Victory Square to me means remembrance as each year on November 11th the city gathers to remember and honor those who gave their lives for this country. However while searching through my favourite local source, Vancouver History, I found out a bit more about this monument.
“April 27, 1924: The Cenotaph at Vancouver’s Victory Square was unveiled in a ceremony presided over by Mayor William Reid Owen. A memorial to Vancouver’s soldiers who died in France, its inscription reads: “Their name liveth for ever more / Is it nothing to you—All ye that pass by.â€
The site was originally outlined in 1886 by Lauchlan Hamilton who surveyed much of Vancouver and named many of its streets. The cenotaph itself is 33 feet high and made of Nelson Island granite [War Monuments in Canada]
Over the years it has hosted numerous events, and has seen many protests and demonstrations.
In 1931, during the Great Depression, the British Columbia Government established work camps for single, unemployed men throughout the province. In these isolated camps, workers laboured for 44 hours a week, 6 days a week, for 20 cents a day plus room in board, often in substandard conditions. Frustrated with the work conditions, these workers organized and formed the Relief Camp Workers’ Union in 1933, which struggled for the rights of the workers…
…In April 1935, approximately 2,000 workers left the camps and congregated in Vancouver, beginning a general strike to protest the low wages and camp conditions. Throughout the General Strike, Victory Square was a frequent rallying point for the workers. On April 23, 1935, workers demonstrated at the Hudson’s Bay store and were dispersed and arrested by police. The workers assembled in Victory Square. From the steps of the Daily Province Building at 198 West Hastings Street (where Victory Square Law Office is located), Mayor Pat McGeer read the Riot Act to the crowd to disperse them. [Victory Square Law Office]
On September first the corner of Cambie and Hastings will be alive with entertainment during the Victory Square Block Party [Only Magazine] [Facebook Event]. It will be worth checking out this site not only for its historical significance but also to celebrate the community around it.
One of the things I love about this city is its diversity – ethnically, culturally, socially and everything in between. We seem to find a way to celebrate all walks of life and invite others to do the same. Today, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival kicks off for a week of parties, gala celebrations, and of course, film.
I have a festival pass so I’ll reporting back on some of the above and I am also sharing the love thanks to the VQFF with a movie pass giveaway:
Confessions of a Sorta Str8 Drag King
Saturday, August 23, 2008, 7:00 PM
Cinemark Tinseltown (3rd floor, 88 West Pender St)
“Alexis Fosse Mackintosh (Let No One Put Asunder, 2004 Vancouver Queer Film Festival People’s Choice Award winner) returns to the Festival with another documentary, this time investigating the complex (and raunchy and fun) arena of drag king performance and gender identity… …From a personal account of the public presentation of sexuality, to a discussion about the radical position that femme identities occupy in queer communities, interviews with the film’s
subject add valuable dimension to issues of contemporary queer culture.” [VQFF]
This is the world premiere of the movie and the director (Alexis Fosse Mackintosh) will be in attendance. If you would like to attend simply leave a comment below. A winner will be drawn on August 20th and will be able to attend the screening with a guest.
After the weekend’s festivities John and I had some time on our own to explore more of what Kansas City has to offer.
We have been lucky enough to sample the most delicious food during our visit – both home-cooked and out at restaurants, even partaking in some Spanish tapas this evening with John’s mom, Aunt and Uncle.
I’ve been working on and off during this trip, completing my weekly E! article and responding to a few emails so it hasn’t really felt entirely like a vacation. Regardless, we have spent quality time with some amazing people and truly enjoyed their company.
We take off tomorrow and I’ll hit the ground running as Thursday it’s back to work. The West Coast centric posts will resume but I always enjoy writing about my travels. I honestly don’t think this blog would be much if I never actually left the city as going away helps me gain more perspective and appreciate what we have at home in Vancouver.
As a side note (and this is the first time I’ve actually mentioned this on my blog) there is a weekly Vancouver survey that awards the top voted blogs bragging rights along with some cash. It’s powered by Voter Media and is mainly for political blogs but they’re made an exception for Miss604.com.
If you’d like to vote for me, please head on over and feel free to browse the other great sites that are listed such as David Eby, The Tyee or Stephen Rees.
Four months ago Duane and Dale of Brave New Code revolutionized the way you look at blogs on your iPhone with WPtouch.
They are currently gearing up for the 2.0 release which will feature the following:
Additional configuration options in the administration panel
Integration will several third party plugins
Additional javascript optimizations for faster loading times
Full internationalization (i.e. language) support
Support for mobile m.domainname.com names
Full theming support, so users can create their own themes, and download new themes from BraveNewCode
Default inclusion of several extra themes for added user customization
[Source: Brave New Code]
WPtouch is basically a seamless and highly customizable plugin you run on your WordPress site that does not affect regular web browsing but enhances and optimizes the look on the iPhone.
There are so many great things being developed at Brave New Code and I’m pretty proud to help share and promote their works. We can probably expect WPtouch 2.0 to be released by the end of this month.
It’s been a tough week for our bellies here in Kansas City, surrounded by delicious food yet at the same time lacking some serious vegetable and fruit nutrients. Since we’re also on a sort of vacation, our late-rising tendencies in the morning have left us with few options for breakfast (say, at 11:00am). All changed this morning when we met John’s parents over at the FirstWatch in Westport – an up and coming heritage district in town complete with multiple coffee shops and sushi bars (which make me somewhat homesick already).
Being a fan of greasy spoon diner breakfast but also healthy food, we had the best of both worlds with this experience and were surrounded by a comfortable, non-pretentious, family dining atmosphere. When you sit down at your table you’re given a coffee carafe and a jug of water with a slice of lemon that remain yours to keep until you leave. The whole coffee pot on the table concept is something I’m truly enjoying as I believe back home you can only find this at the IHOP.
FirstWatch’s menu is purely for lunch and breakfast dinning and contains several trademarked items like the “crepeEgg” which I ordered. A light fluffy crepe filled with egg, smoked turkey, mushrooms, fresh spinach, onions and Monterey Jack cheese all topped (not drenched) with diced tomatoes, hollandaise and dill. The meal also came with their trademarked potatoes and an English muffin. They also do not use trans-fats and have carb-free or gluten-free options. The abundance of veggie omelets and options was also refreshing and for the four of us to eat the bill came to less than $40.
Unless John’s mom is up for making us some chorizo and eggs in the morning, we’ll probably head back there again tomorrow. Great breakfast, never ending coffee – and I’ll also forgive the fact that they have auto-play music on their website because they also offer free wifi.
