It was two months ago to the day that I flew 15 hours from Vancouver, to London, then Accra, Ghana in order to take part in the delivery of over 4,000 bicycles with Cadbury.
Following a successful virtual campaign called “The Bicycle Factory“, these real bikes were delivered to rural villages in Ghana thanks to the online participation of Canadians.
I was along for the ride to meet village officials, school children, Fair Trade union operators, and workers with organization such as Care International. To say that it was eye-opening is an understatement and I believe the depth of my experience still hasn’t hit me.
Along with Darius Bashar of Toronto, Cadbury representatives, Bicycle Factory contest winners, and the band “San Sebastian“, I took part in bicycle dedication ceremonies. I hung out with enthusiastic children who, thanks to Fair Trade and partner organizations, can focus on their school work and their futures, above all else.
Cadbury is currently running a campaign on Facebook where they’re trading “Likes for Bikes“. For every “Like” they get, they’ll put together a new bike part. 100 bike parts equals a bike that will be built and once again sent to a student in Ghana.
Why bikes? Some school children (from very young ages) walk 5-10 kilometers a day on a dirt road to get to school. Bikes allow them to get supplies and water for their families, travel beyond their villages, and simply get an education.
Parents and village leaders emphasized that while cocoa drives their economy and gives them jobs, the children must be in school. With Easter coming up and chocolate being on the minds of many, you have the chance to give back to the source and support these communities by giving them your “Likes for Bikes“.
Read all of my posts that were published from Africa and my photos are on Flickr although more will be added next week when The Bicycle Factory opens up once again.
Disclosure: I was not paid to take part in The Bicycle Factory or to supply any of its coverage. Cadbury did cover my travel to Ghana. All photos were taken with the permission of the village officials, parents, and teachers.
The Vancouver Canucks are heading into their first round of NHL Stanley Cup playoffs tonight against Chicago. With the entire city alive with excitement (and hungry for revenge against the Blackhawks) there’s a lot to take in so I figured a Canucks Playoff Guide would be in order.
There are a few ways you can win Canucks playoff tickets if you haven’t already scooped some up for yourself.
Metropolis at Metrotown
Enter to win playoff tickets daily at the customer service desk on-site or head to their Facebook account to play on online game for another chance to win.
Playoff Payoff
The Beat 94.5, 103.5 QMFM, and TEAM Radio will be at PriceSmart Foods and Save-on-Foods locations around Metro Vancouver in the morning on every at-home game day. Tune in to find out the exact broadcast locations and drive through on your way to work and sign up to win tickets for that evening’s game.
Shangri-La & MARKET
The Shangri-La Hotel is giving away 2 Canucks first round playoff tickets as well as a meal for 2 at MARKET by Jean-Georges. You can enter a few ways, using social media, and details are posted on MARKET’s Facebook.
The Province & Best Buy
What would you do for Canucks tickets? The Province and Best Buy are offering up handfuls of prizes this playoff season.
Downtown Giveaways
The Canucks street team will be downtown on game days handing out scarves and other goodies. Check their Twitter account for exact times and locations.
Local pubs, lounges, and restaurants are making sure their televisions and big screens are locked on playoff action. Here are a few suggestions:
The Charles Bar
Location: 138 West Cordova, Vancouver Website, Twitter
Score on Davie
Location: 1262 Davie Street, Vancouver Website, Twitter
Red Card
Location: 900 Seymour Street, Vancouver Website, Twitter
Extras
App
Download the Canucks iPhone application for schedules, scores, player biographies and instant updates.
Tune
Download the new song by local artist Kyprios called “How The West Was One” which is quickly becoming a playoff anthem for the city along with this video response to Rebecca Black’s “Friday” called “Game Day”:
If you know of any special events, contests, or have a favourite place to watch the game that I didn’t list, please feel free to leave a note in the comments. Go Canucks Go!
Vaisakhi marks both the New Year and the anniversary of one of anniversary of one of Sikhism’s most important events, the establishment of Khalsa in 1699 with the first Amrit ceremony [source].
Vancouver
Date: April 16, 2011 beginning around 11:00am
Where: Starts at the Ross Street Temple (8000 Ross Street at 64th) in Vancouver.
Info: Take transit as there will be many road closures nearby.
Surrey
Date: April 23, 2011 beginning around 10:00am
Where: Starts at the Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar Temple (12885 85th Ave) in Surrey.
Info: One of the largest Vaisakhi parades outside of India. Community businesses do food giveaways, there will be singing, dancing, and many festivities.
This global occasion is also a time to celebrate our local Sikh community, which has a very important place in Metro Vancouver history — especially rising above the tragedy of the Komagata Maru incident almost a hundred years ago. The Sikh temple in Abbotsford is a National Historic Site and there was even an older temple in Vancouver at one time. Vaiskhi is a great time to get out and enjoy the history and culture (and delicious food) of our diverse communities.
It’s my pleasure to introduce a new series on Miss604.com over the next few weeks, in partnership with backyardbc.com, that will promote and support local tourism.
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!
With the most beautiful province right at our doorsteps, staying local for family getaways and fun with friends is more popular than ever. backyardbc and I have hotel and resort giveaways stacked up and ready to go to one lucky reader every Tuesday for the next 10 weeks. Each BC Travel Tuesday will highlight the property that is sponsoring the prize, starting with…
Image courtesy of Delta Victoria
Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa Website, Twitter, Facebook, backyardbc listing Location: 45 Songhees Road, Victoria, BC About: Ideally located on Victoria’s breathtaking inner harbour, it’s a short 5 minute walk from downtown. You can walk or hop a shuttle to the Legislative Buildings, the Royal BC Museum, popular restaurants & great shopping. Features include the indoor solarium pool, hot tub, 24-hour fitness centre, racquet/squash, outdoor tennis courts, along with the award-winning spa. Prize: 2 nights in a Deluxe Inner Harbour Room overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbour, including complimentary parking and high speed internet access. Value: $600
To enter to win, leave a comment on this post and/or post the following on Twitter:
I entered this week’s @backyardbc @miss604 #bctraveltuesday contest http://ow.ly/4yUqU #tt
Winners will be announced every Tuesday on the latest BC Travel Tuesday contest post until the 10 weeks are up. 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.
Update This contest ended April 19th and the winner was Tamara.
The Vancouver Archives will be hosting a panel discussion at the UBC Robson Square Lecture Theatre April 26th called “Legacies, Lessons, and the Future: Harland Bartholomew’s Master Plan and Papers on the City of Vancouver, 1926-1948”.
1928 – Vancouver Town Planning Commission, Harland Bartholomew and Associates. Archives Item# PD 3113
In 1926, Harland Bartholomew and Associates were commissioned by the Vancouver Town Planning Commission to develop the first master plan for the burgeoning City of Vancouver. While A Plan for the City of Vancouver British Columbia including Point Grey and South Vancouver and a General Plan of the Region was never officially adopted, it was the first major document to unite the City which was, until then, divided between Point Grey, South Vancouver, and Vancouver. Beginning with this Master plan in 1926 until the end of his commission in 1948, Bartholomew wrote over 20 separate reports and documents and provided the first comprehensive urban visions and plans for today’s Vancouver.
You can visit the Vancouver Archives’ extensive collection of digitized artifacts anytime online or visit them in near Vanier Park from 9:00-5:00pm Monday to Friday. You can also check out their cool new blog, AuthentiCity, to get a behind the scenes look at their volunteers, processes, and collections.