Thanks to popular films (and the Internet in general) you’ve probably heard of the Pacific Crest Trail, the West Coast Trail, perhaps the popular Juan de Fuca Trail, but did you know about the Sunshine Coast Trail? Located along the upper Sunshine Coast, this is Canada’s longest hut-to-hut hiking trail and also the only one that’s free.
The 180-kilometre back country hiking experience stretches from Sarah Point in Desolation Sound, across Powell River, and all the way down to Saltery Bay. There are currently 14 huts along the trail that are “first-come, first-sleep”.
The Sunshine Coast Trail (“SCT”) is located within the qathet Regional District (qRD) which includes Lund and the City of Powell River in the traditional territory of the Tla’amin, shíshálh, Klahoose and K’ómoks First Nations.
In 1992 a small group of people founded the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (“PAWS”) and started building hiking trails that linked the remaining stands of old growth forests in the region’s front country. The result today is the Sunshine Coast Trail. PAWS is a registered non-profit charitable society that you can support through donations, volunteering, the SCT Passport program, or participating in their events.
If you’re not up for the full 180km or even a smaller multi-day section, you can definitely hike parts of the trail in one full day or even an afternoon. I walked about 4km of it last week with Christine Hollmann of Terracentric Coastal Adventures. She and her team offer everything from zodiac and kayak tours, to guided hikes and custom experiences. Here are some of her day hike suggestions:
Coast Mental Health Foundation will be bringing the 24th Courage To Come Back Awards, presented by Wheaton Precious Metals, straight to British Columbians’ living rooms in TV show format on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The one-hour commercial-free television show will air on Global BC and stream via CityNewsonline starting at 4:30pm.
Hosted by Olympian, former Vancouver Canuck goaltender, and Mental Health advocate Corey Hirsch, the Courage To Come Back TV Show will celebrate the inspiring journeys of five recipients, each of whom have overcome extraordinary adversity to come back, and who give back to their community.
There are five categories: Mental Health, Addiction, Youth, Medical and Physical Rehabilitation.
The event, which usually takes place in a ballroom, is the main opportunity for the community to raise funds for Coast Mental Health. Over the last 24 years, the Awards have celebrated 139 recipients and have raised over $20 million to support people living with mental illness.
The show will also highlight stories from the front lines at Coast Mental Health, as they raise critical funds for people living with mental illness here in BC.
“Never have these stories of resilience and strength been more relevant than now. As the Chair of Coast Mental Health’s Courage To Come Back Awards for 16 years now, I am proud to know these stories of human triumph over adversity will reach so many at a time when hope is so important.
Coast Mental Health has been providing innovative community-based mental health care to those who need it most for 50 years.
It is an established leader in its field, known for high quality, innovative programs and research. As a critical link between hospital services and our communities, Coast Mental Health provides housing, support, and employment programs and services for individuals affected by mental illness, making lasting recovery possible.
Each year, thanks to the generosity of donors, Coast Mental Health provides essential services to almost 6,000 clients living with mental illness, so they can find their meaningful place in our communities – a place to live, a place to connect, and a place to work.
Since 1999, over 2,500 British Columbians have been honoured by their friends and family through a nomination, 134 of whom received these prestigious awards. They are our loved ones, our neighbours, and our friends, who have overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges with courage, strength, and a drive to inspire change and hope in the lives of others.
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of the 2022 Courage To Come Back Awards
From parking lot to park, to coffee spot! The new 0.8-acre park in Downtown Vancouver at the intersection of Smithe and Richards streets is about to get Kafka’s in the Park.
Vancouver Park Board rendering of Smithe and Richards park
Kafka’s in the Park at Smithe and Richards
Known for cultivating neighbourhood gathering places, Kafka’s Coffee Roasting is opening their new downtown café through a dynamic partnership with the Vancouver Park Board and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (“DVBIA”).
Located at the corner of Smithe and Richards, the new café will serve as a welcoming, engaging community space for over 10,000 residents and 17,000 employees who live and work within a five-minute walk of the new park, set to open this spring.
Kafka’s in the Park will anchor the park’s southwest entrance, welcoming visitors to this lively new corner of the downtown core. The café aims to seamlessly blend into the park space with a dramatic folding window wall that opens up to the plaza area in warmer weather, allowing seating to flow outdoors. Visitors and neighbours will be able to enjoy quality locally roasted fairly-traded and fresh-crop coffees, tasty house-made sandwiches and pastries, and Kafka’s own fresh house-baked sourdough bread, along with soft-serve ice cream available only at the park.
Owner Aaron Kafka – Katharine Manson photo
The park will have a children’s playground, dynamic walkways and seating areas, lush landscaping and innovative urban architecture. Designed by Scott Cohen in collaboration with the project’s architectural firm, Dialog, the new space will have eye-catching high-contrast graphics and rainbow-tinted lucite mobiles casting coloured light across downtown Vancouver’s urban backdrop. Custom-crafted banquette seating and tubular Marcel Breuer chrome furniture provide functional style while volcanic grey floors, finely crafted local Douglas Fir carpentry, and natural plants round out the aesthetic.
Scott Cohen Design
As a result of both the DVBIA’s desire to strengthen the connection between people and the places they share, and Kafka’s established support of local artists, the Park Board will be engaging the DVBIA and Kafka’s to partner on future park-programming activities.
This weekend Miss604 is proud to sponsor the Portobello West Spring Market happening Saturday and Sunday at Creekside Community Recreation Centre in False Creek, and Spring Break at Burnaby Village Museum is ongoing with free family fun! Find these events and more things to do in Vancouver this weekend listed blow:
The family behind Vancouver’s beloved Anh and Chi, having been former refugees from Vietnam themselves, is launching a campaign to help raise emergency funds for Ukraine via the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – Canada.
Anh and Chi – Photo Submitted
Former Refugees to Support Ukraine Through Food in Vancouver
📍 Anh and Chi (3388 Main St, Vancouver)
From now until May 15, 2022 (Asian Heritage Month), proceeds from Anh and Chi’s Reservation-By-Donation program will be donated to the cause, contributing to the expected four million displaced Ukrainians with safe shelter, food and necessities. Brother and sister duo owners Amelie Nguyen and Vincent Nguyen are matching donations up to $5,000.
In addition, on Friday March 25, 2022, the Lac Viet Education Society, along with several Vietnamese community leaders, are hosting a fundraising banquet with live music, silent auction, and 50/50 draw. Up to 700 entrepreneurs, nonprofit community members, and influential leaders from across the Lower Mainland are anticipated to attend.
“Our parents, Lý and Hoàng Nguyễn, arrived in Vancouver as Vietnamese refugees by boat in 1980 and what is happening in Ukraine reminds our family of that devastating time – the displacement of so many women, children and seniors,” explains Amelie. “I was starting to feel helpless with the tragedy over in Ukraine, not to mention other ongoing crises around the world, until our family friends Tammy Dao and Nhung Davis of Lac Viet Education Society reached out to us to fundraise for Ukraine.”
This is the first time Anh and Chi’s community of staff, patrons, family and friends are supporting an international cause.
Anh and Chi is not only known for their delicious Vietnamese fare, natural BC wine, creative craft cocktails and exceptional service, but also their community of passionate creatives, entrepreneurs, and caring industry folks and patrons who come together for collective action. As a pivot during COVID-19 to up safety (less crowding) and support local communities, the independent eatery’s Reservation-By-Donation program was initiated and continues to make an impact.
Anh and Chi’s Reservation-by-Donation program has raised over $50,000 for local charities since December 2020. Their community of patrons have donated to local organizations that focuses on food security, housing, mental health counselling and necessities, especially with BIPOC, hardly reached, marginalized and at-risk youth and families.
The Anh and Chi team thanks their guests – with their support and donations, 100 percent of their gifts were given to:
$19,770 to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
$10,900 to Creative Greater Vancouver Food Bank
$5430 to the Vancouver Black Therapy Fund
$5320 to Backpack Buddies
$3000 to the BC Hospitality Fund
$2180 to The Bloom Group
$1160 to Elimin8hate
$1070 to Directions Youth Services
$860 to Immigrant Services Society of BC
Guests have the option to book a table – $10 per person – in advance through their online Reservation-By-Donation program. All proceeds go directly to the selected charity. Local nonprofit organizations are nominated by staff and patrons via email or social media. There are always three to four nonprofits for guests to choose from, changing every three to six months. Reservations are not required to dine at Anh and Chi – walk-in guests are warmly welcomed.
Support the BC Vietnamese Canadians Fundraiser for Ukraine by sponsoring a gift for the auction, joining the benefit dinner, and/or donating to this campaign benefiting UNHCR-Canada directly.
