The Granville Pedestrian Mall will be back this summer with the street closing to cars and buses on weekends from June 25, 2011 until Labour Day. After the Summer Spaces trial in 2009, Rediscover Granville in 2010, Olympic and anniversary celebrations, this city is ready to once again enjoy this car-free corridor.
The City of Vancouver along with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association has put the call out to community organizations and businesses to submit proposals for activations along Granville during this time. The criteria for activations (displays, exhibits, activities etc.) for the Open Streets initiative include the following:
Activations should be highly creative and engaging.
Priority consideration will be given to activations that demonstrate opportunities for one or more of the following:
Community building
Direct participation by pedestrians
Physical activity
Artistic or cultural experience/learning
Showcasing Vancouver
A ‘green’ message
Priority consideration will be given to activations that take place on a recurring basis.
There will be a limited number of opportunities for one-time large scale activations.
Application information can be found online and the deadline is May 6, 2011.
Easter is coming up this weekend and whether you celebrate its religious meaning or simply enjoy those irresistible Mini-Eggs, it’s a great time to get together with family and (hopefully) enjoy some sunshine. There are a few events scheduled around Metro Vancouver to help get in the springtime spirit.
Surrey
What: Eco Easter Egg Hunt
When: Saturday, April 23 from 10:00am to 2:00pm
Where: Surrey Nature Centre (14255 96 Ave)
Admission: $5 per child Event website
Burnaby
What: Easter Eggstravaganza
When: Saturday, April 23 from 10:30am to 12:00pm
Where: Willingdon Centre (1491 Carleton Ave)
Admission: All ages, $8.40 per person (registration required) Event website
Vancouver
What: Easter Egg Hunt
When: Saturday, April 23 from 9:30am to 10:45am (1-3yrs), 11:15am to 12:30pm (4-6yrs), 1:00pm to 2:15pm (7-9yrs)
Where: Roundhouse Community Centre Exhibition Hall (181 Roundhouse Mews, Yaletown)
Admission: $4 per child Event website or call (604) 713-1800.
What: Easter EGGstravaganza
When: Thursday, April 21, 2011 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Where: West End Community Centre (870 Denman St)
Admission: $5-$6, for kids ages 2-6 Event website
What: Easter EGGstravaganza
When: Saturday, April 23 from 12:30pm to 3:00pm
Where: Renfrew Park Community Centre (2929 East 22nd Ave)
Admission: $5, for kids ages 2-10 Event website
What: Easter EGGstravaganza
When: Saturday, April 23 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Where: Kerrisdale Community Centre (5851 West Boulevard)
Admission: $5, for kids ages 2-10 Event website
What: The Great A-Mazing Egg Hunt
When: Saturday, April 23 from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden (5251 Oak St)
Admission: All ages, $6 for kids ages 2-10, $10.25 adults Event website
What: Easter in the Park (Train Rides & Egg Hunts)
When: Friday, April 22 until Monday, April 25 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: Stanley Park Miniature Railway
Admission: All ages, $6.50 for kids 2-12 Event website
What: Toni & Guy Crazy Hair Egg Hunt
When: Saturday, April 23 times TBD
Where: Around Vancouver Event website
Tri-Cities
Events at Place Maillardville, Leigh Square Community Arts Village, Mackin House Museum, and Port Moody Station Museum can be found listed on The V3H.
Some of these events do require RSVP, registration, or a ticket so please check out the event websites listed for additional details.
Trying to remember what you were supposed to get at the grocery store? Waiting for a friend at a restaurant? Having a good laugh in situations when your parents text or when auto-correct goes terribly wrong?
On April 22nd, the new Canadian film, Textuality – starting Jason Lewis, Vancouver’s Carly Pope, and Arts Club alumnus Eric McCormack – will open in theatres. The film explores the new landscape of dating in the mobile age.
To promote the film, I have a themed prize pack to give away that includes:
A BlackBerry Bold 9780 set with 2 months of service from WIND Mobile featuring a 5mp camera, 2gb media card, 512mb of onboard media, BackBerry 6 OS, and more.
Tickets for the winner plus a guest to see the movie on opening weekend at Empire Theatres on Granville this Friday, April 22nd.
If you would like to win this Textuality prize pack leave comment on this post listing a “Do” or “Don’t” of texting etiquette (especially when it comes to relationships).
You can also enter to win by posting the following on Twitter:
I entered to win a #Textuality prize pack including a BlackBerry Bold from @windmobile & @miss604 http://ow.ly/4CPNC
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00am Thursday, April 21, 2011.
Update The winner is Joshua Langston!
Fine print: The winner will be notified and will need to confirm attendance by 5:00pm that day in order to qualify. If the winner cannot confirm, another will be drawn, due to the tight time frame for the film screening.
Tourism Vancouver has been commissioning some very cool projects lately like Kris Krug’s photo essays (capturing Chinatown and Downtown neighbourhoods).
Their latest series is with Sean Horlor (Columnist, Producer, star of Don’t Quit Your Gay Job) creating an online video campaign called “Vancouver in a Day” where, over the next six month, Sean and his partner Steve Adams (Director/Director of Photography) will feature what visitors and locals alike can do around town, in one day.
Since I’m often asked, “What should I do when I’m in Vancouver?” I thought it would be worth finding out how Sean and Steve are selecting their subject matter: “When we’re planning each video, we take into consideration the time of year and build a list of Vancouver spots and activities that we would like to try and that we would like to show to locals and visitors,” said Steve.
“Even after we’ve both lived here for so long, there are a ton of typically Vancouver things that neither of us have tried,” added Sean. “That was my first time on Grouse in the five year’s I’ve been in Vancouver.” The touristy places sometimes aren’t top of mind for locals however they’re popular for a reason. Places like the Vancouver Lookout and even Grouse, as Sean mentioned, are definitely worth exploring while being a ‘tourist in your hometown’.
If Sean and Steve, aside from this project, had a single day to enjoy Vancouver, Steve says he would do a day hike to the Lions for a scenic and intense look at the city and then have dinner with friends at one of the many great restaurants in Gastown. Sean said it would have to be summer and he’d enjoy morning pitch and putt in West Vancouver, then grab some fresh produce, bike to Third Beach and have an afternoon beach BBQ. That would be pretty perfect.
Follow the video series on Tourism Vancouver’s Inside Vancouver blog for the next few months and take note of some great ways to enjoy our city.
It’s been 15 years since News1130 hit the airways in Vancouver offering up all-news, all the time (with traffic and weather on the 1’s). They’ve survived some tumultuous times in the local radio economy and have branched out to social media – even hosting their first Tweetup a few months ago that welcomed about a hundred listeners.
While the current news format has been around since my high school days in 1996, the CKWX call sign has been a part of the Vancouver media landscape for the better part of the last century. CKWX powered up with 10 watts in 1923 and by 1928 they were broadcasting at 100 watts from the top of the Hotel Georgia.
1940s – Group broadcast on CKWX. Archives Item# CVA 1184-2378. Photographer: Jack Lindsay
It’s a little tough to keep track of all the frequencies and call signs but of note in 1941, CKWX 950 moved to AM 980 (which is now CKNW radio) and in 1951 CKWX moved to AM 1130 where it lives today. They were the first Vancouver radio station to broadcast at 50,000 watts, back in 1957. CKWX had adult contemporary programming in the 1970s and were then spinning country through the 1980s and 1990s before becoming a news station in 1996 with headlines cycling through every 30 minutes.
1940s – Group broadcasting on CKWX. Archives Item# CVA 1184-2382. Photographer: Jack Lindsay
Tonight there is a celebration for News1130’s 15th year and you can follow along online by searching the tag newx1130xv on Twitter.
My source for the preceding information is the Vancouver Radio Museum which has an amazing archive of information and photos. You can also read Broadcasting History to find talent including News 1130’s Andy Walsh, Canada’s longest serving on-air personality, and a very young Red Robinson who worked at CKWX as a teen.
