Vancouver Washington, near the Oregon border and lying on the outskirts of Portland, is tired of playing second fiddle to the big cities especially ours which bears the same name. As such, the Washington city is considering changing its name so they can stand out on their own.
“The Vancouver Columbian in Washington reports that a vote Tuesday could mean a majority on the city council in favour of sending the proposal to voters. Supporters of the name change say it would avoid the long-running confusion with Vancouver, B.C. But detractors say it’s not a first priority for council and that residents should get over the fact that the city shares a name with another.” [The Province]
“Residents of Vancouver, Washington go to the polls tomorrow [today] and the outcome of the election could change the city — or at least its name — forever. A slate of candidates is poised to form a majority on council and one platforms calls for a new name for the city in the extreme southwestern corner of the state. Supporters want to switch to Fort Vancouver — arguing it’s the only way to avoid confusion with Vancouver, B.C. Opponents of the plan — including the current mayor — say there are no other Vancouvers in the United States.” [CTV]
I know there are several “Springfields” across America but I supposed the confusion lies within both Vancouvers being in the Pacific Northwest and the one in Washington simply wanted to stand out on its own. Residents will be voting on the issue today and so far “Fort Vancouver” is the suggested name as the Fort is a National Historic Site.
I’m curious to see what others think about this effort to be individual.
[poll id=”39″]
Our pal Patrick Maliha is known for his giggle-inducing one liners, gut-busting stand up, and his contribution to the local comedy scene as event organizer and Urban Laughs founder. In just a few weeks he’s hosting another event at Darby’s on West Fourth and this time it’s to help out friend and colleague Jennifer Thomson.
“Just this past summer, Vancouver radio personality and all around great gal Jennifer Thomson was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and has been unable to work since the diagnosis. So we’ve all decided to get together and give her a little benefit show.”
The show will take place November 24th at 9:00pm and tickets are $10. Patrick Maliha will be the evening’s MC and other comedians donating their time include CTV’s Marke Driesschen, Canada’s Next Top Comic finalist Art Factora, Dr. Russ Kennedy, Mike Wolfe, Greg Kettner and Sean Proudlove.
I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with Jennifer (albeit we were screaming while ziplining on Grouse Mountain months ago) and I encourage others to support this benefit as well, for the sake of her and her young son.
You can call (604) 731-0617 to make reservations, confirm your attendance on Facebook, or show up on the 24th to support this benefit.
A few weeks ago I experienced my first Burnaby Express hockey game with my husband and a group of his co-workers. Being a British Columbia Hockey League team, to me it seemed as though someone took the North Surrey Recreation Centre and mixed it with the Pacific Coliseum for a Giants Game. It was quaint, community-based, inexpensive, yet the hockey was fast-paced and exciting — you could tell these guys are the stars of tomorrow.
Turns out, I had never previously heard of the Burnaby Express and nether have most others I have spoken to. This team that does a lot in the community could use a boost since it’s in a middle of a very split market so here’s my chance to introduce my readers to some great grassroots hockey.
The BCHL is a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, featuring players ranging from 16 to 20 years old. The Express are a part of the league’s Coastal Conference which includes the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, the Cowichan Valley Capitals, the Nanaimo Clippers, the Victoria Grizzlies, the Langley Chiefs, the Powell River Kings, and the Surrey Eagles.
From 1998 to 2001 Burnaby was home of the Bulldogs who then moved onto Port Alberni in 2002. The Coquitlam Express started up in 2001 and then moved to Burnaby (forming the Burnaby Express) in 2005. Now based out of the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby (just near Joe Sakic Way) the Express are the 2006 BCHL Champions, 2006 Doyle Cup Champions, and 2006 Canadian Junior ‘A’ Champions.
Alumni currently playing in the NHL are Andrew Ladd (Chicago Blackhawks) and Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins).
Individual tickets are just $13 (adults), $9 (students/seniors), $6 (kids), and you can get 10-game flex packs for $100. You can follow them on Twitter @BurnabyExpress or read their blog for updates. I highly recommend taking the family out to a game and experiencing that true sense of local hockey.
This morning we headed out for a photowalk, leaving behind the glassy towers of the City to walk among the greens, reds, oranges and yellows of autumn in Stanley Park.
The trails reminded me of milk-soaked cereal as the dry, crunchy leaves covered the moist and muddied forest floor.
The shallow and dried up path-side ditches of summertime were now rushing streams, floating multicoloured leaves from one end of the park to another. We looped around Beaver Lake, traversed some of our favourite old trails, and discovered a plethora of mushrooms and fungus that have been thriving in this cool, crisp and moist autumn climate.
We even happened upon one of the installations from the Stanley Park Environmental Art Project.
The photowalk ended with a quick visit the Stanley Park Nature House — an admission-free interpretive centre at the site of the old Lost Lagoon boat house.
Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by a poster sporting the lovely image of one of my heroes, E. Pauline Johnson. On the poster, titled “How Lost Lagoon Got its Name” one of Pauline’s poems was featured:
The lost lagoon
It is dusk on the Lost Lagoon,
And we two dreaming the dusk away,
Beneath the drift of a twilight grey,
Beneath the drowse of an ending day,
And the curve of a golden moon.
It is dark in the Lost Lagoon,
And gone are the depths of haunting blue,
The grouping gulls, and the old canoe,
The singing firs, and the dusk and–you,
And gone is the golden moon.
O! lure of the Lost Lagoon,–
I dream to-night that my paddle blurs
The purple shade where the seaweed stirs,
I hear the call of the singing firs
In the hush of the golden moon.
I highly encourage residents and visitors alike to take a stroll through Stanley Park, no matter the season. The beauty is there year-round and I don’t even need a camera to capture it as it has and always will leave an indelible photo set within my West Coast memory.
Related: Vancouver’s Fall Colours
Over the last few weeks Virgin 95.3 has been asking listeners to drop off bras at local Red Robin and Honda dealerships as a part of “Bras Across the Bridge”. For every bra collected, the sponsors will donate $2 to Breast Cancer research.
You still have time to contribute today if you can stop by the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This is where they will link up all of the collected bras to see if they can span the entire length of the bridge (or how many times they can do so). Virgin Radio’s Kiah and Tara Jean will be live on location from 2:00pm until 6:00pm for the event that will host a number of other activities as well.
Once the event is wrapped up, all of the bras will be cleaned and donated to a local women’s shelter — so the benefits here are doubleplus good. I’m going to be heading up there for the final tally and will report back to see how much has been raised.
Update: Virgin invited me out to cover the event and it was a perfect afternoon to do so (well, as perfect as you can get in the rainy autumn season).
In the end their listeners had donated 2360 bras, which will all get washed and sent to a local women’s shelter. This means that the sponsors (Red Robin, Honda) will also donate $2 a bra toward Breast Cancer research. All afternoon, one by one, each bra was added to the chain by a dedicated group of volunteers.
I walked across the bridge a few times and couldn’t believe there were so many donated bras, of all shapes and sizes. Turn out that the big long line of undergarments spanned the entire bridge 7 times — that’s the equivalent of the entire wingspan of 14 Boeing 747 airplanes.
You still have until 6:00pm to stop by and donate your bra for the cause and when you do so, your admission to the Capilano Suspension Bridge is free.
