The Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival takes over Whistler April 16th until the 25th. The festival brings with it world-class downhill events, athletes, parties and some choice concerts.

Kokanee Freeride Club Series
The Club Series hosts free apres concerts all week long.

Chevrolet Stage
The Chevrolet Stage offers a series of free concerts from Village Square.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Saturday, April 17th
DJ Dakota, Katie Rox, Stars of Boulevard

Sunday, April 18th
Katie Rox, City of Glass, Stars of Boulevard

Monday, April 19th
Hollis, DJ Rosco, City of Glass

Tuesday, April 20th
DJ Dakota, The Release Jamband, Colin Bullock

Wednesday, April 21st
Right Hand Barber, The Jocelyn Pettit Band, The Release Jamband

Thursday, April 22nd
DJ Rosco, DJ Canosis, DJ Dakota

Friday, April 23rd
DJ Canosis, Kate Morgan Band, DJ Rosco

Saturday, April 24th
Henry & the Nightcrawlers, Kate Morgan Band, Spotlight Carnival

Sunday, April 25th
Spotlight Carnival, Sardis Secondary School Drumline, Henry & the Nightcrawlers

Outdoor Concert Series
The Main Stage is located in Skier’s Plaza. Free concerts are from 2:30pm – 5:30pm daily.
Breakestra (Friday April 16th), March Fourth Marching Band (Saturday April 17th), Keller Williams (Sunday April 18th), Red Eye Empire & Brother Twang (Monday April 19th), Five Alarm Funk & Jah Cutta (Tuesday April 20th), Wassabi Collective (Wednesday April 21st), Classified & Elias (Thursday April 22nd), Big Sugar (Friday April 23rd), We Are The City (Saturday April 24th), Arrested Development (Sunday April 25th).

You can follow @WSSF on Twitter for all the latest updates.

The fourth annual Jane’s Walk returns the weekend of May 1st and 2nd. This series of free neighbourhood walking tours are all planned, plotted and led by those who want to share their knowledge about their community.

Photo credit: Pat Z on Flickr

The goal of Jane’s Walk is to raise urban literacy and build strong, connected communities by offering a pedestrian-focused event that combines insights into civic history, planning, design and citizen engagement with the simple act of walking and observing.

Last year there were more than 315 tours across Canada, the United States and India with about 10,000 participants in total.

The tours explore collective history, architecture or city planning. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn about how your street got its name, the age of the giant Oak on the corner, or how a new playground came to be.

Walks confirmed in Vancouver so far include:

Sign up online for the walk of your choice May 1st and/or May 2nd. If you would like to show off your neighbourhood know-how and local knowledge, you can sign up to host your own Jane’s Walk that weekend. Hosts also have the option to take a workshop about how to lead their tour, courtesy of Think City.

The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition‘s Great Rides series presents Bike the Blossoms April 17th.

Photo credit: Kyle Bailey on Flickr

This is the third annual Bike the Blossoms event that runs alongside the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.

Starting points for the bike ride are at the Museum of Vancouver as well as the Britannia Community Centre. Routes under canopies of blossoms around the city are planned and include pit stops at participating shops and cafes. There will be a decorating station, musical guests, and a bike giveaway contest. All those who participate will also receive half-price admission to the Museum of Vancouver as well as VanDusen Gardens.

The cost to join the ride is $10 with a $2 discount for VACC, Museum of Vancouver or Cherry Blossom Festival members. Those 16 and under can ride free. You can register in advance, online.

I don’t know about you, but since the Olympics rolled into town I haven’t had much time to slow down. Things have been go go go with the Paralympics, Twestival planning, trips across the continent and website attacks. Thanks to Vida Spa, I can at least offer a relaxing experience to one lucky reader (through whom I can live vicariously).

The newest Vida Spa location at the Westin Bayshore in Coal Harbour is offering up the chance to win the following:

The Detoxifying Aromatherapy Massage, a light, full-body massage that cleanses the system through healing botanical essences. Custom-blended essential oils including cypress, juniper berry, rosemary and grapefruit are integrated into the massage oil to provide an herbal detoxification that helps clear unwelcome toxins while restoring energy and well-being.

This 60-minute massage is a one of Vida’s 2010 Spring Renewal Treatments.

If you would like to win the Detoxifying Aromatherapy Massage (either for yourself or as a gift) please leave a comment below. You may also enter to win by re-tweeting the following on Twitter:

All entries (from Twitter and comments) will be pooled and one winner will be drawn Friday April 16th at 12:00pm.

Vida Spa opened this newest location in February, just in time for the Olympics. They also have locations at the Sheraton Wall Centre, the Sutton Place Hotel, in Whistler at the Fairmont and in Seattle at the Pan Pacific.

Fine print: Approximate value for the 60-minute treatment is $125 (regular price) and is currently on special for $106.25. Appointment time can be arranged between the winner and Vida Spa (valid Monday-Friday until May 31, 2010).

Update I have drawn the winner and it is Melanie (comment entry) – thank you to everyone for entering and I hope we can all get some relaxation time in the sunshine this weekend.

At a press conference at the CBC Vancouver broadcast centre this afternoon it was announced that legendary BC anchor Tony Parsons would be co-hosting the local supper-hour newscast.

Tony Parsons, who I grew up watching on BCTV, anchored his final newscast on Global TV’s News Hour in December of 2009.

Around that time but published a book but Parsons was off the air during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

He then returned to television with CHEK-TV in Victoria as the anchor of their 10:00pm newscast in March. According to today’s press release, a deal between the CBC and CHEK-TV has been made that will see the local news from CBC Vancouver simulcast on CHEK-TV in Victoria.

“Tony Parsons has been synonymous with local news in Vancouver for 35 years and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the CBC News Vancouver team,” said Johnny Michel, Managing Director, BC Region, CBC. “He is the most recognizable face in local news and has an innate gift to get to the heart of what matters for Vancouverites.”

Parsons will be co-hosting with Gloria Macarenko on CBC Vancouver from 5:00pm until 6:30pm and will then appear specifically on CHEK at 10:00pm.

Update April 13, 2010

I had the chance to speak with Tony this afternoon, you can see his responses to a few quick questions in the video above.