Yesterday was the first day of summer and the season hit Vancouver with a wallop of sunshine. To celebrate the parting of the clouds and the freeing of toes from closed shoes, I searched the Vancouver Archives for some simmering summer shots from days gone by.

1895 – Vancouver Cycling Club at Prospect Point. Vancouver Archives Item# St Pk P174.

1920 – Kits Beach. Vancouver Archives Item# CVA 99-1225.

1929 – Swimming float at English Bay. Vancouver Archives Item# CVA 99-2470.

1930 – English Bay scene. Vancouver Archives Item# CVA 99-2118.

1947 – Kits Beach. Vancouver Archives Item# Be P83.

New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (“NKOTBSB“) are coming to Rogers Arena July 9th with special guest, Matthew Morrison of Glee.

Kevin Jagger has a pair of tickets and he’d like to give them away to one of my readers. You might remember Kevin from my profile last September as he is training for his Long Track Long Shot.

If you would like to win two (lower bowl) tickets to the concert next month, here’s how you can enter to win:

I will draw one winner on Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 12:00pm.

Update The winner is Julie!

The PNE returns for its 101st year this summer with an exciting summer entertainment line-up and a big announcement for families.

The Summer Nights concert series will feature the following acts and performers at the WestJet concert stage:

August 20 One More Girl
August 21 Miranda Cosgrove
August 22 Crystal Shawanda
August 23 Chris Isaak
August 24 Serena Ryder and The Beauties
August 25 En Karma & South Asian Arts
August 26 Air Supply
August 27 Kim Mitchell
August 28 Lea Salonga

August 29 Kenny Rogers
August 30 Donny Osmond
August 31 Elvis Night with Red Robinson
September 1 Cheap Trick Wilson Phillips
September 2 Daryl Hall & John Oates
September 3 Delhi 2 Dublin
September 4 Stereos
September 5 Andrew Allen & Hey Ocean!

New entertainment includes Evolution of Extreme snow-cross, TapTastic, and the Peking Acrobats. You can also enjoy classic fair attractions such as the Superdogs, 4H and pig races, Pop City (nightly fireworks), and Dal Richards with his orchestra.

Playland will be open (ride tickets purchased separately) with their new ride, the Atmosfear.

It was also announced this morning that throughout the run of the fair, August 20th until September 5th, children 12 13 and under will get in free*.

“This is British Columbia’s favourite family event, an annual tradition for generations of British Columbians and the high point of summer for our city,” says President and CEO Mike McDaniel (via Press Release I received this morning).

“Our decision to offer free admission to children 12 13 and under is the evolution of our decades-long, highly-successful School Ticket Program. We wanted visitors, particularly families to be able to visit the Fair on multiple occasions over the 17 days.”

Children’s entertainment includes Caillou, Toopy and Binoo, Max & Ruby, the Care Bears, Bobs & LoLo, Sid the Science Kid, Curious George and more.

*A maximum of 5 children will be allowed free admission for each paying adult that accompanies them on any day of the fair. With no tickets or coupons required, this is a big boost for families who want to have a day out exploring this local summertime staple.

Hockey’s most outstanding players from the 2010-2011 season will be honored and recognized at the 2011 NHL Awards Wednesday, June 22nd.

Live coverage will begin at 7:00pm Eastern / 4:00pm Pacific and I’ll be covering the awards (red carpet and all) live from the Palms in Las Vegas. Updates will be made to this post if possible throughout the evening.

Here are this year’s nominees including six of our Canucks (updated throughout the event):

James Norris Memorial Trophy
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position. (presented by Kevin Smith & Cobie Smulders)
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings* recipient
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award
The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone has been awarded since 2006-07 and is awarded “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.”
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins *recipient
Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

Art Ross Trophy
Presented to Daniel Sedin by Jay Mohr

Daniel Sedin

Frank J. Selke Trophy
The Frank J. Selke Trophy is an annual award given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the end of the regular season.
(presented by Criss Angel)
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks* recipient
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

Ryan Kesler being interviewed after winning the Selke

Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

While scrolling through my Non-Profit list on Twitter the other morning, hoping to find some “good news” stories, one organization ‘leapt off the page’. There was a tweet from Kids Up Front to the Vancouver Art Gallery, thanking them for passes. Within a few hours I contacted Kids Up Front through Twitter and ended up having a phone conversation with Executive Director, Cindy Graves.

“There are a lot of good news stories that Kids Up Front creates every day,” Graves told me. “Because every day we are sending a child on average somewhere in this city to some wonderful event or activity.”

Kids Up Front is a grassroots non-profit organization that works with over one hundred local partner agencies to give local kids (age 18 and younger) the opportunity to visit places and attend events they wouldn’t otherwise be able to experience. The process is simple. Kids Up Front donors give tickets that in turn go to child-serving not-for-profit partner agencies who determine which child will be able to use them.

The donated tickets are for a wide variety of activities, anything suitable for kids and youth. This includes arts and culture, sports and recreation, live concerts, theatre, art galleries, museums, festivals, local attractions, overnight excursions, camps, and more. Children attend with parents or other family members, guardians, mentors, social workers, therapists, or program coordinators.

“We are providing the opportunities for family bonding but we’re also providing opportunities for the staff at our partner agencies to do some good work and sometimes it breaks down barriers that might be there to get through to these kids,” Graves said.

Partner agencies range from the YWCA and Big Brothers to women’s shelters, neighbourhood houses, youth centres, and community centres.

A Thank You card from recipients.

Graves added, “The kids we are serving are the kids who wouldn’t have access to these events.” The kids could be living in poverty or part of the working poor (if they live with a parent or parents), they could be psychological, emotional, or mentally challenged, they could be victims of crime or in trouble with the law. “But they’re all kids that deserve to be nourished.”

Kids Up Front works with agencies from Squamish to the Fraser Valley, the North Shore to Richmond. You can go online to donate your tickets or offer up a monetary donation. Graves said that every dollar from generous individual and corporate donations goes to help Kids Up Front develop and deliver unique programs.

The Kids Up Front Foundation is nation-wide, with programs in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver. Follow the Kids Up Front Vancouver on Twitter and if you have any extra tickets for events that you cannot use this summer, please consider donating them so that deserving local kids can have a fun day out.