Earlier this month I previewed a few upcoming events that all ages can enjoy for free throughout the city this summer. I’m excited to add to the list Carousel Theatre’s presentation of Macbeth, which will run on the Performance Works Outdoor Stage on Granville Island form July 31st until August 15th.
A haunting tragedy of vaulting ambition in the castles of Scotland –a murdered king, evil witches, and a Scottish lord’s bloody rise to power.
The show is entirely free of charge and to make it even more interesting, it is being presented by the Teen Shakespeare Program, starring 13-17 year olds from around the Lower Mainland. The Gothic retelling of Macbeth will be the culmination the teens’ intense 6-week program with the Carousel Theatre, which is now in its 19th year.
They will also be hosting a silent auction in order to raise funds to keep this inspirational and creative program going in the future.
Bring a blanket (and some warm clothes for the cool summer nights) to the Performance Works Outdoor Stage (Ron Basford Park) at 1218 Cartwright Street, on Granville Island to enjoy this free event until August 15th.
After walking around Central Park this morning, I started thinking about Stanley Park back home and that it would be a great time to rustle up a quick history tidbits post.
At 1,000 acres Stanley Park is just slightly bigger than New York’s Central Park (843 acres)
July 27, 1911: The Province reported that one third of Vancouver’s population had passed through the gates of Stanley Park during the week of July 10-16, making it one of the most popular pleasure resorts the Terminal City possesses.†[source]
Stanley Park is named after Lord Stanley who also has a prized hockey trophy named after him. Check out this post I wrote a little while ago with links to some great hockey history.
Plans for gun emplacements in Stanley Park, between Second and Third Beach (near the Pauline Johnson Memorial) up on Ferguson Point were made Juanary 19, 1938. [source]
In 1964 Vancouver’s Mayor Bill Rathie and Park Board Chairman George Wainborn drove the last spike in the Stanley Park miniature railway. [source]
The original Lumberman’s Arch
Deadman’s Island is so named because it was once the site of native burial grounds (and was later used by white settlers for the same purpose). [source]
When I was at the City Archives there was a great photo of the perimeter road in Stanley Park, covered (paved) in calcined shells, which originated from a midden near Lumberman’s Arch, where the First Nations village Xway-xway was located. In some places the shells went down 8 feet so they ended up using it for the road all the way from Coal Harbour, around Brockton Point, and over to Prospect Point. — On this note, I would highly recommend checking out the Museum of Anthropology if you’d like to learn more about the area’s history – going back hundreds of years through First Nations culture.
Related post: Vancouver History Tidbits: Stanley Park Trails & the history series.
Since I’m currently away on business I won’t have much time to post until tomorrow. However, this morning was just too good not to cover.
The only thing better than taking a morning stroll down the bustling streets of Manhattan is doing so in the company of Michael DiLorenzo, the Director of Social Media Marketing & Strategy for the National Hockey League.
Fun times are ahead for the rest of today and tonight, but I’ll see everyone back in Vancouver (if even just virtually) tomorrow evening.
The following has been contributed to the Park Series by Raul of hummingbird604.com
I had been wanting to go for a hike to Buntzen Lake for a long while, but for one reason or another, I hadn’t gotten a chance, so one of my recent Sunday evenings JT and I decided to go for a short hike and we settled on (finally!) the Buntzen Lake area. I noticed that Rebecca had recently visited Belcarra Regional Park and I wanted to contribute to her Park Series with a post about Buntzen Lake.
Photo credit:
phobus on Flickr
How to Get There You could drive all the way to Anmore/Belcarra but the sustainable mode of transportation would be taking Skytrain or the 160 Express to Coquitlam Centre Station and from there the community shuttle C26.
View Larger Map
Metrics Buntzen Lake is a BC Hydro reservoir, located about 30 km from Vancouver, with an overall area of 182 hectares and a length of 4.8 km. HISTORY From the BC Hydro site:
Formerly known as Lake Beautiful, the lake is named after the first general manager of B.C. Electric Co., Johannes Buntzen. In 1903 the Buntzen hydroelectric project was put in service by the Vancouver Power Company to provide the first hydroelectric power to Vancouver. Previously, the city had to depend on a 1,500-kilowatt (kW) steam plant for its power supply. The project involved raising the level of the dam on Coquitlam Lake and excavating a 3.6 km tunnel to carry water from Coquitlam Lake to Buntzen Lake. The tunnel runs under Eagle Mountain, reaching a maximum depth of 1.2 km below the surface, and empties into the north end of Buntzen Lake.
Water from Buntzen Lake is used to feed the Burrard Generating Station. While one of the generating plants (Buntzen 2) is still in operation, and monitored from a facility in Burnaby, Buntzen 1 (built in 1903 and shut down in 1951) is no longer functioning.
Notes Buntzen Lake has a variety of amenities and thus it is a popular site for beach-goers and hikers alike. Trails are clearly marked, and there is a short (Energy) trail that has a number of cute little displays that allow hikers to learn more about the area (similar to an interpretive display). There’s also a hollow tree but not as big as the one in Stanley Park.
Dr Raul Pacheco is a local blogger, teacher, researcher and consultant on water governance, environmental policy and urban sustainability.
Tim Hortons, Canada’s favourite coffee and donut pit stop, is rolling into New York with many locations opening up today. This means that at this time tomorrow (even though I don’t take sugar in my coffee) I could be getting a double double from their new Broadway, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station or Times Square locations. Two locations are also planned for Brooklyn.
I’m flying out to New York today and although it won’t be a long trip, I’m looking forward to seeing this amazing city once again. I was last there six years ago for a quick weekend stay while I was living in Boston — and I swear one of these days I’ll spend more than 48 hours in the city.
Tim Hortons chain has already been in the US for several year and has headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. I’m unsure how Americans will take to our TimHo coffee especially after seeing how many Vancouverites (according to a poll I ran on my site a while back) prefer specialty roasts from cafes.
During my time in Boston I became a fan of two things (coffee-wise): Dunkin Donuts, and Peet’s. Peet’s in Cambridge was a regular pit stop for me when I was taking the shuttle to work and I visited my first Peet’s in Berkeley about seven years ago. Double D or D Squared was like my ‘Tim Hortons away from home’. The location in the Harvard red line station was also a morning pit stop (in case I missed my shuttle). My mother is still a fan of their roasts so I usually pick up a pack from Target when making an afternoon shopping trip south of the border as well.
It’s kind of neat to think that I could be ordering the same thing tomorrow morning as I did today – although if anyone has some suggestions on where I can get breakfast tomorrow (preferably some place with the word “diner” in the title) that would be great.