I once wrote a brief history of burlesque in Vancouver even though the form is still alive and kicking in this town. Such is evident in the opening of Shine: A Burlesque Musical at the Waterfront theatre on Granville Island.

SHINE: A Burlesque Musical is a tassel-twirling original musical about an infamous burlesque theatre and the family of talented misfits who try to save it from demolition… or worse, respectability

Photo credit: Frank Julian Roberts, Helianthus Photography

Written and created by Cass King, John Woods and Sam Dulmage. Directed by Jen Cressey. Choreography by Lauren Allen (AKA April O’Peel) and Rebecca Franklin (aka Melody Mangler). The show is 18+ and will be running from August 12th until August 22nd.

You can purchase tickets online for $25 or if you would like to attend any of the performances, please leave a comment below or re-tweet this post and you’ll be entered to win. The winner will be drawn on Wednesday August 12th.

Update: The winner has been drawn, congratulations Alisha!

I decided to treat myself tonight and give into the cold, silky, smooth temptation of ice cream. While doing so I was reminded of two dessert-related campaigns for good causes that are currently running…

Being the first-ever Canadian flavour for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, the Barenaked Ladies‘ “If I had 1,000,000 Flavours” truly doesn’t disappoint. However it’s not the chocolate and vanilla ice cream that makes this so wonderful, nor is it the chocolate-coated nuts, toffee bits or peanut butter up chunks. It’s the fact that proceeds from every tub sold support ABC Canada.

“ABC Canada Literacy Foundation is Canada’s private-sector voice championing adult literacy. Launched in 1990 – International Literacy Year – by a group of business, labour and education leaders concerned about the social and economic effects of wide-spread literacy challenges among Canadian adults, the national charity raises public awareness of literacy issues.

Working with influential Canadians from a cross-section of disciplines and business sectors, ABC CANADA fosters an environment where all adults have access to opportunities that increase their literacy skills and prepare them to realize their full potential at work, at home and in the community.”

Photo credit: Keira-Anne

In case you like to shake things up a bit, you can also purchase a Dairy Queen Blizzard treat on August 13th for Miracle Treat Day. $1 or more from each Blizzard sold that day will go to the Childrens Miracle Network partner in your area, in this case the BC Childrens Hospital Foundation.

“Miracle Treat Day encourages the support of many communities who work together for local kids who may, someday, require the care they can only receive at a children’s hospital.

On this special day in August, proceeds from the sale of their popular Blizzard® treats will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. They have even incorporated the use of the Internet to pre-sell Blizzards® to businesses in cities and towns across Canada.”

So go ahead, indulge, cave in to the sweet silky chocolate and the fresh blast of the Girl Scout Thin Mint Blizzard knowing that even though that sugar’s probably going straight to your thighs, funds are also going straight to some deserving causes as well. At least that’s how I’m justifying the ice cream kick I’ll be on until August 14th.

Surrey’s Holland Park is the site of several free outdoor movies this summer. In conjunction with their screening of the Mamma Mia movie this Saturday, there will also be a special AirBand competition open to youth and children.

Photo credit: apotheker on Flickr

All kids, 16 and younger, can enter the Movies Under the Stars Long & McQuade AirBand Extravaganza prior to the free screening of the film on August 8th. Each contestant will be able to perform their favourite track with instruments supplied by Long & McQuade if needed. There is a super secret mystery prize for the winner as well.

Registration must take place ahead of time and you can do so by calling (604) 580-2321 or emailing joyce [at] downtownsurreybia [dot] com.

The AirBand competition runs from 5:00pm – 7:00pm and the North Surrey Lions Club will be hosting a BBQ in the park with proceeds going to local charities. The film will begin at dusk.

With VinoCamp CheeseCamp happening tomorrow, I’m in a wine kind of mood.

This morning I went searching for a list of wineries on Twitter and I found the motherload here.

Despite the list being very long, a few local wineries were not represented so since the site is a wiki, I was able to log in and add some entries. Here are just a few BC wineries that are on Twitter (some from the wiki and some I added):

From Vancouver Island to the Okanagan Valley, BC is home to some of the world’s best wine produced by hundreds of vineyards big and small. If you know of any of them who are on Twitter, but not on this wiki, feel free to add them or let me know in the comments. You can follow @VinoCampVan for updates during VinoCamp tomorrow and tickets are still available if you’d like to attend this premiere event.

This morning as the #5 Robson/Downtown bus turned right onto Thurlow, instead of heading straight towards Seymour, I obviously knew something was up. Usually when there are temporary route changes they take the trolley buses out of comission but this bus was following the lines down Thurlow, left on Smithe, and left on Burrard. The bus driver explained that due to paving and the completion of the Granville Street revitalization they aren’t able to cross Granville at Robson until further notice (or what he estimated to be a month). When I got home the first thing I did, of course, was to tweet this information and that’s when the trusty Buzzer Blog chimed in with the pertinent details of this route change.

(Left) Normal Robson #5 Route Map (Right) Robson #5 Re-route Map

“Owing to construction at Granville and Robson, there will be reroutes for the 5, 17 and N6 for about a month: Monday August 3 to Sunday September 6.” You can read more, including updates for the bus lines, over on the Buzzer Blog.