View a full transit, traffic and viewing guide here
View a behind the scenes look at the fireworks barge here
The Celebration of Light fireworks return to Vancouver this summer as English Bay will be lit up for four explosive nights.
July 21 USA (evening sponsored by The Keg)
The award-winning team from the USA will try its hand dazzling the crowd on opening night.
About their show: “…a tribute to the Big Band era and promises to be high energy, with a lot of hoppin’ swingin’ fun.”
July 24 SPAIN (evening sponsored by London Drugs)
Fresh off a World Cup run Spain will take to the beaches to launch an impressive performance.
About their show: “…an exercise of imagination and force, the audience will enjoy with the recreation of the fight between the light and the darkness.”
July 28 MEXICO (evening sponsored by HSBC)
Mexico has been a part of the Celebration of Light for several years and they always have a strong showing with vibrant colours and accompanying music (if you have a radio near by).
About their show: “…A wide variety of rythms were selected for this Journey, we play with Rock “en españolâ€, pop, Mexican contemporary, and blends of popular (Banda) music with electronic elements.”
July 31 CHINA (evening sponsored by Concord Pacific)
Often a winner of the Celebration of Light competition, China’s performance usually blows away hundreds of thousands of spectators who look on in awe.
About their show: Coming from a wonderful Chinese history tale, the public will travel through a world full of sound and visual and they will enjoy exotic choregraphies of fireworks which will take on a whole new dimension.
I ran a poll last year asking if people would miss the fireworks if they were gone/canceled for the summer and over 60% said yes (the rest said “good riddance” or left other comments). Regardless, they’re back again for their 20th year in 2010.
You can watch the fireworks from front and centre in English Bay, across the way in Kitsilano, or on the water (from a safe distance) by boat cruise or kayak. Shore 104.3FM will also be presenting the ShoreFest concert series on the beach before the fireworks begin.
Follow the Celebration of Light on Twitter for updates and information.
Tornado warnings for various counties scroll along the TV screen while we watch local news coverage of flash floods here in Iowa. This isn’t exactly the sunny July summer I was expecting in Iowa although I’m happy to hear that back home in Vancouver you are not suffering the same fate. The heat is intense, the humidity is sticky on one’s skin, and for brief moments the clouds part enough to catch a glimpse of a spectacular sunset.
I just know that by Friday when it clears up (as the forecasts are predicting) it will be absolutely breathtaking to watch the sun roll along the backs of the green corn-covered hills. In the meantime, I’m dreaming of home so here is a quick compilation of sunset photos from the Miss604 Flickr Group.
If you would like to brighten my evening please feel free to add your sunset (or I’ll even take sunrise) photos to the Miss604 Flickr Group or @Miss604 on Twitter with a twitpic. For now, I’m keeping a close eye on the KatKam too.
Update Thank you for the submissions I’ve already received tonight:
Today’s Archives Photo of the Day features two streetcars (the number 6 and number 3) destined for Davie Street passing by what appears to be the Hudson’s Bay Company downtown.
Description: Streetcars downtown, 1944
Photographer: Don Coltman, Steffens Colmer
Archives item#: CVA 586-1873
Shore 104.3FM has recently announced their Top 10 finalists for the Sounds of Summer contest. They have been on the lookout for original songs by local singers and songwriters and are now in the phase of the contest where they have opened things up to a public vote. The Top 10 finalists are:
Reid Jamieson “Rail”
Robert Wilson “Big Sore Heart”
The Belle Game “Tiny Fires”
Zaac Pick “My Century”
Scott Valentine “Do It For Love”
Quest Poetics “Phantom Of Smiles”
Garrett Kato “Mountains”
Lindsay May “Lie To You”
The Matinee “Let Her Go”
Headwater “Brown Stone Road”
I had the chance to interview Matt Layzell of The Matinée for TV Week Online a few weeks ago when the Top 20 were announced. I also chatted with Patrick Zulinov, Programmer and Music Director the Shore. “Our contest really focuses on the songwriting and the artist… It’s about how they can perform those songs rather than what they can do in the studio or with all the technical magic available to them right now.”
To vote for your favourite of the Top 10 visit the Sounds of Summer site and click on one of the artists that have the “Vote” button on their image.
The winner will get a prize pack and a slot at the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival and Shore Fest during the Celebration of Light later this summer.
Monday turned out to be far more productive than anyone thought given the previous day’s festivities on the Fourth of July. We hopped in the car and headed East into Dubuque for lunch at the Dubuque Star Brewery.
Located along the Mississippi and heavily populated by mayflies (aka fishflies) the old brick building that once housed the brewery is now home to a restaurant, winery, bar, and offices. It was kind of like Milestones’ lobby meets Steamworks or Yaletown Brewing. While our server didn’t know the difference between a Stella and a local wheat ale, the food and brews were delicious.
From there we headed over to Eagle Point Park where you could sit for hours on the bluff watching Mississippi river traffic flow up and down through the locks. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
