Many know it as a frosty, snowy, wintertime getaway but Whistler is one happening place in the summertime as it comes alive with mountainbikers, shoppers, hikers, and adventure-seekers. This summer they’ve hosted the Whistler Presents Concert series featuring free shows by some of North America’s top bands and artists.

Photo credit: Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler on Flickr

On Saturday, August 27th, they’ll be continuing the entertainment and excitement with the official grand opening of the Whistler Olympic Plaza.

Where: Whistler Olympic Plaza
When: Saturday, August 27, 2011 from 7:00pm
Featuring: A free public concert with Sam Roberts Band and Kathleen Edwards. Hosted by Juno winner Jully Black.

The plaza accommodates 5,000 spectators and is now a permanent venue for recreation and the arts. It features a lawn, accessible playground, performance space, and public art that pays tribute to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Concert image photo credit: Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler

If you would like to attend this grand opening celebration I have a prize package available that includes a 1-night stay at the Aava Whistler Hotel and a VIP meet-and-greet with Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards, and host Jully Black before the evening concert begins.

Here’s how you can enter to win the prize package for this weekend:

Since the prize is for this weekend, and the night at Aava Whistler is for Saturday, I will draw one winner at 12:00pm tomorrow, Friday, August 25, 2011. It’s a quick contest turnaround but definitely worth entering if you’re a fan of live music, any of the artists, or sunshine and good times in Whistler.

Follow Tourism Whistler on Facebook & Twitter, and find the Aava Whistler Hotel on Facebook & Twitter as well. The free concert series continues through to September when Whistler will also host Jazz on the Mountain.

Update The winner is @aran_seaman!

Whether you take to the trails, the sea wall, or the specified road lanes, there’s no denying that Vancouver is a bicycle town. From heavy duty shock absorbers to fixies and colourful cruisers, bikes pepper our urban landscape and are a large part of life in this city. As such, this week’s theme from the Vancouver Archives photo collection is: bikes.

1896 – Terminal City Bicycle Club. Archives item# Sp P16. Photographer: A. Savard.

1898 – Men in bike race outfits. Archives item# Out P262.05.

1890s – Bicycle racers and friends at Brockton Point. Archives item# Sp P15.1.

1915 – Jack Davidson on a tricycle in the backyard of “Braeriach” at 2119 West 42nd.
Archives item# CVA 660-32. Photographer: John Davidson.

1932 – Acrobats at the Vancouver Exhibition (now, PNE). Archives item# CVA 99-2735.

1943 – July 1st celebration in Richmond. Archives item# CVA 586-1301. Photographer: Don Coltman.

1943 – Canadian Youth Hostel bike hike through Lumberman’s Arch. Archives item# CVA 586-1336.
Photographer: Don Coltman.

1943 – Pro Rec bike hike at Douglas Park. Archives item# CVA 586-1344. Photographer: Don Coltman.

1940s – A boy examines his new bicycle license. Archives item# Trans P113.1.

Browse my “archives photo” tag to view more historical photo collections (from the Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Archives) in this series.

Tomorrow night The Owl & The Pussycat opens at the PAL Studio Theatre in Coal Harbour.

Set in San Francisco, it was written by Bill Manhoff and originally starred Alan Alda and Diana Sands when it opened on Broadway in 1964. It was also made into a film and starred George Segal with Barbra Streisand.

Involving two characters, a bookish Felix and a saucy Doris, the comedy is described as a classic drama and some say it has parallels to ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’. Two alumni of Vancouver’s Actor’s Foundry, Steven Roberts and Panthea Vatandoost take on these opposing roles.

Presented by Checkpoint Theatre, formed by Richard Duke, Panthea Vatandoost, and Stephen Roberts, the play will take place at the PAL Theatre. It’s a very unique venue within a condo tower downtown.

Tickets are available online for $20 and the show runs nightly at 8:00pm until September 3, 2011. There’s nothing like a night of theatre in Vancouver (whatever the venue might be) and the city is ripe with creative and talented people. If you would like to check out this show, I have two pairs of tickets to give away.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

Tomorrow morning, Friday August 26, 2011 at 9:00am I will draw two winners (who will each get a pair of tickets) for Saturday night’s performance. Please note, the suggested audience age is 18+ for mature content.

Update The winners are Brenda & @DaveyBean!

Photo courtesy of the PSF

The Pacific Salmon Foundation will be showing off pink salmon this Sunday in Kitsilano with free samples all afternoon.

It will be cooked up by a team led by Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant and barbecued by Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk.

The event will also include live music, activities for the kids, and kiosks from BC Hydro, Port Metro Vancouver, Stream of Dreams Society, Organic Ocean, and more.

The Pink Salmon Festival aims to promote pink salmon as a more sustainable seafood choice — more sustainable because of its abundance.

“The idea behind the festival is simple,” says Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation. “We want to show how wonderful it is to eat. We want to raise public awareness and had our first festival two years ago. We have definitely seen an increase in interest and commercial companies trying to market the pinks in different ways and we see them in restaurants.” [Vancouver Sun]

You can check out the free festival Sunday, August 28, 2011 from 12:00pm to 5:00pm at Hadden Park on Kits Point (1905 Ogden Avenue at Cypress) near the Maritime Museum.

The Rosewood Hotel Georgia re-opened this summer, combining dazzling modern luxury with decadent decor from throughout its 84-year history. I was able to visit the hotel recently, for the first time since my hard-hat tour in May to see the final results.

Boasting one of the largest collections of Canadian artwork in the country, the hotel has paintings and works from Alan Wood, Derek Root, Douglas Coupland, Takao Tanabe, Sonny Assu, and more. The Patrick Hughes in the lobby will blow your mind. The pieces are canvas, wax, metal, paper, and a variety of other textures that are also reflected around the hotel in complex fabrics, embossed wallpapers, and furnishing.

Public are welcome to stroll through the lobby, enjoy the 1927 bar, Hawksworth Restaurant, and the soon-to-be opened Reflections outdoor lounge (update now open) that sits below the residential tower.

Dark wood lines the hallways that are splashed with art (vases, paintings, sculptures) as you walk from guest rooms to the fitness facility, pool, or the Sense spa.

This rich mix of classic touches combined with digital features (heated floors, WIFI, etc.) are part of the signature Rosewood style.

The stone floor in the lobby is original to the hotel along with the inlaid tiles, the elevator floor counters, the lobby clock, the bronze post office box, and a few other features.

The guest rooms look out onto either Georgia (the Vancouver Art Gallery), Howe, or Reflections on the non-street side of the hotel. Each has a flat screen television, full-sized amenities in the washrooms, and bathtubs that make you want to drift away in a soak after a long day.

I highly recommend that locals take a walk through this modern classic to enjoy a slice of Vancouver history that has been beautifully updated. For an even closer look, the Rosewood Hotel Georgia has offered up a special prize so one of my readers can have a bit of a staycation experience in style. Here’s how you can enter to win a 1-night stay in a deluxe guest room (value $375):

I will draw one winner at random from all entries next Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 11:00am. Follow the hotel on Facebook or Twitter for special offers, event information, and updates.

Update The winner is Craig!