Most attractions have carefully reopened and summer festivals are amping up their online event offerings. Add in some lush forest trains and perhaps some sunshine for a beach day and we have a pretty fun lineup of things to do in Vancouver this weekend:
If you’re looking for travel ideas, things to do, places to see, and businesses to support this summer, you can download the updated Indigenous Tourism BC app as a free guide.
Indigenous Tourism BC App
The app is an intuitive planning resource with educational tools that immerses travellers in the culture, history and beauty of BC’s Indigenous territories. It features enhanced travel and safety information, including up-to-date operating hours, booking requirements and new community protocols.
Features
Listings of authentic Indigenous experiences, activities, businesses, and attractions
Interactive map that lets you find places to stay and things to do near your location
Accommodations listings
Itineraries
Indigenous language translations–learn common words and phrases
Indigenous songs, stories, and legends
Curate a list of “favourites”, then use it to help plan your trip
The educational platform makes it easy for users to find up-to-date information about Indigenous accommodations, attractions and cultural experiences that are open and operating this summer season, and provides free access to an evolving library of traditional songs, legends and languages to enhance travel experiences.
Kiixin Tour Guide Wisqii leading our group through the rainforest – Read the blog posts
Travellers may also use the interactive map to find nearby Indigenous venues and adventures, or follow suggested itineraries to embark on comprehensive cultural experiences. New operating hours and reopening information will feature prominently, allowing travellers to browse safety protocols and make advance bookings as required.
Responsible Indigenous tourism in BC means that travel includes consideration of all which is of value to Indigenous Peoples–their communities, languages, and cultures; water, animals, and lands. Read more “Know Before You Go” info here.
The Queer Arts Festival WICKED takes place July 16-26, 2020 online, with 11 days of events, which are all by donation. WICKED reimagines identity politics, exposing the implications of homonormativity as erasure.
I had the opportunity to speak with acclaimed dance artist Noam Gagnon, who over the course of his career, has helped push Canadian dance into the forefront of the international stage. Now during this time of COVID-19 and an evolving arts media landscape, artists like Noam are looking at their mediums and methods in a new light.
This Crazy Show
This Crazy Show at the Queer Arts Festival
Get tickets here for July 25 at 7:00pm / July 26 at 2:00pm (RSVP by donation)
My Zoom experience will never be the same. I logged on and met Noam for a chat to talk about his rehearsal, his show, and the Queer Arts Festival.
“It’s been a very productive period for me,” Noam told me right off the bat. “I feel lucky that I am working on a solo because the last piece I was working on was with 10 amazing young dancers. So, to be able to work on a solo right now is a perfect opportunity.” In This Crazy Show he says he will be dancing with “me, myself and I” … and about 16 disco balls.
The Show was originally produced in 2016 as Noam’s swan song, and it was the last time he danced. The extremely fit 50-something who dances like a 30-something, thanks to his pilates practice and choreography career (see: photo above), said that getting his body back into the groove for dance was a process in itself.
I’ve had Stanley Park in my backyard for the last 15 years and walking its 20km+ trail network is a favourite pastime (see: this post, this one, and this one). Following that hike up with a pint from the Prospect Point Cafe, which is now open again, is another favourite.
The great thing about Stanley Park’s trails is that they’re all on Google Maps, so really, you don’t need this blog post for me. However if you’re reading this, you probably Googled how to walk to Prospect Point so I shall deliver instructions based on some of my favourite paths:
How to Walk to Prospect Point
From the Second Beach – Bridle Path Distance: 2.5km Elevation Gain: 60m Estimated Walk Time: 33 mins This is probably the most direct route since the Bridle Path will take you almost the whole way, it just dips to the right where it turns into the Prospect Point Trail at the top. The Bridle Path starts right behind the Second Beach Concession, on the other side of Park Drive. Bridle Path will get you there from a few other entry points.
The Britannia Mine Museum summer exhibit explores the antimicrobial properties of copper and how it has been used in the battle against superbugs and other diseases throughout history.
Copper Chalcopyrite Ore at Britannia Mine Museum
Britannia Mine Museum Summer Exhibit – Copper: Bug Buster
“Copper: Bug Buster” launches Saturday, July 18th (until Sunday, September 13th) inside the Museum’s Machine Shop and delves into copper’s bug busting capabilities and the role it played in medicine as an antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal metal. For over three thousand years, civilizations around the world have used copper and its minerals in health remedies. The exhibit also asks the question whether copper can be used to help in the battle against COVID-19.
“Our Museum’s curator and her team assembled some fascinating facts and science about the antimicrobial properties of copper, and how the metal has played a role in medicine throughout history,” says Kirstin Clausen, Executive Director of the Britannia Mine Museum. “We felt it was fitting, since the Britannia Mine was a copper mine.”
Here are some interesting facts about copper that the exhibit will explore:
In ancient Egypt, green mineral malachite (copper carbonate) was ground up and used as an eye makeup, and supposedly also prevented eye infections.
Another treatment speaks of soldiers in battle having wounds sterilized with malachite.
The Incas disinfected wounds with gauze soaked in copper sulphate solution.
The Aztecs gargled with a copper solution to treat sore throats.
In ancient Greece, they recorded the first use of copper bracelets for arthritis.
In ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder’s works recorded around one hundred and fifty copper-based remedies, and skin conditions and tonsillitis were said to be treated.
In modern times, research has shown that when a virus or bacteria lands on copper, the metal releases electrically charged particles, which destroys the cell membrane, then the DNA and RNA inside.
Copper has also been proven to kill Ebola, MRSA, E. coli and norovirus. A recent study found that SARS-CoV-2 – the virus causing COVID-19 – lasted only four hours on a copper surface compared with 48 hours on stainless steel or 72 hours on plastic. Could copper be useful in the fight against COVID-19?
The Britannia Mine Museum is currently open to the public with appropriate COVID-19 safety measures and procedures in place. This includes enhanced staff training, opening with limited attendance and tour sizes, advanced ticketing and reservation required, accommodating appropriate physical distancing, and implementing site sanitation protocols.
Operating hours are 9:00am to 5:30pm with limited guided tours and BOOM! showings in order to maintain proper physical distancing. Check the Museum’s website for specific tour times and to purchase tickets in advance.
Visitors can enjoy fun, educational exhibits, attractions and crowd favourites, like:
BOOM! Mill Show: A live-action, multi-sensory special effects experience that brings the historic 20-storey Mill building back to life, transporting visitors back in time to the 1920s when the Mine was booming as the largest copper producer in the British Commonwealth.
Historic Mill Building: A National Historic Site and one of the last remaining gravity-fed concentrator mills in North America, the 20-storey Mill building has been the symbol of Britannia throughout the years. Restored in 2007, each of the 14,416 panes of glass was hand-puttied into the frames to maintain its heritage and the building can be seen from miles away on the Sea-to-Sky highway.
Underground Mine & Train Ride: A memorable underground train that takes visitors deep inside a mining tunnel where they will experience what life was like for miners in the 70 years Britannia existed as a mine.
Beaty-Lundin Visitor Centre: The central exhibit hall that houses several mining displays, a mineral gallery, theatre space, and gift shop.
Machine Shop – The 1908 Machine Shop is home to a number of historic machines and equipment donated by mining companies from across the country.
The Britannia Story Building – A fully restored heritage building that features the stories of the Britannia Beach community ranging from love letters and antiques to historic photos and videos of former Copper Queens, showcasing what life was like in the old mining town.
Gold Panning Area – A scenic boardwalk and cedar-post covered area where people can spend hours panning for gems and real gold.
Boom!
Follow the Britannia Mine Museum on Facebook and Twitter for updates. The Museum is located right off the Sea to Sky Highway at 1 Forbes Way, Britannia Beach.
Enter to Win an Annual Family Pass
I have a family pass to give away! It includes admission for 2 adults and 3 children (value $160) that is good for unlimited visits for the year. Here’s how you can enter to win:
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win an annual family pass for @BritanniaMine + check out the new Copper: Bug Buster exhibit http://ow.ly/d4fD30qWPSU” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. UPDATE The winner is Meredith!
