The Vancouver Art Gallery is hosting several special exhibits and events throughout the next few months in honor of Vancouver’s 125th birthday (which is tomorrow, April 6th).

Source: Vancouver Art Gallery

Exhibits
Until May 2011: WE: Vancouver 12 Manifestos for the City
This exhibition examines Vancouver through the extraordinary range of practices, actions and ideas that shape and activate it.

Until September 2011: Ken Lum
The most extensive survey of Ken Lum’s work to date, the exhibition features a number of works not previously exhibited in North America.

Until September 2011: from the collection UNREAL
From examinations of human vulnerability to the mining of the unconscious as a source of inspiration, to a conscious turn towards the strange and fantastic as a deliberate strategy to counter the cool rationality of conceptual art, this exhibition considers the diversity and innovation with which artists explore the many edges of reality.

East Van Cross by Ken Lum. Photo credit: rob.masefield on Flickr

Specials
To also celebrate VanCity Saving’s Credit Union’s 65th anniversary members are invited to the Vancouver Art Gallery April 12, 2011 to experience the WE: Vancouver 12 Manifestos for the City exhibit. Credit Union members will have free admission to the gallery from 10:00am until 9:00pm. Any members that cannot make it out on the 12th are invited to visit any Tuesday during the exhibit’s run for $6.50 off the price of their admission. Simply show your member card to redeem either of these offers.

Contest
I have the opportunity to give away two pairs of tickets to the Vancouver Art Gallery in honor of these milestones. Here’s how you can enter to win:

I will draw two winners at random April 8th, 2011 at 11:00am who will each receive a pass for themselves and a guest (to be used by May 27, 2011).

Update The winners are Laura Ellis (Facebook entry) and Jeff.

April is Daffodil Month for the Canadian Cancer Society that will be hosting events and a fundraising campaign in support of cancer research in BC.

Photo credit: antaean on Flickr

Every three minutes another Canadian is faced with fighting cancer. This April, as part of our annual Daffodil Month, the Canadian Cancer Society is asking you to join the fight against cancer by giving generously when you see one of our volunteers in your community selling daffodils or canvassing at your door. Donations collected in April will be used to support people living with cancer, fund research to outsmart cancer and prevent cancer before it starts.

Aside from donating online you can also pick up a daffodil pin at a location near you that can be found on this map. Volunteers are also needed to man these posts.

Social Media
Connect with the Canadian Cancer Society on Twitter or Facebook. You can also add a daffodil Twibbon to your Twitter or Facebook avatar.

Daffodil Day
April 27th is Daffodil Day and the Canadian Cancer Society is encouraging Vancouverites to wear a daffodil pin during the month of April, and in particular on Daffodil Day, to show people affected by cancer they are not alone. There will be an event from 11:30am until 1:30pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery with photobooths, music, and special guests.

Following my speaking engagement this past weekend in Toronto I had some spare time before my flight back to Vancouver. It was warm and sunny, showing signs that winter was a thing of the city’s past, so I decided that a photowalk was in order. The best (and most friendly) photographer I could think of in Toronto is Rannie Turingan, whom I first met in 2008 when we were on CBC’s Test the Nation. A few Twitter direct message exchanges later and we were on our way to brunch in the Distillery District.

Transformed brick warehouses and industrial buildings are now home to studios, brew pubs, and artisan shops. We meandered along an aging brick pedestrian mall, surrounded by shiny new condos, and ducked into SOMA for some chocolate. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

BC Arts and Culture Week is taking place April 10th to 16th, 2011 presented by ArtStarts and the Assembly of BC Arts Councils. Having recently spent a few days in Toronto for the Canadian Arts Summit I’m even more determined to promote and highlight community arts events for all.

Now in its 12th year, this event turns the spotlight on the vital contribution that Arts and Culture make in learning and in life. Music, film, media arts, dance, books, theatre and visual art are a part of daily life. They inspire us, challenge us, broaden our horizons and help us to become informed, aware and contributing members of society.

Events will take place across the province and are listed online by region: Vancouver Island/Coast (includes Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast), Lower Mainland (includes Sea to Sky corridor, the Whistler area and the Fraser Valley), Kootenays, Interior (includes the Thompson Okanagan, Cariboo and Bella Coola), and North (includes the Queen Charlottes, Prince Rupert to Smithers, and the Peace-Liard).

Some of these events are public and others are listed to provide examples of how schools are participating within their own walls through exhibits and performances.

Locally, public events include the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth (April 9-15, 2011) at the Vancity Theatre, a production of “Into the Woods” (April 14-16, 2011) at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, and the North Shore Art Crawl (April 16-17, 2011) in West Vancouver. There will also be the A&C Mashup consisting of 13 short presentations (Pecha Kucha style) on April 13th at the ArtStarts Gallery on Richards and Robson.

If your community organization or school is hosting an event that suits the BC Arts and Culture Week profile, you can submit it for listing online.

Live at Squamish is returning August 20th and 21st, 2011 presenting world-class performers in one of the most beautiful festival locations you can imagine.

Last year John and I covered both days of the festival through artist interviews, food profiles, and spending a little time in the beer garden and photo-pit. We’re looking forward to covering the festival once again and I can’t wait to post more details. I have a quick video teaser below with one artist announcement you’ll only hear here first.

If you’re following @LiveatSquamish on Twitter you’ll know that Weezer was also announced as a headliner this morning.

Artist Line-Up
Weezer, Metric, John Butler Trio, Girl Talk, Major Lazer, Doc Martin, Kyprios, Dutribe Sound System, The Zolas, Bend Sinister, and more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Links

More Festival Info
Date: Saturday August 20th & Sunday August 21st, 2011
Venue: Hendrickson Fields & Logger Sports Ground, Squamish, B.C.
Accommodations: Limited on-site camping available, first come, first served, numerous hotels & campsites nearby

Tickets
Tickets will be available April 8, 2011. Single day early bird tickets start at only $79, with weekend passes starting at $119 (plus service charges, while supplies last).

Pre-Sale Code
Available today at 3:00pm. The link will be posted here for full weekend passes.

Code: rockout
Link: http://ow.ly/4sYeW
Use this April 5 at 10:00am until April 7, 2011

Miss604.com is proud to be a Media Partner of Live at Squamish. Festival previews, artist information, and more will be available here over the next few months.

Get the full schedule here.