Last fall I heard of an amazing initiative called Beauty Night. It is an event that has been taking place in several cities across Canada for the last few years with a goal to bring women together for a bit of a boost through makeover sessions, book clubs, yoga classes, movie nights, and more.
I recently contacted organizer Caroline MacGillivray (recipient of the 2002 Flare Volunteer Award, among other noble achievements) who was kind enough to answer some questions so that I could share more information with my readers about Beauty Night; “Because dignity is beautiful”.
How did it start?
My best friend from theatre school wrote a script and asked me to play a young suburban girl’s transition to a DTES survival sex worker dealing with addiction. I volunteered at a shelter for research. One night I did one of the ladies hair, makeup and nails because I wanted to see her eyes light up the way little kids do when they see Santa. They did and I started wondering if this could be done for other women.
Who can benefit/Who are the clients in general?
It is win/win for everyone. The entire community benefits. We work in conjunction with agencies and NGOs that provide addiction, mental ill health, and violence against women support. We are able to work together to make a difference in the lives of many. Our volunteers empower the women and themselves by sharing their gifts (skills) with the clients. The programs bridge the gap between different areas of society. I believe this creates a synergy for us to make a positive impact by breaking down barriers and working together.
One third of our clients are seniors, one third is survival sex workers, and the last third is mothers and youth. Many of our clients deal with issues such as poverty, homelessness, addiction, mental ill health, illness – HIV, Hep C. Most of our clients have deal with violence against women.
Who can help?
Everyone. Each of us — to paraphrase Nelson Mandela or Marianne Williamson — have gifts. I like to think of beauty night as a vessel for people to share those gifts. By sharing, they inspire and heal others and themselves.
Beauty industry professionals and medical professionals are the staple of our programming. We have volunteers for fitness, media, and literacy. We do need help with our media, fundraising and website.
We do need volunteers to facilitate events in Vancouver, Toronto and Prince George.
How can others contribute?
They can donate online — if they go to CanadaHelps they can donate to Beauty Night. We are a registered charity so we can issue tax receipts for monetary donations.
What services or products can be donated?
Beauty products – mascara wands, nail files, barbacide are most needed.
Storage space, fitness equipment like jump ropes, twist products, etc. Journals for the literacy program. Printing – brochures, posters, business cards, etc. Hair dressing, grant proposal writing, yoga instructors.
Check out the Beauty Night website to learn about upcoming events in your community or to contact Caroline about how you can assist with these programs.
Once again the Yaletown Brewing Company is packed shoulder-to-shoulder with business folks, techies, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in beer and networking at the first Ideas on Tap of 2009.
I’m not presenting this time around, I’ve actually been commissioned to cover this event live on my site by Media2O Productions so I’ll be providing updates throughout the night.
The elevator pitches will begin at about 6:10pm and we’ll see quick talks from the following: Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
I recently received an email about the Pattullo; in fact more information came in this email than I could find anywhere else online or on any of my favourite history sites. As I trust the source (more than any online source), I’ll share what has been revealed to me.
“Enclosed attached pics are of the wooden part of the Bridge. Contrary to the reports, the timbers were generally not “creosote soaked.” There were some huge natural beams, at least a foot thick, and they were dry, untreated wood. If you want to see creosote, look at the railway trestle. The bridge timbers were not like that, because they didn’t need to be. They were kept covered and dry, not dug into the peat bog.”
“The Pattullo Bridge was built not on the King George, which did not exist at the time. The main road from the Bridge, constructed along 112 Ave and up Peterson Hill, was the “New Yale Road” and soon after the Yale Road itself would be renamed the Trans-Provincial Highway, and later Trans-Canada Highway.
When the Pattullo was built the Highway was realigned on Peterson Hill and at Whalley’s corner and widened to four lanes. This was the first section of 4-lane highway in the Province of BC. You can still walk the old portions of 2-lane highway on Peterson Hill — this little part of the road looks very much as it did 50 years ago — and at Whalley’s Corner — the section on both sides of 108th Ave, on the east side of the highway where it curves to the south.”
“Until the 60’s highway addresses in Whalley were Trans Canada Hwy. The Peace Arch Highway was constructed soon after the Pattullo was built. It ran from “White House Corner” — where King George Station is now — to the border. It was renamed with the visit of King George in 1939. “The Junction” where the Peace Arch Highway met the Trans-Canada (King George Stn) was a major bottle neck.
Vancouver Public Library – Public Domain
“The concrete-paved traffic deck of the Pattullo Bridge is 46 feet wide, allowing ample accommodation for four lanes of motor traffic, with a 6-foot sidewalk for pedestrians” trumpeted the Department of Public Works. The highway was widened to the same width. This allowed for four 11-foot lanes and a 2-foot median. There were eight toll-booths on the Surrey side of the Pattullo. The bridge was a hugely controversial project and there was spirited political opposition to its construction. Afterward people complained about the tolls. Scott Road originally met the Highway at an intersection and was the scene of many accidents.”
“Also, it was not that long ago that they moved the lamp standards to the outside of the railing. They used to rise directly above the railing and took out almost as many truck mirrors as did that notorious section of 12th Ave, near Fraser, where the standards stood flush with the curb on a narrow piece of roadway.”
“In one picture [in the VPL database] you can see, in the background, the old “Blue Mouse” Hotel of Johnny Wise, built at the time the old bridge was used and torn down soon after the Patullo was constructed. It stood on Bridge Road, named not for the Pattullo, but because it was the access from (Old) Yale Road to the Westminster Bridge. Bridge Road was at first a plank road, looping under the CN trestle and rising to the deck above the railway. It would be nice, in fact the jewel in the crown of cycling and pedestrian routes, to have this historic bridge preserved and used once again in that capacity after it’s replacement is built.”
My husband has been commuting along the Cambie corridor for over a year and has seen the area develop, buildings reach the sky, and new shops open their doors. Last July CHANGE moved in, (between Starbucks and Save-On-Foods) and he was quick to tell me about this European lingerie boutique. For Christmas he treated me to a gift certificate so that I could pop in, since he certainly encourages purchases of this nature.
I walked into CHANGE and within a few minutes the proprietor, Yvonne, was giving me a fitting and loading me up with armfuls of lacy, seamless, lifted, soft, contouring styles of bras (as that particular garment was the purpose my mission today). I’ve had fittings before at Victoria’s Secret but I actually learned a lot more from Yvonne regarding straps, tightness, and the placement of the underwire on a garment that actually fits well.
Another thing I noticed was that the sizes go all the way up to “J”, which is great. Not that I need a “J” by any means but for a woman whose size (in certain styles) is not carried at other shops or boutiques, it was great to see the selection.
CHANGE is currently having a sale and most of the store is 25% to 50% off (I seriously almost purchased an amazing bra that was 50% off $98 from the ‘charade‘ collection). The styles are classy, colourful, and I’m actually pretty excited about their swimwear collection that is being moved in for Spring 2009.
If you have the chance, check out CHANGE of Scandinavia on Cambie (support businesses along the Canada Line!) or at one of their other Lower Mainland locations.
Last November I was a guest of the Vancouver Opera for their season-opening performance of Eugine Onegin. I hadn’t been to the opera in over ten years and the experience was lovely. Since that time, the Vancouver Opera and I have been brewing up something very special (thanks to a suggestion from Tris) and our ideas and initiatives have come to fruition with Blogger Night at Carmen.
French opéra comique by Georges Bizet,
CarmenOn Tuesday, January 27th, I will be joined by a group of top-notch bloggers at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre: Best of 604 Awards nominees, Kimli, Tanya and Ami from Beyond Robson.
We’ll be setup to live blog before the curtain goes up and during the intermissions, sharing our thoughts, opinions, photos and videos. I’m excited to see this legendary masterpiece and look forward to spotting OperaGal up on stage. Stay tuned next week to share our evening, and visit the Vancouver Opera site if for more information.
