For those of you who paid attention to this spring’s “BC Travel Tuesday” series, you may have noticed that I said we have 12 weeks of local travel giveaways… then we stopped at 10. The good news is that your math was right, we were missing two weeks and we’re ready to make up for our delay.
backyardbc is a new travel website designed specifically for residents of British Columbia. Essentially a “be a tourist in your own backyard” program, participating hotels & resorts offer residents of BC exclusive rates and specials, designed to motivate BCers to travel more within the Province. Each offer has its own unique reservation code, and all bookings are done directly with our hotel and resort partners. Visit backyardbc online, on Twitter, or Facebook and see more of BC!
Just to recap, our previous giveaway destinations included: Oswego Hotel Victoria, Fairmont Empress Victoria, Hotel Grand Pacific Victoria, Painter’s Lodge Campbell River, Accent Inns Okanagan, Watermark Beach Resort Osoyoos, Inn at Laurel Point, Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, Howe Sound Inn & Brewing and the Delta Ocean Pointe in Victoria. In total, we had over 4,200 entries and the prize packages were worth over $6,000. The final two destinations are just as exciting as the rest.
April Point Resort and Spa
Website, Twitter, Facebook, backyardbc listing
Location: 900 April Point Road, Quadra Island
About: “Situated on beautiful Quadra Island, the resort features a full-service Aveda spa as well as a wide variety of adventures including fishing, whale watching, kayaks, bikes, scooters and more. Enjoy ocean view accommodations, dining choices including west coast cuisine, sushi or pub-style fare and first class adventure in one of the most spectacular places on earth.”
Prize: Two night’s accommodation and a four-hour fishing trip.
Value: $700
To enter to win, leave a comment on this post and/or post the following on Twitter:
Gift certificates for hotel and resort stays will be sent directly to each weekly winner so they can arrange their visit personally with the property. Some restrictions apply, based on availability. Must be 19 years of age or older to enter and win. This week’s winner will be announced when next Tuesday’s post is published.
Update The winner is Ryan! (There were a few Ryans who commented so please check your email inbox to make sure you’re the winner!)
View all posts in the series by following or subscribing to my BCTravelTuesday tag. Open to residents of BC.
My last Archives Photos of the Day were a collection of summertime photos found thanks to the Vancouver Archives and Vancouver Public Library‘s online photograph directories. This week, as summer has truly arrived with sunshine and high temperatures, I thought it would be most fitting to focus on the lovely month of August. All of the photos in this post were tagged, taken, and categorized under the word “August” throughout Vancouver history.
August 1891 – Construction of Gastown’s Holland Block. VPL Accession Number: 19846.
Photographer: Leonard Frank.
August 1913 – Construction of the third CPR station. Archives item# CVA 152-1.023.
1914 – An August day at English Bay beach. Archives item# Be P144.2. Photographer: Richard Broadbridge.
August 1914 – Stanley Park. Archives item# CVA 371-2620.
August 1936 – Vancouver Motors (where Staples is now, on Seymour). VPL Accession Number: 33402. Photographer: Leonard Frank.
August 1936- Ruins of the fire at Denman Arena VPL Accession Number: 7896.
Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
August 1964 – Vancouver skyline (can you guess which road this is?) Archives item# CVA 1435-145.
August 1985 – VanDusen Botanical Gardens. Archives item# CVA 1502-2537.
There’s been no shortage of free outdoor movies this summer around Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, and now the Village at False Creek (formerly known as the Olympic Athletes’ Village) is offering up something new. They started last week and will continue presenting free outdoor movies in August that also have a pay option.
For $20 you can get a reserved bistro table for four (must be over 19 years of age) where you can enjoy some of the food cart fare being offered–from popcorn to pulled pork. You can also bring your own dinner or picnic to the bistro tables or free, general seating area (bring a blanket for the ground there too). It’s something new, something different, and a change in scenery from movies in local parks so it will be interesting to see how this program takes off.
The movie line-up is Casablanca Thursday, August 11th, then The Fighter True Grit Thursday, August 18th, and the series will close with Citizen Kane on Thursday, August 25th. All films will commence at sunset (which is after (9:00pm these days) while the area will open for seating at 8:00pm.
You can register for a bistro table by contacting the Creekside Community Centre. Parking is available in the area but I would recommend taking the Canada Line (walk over from Olympic Village station) or SkyTrain (walk over from Main Street, or take a bus from VCC station).
If you would like reserved bistro seating for one of these outdoor screenings, here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post listing which night you would like to attend, see dates above (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at 3:00pm on the Wednesday before each Thursday screening (so this week’s winner will be drawn tomorrow, Wednesday, August 10th and the others on the 17th and 24th). You must be 19 years of age or older to enter and win as that is the restriction for the bistro seating area.
Update The winner for August 11th is Karen!
Update The winner for August 18th is Samantha Clark!
Update There’s only one movie left… the winner is Steffani Cameron!
The Purolator Tackle Hunger Food Drive, in partnership with the BC Lions for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, is taking place this coming Saturday, August 13th.
This is the 9th annual Tackle Hunger campaign and fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food item donations or cash in support of this cause. Volunteers will be at every gate to collect donations as the BC Lions take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on the field.
The most-needed items currently listed on the Food Bank’s website are canned meat and fish, whole wheat pasta and rice, canned fruit and vegetables, cereal, baby formula and baby food.
Coming off a big win against Saskatchewan on Friday, Empire Field will be the place to be on Saturday. Arrive early for the BC Lions Street Party at 5:30pm. There will be live music, family activities (including free face painting), poster making, games and more. Football fans who bring a donation this weekend will have the opportunity to receive a souvenir photo with the Grey Cup and enter a draw to win two tickets to the 2011 Grey Cup in Vancouver.
If you would like to attend Saturday’s game, I have a pair of tickets to give away as a part of a prize pack that includes 2 tickets to Saturday’s game, a Purolator Tackle Hunger t-shirt, golf shirt, and jacket, BC Lions gear (training camp shirt, pom-poms, towel, noisemakers, hat, yearbook, Tim Horton’s card, sticker, lanyard, and more), and the book “Legends of Autumn – The Glory Years of Canadian Football” by Denny Boyd and Brian Scrivener.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am, Thursday, August 11, 2011. Purolator also partners with the CFL throughout the entire season by donating a quarterback’s weight in food (to the team’s local food bank) whenever one gets sacked during the regular season.
Update The winner is Bonnie!
This feature was written exclusively for Miss604 by actor, writer, and producer, Michelle Kim.
Last Wednesday, I attended the Artist’s Circle at the Harmony Arts Festival, hosted by the West Vancouver Museum. The event was an intimate retrospective of famed-Canadian painter, Gordon Smith, now 92 years old, who was joined by two other distinguished Canadian artists, from two other generations—Ian Wallace and Douglas Coupland.
The evening was structured around Smith’s personal photographs (dating back from the end of World War II up to present day) being projected on the screen to the right of the speakers. My favourite photograph was that of Arthur Erickson standing outside in a bathrobe with Margaret Trudeau and a young Justin, looking off through West Vancouver foliage over to the sea. Each photograph had a wonderful story behind it and served as a sort of time-capsule of Canadian history, and led to discussion about other topics that Wallace and Douglas helped expound on, including art, artists, West coast art, and in particular, West Vancouver—a place all three artists call or (have called, in the case of Wallace) “home”.
Over the course of the evening, it became clear that all three artists are close friends, each serving as a mentor to one another is various ways. Both Coupland and Wallace not only spoke of how much they revere Smith’s work but also how much they look up to him as a human being because he is so kind. Smith and Coupland talked about Wallace’s work ethic and talent (Wallace was in fact Coupland’s instructor while he was studying at Emily Carr) and both Smith and Wallace praised Coupland for his work with various mediums including print and for his innovative approach to art—mention Coupland’s piece that was hanging in the tent based on QR codes.
Though these three artists are from different eras and often work different mediums, there were moments where the boundaries of generation and art forms collapsed. At one point, Smith spoke of how his painting really changed with the advent of digital cameras—which he uses often to take pictures and paints from by looking at them.
The Showcase Exhibition in the festival tent was amazing, featuring the works of the three artists speaking as well artists such as Pierre Coupey and Attila Richard Lukacs.
Visit the West Vancouver Museum to see the works of Gordon and his late-wife Marion. The exhibition runs until August 27, 2011. Follow the museum on Facebook or read their blog for more information.
Read all posts contributed by Michelle for Miss604.com and follow her on Twitter @miju.
