The third Timeraiser Vancouver will be taking place toward the end of this month as people from around the city will get together to pledge their time to support local causes. To promote this event, presenting sponsor WestJet has offered up 2 tickets to anywhere they fly (valued at over $4,000) and these are being handed out exclusively by Miss604.com.
Timeraiser is like a volunteer career fair mixed with a silent art auction; here’s how it works:
1. Purchase a ticket for your local Timeraiser event.
2. Arrive at your local Timeraiser event and determine which non-profit organizations you are interested in connecting with. You can visit the tables of organizations you are familiar with or find one based on their cause (environment, sports and recreation, development & housing, arts & culture, education etc.)
3. Once you have made your way around the room and have had the chance to chat, you can fill out your pledge card listing the organizations that you would like to work with.
4. You are then able to bid volunteer hours (in 5-hour increments) on local artwork. Bid the amount of time you can donate within the next 12 months.
5. If you win the bid on the artwork, you get to bring that home as a reminder of your volunteer pledge. You may bid on more than one piece but you’ll only receive one winning piece (and have one winning volunteer pledge).
The goal is to raise 5,000 community hours at the next event with a suggested pledge of 20 hours a person. Timeraiser also takes place in Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto, with WestJet as a national sponsor of the event.
To help promote the upcoming event in Vancouver on Thursday September 23rd, Timeraiser and WestJet have exclusively partnered with me for an amazing giveaway.
The Prize: WestJet is providing 2 roundtrip tickets to anywhere they fly (valid for use by September 2011).
Valid for any WestJet destination in Canada to any WestJet destination in Canada, US or International destinations on regularly scheduled WestJet service. The approximate retail value of the Prize $4,604, depending on destination chosen and time of booking from originating city.
How to Enter:
Leave a comment on this post about something that inspires you. This can include your favourite non-profit organization, your best volunteer experience, what it means to be involved in the community, why giving your time is important etc.
Rules and Regulations:
All entries for the contest must be received through the the comments on this post. On September 22nd, I will assist the Timeraiser crew in selecting ten favourite entries from which a winner will be randomly drawn.
The winner will be announced here, on Twitter, on the Timeraiser Facebook and Twitter accounts, and at the Timeraiser Vancouver event. You can view full contest rules and regulations here.
This is the only place where you can enter the contest for Vancouver and I’m very excited about this partnership. Not only do organizations get promotion and volunteers, Timeraiser provides a fun, easy-going environment for participants who have probably wanted to help for years but just haven’t made the right connections.
Good luck everyone and I’m looking forward to reading your entries.
Update After narrowing down the entries (with the help of Timeraiser) then doing a random draw from semi-finalists our winner was selected. It was a very tough choice as there were so many inspiring entries but it was determined that the trip for two is going to Erin Graham! Congratulations!
Please be aware that Timeraiser is ALSO giving away a trip for two at the event tonight. Get your ticket and enter on-site for your chance to win.
This weekend John and I were guests of the inn at Howe Sound Brewing. It’s one of BC’s most awarded and decorated microbreweries and is tucked away at the end of Cleveland Street in Squamish.
Upon arrival we settled into our room, which is one of 20 at the inn, and went downstairs to meet up with Leslie Fenn, Co-Owner of Howe Sound Brewing. She walked us around the building, through the brew house, and told the history of the brewing company, established in 1996.
Brewmaster Franco Corno took us up to the loft where they store and grind the barley for their beers. Franco is the second brewmaster at Howe Sound, the first being John Mitchell who is solely responsible for lobbying (successfully) in the 80s to update BC law, allowing brewpubs to exist in the province. Mitchell went on to open up Spinnakers in Victoria (another one of our favourite brewpubs).
As we wound our way up and down the spiral staircase in the brewhouse we learned about Howe Sound’s brewing process, their local ingredients, and their sustainability. Not only do they make about 20 varieties of tasty beer but they use the spent grain from the process in other products. Spent grain goes into everything from soaps, made locally by Paradise Valley Bath & Body, to flatbread and crispy toppings for desserts.
After the tour we sat down for a round of samples. Little did we know, 8 different beers carefully crafted by Franco and the Howe Sound team would be placed before us. From light to dark we had the Garibali Honey Pale Ale, Hangdog Hefeweizen, Whitecap Wheat Ale, Three Beavers Imperial Red Ale, Rail Ale Nut Brown, and a chocolate porter. Howe Sound beers are unpasteurized, fresh, and the imperial-style brews pack a punch at 7%+ alcohol content.
We stayed for dinner and were treated to dessert which was four types of beer ice cream. The chocolate porter, the wheat ale, the hefeweizen (with a hint of banana in the brew), and an orange sorbet — whose beer equivalent I cannot recall but paired with the chocolate porter ice cream it was to die for.
Our stay overnight at the inn was pleasant. There was no noise from the pub downstairs (which was down the hall and one floor below us) and the room had free WIFI. In fact WIFI is available throughout the entire brewery. In the morning we ate in the restaurant (seperate from the brewpub) and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Stawamus Chief as the sun poured through the dining room’s windows.
Squamish is only about 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver and as Canada’s “outdoor recreation capital” there is plenty to do. A day-trip to the town’s outlying areas (such as Shannon Falls, hiking the Chief or the spit for windsurfing) can be complimented with a little unwinding at the brewery.
You can also make the brewery your destination, signing up for a tour, samples, and staying the night at the inn (rooms are around $109 a night). If you have a designated driver, it’s also a great pit-stop half way to or from Whistler. Off-sales are available for most of their beer as well and a selection of their 1 liter bottles are just $7.
If you would like to try the beer before making the pilgrimage to Squamish, there are a few locations around Vancouver where you can pick up a bottle of Howe Sound Beer including Government Liquor Stores, Liberty Wine Merchants, Steamworks, and various other beer & wine stores.
For more information, news, and updates on the release of seasonal brews (such as the Pumkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale) follow @HoweSoundBeer on Twitter.
Hanson will be playing the Commodore September 25th, bringing their mature and intimate rock sound back to Vancouver for the first time in two years.
I had the chance to interview Zac, Taylor, and Isaac two years ago at the Commodore along with Keira. At the time they were promoting their album “The Walk” by doing a pre-show walk around the block in bare feet in support of TOMS Shoes. They were really friendly, humble, passionate, and any doubts the audience ever had about them being able to play their own instruments were instantly squashed when they took the stage.
Tickets are currently available through Live Nation for their show this month.
I have a unique prize pack to offer one lucky reader and a guest that includes a meet and greet with the band and two tickets to their show.
To enter to win, please leave a comment on this post stating why you would like to win this prize — I’d really like to make sure a Hanson fan gets the meet and greet opportunity. Perhaps you’re Hanson’s biggest fan, you love their latest tunes, or you’ve always wanted to meet the men that you first saw as boys singing “MMMBop” on MuchMusic. Let me know in the comments and you’ll be entered to win.
I will draw one winner from the comment entries on September 16th at 9:00am.
Marc’s not a self-proclaimed social media “guru” or “expert” but he is a small business owner who has grown his audience, reach, and customer base by using social media tools. Unlike other seminars that spew buzz words without talking of actual results, Marc will be using real-world examples and providing information (about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) that has helped him and his business.
I have worked with Marc on several occasions including Twestival Vancouver and with his help, it was our most successful Twestival fundraiser to date.
There are two seminar times to choose from on Tuesday September 14th: a breakfast session at 7:30am and a lunch session at 12:30pm. You can sign up for the one that suits your schedule and admission is just $20.
Both sessions will have WIFI available as well as complimentary coffee. They will also be hands-on, so bring your laptops so you can take notes, click links provided, and see how things work for yourself.
The Lotus Awards are an advertising awards show celebrating creative marketing in British Columbia. Award categories include broadcast, interactive, design, ‘other’, out-of-home, and print. They’ll be coming up in November however there is a preview event coming up where you can meet those who will be judging the Lotus Awards.
Judges include Michael Borosky from Eleven, Tyson Damman from Big Spaceship, Christian DaBica from Jager Di Paola Kemp and couple of guys that gave us the legendary and unforgettable social media campaign; Old Spice’s The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. From the agency Wieden + Kennedy, Craig Allen and Eric Kallman will bring a fresh scent to the Meet the Judges Mingler.
The event with the judges takes place this Thursday, September 9th at Opus Bar at the Opus Hotel (350 Davie St). Tickets are $40 for the mingler and things will kick off at 6:00pm. This is an amped-up networking opportunity and preview for the Lotus Awards. I’ll be there on Thursday liveblogging and tweeting updates as attendees mingle with these advertising masterminds.
The Lotus Awards ceremony will take place November 10th 2010. Follow them on Twitter @LotusAwards
