This weekend is the 20th annual Women in Film & Television Festival. Each year there are screenings, workshops, and plenty of social opportunities to mingle with movers and shakers from the West Coast.
As proven by Kathryn Bigelow’s Academy Award for Best Director on March 7th, women thrive in front of and behind the camera.
The festival features a weekend of short films from 35 first time and veteran female filmmakers produced in countries such as New Zealand, Egypt, USA, Saudi Arabia and Canada. This stellar line-up of short documentaries, animation, drama, and a feature film also includes the presentation of two major filmmaker awards, pitching sessions, free filmmaker industry panels, and exhibitor showcase with networking lunch presentations from local industry companies.
Things kick off Saturday April 17th at 7:00pm with Opening Night at the Vancity Theatre. Earlier in the day there will be an exhibitor showcase from 9:30am – 4:30pm and then again on Sunday from 9:30am until 3:00pm. There will also be panels from 4:00pm – 5:30pm on Saturday and again on Sunday April 18th from 10:00am until 11:30am.
Let’s not forget the actual film screenings as well, which will take place both Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the festival is open to the general public all weekend and the exhibitor showcase is free to the public (register at the door).
Ticketed events include the screenings, the panels, the opening reception and the awards ceremony. You can purchase tickets for these events online or pick up a full festival pass.
I have two Festival Passes to give away which will get you and a friend into all of the film screenings this weekend. If you would like to enter to win the passes, please leave a comment or re-tweet the following:
This will be a quick contest and the passes are getting printed up for this weekend as we speak. I’ll run this until tomorrow morning at 9:00am.
Update The winner of the passes is Brenda, congratulations! Unfortunately I didn’t have a working email address for the 1st winner drawn.
Fine print: Approximate value of each pass is $45.
Today is the 3rd annual Pink Shirt Day in BC. In conjunction with Anti-Bullying Day which was created a few years ago by local radio host Christy Clark, it is a time to stand up and speak out against bullying. The pink shirts symbolize the story of a boy who was bullied for wearing a pink t-shirt to school one day. In solidarity, and to raise awareness about all forms of bullying, this has become a campaign symbol.
One in four children in Canada fall prey to one of these forms of bullying: Physical Bullying, Cyber Bullying, Social Bullying and Verbal Bullying.
On a personal note, I left school a long time ago but in every office or industry I have ever worked there has been some form of bullying — especially in the online realm. Passive aggressive blog posts or Tweets may sound like a joke but if you’re the target, it’s no laughing matter. People spread lies, hate, and mock others daily online, making cyber bullying seem as though it’s a natural part of the social space. They taunt and tease until the victim reaches a breaking point, like in Megan Meier‘s case.
Whether it’s schoolyard name-calling, teasing in the hallway, or posting defamatory content online, bullying is a serious issue and we need campaigns like this so that one day it will stop. This morning on Global Christy Clark said her personal message this year is “don’t be an audience” as may bullies are looking for that. She mentioned the dangers of being a “just a bystander”.
The online store has sold out of merchandise for today, which is a great sign as $5 from each shirt went to the Boys and Girls Club. London Drugs locations may have some stock still available and they’ll be selling some shirts on the streets of downtown Vancouver today.
You can also donate to the Boys and Girls Club, wear a pink shirt today regardless, or perform a random act of kindness (because those are nice any day).
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.
Friday April 16th – Breakestra @ GLC
Sunday April 18th – Kellar Williams @ GLC
Tuesday April 20th – Five Alarm Funk @ Longhorn Saloon
Thursday April 22nd – Classified @ Moe Joes
Friday April 23rd – Silent Disco featuring J-Boogie @ Merlins
Sunday April 25th – Arrested Development @ Buffalo Bills
Chevrolet Stage
The Chevrolet Stage offers a series of free concerts from Village Square.
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:
Strathcona – The Other Side of Hastings
Wreck Beach – Walk on the Wild Side I
Public Art in Vancouver
Wandering the Leq’leq’i Portage
Opium, Laundry and Pawnshops
… and more
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.
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.
