With the Olympics behind us I’m unsure if Vancouverites are taking a much-needed rest or if they’re aching to get back out and party. For the latter, this weekend’s 82nd annual Academy Awards just so happen to offer such a opportunity.
Lamplighter
The Lamplighter Public House is offering up a prix fixe $40 menu for Oscar night. Doors at 5:00pm for the event Sunday, March 7th.
OPUS Hotel
The OPUS will feature a red carpet event Sunday evening alongside a 3 course Oscar Dinner available in Elixir Bistro for $30 (with optional wine pairings for $20). You can sip & mingle for $25 from 5:00pm until 10:00pm.
PitchMarket 2010 Oscar Wrap Party
Held at Players Chophouse the PitchMarket Oscar party will also have a red carpet along with food samples, drinks, and viewing of the Academy Awards. Tickets are $35 and the event begins at 5:00pm.
If you’re not up for one of the parties around town, or if you aren’t near a TV, I’m certain you’ll see the buzz on Twitter if you’re interested. I admit, I haven’t even seen Avatar yet since it’s been such a busy year however I look forward to catching up and seeing some of the winners once things slow down.
The Atlas Obscura is an online directory resource for unique, intriguing, amusing, and peculiar attractions around the globe. Being a fan of historic and cultural oddities, I figured this would be a great thing to cover.
On March 20th they are hosting “Obscura Day” highlighting the best destinations from South America to the North Pole. It just so happens that the Vancouver Police Museum has been put on their map to represent our city.
“We were approached by Atlas Obscura a few weeks ago,” said Chris Mathieson, Executive Director of the Vancouver Police Museum. “They had received a fantastic review of the Police Museum by one of their international users and thought we’d make a great fit for Obscura Day.â€
Once you register for an Obscura Day event in your city (or a city that your are visiting) you will be treated to tours and special offers. The Vancouver Police Museum will offer up two tours that you can choose to take for a donation of $15.
Old City Morgue
The Vancouver Police Museum building is the former City Morgue and Coroner’s Court. Between 1932 and 1980, close to 15,000 autopsies were performed in this space, covering almost every major homicide and accident in the city during that period. Special behind-the-scenes opportunities will also be included; not for the feint of heart.
Sins of the City
The Museum’s “Sins of the City Tour” will explore the history of vice crime in Vancouver. Brothels, gambling dens, opium house and strip clubs are all featured on the regular tour. For Obscura Day they’ll add a few special stops into the mix. Appropriate clothing (including closed-toe shoes) will be required for this adventure.
You can read my post about my experience on both on these tours.
The Atlas Obscura is, “a compendium of this age’s wonders, curiosities, and esoterica. The Atlas Obscura is a collaborative project with the goal of cataloging all of the singular, eccentric, bizarre, fantastical, and strange out-of-the-way places that get left out of traditional travel guidebooks and are ignored by the average tourist.”
Outside of Vancouver, other Obscura Day attractions include the World’s Largest Treehouse in Crossville Tennessee, the Underground Salt Museum in Kansas City, a tour of the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore Maryland, or a self-made concert at Ringing Rocks Park in Pennsylvania (bring a hammer to make some noise).
The Vancouver Police Museum tours will take place between 11:00am and 2:00pm on Obscura Day, March 20th.
“We hope it encourages locals to take notice of us and realize that we’re so much more than just a dusty collection of badges and uniforms,” Mathieson told me. “We have an amazing building and some of the best stories in the city to tell.â€
Tickets may only be purchased through the Obscura Day website.
Continuing my Then and Now photo series of Vancouver I went on the hunt for aerial images this morning. Funny thing is, after hosting the Olympics in your town “aerials” bring up images of athletes on skis and not views from a plane. It was a pleasant surprise however the following all feature pictures taken from planes around Vancouver and as usual, the “then” photos are courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives‘ online photo collection.
Vancouver Then and Now Aerial Photos
Stanley Park Entrance
Looking at South toward the city
I have about a dozen more archive photos I’d love to post but I just can’t seem to find modern day equivalents of them on Flickr. Should you have any aerial shots of the city please feel free to add them to the Miss604 Flickr Group.
Just when I thought I had wrapped up my Vancouver 2010 coverage, I discover an amazing video on YouTube by director Trevor Meier, featuring the Olympic Torch Relay. Comissioned by VANOC, they have an entire series of videos from the relay, the following is from Days 64 – 70.
The Torch Relay was one of my favourite, if not the best, highlights of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I was lucky enough to ride along in my hometown of Surrey and that memory will be with me always. The Paralympic Torch Relay began today and the flame it will find its way to Vancouver again March 12th.
With the cherry blossoms already making an appearance during our Winter Olympics, the city is gearing up for the annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival taking place throughout the month of April.
Cherry Blossom Festival Events 2010 Haiku Invitational: Write & submit a haiku about cherry blossoms until May 31st.
Bike the Blossoms: Partnering with the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition these will be bike tours for cherry blossom viewing around town.
Birthday Blossoms: Celebrate Vancouver’s 135th birthday next year by purchasing & planting a tree this year so that it will be in bloom to celebrate in 2011.
Check out the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s viewing map for tress and parks nearby. The first event coming up on March 22nd is a lecture about cherry blossoms by Douglas Justice, of UBC Botanical Garden.
Should you snap some photos of the blossoms, please feel free to add it to the Miss604 Flickr Pool. I’ll have a photo feature post up within the next few weeks.
