Burnaby is hosting its own free outdoor movie nights this month at Civic Square.
August 5, 2010
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
August 19, 2010
KJ: Music & Life, a Cantonese film with English and Chinese subtitles. An award-winning documentary about a 17-year-old music prodigy from Hong Kong.
August 26, 2010
Up
The films will be shown from 8:30pm until 10:30pm rain or shine.
Update There is another location for a free outdoor movie night in Burnaby. By donation to KidSport, you can enjoy a movie with the family at Swangard Stadium August 15th. Gates for the Moonlight Movie in the Park open at 7:30pm and they will be showing How to Train Your Dragon.
Other free outdoor movies in Metro Vancouver this summer include: Stanley Park, at Nat Bailey, at Holland Park in Surrey, in Yaletown, and by donation at Coquitlam Centre.
In May I wrote about how the Vancouver Art Gallery is looking to relocate to (preferably) a new building that can accommodate their growing collection.
Public opinion has been somewhat mixed in terms of their sentiments for the current building and lack of knowledge about the reasons why the VAG would want to move. Last week I was given a private tour behind the scenes of the old Court House building where the Vancouver Art Gallery is pretty much bursting at the seams.
Quick facts:
The Vancouver Art Gallery has been in that location since 1983.
A third of the VAG’s collection sits in the vault since there is such limited exhibition space in the current building.
There is 9,000 square feet of storage space in the current location. They require at least 300,000 for their collection. As such, the gallery spends about $100,000 a year in off-site storage.
When we first started the tour I got a bit of an education about relative humidity and temperature control in the building thanks to Tom Meighan, Director of Operations & Exhibition Production. Apparently they have no chilled water source in the building itself so they needed to route it in from another source downtown in order to get their cooling systems in check. This technical yet crucial element is key in operating a world-class art gallery.
We moved on to the loading bay which is located at the end of a spiraling tunnel that goes under Howe Street. Issues here include big trucks not being able to make it down the outdated ramp, which leads to road closures around the gallery while they try to cart in priceless pieces of art on a dolly. Another issue that concerns Dana Sullivant, Director of Markting & Communications is that fine art arrives through the same door that garbage exists. Trash from the gallery and cafe passes through the same doors as Dali or Monet works.
Meandering our way through an underground hallway filled with empty crates, boxes, and display cases we stopped in to check out the only freight elevator in the entire building. With only one way to get pieces up to the top floor and down, it’s a vital part of gallery operations. They would be unable to expand and build another since the building’s heritage status limits their ability to edit the current structure.
Entering the “vault” was like walking into a dark, overflowing storage room. Located directly beneath the fountain on the front lawn of the art gallery, the space is dangerously exposed in terms of potential leaks that could damage their collections.
Meighan said that in an ideal situation they would have seperate cold storage for each type of art work. One for photography, another for metal objects, sculptures, paintings etc. We walked over to section that contained sliding metal racks upon which hundreds if not thousands of paintings were perched. Some of the works haven’t seen the exhibition space for at least 20 years including some of the Dutch Masters in the photo below.
With a rusted metal screech Meighan pulled out a rack filled with Emily Carr works. When the art gallery first opened Carr donated 145 paintings and the collection has grown ever-since. Unfortunately, most of it hangs below the surface and not in front of visitors.
Once again the ideal situation here would be to have a permanent exhibit for Carr’s work along with other local artist such as Jeff Wall. These would be mainstays of the gallery for all (especially Vancouverites) to enjoy anytime.
“We’re in a holding pattern,” says Sullivant. They have funds, they have the proposed location, and now they just need approval from the City of Vancouver in order to start drafting up plans for a new building. They also need to win over the public. The new location (150 Dunsmuir) would have open public space in order to continue to host community events and be a congregational point for Vancouverites.
So what will happen to the current space? As a heritage building, the Court House will not be torn down in order to make room for condo developments or office towers. I’ve been told UBC and the Museum of Vancouver have already expressed interest and everyone would like to see it continue as a centre for the community, both inside and out.
To learn more, ask questions, or show your support, visit NewVanArtGallery.com. You can read more about the history of the Court House in my previous post about the VAG’s relocation and follow @VanArtGallery on Twitter for updates and news regarding public consultations.
This month when you purchase Granville Island Brewing‘s Robson Street Hefeweizen or Brockton IPA, 25 cents will go toward the Pacific Parklands Foundation.
The Pacific Parklands Foundation is a non-profit that aims to:
Raise funds for special projects in regional parks
Foster public awareness of the regional park system
Expand the regional parks system through land purchase and/or bequests
Metro Vancouver has 22 regional parks including playgrounds, picnic areas, beaches and campgrounds. Our regional parks provide residents with more than 13,594 hectares of greenspace attracting over 9 million visits each year. The cause fits with Granville Island Brewing’s slogan of It’s good to be here, our parks making Metro Vancouver such a wonderful place to explore.
Last month GIB supported the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers through sales of their raspberry wheat ale.
Robson Street Hefeweizen and Brockton IPA are both available in local liquor stores and on August 13th you can attend an IPA party on Grouse Mountain.
Although June was a bit soggier than desired, July heated up Vancouver in more ways than one. Concerts, festival, and community events kept us all out and about. As we head into the second half of summer, the fun and excitement around Metro Vancouver isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The following are event listings for August 2010.
Sunday August 1, 2010
Powell Street Festival
Pride Parade
Spirit of the Sea Festival in White Rock
Canadian National BBQ Championships in Whistler
Jamaican Festival in Surrey
12th Street Festival in New Westminster
Taming of the Shrew at Carousel Theatre (until August 14th)
Odlum Brown Vancouver Open Tennis (until August 8th)
Monday August 2, 2010
Free admission at Fort Langley for BC Day
BC Day festivities at Lonsdale Quay
Tuesday August 3, 2010
Wednesday August 4, 2010
SAD Mag Issue 4 Launch Party
Thursday August 5, 2010
Opening Night at Kafka’s Coffee and Tea
Friday August 6, 2010
Cirque du Soleil Benefit at Covenant House
MusicFest Vancouver (until August 15th)
“Two As One – A Journey to Yoga” book tour
Summerfest 2010 at Lonsdale Quay Market (every Friday, Saturday & Sunday until September 5th)
Red Card Sports Bar Summer Beer Series
Granville Street Busker Concert at 7:00pm (Granville between Robson & Georgia)
New Bright Lights lecture series at the Rio
Saturday August 7, 2010
5th Annual “Powell Grounds†Ball Game at Oppenheimer Park (tribute to the Vancouver Asahi baseball club)
Indonesia Day 2010
Free Outdoor Movie in Holland Park
BC Museum of Mining “Copper & Fire” concert
Granville Street Skateboard event 12pm – 5pm (Granville between Robson & Georgia) Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
The BCSPCA’s Paws for a Cause is coming up this September and participants are busy collecting donations and spreading the word about the event.
Paws for a Cause involves a 3.5km walk and some locations have 3.5km runs as well. There will also be games and activities for pets and all ages. My friend Keira has been participating for years so I thought sharing her sentiments about the cause would be appropriate:
There are few charity organizations that speak to my heart as much as the BC-SPCA. They are tirelessly dedicated to providing loving care to British Columbia’s abandoned, hurt and loneliest animals. Each year the Paws For A Cause campaign seeks to raise funds Province-wide to support their annual goal of $1 million dollars. Without you and me, they couldn’t do what they do.
Aside from simply providing health care, shelter space and fostering animal adoption, the BC-SPCA is also exhaustively involved in investigating and gathering evidence to assist Crown Counsel in prosecuting some of BC’s nastiest animal abusers. Most investigations require a minimum of $10,000 – no cheap feat!
Lower Mainland events include Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam, Richmond, Squamish, Surrey, and Vancouver (Burnaby, West Vancouver & North Shore). There are also walks on the Upper West Coast, Vancouver Island, in the Okanagan, Kootenays, and Northern BC.
Vancouver’s walk will take place at Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park September 12, 2010. There is still time to register or donate to a participant’s campaign.
