As a part of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s ‘Places that Matter‘ committee, I get my fix of local history at every meeting. I was recently looking through some of the sites already nominated for designation and found the Angel of Victory.
Installed in 1921, it is one of the city’s most prominent statues, located along Cordova St, right in front of Waterfront Station [Google Map]. The bronze depiction is of an angel carrying a World War I soldier up to heaven.
According to the City, this is one of three identical statues (the others in Montreal and Winnipeg) commissioned by the CPR to honour their workers who made the ultimate sacrifice by going to war. The angel originally held a full wreath in her upraised hand and after WW II, the dates of that war were also added to the plaque.
The Angel of Victory has inspired me to start a new series called Vancouver Icons. I will be featuring classic Vancouver locations and monuments, offering a bit of history, and sharing a collection of photos that I find on Flickr. The series will be updated at least once every week.
Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, an amazing sporting event that was a very sweet ending to largest global event in our city’s history.
It all started out with a bang at the opening ceremony. I remember how lively it was – bright colours, talented dancers, paralympians, and one giant party under the marshmallow dome of BC Place. It was the perfect way to usher in a tremendous showing for Canadian athletes at the Paralympics who would come away with 18 medals, 5 of which were gold won by 2011 BC Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Lauren Woolstencroft.
To celebrate the 2010 Paralympics, there will be an event at Jack Poole Plaza tomorrow, March 12, 2011 from 10:00am – 11:30am. Para-alpine skiers Lauren Woolstencroft, Josh Dueck, Karolina Wisniewska, Lindsay Debou (guide) and wheelchair curlers Darryl Neighbour, Ina Forrest, Jim Armstrong and Sonja Gaudet will be in attendance.
The Province of BC is also designating days in honor of paralympians who won medals. Josh Dueck and Lindsay Debou Day (March 13), Lauren Woolstencroft and Karolina Wisniewska Day (March 15), Ina Forrest, Jim Armstrong, Sonja Gaudet and Darryl Neighbour Day (March 20), and an Olympic and Paralympic Blue Jacket Volunteers Day (March 21).
The Canadian Paralympic Committee is currently preparing for the London 2012 Games. “I think London will bring a different perspective,†said Assistant Chef de Mission Elisabeth Walker-Young when I spoke with her a few months ago. “The one thing that’s really unique to the London Games is that’s where the Paralympic games all began, and I think they’ll use that as a catalyst.â€
The devastation is still sinking in following aftershocks, fires, and scrambles to connect with loved ones. This was the 7th largest earthquake in recorded history.
With the wave now making its way across the Pacific Ocean, many coastal nations have been issued either a tsunami warning or being designated as a ‘tsunami watch’ zone. Some communities in BC have also been told to evacuate.Â
Preparedness in BC
Just this past January, the Great BC ShakeOut for raising awareness about our risk of earthquakes in BC. Free workshops were also held to inform the public on how to be prepared. Japan is a very earthquake-ready country and this disaster has been overwhelming to many communities and major cities. This is also following destructive earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. Please take some time to review the following resources: City of Vancouver Earthquake Tips and BC’s Provincial Emergency Program.
Vancouver will celebrate its 125th anniversary April 6th, 2011 with “Birthday Live” at Jack Poole Plaza downtown. From 2:00pm until 9:30pm the Olympic cauldron will be lit, birthday cake will be sliced, and acts will perform free concerts for the public.
Guests include First Nations representatives, City officials, the Vancouver Bach Choir, singer Leela Gilday, Japanese drumming group Uzume Taiko, indie band Bend Sinister and dance ensemble mmHoP. Local legends 54-40 will close out the night.
Follow @Vancouver125 on Twitter for all official “Vancouver 125” city events happening throughout the year.
Update Here is the schedule for Vancouver’s Birthday celebration April 6, 2011 per the City of Vancouver:
Street Hockey 2:00pm – 5:00pm
Adult Teams Drop-In until 3:30pm
Join Five Hole For Food for street hockey benefiting the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Bring your gear and food bank donations.
Youth Exhibition Games will take place 3:30pm to 5:15 p.m. Youth groups (ages 9-12) from the Thunderbird, Sunset, West End, Britannia, Riley Park and Killarney communities will face off.
Official ceremonies 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Official ceremonies to mark Vancouver’s 125th anniversary will include: Coast Salish Witness Ceremony by the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations; speeches by Mayor Gregor Robertson and other dignitaries; and Olympic Cauldron Lighting and Birthday Cake.
Main stage performances 4:00pm – 10:00pm
The Birthday Live event will include free performances by: 54-40, Leela Gilday, Bend Sinister, Uzume Taiko, Vancouver Bach Choir and mmHop Dancers with MCs Jacob Cino and Ndidi Cascade.
‘Time Drifts’ video & light art installation 8:20pm
Time Drifts by Berlin-based multi-media artist Phillipp Geist will flood Jack Poole Plaza and the surrounding buildings with stunning visual imagery. Geist works internationally using video, performance, photography and painting.
Update April 5, 2011: Ariane went to Vancouver Community College this morning for a sneak-peek at the birthday cake that will be presented tomorrow at Jack Poole Plaza:
Yesterday I was along for the ride as Trevor Linden ran around Vancouver unloading $7,000 in 7 hours for the THRiVEtastic campaign. He was selected by ING Direct to compete against Henry Burris (Calgary), Amber Mac (Toronto), and Tammy Verge (Montreal), by spending money using their new Thrive ‘fee free’ chequing account. Each participant received $15,000 for the charity of their choice upfront (Linden supporting the Trevor Linden Foundation), and if they clocked the best time, they would get an additional $15,000.
Stop 2: Covering admission for 3 bus-loads of young students at the Space Centre.
Stop 3: Heading to Vancity Sports to purchase jerseys and t-shirts.
Stop 4: Buying bundles of rain coats at MEC for donation that afternoon.
Stop 5: Visiting Templeton Secondary School in East Vancouver. We met in their Sacred Room for a presentation, talk, and viewing of one of the student’s own music videos (below). It was so powerful and so well-done. The student wrote the song and made this video himself, inspired by his own struggles and his mother’s story.
The following video contains some mature language
After the private meeting, Trevor bought over $600 worth of pizzas for students to devour in the cafeteria. He presented two students with signed jerseys and donated a signed jersey to the school for future fundraising purposes.
Stop 6: Donating the rain coats to a shelter on the Downtown East Side as well as making a cash donation. For privacy purposes I won’t say which but, the t-shirts were also handed out to passers-by and Trevor was signing them on the spot.
Stop 7: Visiting the ING Cafe on Pender and Hornby where Trevor met with Meena Sandhu and paid bills for several people who stopped by. He also made a donation to KidSport BC.
Stop 8: Picking up some treats at the Candy Aisle on Robson.
Stop 9: Making a donation at the Vancouver Public Library, then handing out the candy along the plaza.
Henry Burris ending up being the winner yesterday however the Trevor Linden Foundation still received a nice boost, as did the rest of the causes we visited.
