The circus in general is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year but it sure has come a long way. No longer featuring animals, the circus today is about acrobatics, gymnastics, aerial displays and athleticism – especially when it comes to Circa. Australia’s answer to Cirque du Soleil, Circa is coming to Vancouver, bringing its brand of performance art to The Chan Centre on April 28th.

Justin Nicholas, Atmosphere Photography

Chan Centre Presents Circa: Opus

When: Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 8:00pm
Where: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (UBC, 6265 Crescent Road)
Tickets: Fro $46. Available by calling 604-822-2697, going online, or visiting the Chan Centre ticket office.

Since forming in Brisbane, Australia in 2004, Circa has become an international sensation, being called to perform in more than 35 countries. In Opus, 14 acrobats—some of whom will be suspended from the Chan Centre ceiling—will perform gravity-defying feats as they interact with the four musicians of France’s esteemed Debussy String Quartet. This genre-defying work pushes the boundaries of ‘nouveau cirque’ to the stirring music of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Described by The Guardian as “truly virtuosic,” Circa is led by Australia-based contemporary circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz. Featuring an ensemble of exceptional, multi-skilled performing artists from Australia and beyond, Circa’s award-winning works have been praised by critics for stretching the perceptions of traditional circus.

Enter to Win

The Chan Centre has offered up a pair of tickets for a lucky Miss604 reader to see Circa: Opus. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, April 23, 2018. Follow The Chan Centre on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information about upcoming shows.

The evolution of 1410 on your AM dial continues in Metro Vancouver as it was announced this morning that it will become BNN Bloomberg Radio, Canada’s first business news radio station, launching in conjunction with the new brand on Monday, April 30.

1410 BNN Bloomberg Radio

From this morning’s press release:

“Featuring a simulcast of BNN Bloomberg’s linear television broadcast and in-depth, live, long-form, specialty programming from Bloomberg’s radio service, BNN Bloomberg Radio keeps listeners across the country up-to-date on breaking business news as it happens. The station is powered by BNN Bloomberg’s team of trusted journalists as well as contributions from Bloomberg’s 2,700 business journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries.

As TSN Radio 1410 Vancouver becomes the all-new BNN Bloomberg Radio, Vancouver sports fans can continue to tune in to TSN Radio 1040 Vancouver, which retains its fan-favourite all-sports format. TSN 1040 expands its live radio broadcast schedule to feature content previously delivered by TSN 1410.

BNN Bloomberg Radio will be available for live streaming across the country through the iHeartRadio Canada app, and locally in Metro Vancouver on HD Radio at 103.5 HD3 and on 1410 AM.

Additionally, Bell Media Radio will integrate a broad array of short- and long-form radio reports from BNN Bloomberg Radio into its news/talk stations across Canada, led by The Takeaway with Amanda Lang, a daily radio update from the BNN Bloomberg host featuring updates on the most significant business news of the day.

BNN Bloomberg Radio also delivers voice-activated business news updates via the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa on phones as well as smart speakers such as Google Home and Amazon Echo Spot.”

Also this week in local radio news, it was also announced that Vancouver’s Roundhouse Radio 98.3 will be shutting down as of April 30.

If you’re looking for the best restaurants in Vancouver, and have combined searches on review sites with word-of-mouth referrals, add the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards to your reference list. Over the last 29 years the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards have crowned the top restaurants, chefs, bartenders and suppliers, becoming the go-to list for what’s hot (and delicious) in the city.

Best Restaurants in Vancouver

Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards

Restaurant of the Year: St. Lawrence

This year, Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards newcomer St. Lawrence (269 Powell Street) made a bold entrance into the city’s food scene – winning both Best New Restaurant and Restaurant of the Year. The awards show recognized winners in 41 different categories as Vancouver’s top culinary talent came together to celebrate the industry’s best.

Chef of the Year honours went to Alex Chen. The award recognizes the Herculean effort that that Chen has put forward since opening Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar (845 Burrard St) in 2014. The judges lauded how he “moved a very traditional hotel kitchen forward into fresh, exciting cooking” as well as how he “effortlessly brings Asian sensibility, lightness and nuance to his menu”. His talents contributed to Boulevard’s breakout win of both Best Upscale and Best Seafood this year.

“The common thread among this year’s best restaurants are head chefs who are hands-on in the kitchen. Whether it’s JC Poirier at St. Lawrence or Alex Chen at Boulevard, restaurants where the chef is actively involved in the nitty-gritty of food preparation are reaping the benefits,” said Neal McLennan, Food Editor, Vancouver Magazine. “We are thrilled to celebrate St. Lawrence and Boulevard as well as all the other talented teams who took home Restaurant Awards this year.”

Yaletown institution Cioppino’s (1133 Hamilton St) regained its top spot in the Best Italian category while shake-ups occurred in categories like Best Japanese (Masayoshi, 4376 Fraser St) and Best Dim Sum (Golden Paramount, 8071 Park Rd, Richmond). This year’s show saw a number of categories put back into the rotation, including Best Steakhouse (Hy’s Encore, 637 Hornby St), Best Pizza (Via Tevere, 1190 Victoria Drive) and Best Ramen (Marutama).

A surprise upset occurred when The Grill Room at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler was awarded Best Whistler. Meanwhile, perennial winners Dynasty Seafood (108-777 West Broadway), Le Crocodile (909 Burrard St) and Maenam (1938 W 4th Ave) successfully defended their titles as Best Chinese, Best French and Best Thai, respectively.

The Sunday brunch crowd has a new place of pilgrimage with Burdock & Co. (2702 Main St) being awarded Best Brunch. Outside of the Lower Mainland, Agrius (732 Yates, Victoria) repeated its win of Best Victoria while Waterfront Wines (1180 Sunset Dr, Kelowna) continued its streak as Best Okanagan.

Grapes and Soda (1541 W 6th Ave) won the newly resurrected Best Bar category while their bar manager, Satoshi Yonemori, took home Bartender of the Year; Fairmont Hotel’s wine director, Jill Spoor, was named Sommelier of the Year; and Kelowna’s Stoney Paradise won the Producer/Supplier award.

Sunset from Waterfront Wines in Kelowna. Read Steff’s post here.

Anthony von Mandl of Mission Hill Winery was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Restaurant Awards were judged by a panel of 14 leading food and wine experts and were handed out at a formal awards show at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver on Monday, April 16th.

Read the full list of winners on the Vancouver Magazine website here »

Make It Vancouver‘s spring market is coming up April 20-22, 2018 at the PNE Forum, featuring 175 artists and makers! Stock up on accessories, jewellery, clothing, art, home decor, food, baby/kid items, and lots of other beautifully crafted goods. Feel good about what you buy, while being inspired by the Makies’ creativity.

Make It Vancouver

• Where: PNE Forum (2901 East Hastings St, Vancouver)
• When: Friday, April 20, 11:00am to 9:00pm; Saturday, April 21, 10:00am to 6:00pm; Sunday, April 22, 11:00am to 5:00pm
• Tickets: Available online. $6 at the door, free for kids 12 & under. Download a printable or sharable $2 off coupon.

As always, there will be delicious food trucks and a beer garden so make sure you come hungry n’ thirsty. When you’re at the show make sure you check out the Grand Prize draw and charity silent auction with beautiful items donated by our generous Makies. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit the Union Gospel Mission.

Make It started in 2008 and has grown to be one of the largest craft fairs in Canada with bi-annual shows in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. Collectively they work with over 1,000 independent artists, makers, and local brands each year, and the shows attract more than 95,000 conscious shoppers in total.

Win a Prize Pack

I have a lovely prize pack worth $175 to give away that includes a Vancity T-shirt by Ole Original (@oleoriginals), a Chooli Blanket by Elroy Apparel (@elroyapparel), and a Maple Seed Necklace by Shallow Jewellery (@swallowjewellery). The winner will also receive two free tickets to Make It Vancouver.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00pm on Thursday, April 19, 2018. Follow Make It Vancouver on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.

I always love being a tourist in my hometown, and learning something new about a place that I’m already very familiar with. The same goes with a simple walk in the forest. You might think all trees are the same, but each one is unique. This spring I met up with Candace Campo, founder of Talaysay Tours, at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park to take a walk near her ancestral home in Sechelt, along BC’s Sunshine Coast.

Getting to Know the Forests of the Sunshine Coast

Talaysay Tours is known for its awesome Talking Trees tour, as well other tours up the Sea to Sky and Sunshine Coast. I got to soak up the wonders of the coastal temperate rainforest of the Sunshine Coast with Candace, who shared her vast knowledge of local indigenous agriculture, aquaculture, and regional history during our tour.

We strolled around the lush green trail beside Angus Creek as she pointed out berries, plants, and trees – giving recommendations, tips, and being the ultimate natural Yelp reviewer for the forest’s bounty. One of the elements that stuck with me the was how the forest was so useful to humans, as well as deeply respected.

I feel like I made new friends that day, by getting to know some of the amazing uses, features, and perks of these trees found on the Sunshine Coast. You can read about the Cedar (aka the Tree of Life), Alder, Douglas Fir, Maple, and Western Hemlock in the story I wrote for ZenSeekers »

I highly recommend that you explore the forests of the Sunshine Coast, in particular with Candace and her team at Talaysay Tours. If you think all trails, creeks, and evergreens are the same – think again! You’ll find yourself making connections, learning, and growing. And as Candace puts it, establishing a new relationship with the forest. It will feel amazing.

Read my full story on ZenSeekers »

If You Go

BC Ferries leaves from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to the Sunshine Coast with around 10 sailings daily, plus sailings from Vancouver Island to the northern Sunshine Coast (Powell River), or you can take advantage of the many other transportation services including float planes, passenger ferry service, and more.

Sunshine Coast Tourism can help make plans.

Tag #SunshineCoastBC and #ZenSeekers on your travels here and you might be featured on their social media channels.