The final day of the Vancouver International Film Festival was cause for celebration. Over the course of about two weeks, 140,000 people sat in on screenings, took part in discussions and enjoyed cinematic masterpieces from around the world.
Thanks to the fine people at Hbc (otherwise known as Th Bay) I was set up with a personal shopper who was kind enough to find me a dress for the VIFF Closing Gala Party. There’s nothing like walking into a store and having someone hand-pick items for you to try – there’s also nothing like them telling you exactly when something doesn’t work at all for you. Thanks to Sarah (at the downtown location) and Neesha, we were able to find a garment that was a deep greenish-blue (“peacock feather” colour), figure-flattering, and that I was totally comfortable wearing.
I’ve always been a huge fan of The Bay, usually because when you grab a designer item (like my Nine West tunic) off the 30% clearance rack and take it to the till, it’s marked down an additional 10-15%. Not sure how that always seem to happen to me but I’m not going to complain.
Full disclosure: The dress is going back today (no, I didn’t purchase it, keep the tags on, etc.), it was just a loaner from Hbc, but thanks to this experience I’ll probably head back to The Bay for my holiday dress needs (there was an amazing black dress number JS Collections that I fell in love with but just wasn’t right for last night).
More disclosure: The gala was great, the food was amazing, however the best part was spending time with my lovely sister. We caught up on her trip to Germany, ranted about strata councils, and enjoyed a nice healthy helping of the Wild Horse Canyon red that kept magically appearing in our wine glasses.
Thanksgiving is usually a time of reflection on my blog; memories of heading to my Oma and Opa’s house for a big turkey dinner, raking the leaves in the front yard and then riding the BMX straight through the pile. Eating so much at supper time as Oma tells you to keep going, “you’re too skinny!” meanwhile you just know the next time she sees you she’ll comment on how she thinks you’ve gained weight.
There’s a lot going on around town this weekend and while memories like these make me smile, I’m also reminded of those who probably won’t be able to enjoy a warm meal come Monday (or any day next week). Here are a few events and details about how you can help out this season:
John Chow, our local, infamous, million dollar blogger, is encouraging his readers to donate to the Union Gospel Mission. He’s even offering to match every donation up to $1,000. “All readers making donations will be recognized in a blog post this Friday. If you have a website or blog, I will link to it. If you think about it, this is a pretty inexpensive way to get a link on this blog.”
The UGM also had a radiothon with JRfm yesterday and even though country ain’t my thing, the listeners of that station raised enough to supply 7,416 meals. “Our goal is to raise enough to server 10,600 meals: about 3000 of those meals will be served this Monday for Thanksgiving, and the rest will be served to Vancouver’s hungriest people throughout the fall season.” Donations are still being accepted and the cost of a UGM turkey dinner is only $2.59 (less than a Grande Mocha at Starbucks)
I would also like to note that the Surrey Food Bank operates separately from the GVFBS and that donations and contributions are also being accepted in preparation for the season ahead. “1 in 4 children in Surrey live below the poverty line and 45% of our clients are children and babies.” [AboutSFB]
Update: A few hours after writing this post I received a reminder from the Blog Action Day team (and a few other bloggers as well). October 15th is “Blog Action Day” which is, “an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.” This year’s theme is poverty.
Although their website is fantastic, you can’t easily search the list of participating bloggers, and sifting through the 350 pages of listings might be a bit daunting. As such, I’ll try to have some coverage up here – highlighting some regional bloggers that are spreading awareness about these issues on Blog Action Day.
I have also signed up for a Change.org profile, that connects bloggers with non-profits for fundraising and look forward to trying out the service in the future.
When I was interviewing local filmmakers Colin Cunningham and Madison Graie earlier this month I used Matthew Good as an example of an artist that has had great success with iTunes since they were excited about their short film’s premiere later this month. As it turns out Matt has done it again with his latest digital release.
Through hard work, self-promotion, and the power of the internets, his latest album Live at Massey Hall has climbed the iTunes charts, just days after becoming available.
October 7th iTunes Release: The entire album will be released internationally and the first 12 tracks will be available in Canada.
October 7th Physical Release Pre-sales: Pre-sales for the limited edition double CD will begin on October 7th through the Matthew Good online store. Note that the store is able to take international orders.
November 4th Physical Release: 10,000 limited edition double CD’s will be released at retail in Canada. Availability of the vinyl release will also be available on the online store and at retail. The remaining 8 tracks will also be available on this date on the Canadian iTunes store for $6.99.
You can listen to some preview tracks on his site but if you are familiar with any of his music or live shows over the last decade, you certainly will not be disappointed with this 20-song, double-sided gem.
For the last few years the Stanley Park Ecological Society has offered up an educational, yet equally fun, alternative to the Stanley Park Train. Last year during the Christmas season’s Bright Nights, the SPES ran the Humbug Hike and this year in October you can check out the Creatures of the Night walk.
Stow yer candy and batten down yer hatches matey- this year’s theme for the Ghost Train is “Pirates” and the Stanley Park Ecology Society will be offering a “Creatures of the Night” walk that’ll knock the parrot off yer shoulder! Bring an eye patch and yer best “Yarr” and join us to navigate the nocturnal creatures of Stanley Park in a search for buried treasure. Bats, owls, and flying squirrels ahoy! [SPES]
The walks will take place every 30 minutes, starting at 7:00pm and ending at 9:30pm, on the following dates: October 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 and November 1. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for kids (compared to the $9.00/$5.50 for the train ride).
If you’re looking for a little more interaction with the park, on October 25th the SPES along with the Vancouver Aquarium will host “Fish or Treat“, which consists of a two hour walk followed by a themed sleepover at the Aquarium.
Finally, on October 26th from 1:00pm until 3:00pm at the Stanley Park Dining Pavilion, Jean Barman, author of “Stanley Park’s Secret: The Forgotten Families of Whoi-Whoi, Kanaka Ranch, and Brockton Point” will lead a talk about the forgotten women of Stanley Park. Admission is by donation.
It’s been a little while since I added to the Miss604 Vancouver Blogger Profile series but I’m picking it up with someone who is far more than simply a blogger – Joe Solomon of EngageJoe.
Who are you?
I’m a social media consultant for nonprofits and social change projects, which basically means I help people, organizations, and start-ups use the web for good.
Most recently, I’ve been working on a few web applications. For example, I wrote to Knowmore.org in February with the idea for the Knowmore Firefox Extension – which we then built – and it now alerts thousands of people to the social and environmental impact of products and companies as they browse the web.
