Spirit of Stanley Park
Last weekend of June, 2008
Entrance to Stanley Park @ English Bay
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No Pants Party for the Underwear Affair
Thursday, June 26, 2008 9:00 pm – 2:00 am
Cellar Nightclub Vancouver BC, 1006 Granville Street
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Run for Canada
July 1, 2008 8:00am (Registration begins at 6:30am)
West Cordova St. & Bute St
[More Info]
Slice of Summer: A Summer Extravaganza (Killarney Youth Council)
July 5, 2008 1:00pm – 5:00 pm
6260 Killarney Street, Vancouver
[More Info]
ALS Adventure Challenge
Saturday, July 19, 2008 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Panorama Park, North Vancouver
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Rona MS Bike Tour
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Creekside Park, Science World
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BCSPCA Paws for a Cause
Sunday, September 14, 2008 10:00am
Various Sites
[More Info]
Annual Terry Fox Run
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Various Run Sites
[More Info]
Walk for Mercy
Saturday, September 20, 2008 10:00am-1:00pm (Registration begins at 9:00am)
Stanley Park @ Second Beach
[More Info]
If you know of a non-profit event that is not included (or if you have more information about any of the events) please feel free to contact me regarding promotion and blog post coverage.
On Friday I was over at the Strutta event tucked into an office with DaveO while his brother fed us draft updates over the phone. I admit I was much more involved in the processed when the event was held in Vancouver but nevertheless, there were some interesting results.
Continuing my Surrey love-fest this morning, it’s my pleasure to announce (although many already know) that a hometown Surrey hockey player Prab Rai has been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks.
“Though he’s not the first Indian to be drafted, he’s one of very few over the years,” noted Alanah on Canucks and Beyond who links to this blog in her post:
“The Vancouver Canucks drafted Prab Rai (full name Prabhraj) in the 5th Round of the 2008 draft… …He is from the city that love built, Sunny Surrey, BC. Is he the first Indian guy to play in the league? No, that was Robin Bawa who played a game or two here and there, who’s career highlight was a missed bodycheck knocking out the glass. Hopefully this guy makes it up to play, and plays well, you know he’d be a fan favourite. I’m sure every brown guy in BC is claiming he’s his cousin already anyways.” [Blog Trot]
Interview while playing for Seattle in the WHL
The Province even called him the Surrey Sizzle in Sunday’s paper:
Rai grew up in the Surrey Minor Hockey Association, tallying 96 points in bantam, and spent a year with the famed Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan before being drafted by the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. He spent 18 months with the Cougars before being traded to the Thunderbirds, where he flourished, notching 25 goals and 49 assists in 110 games over the past two seasons. He patterns his play after his hockey hero, Pavel Bure, but instead of the Russian Rocket, Rai could be the Surrey Sizzle. [The Province]
It’s always exciting to see young talent rise to the big leagues and even moreso when they’re from your region and are truly proud of their community. I can see all of Metro Vancouver (and BC) getting behind this kid who has many great years of hockey ahead of him.
We got up close to the action, took a couple spins around False Creek and even learned about some of the boats that were docked near Edgewater (one of which being an old wooden minesweeper).
Hearing stories from the crew members about the first Dragon Boat Festival 20 years ago made me realize that even though this has only existed during my lifetime, it’s still a wonderful tradition for this city.
With 4600 racers and thousands of exhibitors, spectators and cheerleaders in their own right, the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival was a happening place to be this afternoon.
Peruvian BBQ, fish and chips, and beverage vendors were alongside corporate and sponsor booths, games, swag tents and a concert stage. This free event around False Creek truly celebrates multiculturalism as well as our beautiful city.
I obviously cannot forget to mention the racers – these athletes come from all walks of life and man, can they ever paddle. With 170 teams and races starting every 12 minutes, the action is pretty mesmerizing.
There are teams with special needs members or those with mental illness, cancer survivors, organ donors, high school kids from the downtown eastside, corporate or social teams, and there’s even a team where half of the members are blind or visually impaired. Hearing those drums beating, provoking the paddlers and keeping them in time while they rush through the wake of neighbouring boats reminds you that the Dragon Boat festival not only celebrates ethnic diversity, but also triumph in sport.
Good news is that by the time you read this the festival will still be far from over. Tonight at 7:30 “doors” (and by door I mean gates) to The Trews concert will open and your best bet for this free show is to enter by Science World. Tomorrow the races continue, starting at 8:00am and going until 6:00pm – the action will be sped up as teams compete in the finals.
We turned the corner from East Cordova onto Main Street and gathered under the brightly lit red marquee.
Once past security we entered the lobby of the District 319 Theatre and were greeted by two lovely ladies, one of which was Marina from Row Three. We were handed a door prize ticket, a drink ticket, and a live band (Vancouver’s ENTROPIA) was already playing some metal that echoed out from the theatre and reverberated in our wineglass-toting hands. Welcome to the First Weekend Club, a group of Canadian Film enthusiasts that celebrate our county’s big screen works.
First Weekend Club builds audiences for Canadian films. Our mandate is to keep films in theatres longer by building awareness and strong box office for great Canadian cinema on opening weekends. [About – FWC]
We made our way from the lobby to the theatre, wine glasses in tow, and sat down in red leather easy chairs. After a quick intro and prize giveaway the documentary began to run and soon we all just wanted to rock out.
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West’s most maligned musical genre, heavy metal, has impacted the world’s cultures beyond Europe and North America… …GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren’t just absorbing metal from the West – they’re transforming it. [Global Metal]
I’ve seen my share of documentaries, even music flicks, and this was probably one of the best. We tag along with Sam Dunn from Rock in Rio and Loud Park to Desert Rock. The film takes you around the globe introducing you to folks who all pretty much seemed to have one thing in their hearts: “Gandhi and Iron Maiden,” okay well not all of them had those two elements but a running theme was definitely freedom of speech.
Throughout the journey some interviews with legends pop up to share a quick blurb, and they all had a lot to say about their tours and especially playing in countries where their music wasn’t even allowed.
Sam would interview fans and band members wherever he visited and honestly they were some of the most insightful, thoughtful and eloquent individuals who helped dissect metal and its roots where they came from. These youths and aged musicians alike all find inspiration from their daily lives, as witnesses of events and history forming all around them it’s their right to express their emotions musically which also helps these stories live on.
“There is plenty of darkness, we should speak of the light.”
In Jerusalem there was an interview with the singer of Orphaned Land, in Japan it was glammed-out metalheads X-Japan, Sepultura in Brazil, and Souled Out in India just to name a few. The film not only explores musical, historical and political motivations but also religious. At one point during an interview with a metal fan in Dubai our audience burst out in applause when he stated (among other things) that “religion is between you and your God.”
Form the tie-clad business men in Japan to the 29 year old from Iran who was going to his first metal show in the desert, Global Metal presented more than simply a fan-pic for bands like Iron Maiden, it truly went global and found those of all walks of life listened to their views of not only music, but the world around them.
I believe the film will be playing at The Ridge theatre after tonight so you can check out Festival Cinemas for show times. I’d like to thank the First Weekend Club for having us out and I’ll definitely be keeping up to date on their events in the future.
Me with Dr Raul and Dr Beth – Photo credit: Raul on Flickr
More photos from the screening can be viewed in the First Weekend Club’s Flickr group.
