Inspired by today’s soggy weather, and the recent announcement that English Bay will be getting a Cactus Club, I thought I would profile Vancouver beaches, Then and Now.
Tidal Flats at Jericho Beach
1890
Archives item # Be P41
2010
Kitsilano Pool / Beach
1931
Archives item # Be N51.1
2008
English Bay
1890s
Archives item # CVA 1376-227
2010
All then photos are courtesy of the Vancouver Archives. Should you have a theme idea for the next Then and Now installment please feel free to submit your suggestion in the comments.
The Union Gospel Mission is presenting their 2nd annual Orange Day happening April 2nd, 2010. Orange Day is actually a multi-day campaign to raise funds for the UGM’s Easter dinner, served to over 3,000 men, women and children in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
The concept is simple, think about the activities you normally do that cost money and instead of doing them, put that money away for one day and donate it to the Union Gospel Mission. This could be your $3.75 latte, a $2.50 bus commute, $12 for a movie or $50 for a dinner out with a friend. Instead, go for a walk, drink a glass or water, or stay home and have a movie night.
It’s called Orange Day because $0.32 is the price of an orange, which makes a nutritious and valuable addition to the UGM’s Easter meals. If you save $32.90 in one day by being frugal and enjoying free activities, the UGM can use that donation to prepare 10 full Easter dinners.
To get everyone in the spirit, the UGM has organized two events that don’t cost a thing:
Orange Day Campaign Kickoff: Gastown Photowalk
To kick off the week, you’re invited to a Gastown Photowalk. UGM’s own Leah Gregg will guide you as you get to know this part of the city with new eyes and through your camera lens.
When: Saturday, March 27, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Where: Meet at the Gassy Jack statue at the intersection of Carrall, Powell, and Water Streets.
Orange Day Tweetup
Join Vancouver bloggers and UGM staff and volunteers as we chill together and get the word out online about the Orange Day campaign. Then, weather permitting, we’ll walk over to Crab Park to have some fun Orange Day activities and create bright, fresh “analog tweets” to spread the love and encourage homeless in our city and guests at the UGM meal.
When: Monday, March 29, 6:00pm (Chill Winston meetup); 7:00pm (Orange fun at Crab Park)
Where: Meet at Chill Winston, at the intersection of Carrall, Powell, and Water Streets.
You can follow the UGM on Twitter @UGM tag #OrangeDay, add orange-flavoured photos to their Flickr Group, or add them on Facebook for updates and info.
Last night the Skytrax World Airport Awards were announced in a live ceremony in Brussels, Belgium. Although their website hasn’t been updated yet, I found out on Twitter that Vancouver International Airport (YVR) was crowned as the Best Airport in North America (and 11th overall).
The award is based on 9.8 million passenger surveys conducted in airports around the world and measures the results from 39 criteria that include comfort, efficiency, signage, transportation availability, passenger amenities and friendliness.
I had the chance to learn quite a bit about the airport’s art and history when I profiled the YVR Observation Area a few months ago and am glad they received this recognition. The free wifi, free Smarte Cartes, rushing waterfalls, First Nations art, and not having to walk or transfer 35 minutes to your next departure gate are just some of my favourite features. Having traveled through at least a dozen airports this past year, YVR always makes me feel welcome upon my return.
To celebrate, I scoured Creative Commons photos on Flickr to present a small gallery of photos from our beautiful airport.
Photo credit:
caribb on Flickr
Photo Credit:
isriya on Flickr
Photo credit:
caribb on Flickr
Please feel free to click on the images or the caption links to view more from the photographers profiled above.
Singapore’s Changi Airport was named the World’s Best Airport by SkyTrax as well as Best Airport Leisure Amenities and Best Airport Asia.
You can follow @YVRAirport on Twitter for announcements, news and travel updates.
May 7th 2010 has been declared by the City of Vancouver as Hockey for the Homeless Day. This annual fundraiser and hockey tournament where your team can face off against Canucks and NHL alumni all for a cause.
According to the latest Metro Vancouver Homeless Count, almost 2,600 local men, women and children don’t have a place to live.
This is the second Hockey for the Homeless tournament in Vancouver however the campaign has been running across Canada since 1996.
“The mission of the volunteer-driven charity is to end homelessness through fundraising, education and partnerships with outreach groups. So far, Hockey for the Homeless has raised more than $2.5 million in aid of some 15,000 people.”
Last year Vancouver’s event raised $65,000 to help local organizations fight homelessness in our city.
They are looking for teams and individuals to take part this year and play alongside hockey heroes for this cause. The tournament entry fee for players is $300 and they are guaranteed at least 3 games. Participants will get a personalized jersey, lunch, a reception and dinner.
Prizes will be up for grabs as well as silent auction items including Canucks tickets and memorabilia. Past NHL’ers to participate include Dave Babych, Wendel Clark, Vincent Damphouse, Theo Fleury, Nick Kypreos, Kirk McLean, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, P.J. Stock and more.
You can register online and find out more about Vancouver’s event happening May 7th at UBC through the Hockey for the Homeless website.
Goodbye onion rings, hotdogs and fudgsicles and hello spinach dip. The Parks Board has just approved a development proposal on English Bay that would replace the existing concession stand with a Cactus Club restaurant.
“The main concern that I had back then was a high-end restaurant and we didn’t want a suit and tie kind of restaurant, so affordability was the main concern that we had had,” said Jasper early Monday. But now, as chair of the Park Board, Jasper said he believed the Cactus Club will provide a suitably casual experience for locals.
“This proposal, this Cactus Club, while some might dispute it, fits into that range of affordability – yes, it’s not a McDonalds – but it’s not a Hy’s or a CinCins,” he said, referring to two high-end Vancouver restaurants. [CBC Vancouver]
I did a quick poll on Twitter last night and although the majority was opposed to the change, quite a few welcomed it.
“I’m with concession, but again I was never a customer of theirs. So maybe Cactus will do better,” said @jlate.
“Yes, Cactus. Parks Board needs the money and Cactus will do a great job,” added @KCITY.
Since this was just approved last night, I haven’t seen any proposed menu items or price points as of yet. The Cactus Club slated for English Bay will be tailoring their seaside menu to less expensive and take-out options though. There would be a main floor with inside and outside seating as well as a concession stand-type of outlet.
Cactus Club is a favourite dining establishment for Vancouverites with delicious menu items and special creations from Chef Rob Feenie. The concern for many though is – does this fit on the beach?
Construction will now begin around Labour Day with Cactus Club moving in for the summer of 2011.
[poll id=”48″]
Update August 2011 They are hosting a hiring fair for the English Bay location on August 25, 26, and 27, 2011.
