The Granville Island Delivery Co has just launched, evolving from a pandemic pivot into a community support campaign and more!

Granville Island Delivery Co.

In March, Michelle Ng, founder of Vancouver Foodie Tours launched Granville Island Foodie Delivery days after pausing food tours due to the pandemic. The initiative even caught the eye of Entrepreneur Magazine which featured Michelle on the July cover: “137 faces of entrepreneurial ingenuity during the pandemic”.

With deliveries in full swing, Michelle and her team took on the challenge of finding more ways to give back to the Granville Island community. The new Granville Island Delivery Co. (“GIDC”) website is now up and running, as well as their #GranvilleIslandLUV campaign to further rally community support.

Customers can shop on the new and improved website, GranvilleIslandDelivery.co for public market favourites from popular merchants such as Lee’s Donuts, Oyama Sausage Co., Benton Brother’s Fine Cheese, and much more.

The GIDC team has put their 10 years of market expertise to good use in building curated baskets, including Wellness in a Box, Charcuterie and Cheese, Yes Please!, and Sweet Treat, perfect for gifting. For specialized seasonal goods, don’t miss the monthly Market Box, with items personally selected by Michelle to reflect the best of the season. Whether to select a few items or opt for curated baskets, the new site allows shoppers to browse and order easily online.

The website also features “Meet the Artisans” series, a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the talented artisans of the market.

#GranvilleIslandLUV

Along with the new website, GIDC launched #GranvilleIslandLUV to directly benefit the merchants of Granville Island who are struggling due to the pandemic. The first goal is to raise awareness of the community’s plight, with many vendors reporting a 50-90% reduction in sales.

As most vendors do not have an avenue to sell their goods online, every purchase made through GIDC helps support small businesses. With a purchase of any curated baskets or monthly Market Box, $5 of each sale goes directly to merchants in need. There is also a social media contest featuring the hashtag #GranvilleIslandLUV asking followers to share a photo of Granville Island or goods purchased from the market to win the monthly Market Box.

The delivery service offers free shipping for orders $99 and over in Vancouver, or $10 discount on flat rate shipping in Greater Vancouver via local courier Novex. Follow on Facebook and Instagram for more info.

This year’s wild salmon celebration in BC is expanding this year, from a one day event to a weekend sustainable seafood feast across the province.

Wild Salmon Celebration in BC

When: Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23, 2020
Where: Various restaurants

Typically, the 200 in-person event takes place on one night in Vancouver but with COVID-19 event restrictions  the new format enables a multi-city celebration in support of sustainable fishing, local commercial fisher-people and a healthy, sustainable seafood choice.

The dishes, appetizer or entree, will only be available for the three-day long celebration with pricing set individually by each restaurant and have each individual chef adding their personal flair to their creations with wild salmon as the star. 

Some of the participating chefs and restaurants include: 

• Angus An, Robert Belcham & Hamid Salimad, Popina Canteen (Vancouver)
• Ned Bell & Stacy Johnston, Naramata Inn (Naramata) 
• Bernard Casavant, O’Rourke Peak Cellars (Kelowna)
• Welbert Choi, Forage (Vancouver)
• Chris Klassen, The Courtney Room (Victoria)
• Antonio Martin, Haven Ktichen & Bar (Langley)
• Malindi Taylor, Fanny Boy Oysters (Vancouver)

Presented by Chefs’ Table Society of BC (“CTS”) and the BC Salmon Marketing Council (“BCSMC”). The salmon will be provided by Organic Ocean Seafood and Aero Trading Co. Ltd. and is being paid for by the BCSMC. 

Mix buds, blossoms, buzzy bees and fresh air with a helping of arts and culture and you’ve got a splendid roster of gardens in this city. Rain or shine, here are a handful of gardens to visit in Vancouver this summer:

6 Gardens to Visit in Vancouver This Summer

UBC Botanical Garden and Greenheart TreeWalk
Where: UBC Botanical Garden (6804 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver)
When: Wednesdays to Sundays 10:00am to 3:00pm
Admission: Book your time online in advance here
About: UBC Botanical Garden is Canada’s oldest university botanic garden, established in 1916. Over the past 100 years, the mission of UBC Botanical Garden has broadened to include research, conservation, teaching and public display of temperate plants from around the world.

During these very stressful times I’ve sought out ways to relax and find happiness and no stream on the Internet has brought as many smiles as Joey the rescued sea otter pup.

Joey the Rescued Sea Otter Pup

Joey was found orphaned at only a few days old near Kyuquot, BC. A concerned member of the public heard him vocalizing overnight on July 2nd and discovered a deceased adult sea otter in the area, presumed to be his mother, the next morning. He was rescued and brought to the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre in Vancouver, where he received around-the-clock care. He was believed to be just 10 days old at time of rescue.

Having been deemed as non-releasable by Government officials, Joey will now get a second chance at life and has joined the 6 rescued otters at the Vancouver Aquarium. 

For the very first time, visitors will be able to watch his rehabilitation journey in his newly-built nursery. Joey’s custom new digs will be visible to the public. You can visit Joey’s nursery, perhaps spot him at nap time or feeding time, bath time, towel time or swim time! I always seem to catch him at grooming time on the baby otter cam.

Visit him at the Vancouver Aquarium August 6 to September 30, open 8:30am to 5:00pm in Stanley Park (845 Avison Way). If you would like to support Joey from afar, you can symbolically adopt him with an online donation here.

The rescue program, an Ocean wise initiative, one of the largest rescue facilities in the world – rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing over 150 marine mammals each year.

The following has been contributed by Steffani Cameron, who recently completed a 4-year worldwide adventure that she chronicled at FullNomad.com.

A Restful Stay at the Magnolia Hotel in Victoria

Morning is a time of freshness and hope, but when it’s also check-out day at the Magnolia Hotel in Victoria, it’s a little wistful and sad too. There’s a reason – or dozens, really – why Magnolia gets voted in Canada’s top hotels year after year after year. It’s all about the service, the food, the generosity one gets when staying here.

Miss604 sent me as a roving reporter to experience the Magnolia and Victoria since I’ve just moved back to the Queen’s city. Who am I to reject the offer of glorious relaxation? I’ve been to the Magnolia before, but this time was a one-a-lifetime kinda crazy, because it coincided with me having to go meet my movers who had hauled everything I own from Ottawa to what will be a whole new life here in Victoria for me – a return to where I think of as home.