Rick Hansen Man in Motion: 25th Anniversary Relay

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

It was on this day in 1985 that BC’s own Rick Hansen set off in his wheelchair to circumnavigate the globe to raise awareness of the potential of people with disabilities (in particular spinal cord injuries “SCI”). After 34 countries, four continents, and 40,000km in two years, the “Man in Motion” tour raised $26 million for Rick’s cause.

World Tour - Ontario - Canada
Photo credit: Rick Hansen Foundation on Flickr

This year the Rick Hansen Foundation is organizing an anniversary tour across Canada that will begin in Newfoundland on August 24th, 2011 and finish in Vancouver on May 22nd, 2012. The “25th Anniversary Relay” will recreate Rick’s original Canadian route, travelling 12,000kms and visiting over 600 communities. The foundation is also encouraging other participants to join the relay and applications will begin online this spring.

World Tour - China - Great Wall
Photo credit: Rick Hansen Foundation on Flickr

All funds raised will go to the Rick Hansen Foundation: “Among the Foundation’s accomplishments is the creation of the Rick Hansen Institute. It began as a Foundation project and has grown in both size and success over the years. Today this independent Institute is a Canada-wide collaboration dedicated to finding a cure and improving the quality of life for people who live with SCI and related-disabilities. The Foundation will continue to provide leadership and assistance to the Institute in order to attain financial sustainability and expand its programs internationally.”

Follow the Rick Hansen Foundation on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter for updates about the Man in Motion tour and participation in the 25th Anniversary Relay.

Vancouver Events for Japan Disaster Relief

Comments 11 by Rebecca Bollwitt

On March 11th a series of earthquakes offshore shook Japan causing a devastating chain of events including a tsunami that permanently redefined the coastline. Thousands lost their lives and the country is still on high alert due to the instability of several nuclear power programs. From the Red Cross to Doctors Without Borders, many helpful organizations are already on the ground to assist. In order to make sure these programs have the resources and manpower required, there are several fundraising events being held around the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley to show support.

Please Donate For Japan Earthquake.
Photo credit: Toyokazu © on Flickr / Source: Flickr Blog

1000 Paper Cranes for Japan
When: Until March 25, 2011
Where: CA Hall, University of British Columbia
Details: During the Exec Meet n’ Greet, come drop by the booth where you will find origami paper and string. WIth a minimum donation of $1, you can fold your own crane, write a message or prayer on the side, and then we will hang them up in the CA Hall.
Event website

Paleolithic 6 Band Spring Rock Blowout
When: March 18, 2011 starting at 8:00pm
Where: Rickshaw Theatre (West Hastings, Vancouver)
Details: 100% of proceeds from the event will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross for Japan relief efforts.
Event website

Japan Love
When: March 18, 23, 25, 30, 2011 starting at 5:00pm
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery, Burrard at Robson
Details: Japan Love Bokinbako donation boxes will be setup by the BC Japan Earthquake Relief Fund will be on-location.
Event website

We ♥ Japan
When: March 19, 2011 starting at 9:30pm
Where: Pop Opera (686 W Hastings, Vancouver)
Details: All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Canadian Red Cross.
Event website

Unite for Japan
When: March 19, 2011 starting at 9:00pm
Where: Post Modern (7 Alexander Street, Vancouver)
Details: “Organized by four UBC 4th year Students with proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross.
Event website

Japan Love BC Japan Earthquake Relief Fund
When: March 20, 2011 starting at 10:00am
Where: Fisherman’s Park Steveston (3rd and Moncton St, Richmond)
Details: The Steveston Rotary Club will issue tax receipts for any donations of $20 or more. Funds will be used to adopt a Japanese fishing village in Sendai through Steveston’s Sister City in Wakayama, Japan. All the funds will flow through the Steveston Buddhist Temple directly to the village once they have secured the administration of the funds.
Event website

I Heart Japan Fundraiser
When: March 20, 2011 starting at 7:00pm
Where: Sin Bin Sports Grill (295 W 2nd Ave, Vancouver)
Details: All proceeds will go to the Red Cross Canadian Match Program (Molson Coors Canada will match all donations made at the event).
Event website

Hope for Japan Bake Sale
When: March 21, 2011 starting at 11:00am
Where: Conference Center Building G at Kwantlen (12666-72 Ave, Surrey)
Details: Organized by Kwantlen students with proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross.
Event website

Comedians Stand up for Japan
When: March 22, 2011 starting at 7:30pm
Where: Anza Club (#3 W 8th Ave, Vancouver)
Details: Join co-hosts Brendan Beiser (Agent Pendrell from X Files) and Ellie Harvie (Morticia from the New Addams Family) together with Vancouver’s top comedy talent, including Roman Danylo (Comedy Inc.) with proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross.
Event website

Fundraiser for Japan
When: March 25, 2011 starting at 6:30pm
Where: Frankie G’s Boilerhouse Pub (305 Ewen Ave, New Westminster)
Details: All funds raised as well as drink proceeds from Frankie G’s will go to the Canadian Red Cross. Shuttle service will run from 22nd Ave Skytrain Station to/from Frankie G’s thanks to Phat Cat Limousine. For tickets email mmorriss[at]shaw.ca

Move, Groove, and Soul
When: March 25, 2011 starting at 9:00pm
Where: Heritage Hall (3102 Main St, Vancouver)
Details: Dance the night away to a funky 9-piece band while benefitting Japan relief efforts
Event website

Japan Love Fundraiser
When: March 28, 2011
Where: Fortune Sound Club (147 E Pender, Vancouver)
Details: DJs and performers will entertain as 100% of donations made will go to the Canadian Red Cross
Event website

The Social Media Club’s March Mixer
When: March 28, 2011 starting at 5:30pm
Where: Ceilis Irish Pub (670 Smithe St., Vancouver)
Details: A discussion about the lesser known story of the Social Media Club and facts going back two thousand years of social experiences. 100% of donations made will go to the Canadian Red Cross
Event website

Japan Relief Fundraiser
When: April 2, 2011 starting at 6:30pm
Where: Shiang Garden Restaurant (2200-4540 No. 3 Road, Richmond)
Details: Proceeds from the formal dinner will go to the Canadian Red Cross.
Event website

Walk of Hope
When: April 3, 2011 starting at 3:00pm
Where: Science World parking lot (1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver)
Details: 5.5 km walk through Vancouver. Participants are encouraged to wear red and white to show support.
Event website

Exercise for the Cause
When: April 9, 2011 starting at 4:00pm
Where: 3584 West 41st Ave (Vancouver)
Details: Proceeds raised from the Dailey Method class will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross in support of its efforts to aid Japan.

Plates for Japan
When: April 12, 2011
Where: Participating restaurants in Vancouver
Details: Restaurants across Vancouver are pledging a portion of their proceeds from their sales to the Canadian Red Cross fund for the Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami.
Event website

Pierce-a-thon at Supreme Tattoo
When: April 17, 2011 starting at 9:00am
Where: Supreme Tattoos (46257 Yale Road, Chilliwack)
Details: All proceeds from piercings will go to the Canadian Red Cross efforts in Japan. Piercing, jewelry, and supplies usually cost about $55.

Bake for the Quake
When: April 20, 2011 starting at 6:00pm
Where: Roundhouse Community Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver)
Details: A collective bake sale to raise funds for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief. The proceeds will go directly to Doctors without Borders.
Event website

Waves Coffee for Japan
When: April 23, 2011
Where: Waves Coffee Houses in BC
Details: All Waves in BC will be donating 10 percent of their sales proceeds of the day to the Japanese Relief Fund for relief efforts in Japan.

Tea for Japan
When: Present – no end date specified
Where: Online
Details: Organized by Capilano University students, 50g packs of Japanese Sencha green tea will be sold with all proceeds going directly to the Canadian Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami fund.
Event website

Please feel free to submit any additional event listings through the comments section of this post.

Henderson Jersey Homecoming Tour

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

In 1972 Paul Henderson scored three of the most famous (and important) game winning goals in hockey history during the Summit Series including the one that won it all against Russia. This wasn’t just international play – it was Canada reclaiming hockey as its game, even from behind the Iron Curtain.

Recently Mitchell Goldhar bought Paul Henderson’s famous #19 Team Canada jersey (for over $1 million) and decided to share it with the rest of the country. He’s put together a cross-Canada tour that will have stops in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and BC where Henderson will drop the puck at the Canucks game April 2nd.

“It will be a wonderful place for parents to bring the kids and educate them about something that happened 29 years ago,” Paul Henderson told me over the phone. He’ll be accompanying the tour for 20 of the jersey’s 65 stops. The Henderson Jersey trailer will park at each location where hockey fans young and old can enter and view memorabilia, take photos, and learn about the epic series.

While the tour wasn’t his idea, Paul enjoys connecting with fans and hearing their stories. He told me that a man came up to him in Winnipeg a while back and said, “My dad and I never had a good relationship, we just didn’t get along but in 1972 we watched that series together and finally found something we both really liked.” The man told Paul that the series changed his family. “You get all kinds of stories like that,” Paul added.

Paul made sure to emphasize that it’s free to visit the trailer, he’s got a free DVD that tells his life story, and he’ll gladly pose for photos.

Stops in the Lower Mainland include:
Surrey: April 1, 2011 at Surrey Sport & Leisure (Unit 110 16555 Fraser Hwy)
Vancouver: April 2, 2011 at Rogers Arena
Maple Ridge: April 3, 2011 at Planet Ice (23588 105th Ave)

You can follow the tour on Facebook or Twitter.

Vancouver Icons: Marine Building

Comments 5 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Earlier this week I began a new series called “Vancouver Icons” that will combine information about famous city landmarks with a collection of photos I find on Flickr. When I first started blogging I wanted to showcase the lesser-known aspects of Vancouver life, history, and culture – helping people explore beyond the tourist traps and cliche photo ops. However, there are so many iconic places and things around Vancouver that we pass every day and may not know much about. Today’s Vancouver Icons feature is the Marine Building.

Marine Building

Photo credit: colros on Flickr

 

The silence of the streets on Christmas Morning

Known most recently for its cameos in locally-filmed television shows and movies (eg. as the Daily Planet in Smallville) the Marine Building is one of Vancouver’s most recognizable buildings.


1931 – Looking North from Vancouver. Archives Item# CVA 371-1157. Photographer: Joseph Frederick Spalding

Construction began March 13, 1929 with a ceremony attended by Mayor W.H. Malkin who blew a golden whistle to start the excavators in motion. The building formally opened October 7, 1930 with 21 floors at a height of 321 feet – it defined Vancouver’s skyline.


Photo credit: Vancouver Archives Item# CVA 586-4384

It has ornate ocean-themed features everywhere you look on the inside and out, from carvings to clocks and elevators. A few of the features as described by the late Chuck Davis on his site, Vancouver History:

  • Great Entrance: “Seahorses and pufferfish still swim along outside the building between the second and third floors. Boats and ships move past, biplanes and a Zeppelin fly by. A train chugs past. It’s one of the great entrances in Canada. Seventy-six years ago, when it was new and the colors were brighter, it must have been a dazzler.”
  • Elevators: “The lobby, small as it is, is a masterpiece. There are five elevators, their doors of solid brass intricately and interestingly designed. There was a time when five uniformed young women stood beside them, each carefully chosen for her beauty. The elevators were the fastest in the city at 700 feet a minute, at a time when 150 feet a minute was the norm.”
  • Lobby: “On the east wall of the lobby is a clock with unusually shaped numbers. When the big hand is on the starfish and the little hand is on the crab, it’s six o’clock. The lobby floor has 12 inlaid signs of the zodiac and was once made of a material called Corkoid, imported from Inverness, Scotland. It has now been replaced with look-alike material.”
Marine Building Vancouver ></a><br>Photo credit: <a title=colros & colros on Flickr Today in Vancouver: Spring is Here? Marine Building, Vancouver
Photo credit: colros on Flickr Marine Building Vancouver Marine Building Detail: Bird "Night bell" 355


Photo credit: Mike Gabelmann on Flickr

You can spend an afternoon gazing up at the art deco details on the exterior of the building – many of which you may not notice in passing but will discover upon closer inspection. The Marine Building is located on Burrard between West Hastings and Cordova.

marine

Other Vancouver Icons posts: Christ Church Cathedral, Waterfront Station, Pacific Central Station, Randall Building Mural, East Van Cross, Robert Burns Statue in Stanley Park, Vancouver Maritime Museum, Flack Block, The Drop, Prospect Point Lighthouse, Engagement, Ovaltine Cafe, The English Bay Slide, Freezing Water #7, Cleveland Dam, Heritage Hall, School of Theology Building at UBC, Gate to the Northwest Passage, St Paul’s Hospital, Capilano Lake, Stawamus Chief, Nine O’Clock Gun, Malkin Bowl, Search, Vancouver Rowing Club, Echoes, Point Atkinson Lighthouse, English Bay Inukshuk, Hollow Tree, Hotel Europe, Lions Gate Bridge Lions, LightShed, Granville Bridge, 217.5 Arc x 13′, Canoe Bridge, Vancouver Block, Bloedel Conservatory, Centennial Rocket, Canada Place, Old Courthouse/Vancouver Art Gallery, Dominion Building, Science World, Gastown Steam Clock, SFU Burnaby, Commodore Lanes, Siwash Rock, Kitsilano Pool, White Rock Pier, Main Post Office, Planetarium Building, Lord Stanley Statue, Vancouver Library Central Branch, Victory Square, Digital Orca, The Crab Sculpture, Girl in Wetsuit, The Sun Tower, The Hotel Vancouver, The Gassy Jack Statue, The Marine Building, and The Angel of Victory. Should you have a suggestion for the Vancouver Icons series please feel free to leave a note in the comments. It should be a thing, statue, or place that is very visible and recognizable to the public.

Whitecaps MLS Home Opener, Win Tickets

Comments 92 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Vancouver Whitecaps FC will play host to Toronto FC this Saturday for their Major League Soccer home opener at Empire Field. This marks the third chapter in Vancouver soccer history.

Vancouver Soccer Logos

Starting in 1974, the Vancouver Whitecaps were a part of the North American Soccer League but the team (along with others in the league) folded in 1984. The team came back to life in 1986 as the Vancouver 86ers, playing in the Canadian Soccer League. For the next decade they would play with various leagues until becoming a part of the USL in 1997. The team changed their name back to the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2001 and in 2011, they’ll be playing in the MLS as Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Being a part of the MLS means the team has attracted even more international players and will be squaring off against the Chicago Fire, DC United, Seattle Sounders FC, Portland Timbers, and the Los Angeles Galaxy (just to name a few clubs in the West).

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Photo credit: Peyvand Padidar Photography

The Whitecaps have a very dedicated fan base that can often get more riled up (and chant more unique tunes) than you’ll see in the stands at a hockey game. If you would like to be a part of their next chapter, here’s how you can enter to win a pair of tickest to the Whitecaps’ MLS home opener on Saturday, March 19th.

  • Leave a comment on this post with the name of a Whitecaps player (1 entry)
  • Leave a comment on the Miss604 Facbook Page contest tab with the name of a Whitecaps player(1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
  • I entered to win @WhitecapsFC #MLS home opener tickets from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/4fWyh

    I will draw one winner at 9:00am this Friday, March 18th, 2011.

    Update The winner is Garret. See you at Empire to pick up your tickets!