Centre of Gravity, Kelowna’s ultimate summer beach festival and concert series, returns to the shores of Lake Okanagan July 29th to July 31st.
The festival has several key components of music and sport. 150 athletes will compete in five sports: pro beach volleyball, freestyle mountain biking, FMX, wakeboarding, and basketball. As for concerts in City Park, there’s Dragonette, Sweet Thing, Dirty Radio, and many more artists with headliners Busta Rhymes, Calvin Harris, and Chromeo on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
There’s also the Dirt Zone (featuring FMX freestyle mountain bike shows), the Water Zone (with wakeboarding), Hot Sands Beach (for the beach volleyball tournaments), Hoop Zone (for 4 on 4 basketball), and the Urban Zone (for BMX, skateboarding and street DJs).
Download the Centre of Gravity mobile app to keep on top of schedules and events for each day. 3-day passes and tickets for Friday are sold out but there are still tickets available for Saturday and Sunday. I also have a VIP prize pack available to give away to one lucky reader including:
Two 3-Day VIP Premium Passes
Two backstage passes during Sweet Thing’s set (Saturday at 6:25pm)
Two tickets to the After Party at Sapphire (Saturday night)
There are two ways you can enter to win my VIP prize pack for Centre of Gravity:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I entered to win 3-day VIP passes to #CentreofGravity @COG_Kelowna from @Miss604 http://bit.ly/COG604
Since the festival is next weekend I will quickly draw a winner at 10:00am Monday, July 25, 2011. While the festival is for all-ages, you must be at least 19 years of age to enter and win this contest (for the after party). Please enjoy the festival and parties responsibly and have a great time in the Okanagan sunshine!
We are in the middle of a global crisis and the Horn of Africa region needs all the help it can get. It wasn’t struck by a tsunami and it wasn’t rocked by an earthquake but there is a massive draught of epic proportions and it has been slowly growing into the largest humanitarian disaster our generation has seen. 10 million people have been affected.
Very poor rainfall in the region (which includes Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Uganda) has led to the driest period in 60 years for some areas, leading to crop failures and deaths of livestock. High and increasing staple food prices, as well as regional conflict, are combining with the weather to worsen the food crisis.
The rate of refugees from Somalia arriving in southern Ethiopia has increased from 5,000 a month to more than 30,000 in the second week in June. Almost half the children arriving in Ethiopia from Somalia are malnourished. The Red Cross has already acted early to mitigate the impact of drought in the region, but it is now in an extreme situation and we urgently need more funds to address emergency needs.
The Red Cross is on the ground in all affected countries and is currently scaling up operations to help the most vulnerable. Red Cross officials are helping by delivering emergency supplies and clean water, as well as operating health clinics and feeding centres in Somalia. In Kenya, the Red Cross is supporting children with food assistance and water, and providing seeds and tools to farmers.
Canadians are generous people and those in Vancouver, I know, support many causes both local and global. We defend the rights of animals, host bake sales to help our neighbours, and even raise funds through social media for causes in which we truly believe. Please take the time to learn more about this issue, how it came about, and what is being done around the world.
There is no SMS (texting) code for donations for this campaign but you can read more from the Canadian Red Cross on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and make a donation online or by calling 1-800-418-1111. I’d like to thank my readers for their continued support and generous nature when it comes to promoting and getting behind causes.
Update The Red Cross has released an SMS code for donations. Text AFRICA to 3033 to donate $5. The Canadian government will match these donations as well, making your $5 turn into $10 for the cause.
On this day in history, July 21st 1954, landscaping in Queen Elizabeth Park was completed after a decade-long transformation. To mark the occasion, Vancouver Mayor Fred Hume buried a time capsule beneath ‘Centuries Rock’ which is to be opened in 2054. [source] The park was previously a large quarry, which you can still make out today by looking over its concave landscape.
Between 1908 & 1910. The Reeve and Councillors inspecting Little Mountain Quarry. Archives item# Dist P145.
Sitting on top of Little Mountain in Vancouver, the land was originally owned by Canadian Pacific Railway. The basalt quarry was closed in 1911 and its 94 acres lay vacant until it was sold off for $100,000 in 1928 to a not-yet amalgamated City of Vancouver and the Municipalities of South Vancouver and Point Grey. [source]
1938. View of Vancouver from Queen Elizabeth Park. Archives item# Van Sc P125. Photographer: Leonard Frank
The idea to transform the quarry to gardens was conceived as early as the 1930s. The park was then dedicated in 1939 when King George VI visited Vancouver. In fact it’s named after King George VI’s consort, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mum). Over the next 15 years, the Vancouver Park Board (led by William Livingstone) would slowly convert the land into lush, blossoming, sunken gardens. With landscaping finished in 1954 (and the time capsule buried) the park was fully complete by the early 1960s.
1970. The gardens. Archives item# CVA 1502-1022.
The park’s development continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s (with a financial boost from Prentice Bloedel) and even up until 2007 when the plaza renovation was completed.
2010. View of Vancouver from Queen Elizabeth Park. Photo credit: keepitsurreal on Flickr
Offering some of the most beautiful views, lush garden paths, water features, and occasionally a roaming theatrical production, the park that was once a quarry is now an urban oasis. Located just off the Canada Line (between Cambie and Main, 29th and 37th) Visit for a picnic, a peaceful walk among the flowers, or before heading to a Vancouver Canadians game down at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The Khatsahlano! Festival hits West 4th this Saturday between Burrard and MacDonald streets. The street-wide festival will have concert performances from Yukon Blonde, The Evaporators, Aidan Knight and many more on five stages (two big ones at Vine and Cypress and three smaller stages at Maple, Arbutus and Yew).
Grant McDonagh of Zulu Records spoke with The Vancouver Sun about the event. “McDonagh said the idea of making the music component an integral part of Khatsahlano! came about following the demise of Hippie Days in 2009, when Zulu hosted small performances in a tent in front of its shop.”
All festivities and activities are free of charge and suitable for the whole family. Stop by the Khatsahlano! Festival between 11:00am and 6:00pm Saturday, July 23, 2011. Find out more on the Facebook Event page or on the “Everything you need to know about Khatsahlano!” post by Kitsilano.ca.
Throughout the Summer, Vancouver International Airport (“YVR”) will again be hosting Take Off Fridays, which began last summer to engage travelers and locals alike. This free event takes place every Friday from July 9th until August 27th between 8:00am- 4:00pm and features giveaways, food specials, face painting, music and more.
Having enjoyed this event a few times with the kids last year, we decided to hop on the Canada Line and check it out again over at the domestic terminal. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that due to its popularity, Take Off Friday events and activities have expanded into the international terminal as well.
We were greeted by music from a live DJ and some lovely young people passing out ice cold cans mini-cans of Sprite. Before we knew it the boys were getting their faces painted along with lots of other kids and adults.
This year, when you spend $10 or more at YVR you can be entered for a chance at 15 seconds in the YVR Money Machine, located in the international terminal. I was given the chance to try it out and it was a lot of fun — but harder than it looks! You can win “YVR Bucks” that can then be spent within the airport.
For those lucky enough to be actually catching a flight somewhere you will be treated to more delights after security, including free Tai Chi lessons which is something not offered by any other airport in the world.
We are fortunate here in BC to be home to one of the world’s best airports. It’s worth taking a few hours to go explore, shop, dine or just hang out and enjoy the observation deck, whether you are flying away or staying home this summer.
