourite moment as a Canucks fan (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

The Skate with the Canucks event takes place January 14th from 7:00pm to 8:15pm at Rogers Arena. Participants will be required to bring their own gear (rentals not available) and sign a release waiver before stepping onto the ice. I will draw one winner at 9:00am on December 28, 2011.

Official rules, except for dates that are exclusive to the Miss604 contest, may be found on the Canucks contest page. At least one member of the 2011-2012 Vancouver Canucks and Canucks Alumni will be on the ice at the event.

Update The winner is Amber!

Tucked away in the Shangri-La hotel in downtown Vancouver, Market by Jean-Georges has been on my “to do” list for a while. Although I admit, I did stop in for lunch a while back with Michelle Ng from Foodie Tour but I have always meant to return. I had that chance recently when I met up with Keira-Anne for a holiday lunch.

Keira told me that she wanted to go some place “nice” for lunch and Market was the first place to come to mind. A lone white Christmas tree welcomed us in the reception before we were shown to our cozy booth. A curtain of gold pearls behind our heads matched the ascending bubbles in the two glasses of sparkling wine placed before us.

The menu was split into share-plates or starters, pizzas, and entrees with a section reserved for a $35 prix-fixe lunch. We ordered a la carte after some recommendations from our host.

Tuna tartare, avocado, spicy radish, ginger dressing ($16)
A nice light start to the meal with creamy avocado and a bit of a crunchy kick from the radishes.

Black truffle with fontina cheese pizza ($19)
The pizza was delicious and the truffles were not over-powering (as truffle oil on a pizza or pasta might tend to be).

Nut and seed crusted snapper, sweet and sour broth ($28)
Very soft and light, even with the crust on top of the fillet. The broth was smooth and buttery.

Soy glazed short ribs, apple-jalapeno puree, rosemary crumbs ($29)
They had us a “rosemary crumbs”. Keira enjoyed this main and the rosemary crumbs were just as tasty as they looked. She also noted that the portion was very filling.

The prices were above what one might spend in terms of an everyday lunch, better suited for special occasion or holiday affair — a chance to splurge. After all, this is Market by Jean-Georges Vongrichten, one of New York’s most celebrated chefs, cook-book authors, and restauranteurs. Next time we’ll stop by for a drink as well, hopefully crafted by Vancouver’s Jay Jones himself, lead bartender at Shangri-La and the founding director of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association.