Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vancouver Canucks fans have gathered in living rooms, pubs, restaurants, and public spaces to view the action on the ice. While there was a bit of a push for City of Vancouver to open up Rogers Arena during away games (tickets for that will be available this week), I really like some of the outdoor options.
According to the Canadian Press, “The city has approved two open-air game-viewing locations, including a huge screen mounted on the back of a truck parked on Granville Street between Georgia and Robson streetsUpdate the new site will be on Georgia at Homer to accomodate crowds, in the downtown core. As well, a second large screen will be added in the 700 block of Hamilton Street, where thousands of fans gathered under the giant screen mounted on the side of the CBC broadcast centre to watch Vancouver defeat San Jose to advance to the final.”
Canada Place will be showing all of the final games on their big screen just outside the sails, facing the plaza and street, and SFU will have all of the games as well.
Crowds gathering outside to collectively experience the Stanley Cup Finals against Boston will definitely bring back some of the excitement from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games.
Out in Surrey you can watch the final games at Central City Plaza (family-friendly) and Abbotsford’s arena will broadcast games once Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion moves out.
Update There will be a street closures and transit re-routes in particular for the big screen and and viewing areas downtown. The Buzzer, Translink’s blog, has more information about the routes that will be effected. “All buses will be detoured off of the Granville Mall on Canucks game-days from 2pm until end of service. During the Granville Mall closures, the buses will use their regular detour routes (Northbound on Seymour and Southbound on Howe).”
Update For game 7, road closures will begin at 12:00pm and liquor stores downtown (all of them, not just BC Liquor stores) will shut their doors at 4:00pm. Most traffic closures are spanning major arteries (Georgia, Robson) from Homer to Thurlow. Check in with @VancouverPD on Twitter for updates on crowds and closures. For aerial shots of the crowd, follow @CTVbc on Twitter as their Chopper 9 will be up above downtown snapping photos.
Organized by Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) at Simon Fraser University, the Dream Auction supports Canuck Place Children’s Hospice by way of an entertaining and charitable evening, which has been coinciding with the playoffs since 1997.
This year guests can bid on signed Canucks merchandise such as a limited edition hockey stick autographed by the entire 2010-2011 Vancouver Canucks team. Other auction items include marine safaris, gift certificates for local restaurants, hotels, services, and more. Along with a three-course meal, guest can enjoy entertainment from two-time Georgia Straight Best of Vancouver comedian, David C. Jones.
The Dream Auction will be held at Law Courts Inn, Friday June 24, 2011 from 5:00pm until 11:30pm.
Tickets are $65 each or $55 when you book a table of eight. If you have any items you would like to donate to the auction, contact information is available online.
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides specialized pediatric palliative care for children living with a life-threatening illness and support for their families throughout British Columbia. Each year they support children from hundreds of families.
This weekend I posted a photo on Twitter of a lake in Surrey (Green Timbers) and after several people asked me where it was located, I decided it was time to highlight some of Metro Vancouver’s lakes in a post.
These urban watering holes provide recreation options for the whole family. There aren’t many suited for swimming but the natural settings and marshland are great for bird-watching, fishing, biking, hiking or an afternoon stroll.
North Vancouver
10. Rice Lake Trails, hiking. No swimming.
I omitted a few lakes (like Coquitlam Lake watershed) as they are not open to the public. In case I missed any though, please feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to experience some amazing adventures and stunts, like rappelling down a 20-storey building or ziplining) and now I can now add “vertical wind tunnel skydiving simulator” to the list.
Last Friday I grabbed John Biehler and we headed out to the Flyzone Bodyflight in Delta, along the Fraser River. We were invited to the facility which offers a lounge, TV screens, and viewing area. I can see that they’ve laid it out for groups, team-building, birthdays, or just an exhilarating afternoon with the guys or gals.
Before you can “fly”, everyone goes through a safety training class to make sure you know the correct positioning and hand signals that the staff will use. Everyone can then get suited up in the appropriate gear (they have everything from goggles and helmets to ear plugs) you can head outside to begin your flight.
Biehler, who is no stranger to thrilling adventures himself, brought along his GoPro camera and was able to capture some great video.
We went in twice for about 2 minutes at a time, which is the equivalent of about two skydive free-falls. The scariest thing for me was when the wind cranked up and I had to position my head in order to breathe better. I had a brief moment of panic but soon enough the giggles set in and I enjoyed the weightless ride.
Me, mid-flight. Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr
After “landing” I felt as though I had just rode a really long roller coaster at the amusement park, the adrenaline was definitely rushing.
John Biehler takes a turn
At all times I felt very safe and Flyzone staff were around to hold onto me in the tunnel and make sure my body was in the proper position.
Staff showing off their skills
The Metro Vancouver paper called it “skydiving minus the sheer terror” which is pretty accurate. Adults start at $62.50, children (5 and up) $52.50 and groups (in packages of 10 to 60 minutes) start at $225. It’s not the cheapest experience but if you’d like to see what skydiving would feel like, and enjoy a genuine thrill, it’s something you should try at least once.
One event at the CFCC is the Aboriginal Potlatch Supper taking place June 13th at Vancouver Community College that will showcase indigenous BC Products, cooked with traditional and modern methods.
The menu, complete with two BC wine pairing options for each dish, has already taken shape, thanks to Chef JC Felicella and Chef Ben Genaille from the Aboriginal Culinary Class at Vancouver Community College.
The menu will be served at food and beverage pairing stations so you can make your way around to sample all and any of these offerings – and visit the R and R Brewing beer station. Tickets are available online for $100.
Thanks to Cassandra from The Good Life Vancouver, I have a pair to give away. If you would like to attend this unique culinary event, here’s how you can enter to win your way in:
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I entered to win tickets to the #ccfcc2011 Aboriginal Potlatch Supper from @GoodLifeVan & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/565b3
I will draw one winner at 10:00am June 9th. Must be 19 years or older to enter and win. Please enjoy responsibly.
