My competitive side loves a good trivia night and when it supports a cause it’s even better! Use your knowledge for good by signing up for Aunt Leah’s Virtual Trivia Extravaganza — happening over two nights this month — to help raise funds to support foster youth and young moms with education.
Aunt Leah’s Virtual Trivia Extravaganza
When: May 15 and May 29, 2021 Where: Online Tickets: Register here for $20
While the in-person Aunt Leah’s Trivia Extravaganza couldn’t happen in 2020, they have moved online for two virtual events in May. Register and encourage your friends, family, coworkers, and social groups to play and donate to a great cause.
Can’t make one of those dates? You can host your own trivia event to support Aunt Leah’s. If your calendar is packed and can’t accommodate a trivia event, you can still be a superstar and support foster youth by participating in the online auction or donating.
Scotiabank has generously offered to match every donation dollar for dollar up to $25,000 in support of the SEFFY (Supporting Education for Foster Youth) Program. Aunt Leah’s Place helps prevent children in foster care from becoming homeless and mothers in need from losing custody of their children. To support them on their journey to self-sufficiency, they provide supported housing, job training, and coaching on essential life skills.
Miss604 is the proud Media Sponsor of the Virtual Trivia Extravaganza
Giveaway
I have two tickets to give away to the May 15th trivia extravaganza! That way you can sign up and also have a friend or family member join the fun from their screen at home. Here’s how you can enter to win:
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to @AuntLeahs Virtual Trivia Night Extravaganza http://bit.ly/TriviaExtravaganza2021″ quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00am on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. UPDATE the winner is Nicole-Ann!
Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, SPUD Vancouver is celebrating an awesome local company’s ingredients which are available in their grocery delivery lineup. Solecito Foods is a family-owned and operated company based in North Vancouver. Their goal is to share the traditional Mexican flavours and recipes with the community, which to our family means the flavours of home.
Andrea and Mom – the heart of Solecito Foods
SPUD Delivers the Flavours of Mexico with Solecito Foods
SPUD is Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley’s local, sustainable, organic grocery delivery service. Andrea and her parents have been so thankful to be able to start selling online with SPUD through the pandemic, it has meant a lot for the survival of their family business.
She and her mom cook together and she runs the day to day operations with her dad on the North Shore. For Cinco de Mayo, they’re sharing their Solecito Chicken Mole Enchiladas recipe, with ingredients available for delivery straight to your door from SPUD.
Solecito Chicken Mole Enchiladas
Ingredients
1 package of Solecito Chicken in Mole Filling for Tacos & Enchiladas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat mole on medium-low. When it boils, turn the heat down and simmer.
Meanwhile, in a large pan pour vegetable or sunflower oil to about 1/2 cm in height and heat on medium setting. Once the oil is hot, cook tortillas (one at a time) just enough to soften them – about 3-5 seconds each.
Using a spoon, scoop chicken out of the mole and divide it evenly among the tortillas. Roll each one up and arrange them snugly in one layer in a large baking dish, seam side down. Drizzle the warm mole on top. Top with shredded cheese.
Cover with a lid or foil and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Uncover and broil for 2 – 3 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.
Remove from heat and scoop 1 – 2 enchiladas per plate. Top with crema fresca, onion, avocado, fresh salsa or your favourite toppings and enjoy!
I’m personally very excited to learn about these great local products, which I can order and prepare with John who really misses the flavours of his Mexican heritage. While he can’t get mom’s home-made tacos here, this will be the next best thing!
For Miss604 Readers/Followers
Not a SPUD customer? Check out with promo code MISS604 and you’ll get $15 off your first order when you spend $50 or more. Already a SPUD customer? Use the same code for $5 off your next order over $50. Valid for all locations, May, 2021.
Vancouver Bird Week is now Vancouver Bird Celebration! Coordinated by Stanley Park Ecology Society, this week-long, regional event features bird walks, workshops, talks and other activities led by bird enthusiasts across the region. No matter your birding experience level there is sure to be something for you to enjoy.
Vancouver Bird Celebration
To celebrate the event’s 10th anniversary, they have moved to a new name to enable everyone to celebrate birds beyond one week and move toward a countrywide event (alongside Toronto Bird Celebration).
The event was inspired by World Migratory Bird Day, a United Nations-sponsored initiative that recognizes the importance of birds as key indicators of our environment’s health. During Vancouver Bird Celebration, there will be bird-related workshops, talks, exhibitions, and lectures across the Lower Mainland. Most events are free.
A few highlights:
Inspired by Birds, a panel exploring how inspiration from birds can take many different forms with Stanley Park Ecology Society (Register)
Meet BC Birds of Prey with O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife) Rehabilitation Society (Register)
Celebrating Birds of the Fraser River Basin with ornithologist, author, filmmaker and artist Dr. Rob Butler hosted by Fraser River Discovery Centre (Register)
You can also enter the Celebirdies Contest, with a chance to win a bundle of prizes including online course access, festival passes, books, and more. Look for “celebirdies”: birds in your neighbourhood, yard, or garden. Enjoy watching your bird superstar. Then, leave a comment one of the contest Instagram posts mentioning which bird you found and where. You can also share a photo of your feathered friend on your Instagram tagging @VanBirdCelebration, @StanleyParkEcology, and #VanBirdParty to be entered to win as well.
From bird nerd to bird curious, from wise old owl to adventurous tot, there is an event for everyone during Vancouver Bird Celebration.
This Mother’s Day you can gift a special mother figure in your life a beautiful piece of jewellery, comfy clothing, or a sweet treat that also gives back to a local cause. It’s a win/win for mom! Here are a few options that support some wonderful Vancouver-based organizations:
Vancouver Mother’s Day Gifts That Give Back
Melissa Caron – Covenant House
For Covenant House
About the Collection: Beautifully hand-made, locally-crafted jewellery, from Melissa Caron. The Guardian Angel collection of pendants, was specifically designed in support of Covenant House, each with its own story.
About the Cause: Partial proceeds from each piece sold will support Covenant House Vancouver, which has been providing love and hope to youth experiencing homelessness since 1997. They are the premiere service provider of residential and outreach services for homeless and at-risk youth ages 16 to 24 in Vancouver.
Smash + Tess Romper
For BC Women’s Health Foundation
About the Collection: Smash + Tess created the Tuesday Romper in Pop of Pink to celebrate all the #SmashTessFam community who mother. Fitted legs with a cozy cuff is the newest feature of this classic Romper that’s sleek and sporty.
About the Cause: 10% of the proceeds from all Pop of Pink Rompers sold to BC Women’s Health Foundation, to support their work ensuring women have equitable access to the highest quality healthcare, when, where, and how they need it.
For East Van Roasters
About the Collection: The East Van Roasters online shop has opened in time for Mother’s Day featuring chocolate, coffee, cake and flower orders are all available for delivery or pickup, or shipping throughout Canada. In addition to handcrafted bean-to-bar chocolate and fresh roasted coffee, the new online shop features some exclusive offerings just for Mother’s Day like a special 8 piece gift box.
About the Cause: East Van Roasters employs women living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside who are looking to reenter the workforce, and who benefit from a flexible and supportive work environment where they learn to produce fine chocolate and coffee. Your Mother’s Day gift from East Van Roasters will help support the work it does to remove barriers for women in the community.
Cause We Care – Blue Ruby
For Cause We Care
About the Collection: The 2021 Spring Blue Skies collection from Blue Ruby Jewellery features necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Prices range from $65 to $135 and the collection is available at all Blue Ruby locations, Hill’s of Kerrisdale and Hill’s Dry Goods locations and online.
About the Cause: 100% of proceeds go to Cause We Care Foundation, funding programs and initiatives to help single mother-led families in need.
Whole Way House – I Get To charms
For Whole Way House
About the Collection: For Mother’s Day shop the I Get To charm collection, BOGO – buy one get one free! The PNW collection is inspired by the Pacific Northwest, the Donna charm collection has symbols of hope, a passion for music, the sweetness of a bumblebee, and a semicolon, meaning my journey doesn’t end here.
About the Cause: 100% of proceeds benefit Whole Way House Society. Each piece is carefully hand-stamped by someone who is transitioning out of homelessness, incarceration or a recovery program and is working hard to move forward in their lives.
Stars from Vancouver’s film and television industry will share stories about their work, passions, dreams, challenges, special causes, and favourite things as part of YVR Screen Scene For India, a star-studded online event in support of COVID-19 relief efforts in the country.
YVR Screen Scene For India
When: Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 2:00pm Where: Online Tickets: Available now for $20. An event link will be emailed to ticket holders closer to the event date.
Hosted by YVR Screen Scene Podcast host Sabrina Rani Furminger, YVR Screen Scene For India brings together Vancouver stars for a joyous panel event akin to Inside the Actors Studio (but with a South Asian Canadian twist!). Featuring Agam Darshi (Funny Boy), Dhirendra (Lego Jurassic Park: The Legend of Isla Nublar), Praneet Akilla (Nancy Drew), Rekha Sharma (Battlestar Galactica), Sachin Sahel (The 100), and Sandy Sidhu (Nurses).
All funds raised from YVR Screen Scene For India ticket sales will be donated to Indian and international organizations providing relief to the people who need it most, including Goonj (an organization that works with marginalized communities in rural and urban areas), Doctors Without Borders’ Emergency Response in India (which is setting up two 1000-bed units in a large field hospital in Mumbai), and others to be confirmed.
“I’ve been deeply worried about my family in India, and steeped in a feeling of powerlessness,” says Furminger, who is South Asian and Ukrainian Canadian. “But I’m not powerless, and we as a film and television community aren’t powerless. We’re going to do what we do – share stories and speak from our hearts and invite people around the world to bear witness – and every penny is going to go directly to help people in India.”
Follow #YVRScreenSceneForIndia on Twitter for more info.
