The Union Gospel Mission operates out of 12 facilities between downtown Vancouver and Mission providing meals, support, education, outreach, shelter & housing, and recovery programs. On October 12th they’ll be serving thousands of Thanksgiving meals and one local blogger is taking it upon himself to make sure they can serve even more.
The UGM has been my non-profit of choice for my Blogathon campaign for two years and I’ve been able to raise close to $10,000 with the help of my readers. One person who consistently donates to my campaign and helps promote my efforts is John Chow. Now, John sometimes gets a bad rap for blogging about how he makes money blogging but ever since I met him at the UGM in early 2008 he’s always supported noble causes and used his online influence to help make a difference.
This Thanksgiving the UGM is preparing their annual feast for the community and for just $3.29 they can supply a complete nutritious meal to one person. John Chow is asking his readers to donate this amount, which is affordable to many of us, and in exchange he will match every donation (up to $1,000 per person).
On his blog John wrote, “UGM serves over 280,000 meals each year, and provides shelter for almost 10,000 individuals a year. They are an organization that I support and I am asking you to join me in helping to feed the hungry this Thanksgiving.”
To contribute, go to the UGM’s online donation page, select “Thanksgiving Dinner” from the dropdown, then mail your receipt to John (johnchow [at] johnchow [dot] com). He’ll then list all contributors in a blog post on Friday and match the donations.
Molson Canadian Hockey House will be a refuge, a retreat, a party zone, and a hub for all things hockey during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. The House will host players, teams, fans, VIPs and delegates throughout the course of the Olympic activities in 2010.
The facility will be located at Concord Pacific Place, in North East False Creek between Creekside Park and GM Place. Here are some fast facts about the venue:
The pavilion is 81,000 square feet
Expected to host more than 50,000 fans throughout the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
Wolfgang Puck Catering will be supplying the food in the dining area that seats 250 people
Tyler Stewart of the Barenaked Ladies is the Executive Director of Entertainment
40-foot HD screens for watching hockey, 1,400 square feet of video images, a 40,000 watt sound system, 38,000 LEDs and over 92 million video pixels
Signature Molson Canadian bars
Hockey trivia, hockey karaoke, and other daily events
Conscious effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the venue, including (but not limited to) recycling and using recycled/biodegradable products
The Molson Canadian Hockey House will be in operation from 11:00am until 2:00am every day and opens to the public from February 12 until February 28, 2010.
Bob Nicholson President of Hockey Canada (left) – Canucks legend Stan Smyl (right)
Multi-day VIP passes went on sale this morning and although they cost a pretty penny there are still three levels of ticket options (bronze, silver and gold). The Bronze package includes the Opening Ceremonies on Day 1 (February 12th) for $495. If that’s out of your range but you would still like to take part, they are also looking for volunteers to help host the Hockey House.
You can follow @Hockey_House on Twitter for updates.
Update January 7th, 2010
I have received word that MCHH is selling pretty well so far with VIP passes completely sold out when Team Canada plays Team USA in the Olympic tournament. Spots to hang out at the Hockey House during Other Team Canada games are still available as well as FAN ZONE passes, which start at just $99. The FAN ZONE passes aren’t as exclusive as the VIP obviously, but you get access to the lounge, a great hockey-watching atmosphere, food, and two complimentary beverages (with many chances to purchase more from any of the bars after that).
Along with other events and entertainment there will also be a Gretzky Tribute Night on February 19th. It has also been confirmed that “The Great One” will be in attendance.
Update January 19, 2010
Since the price has dropped to $99 for the Fan Zone the website is slammed today with ticket orders. You can still get your tickets by calling 1 866 523 8959 if you can’t get through online.
Update February 10, 2010
The Molson Canadian Hockey House opened up for media today with special introductions from Tyler Stewart and Sean Cullen.
I didn’t spend much time inside between events but I’ll be there on Friday to catch the opening ceremonies from this mega hockey & beer haven.
Jets Overhead will be playing the Live Sessions at the Chan Centre on Thursday before heading out on tour. I had the chance to speak with Antonia Freybe-Smith this week about the tour, the band and their album No Nations.
Antonia met her fellow bandmates while living in Victoria where they formed Jets Overhead in 2003. “”It’s a great comunity here,” said Antonia. “Sometimes we get asked ‘do you think you’re at a disadvantage not being in Toronto or Montreal?’ and I feel like it’s the complete opposite.” Antonia said that the music community in Victoria is at a great size — you know everyone else, there’s great venues to choose from, and there’s diversity in the music.
The truly local group consists of Antonia Freybe-Smith (vocals/keyboard), Adam Kittredge (vocals/guitar), Jocelyn Greenwood (bass), Piers Henwood (guitar/keyboard), and Luke Renshaw (drums). The group got together on Hornby Island with producer Neil Osborne (54-40) to record No Nations.
Hornby Island – Photo credit: Tyler Ingram on Flickr
Antonia spent time there growing up as did drummer, Luke Renshaw, although it was Adam’s idea to take the production on the road. “We liked the idea but it was kind of overwhelming at first — and seemed like a logistical nightmare,” noted Antonia. “But Adam rallied us all and we did it. Thank God too because it was just so awesome.” The group, who co-produced the album with Osborne, held up in Joe King Hall on the Island where they were away from city noise and cell phone reception. “You can hear the vibe on the record — it’s just this neat laid back kind of West-Coasty kind of vibe and it really influenced the way the record ended up sounding, in a good way.”
No Nations was released this past summer and is available in Canada, and on iTunes in the USA. The title track is also available for download from the band’s website under a Creative Commons License. The license, similar to the one you can get for your blog or Flickr photos, permits you to download the song, share and remix it. This isn’t the group’s first foray into the world of online distribution. They actually beat Radiohead to the punch in terms of offering up an entire album online for a “pay what you want” price tag back in 2006 with Bridges.
“It’s a really interesting time in the music industry in terms of what music is worth to people and how they go about getting it,” said Antonia. “A lot of power is going back into the hands of the listener and the musician.” She said their album Bridges which was available for the “pay what you want” PayPal download was also purchased in iTunes. She said that people will find a way to get your music regardless of how you distribute is. “If they really want it they’re going to get it so we might as well put up something of good quality.”
Antonia suggested that any listener (no matter how they’re listening to the album) can become a fan. “If we can make a fan and eventually have them come to a show and buy a tshirt, that’s another way it pays off.” Using online distribution is ideal when you have the goal of getting your music out to the widest audience possible.
She commented on how her sentiments towards paying for music have changed, now that she knows how the recording process works and has experienced all the details and fine tuning that go into making an album as reality. “It feels good to buy music — it just makes it worth something.”
The band has also released all of their official music videos on Vimeo, a video-sharing service known for its high-quality content. Antonia commented on the fact that many band videos are pulled from services like YouTube although that defeats the purpose of reaching that wider audience. “People are paranoid and they try to pull closer, grip tighter, and you just have to kind of let it go and reevaluate.”
You can catch Jets Overhead this November at the Commodore in Vancouver as they head out on tour supporting Lights and across Canada the rest of the month. They’ll first make a stop in California for the 23rd annual Bridge School Benefit, with which they are involved through Neil Young who operates their American label.
Their latest album No Nations is available on iTunes in Canada, the USA, and internationally as well.
If you would like to see them this Thursday at for the Live Sessions recording (for the CBC) you can enter to win two tickets by leaving a comment over on this post.
Inspired by John Biehler and Scott Prince’s talk at BarCamp on Saturday, we decided to join them for a photowalk yesterday afternoon at the Lions Gate Bridge. I was the only one there without an SLR and my lens didn’t detach, however I still had a great time wandering around for hours on the bridge.
I also wanted to capture a modern-day version of a photo I saw on the Vancouver Archives website, that featured the lions at the south entrance.
I underestimated the time we were going to spend capturing photos although I should have had a clue since it was a sunset photowalk and we met up at 3:30pm.
It was great to see John enjoy his new camera and learn tricks from pros like John and Peter.
I had fun seeing what my little Fuji could do and also walking across the Lions Gate for the first time, ever. I love my little camera but I’m sure not even the pros on our walk could capture the true amazing beauty that is a Vancouver sunset.
You can view the rest of my photos from the walk on Flickr, tagged: “Lions Gate Bridge“. To find out when the next photowalk will take place, you can follow out the “No Compacts Allowed” Facebook group.
Related: You can read Tyler’s post from the photowalk here, John Biehler’s here, and Gus has his images up on Flickr here.
Local farm-fresh food, regional beer, and BC wine, were served to those who came out to support RIPE last Thursday. This fundraiser to promote, support, and expand local farmers markets was held at Performance Works on Granville Island with a goal of inspiring others to take up the local food movement.
“We couldn’t have been more thrilled to see the people who attended RIPE 2009; these people wanted to support local food, local farmers and enjoy everything we organized for a night of fun – and that’s exactly what RIPE is all about,” said organizer Jackie Connelly. “A big thank you to our emcee Jamie Maw, Chef Robert Clark and his team at C Restaurant for the amazing food, and our generous sponsors who helped us make the event possible.”
Karen Hamilton of TinyBites was in attendance as well for this inaugural event. “Ben Garfinkel from Foodists and I had a great time socializing with the people that support the Vancouver Farmers Markets, including behind-the-scenes folk like operations manager Roberta Laquaglia and RIPE event organizer Jackie Connelly.”
“Over the years the Vancouver Farmers Market has seen expanded locations and dates, a decent ad campaign and enjoyed a growing number of attendance. It’s only natural that they seek out a more permanent venue,” said Ben Garfinkel. “RIPE was their first effort at an annual fundraiser meant to take them closer to this goal. With food prepared with local ingredients and a few vendors sampling their products, the evening was a little light on entertainment, but my taste buds got to play!”
Net proceeds from RIPE benefited the the Farmers Nest Egg Fund which supports vendor-farmers and expands the network of local farmers who make Vancouver Farmers Markets possible. RIPE also supports the New City Market, a state-of the-art, sustainable, LEED-certified, multi-function venue to house a winter/year-round farmers market and resource facility.
“It was heartening to learn more about the proposed New City Market,” noted Karen. “[It’s] a permanent lodging that they’re hoping to secure in the Main and Terminal area. Think Granville Island Public Market for locals, with an exclusive focus on BC grown or produced goods.”
Now that the RIPE event is over, a more permanent market and education about local ingredients is the focus. “The RIPE blog will take a bit of a breather, but continue to bring some recapping of this years event, and developments for RIPE 2010,” said Connelly. “Our goal will continue to be raising money for the New City Market and to support farmers in need with the establishment of a Farmers Nest Egg Fund.”
If you would like to get involved, check out the RIPE blog for information and contact info.
