September is Big Brothers Big Sisters Month and Coquitlam Centre is joining forces with the local organization to encourage girls to “BeYou”. Every Saturday in September has been “BeYou Saturdays” at Coquitlam Centre. From 12:00pm to 4:00pm, events and activities encourage girls to celebrate their individuality and realize that they do not need to limit their goals.
BeYou at Coquitlam Centre
All events are free (for all ages) and are designed to provide young females better access to developmental tools that will help increase self-esteem, personal growth, self-worth and empower young women who are coming of age in a media and technology driven time.
BeYou Workshops and Events
I Promise… Digital Promise Wall
Saturday, September, 24, 2016 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm at the BeYou Lounge by H&M
View the promises made by girls across the country on the digital Promise Wall in the BeYou Lounge by H&M, and add your own by visiting the BeYou microsite www.beyougirl.ca. Select from a pre-populated list of positive statements and submit them to the scrolling list of promises that appear on the digital promise walls at Morguard properties across Canada.
BeYou Bracelet Making
Saturday, September 24, 2016 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm at the BeYou Lounge by H&M
Girls aged 9 to 16 are invited to create a BeYou bracelet.
BeYou! Celebration
Saturday, October 1, 2016 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Coquitlam Centre will be hosting an after-hours BeYou event for girls aged 9 to 16. This event will be emceed by Erin Cebula, BeYou’s national spokesperson. Registration is required for this event.
Girls will explore their self-worth, creativity, self-expression, and learn about healthy living by participating in six different stations designed to build self-confidence, provide positive affirmations and personal growth, while building skills to help girls navigate the pressures and insecurities that they often feel during these years. Be sure to pre-register. All participants receive a BeYou ‘Swag Bag’.
Coquitlam Centre is located at 2929 Barnet Hwy, Coquitlam. Follow along on social media (Facebook, Twitter) and find our more about Big Brothers Big Sisters Month here.
The inaugural Vancouver Opera Festival launches on April 28th, presenting three new opera productions and bold programming. In addition to the core opera productions, the 16-day Vancouver Opera Festival will offer a new VO-commissioned visual art installation, performances by superb vocal artists, new collaborations with other Vancouver arts organizations, a massive choral extravaganza, and engaging, immersive experiences for people of all ages.
Vancouver Opera Festival
April 28 to May 13, 2017
Otello, Dead Man Walking and The Marriage of Figaro will be on stage and programming will also include a new commissioned video installation by award-winning artist Paul Wong, performances by vocal stylist Ute Lemper and Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq.
Programming
Full-scale productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s late-career masterpiece Otello, featuring powerful tenor Clifton Forbis in the title role, and Jake Heggie’s modern classic Dead Man Walking, with charismatic bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch as Joseph De Rocher, will be presented in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Award-winning set designer Erhard Rom, who created VO’s internationally renowned 2010 production of Nixon in China, is the scenic designer for both productions.
Mozart’s magnificent The Marriage of Figaro, at the Vancouver Playhouse, will feature a terrific cast of emerging stars, sets designed by Vancouver’s multi-Jessie-Award-winning Drew Facey (Stickboy, 2014) and contemporary costumes by Canadian fashion designer Sid Neigum, who is receiving international attention for his bold geometric creations.
The Vancouver Opera Festival will take place at three venues in downtown Vancouver: the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Vancouver Playhouse, and in the 500-plus-seat Festival Tent, which will be erected on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre plaza.
Tickets are currently on sale for all operas in VO’s 2016-2017 season, including the three festival operas, through the VO Ticket Centre at (604) 683-0222 or online.
Check out additional listings for Film Night at the Opera, Master Classes for Young Singers, Young Composers Workshops, The Artistry of Youth, Delta Opera & Performance Academy, Opera Tales, Opera in Context: Forums and Discussions, The Music of Verdi, Heggie and Mozart, Opera Speaks about Ethical Justice, Preview Talks, and more.
The Festival Tent will be a hive of activity every day of the Vancouver Opera Festival. Almost every evening, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, the tent will be open for Happy Hour with socializing, light refreshments and intriguing programming: talks, panel discussions, performances.
Connect with Vancouver Opera Festival on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook for more programming, event, and ticketing information.
Word Vancouver returns September 21-25, presenting the city’s free festival of reading and writing. Canadian authors and book, magazine, and comics exhibitors all gather to share their love for the written word. Look forward to 100 readings, 150 authors, and 20 workshops, for literature and literacy lovers of any age.
Word Vancouver
Venues
From Wednesday, September 21 to Friday, September 23, experience author readings and events at these venues: Banyen Books & Sound, CBC Studio 700, Christianne’s Lyceum, The Cottage Bistro, The Emerald, and, Historic Joy Kogawa House. On Saturday, take part in free professional development workshops at The HiVE and Carnegie Centre.
Authors in Attendance
Lynn Johnston, Joy Kogawa, Anosh Irani, Ujjal Dosanjh, Paul Yee, Ronald Wright, Yasuko Thanh, Jen Sookfong Lee, Bif Naked, Carmen Aguirre, bill bissett, Daphne Marlatt, Wayde Compton, Caroline Adderson, Lorelei Bachman, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Faith Erin Hicks, and many more.
Word Vancouver Main Event
Where: Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library (350 W Georgia)
When: Sunday, September 25, 2016 from 11:00am to 5:00pm
Admission: Free!
Family activities, entertainment, and reading venues can be found outside on the Robson side of the library. There will be a scavenger hunt, colouring stations, and lots of hands on activities for kids.
Inside the library, check out workshops, comics and chapbooks presentations and exhibitors, downstairs. In that same area there will be writing consultations.
Along Homer Street, there will be fiction and non-fiction readings, magazine presentations, and panels. Look for poetry readings in the Sunrise Suite and in the library promenade, pop into the new magazine lounge at Blenz.
Roving site entertainment throughout the day will include Circus Lab, En Route: All Bodies Dance Project, LARP and Cosplay, sword fighting demonstrations, and new Poetry in Transit poems.
Follow Word Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter, and check out the full schedule with a daily breakdown of activities and events.
Whenever we have family or friends visiting us in Vancouver I always try to do two things: Get them up a mountain and then get them out on the water. From both vantage points they can immediately scope out the landscape, get their bearings, and get a unique introduction to the city. These were the reasons that I jumped at the chance to book an architecture tour in Chicago for my first visit.
Upon booking my first trip to Chicago (that would take me outside O’Hare International) I asked everyone what I should do and there was a consistent reply: Do the architecture tour! On social media, in person, and by text messages with family in the Midwest, it was the #1 most recommended activity so I had to give it a try. With the river cruise tour you get a fantastic introduction to the city’s neighbourhoods, its amenities, skyline, cultural and commercial history – exactly what I look to give my guests in my home city.
Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise
- Duration: 1.5 Hours
- Times: The tours run essentially all day, and in the afternoon there are tours every half-hour from 1:00-5:30pm
- Tickets: $44 Daytime; $46 all 7:30pm Twilight purchase online in advance
- Departing From: Southeast corner of the Michigan Avenue Bridge at Wacker Dr. It was easy to spot the blue awning marking the stairway entrance.
I booked my sister, sister-in-law, and myself on the 3:00pm tour on Sunday. As we made our way to Dock 3 to board our river cruise, we passed Susan Pappas, the docent that would be leading our tour (we didn’t know that yet). She welcomed us warmly and asked from where we were visiting, then we joined the queue.
All of the CAF-certified volunteer docents who lead the 90-minute tours interpret more than 50 buildings.
My sister-in-law turned and said, “Should I ask her why this is the best tour?” of course I encouraged her as I was curious too. The lineup moved briskly and soon my sister-in-law returned with the answer: This is the only Chicago architecture river cruise tour that is officially hosted and presented by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. It’s also focused on facts and history – not anecdotes and folklore – so you get the most accurate information about how Chicago went from being a small settlement into one of the world’s largest cities in less than 100 years. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Celebrate our local waterways at World Rivers Day, a free day of family fun at the Burnaby Village Museum. Enjoy entertainment, demonstrations, displays, tours, plus lots of activities for children and adults.
World Rivers Day at Burnaby Village Museum
Where: Burnaby Village Museum (6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby)
When: Sunday, September 25, from 11:00am to 4:30pm
Admission: Free!
Children’s entertainers include the vibrant and fun ventriloquist Kellie Haines with her menagerie of puppets. Her engaging style and antics are fun for all ages. The Nylon Zoo will be back with their brightly coloured costumes and stories in the ‘whale’. Their high energy parades are always a hit with kids and their parents. Watch for Squiddy, a friendly giant squid roaming the village singing his fishy songs. Be here early to start your day with a giggle. The Stories on Wheels first set is at 11:15am.
The Kerplunks, multi-award winning children entertainers, headline this year’s musical program. This talented foursome has a wide variety of musical styles that appeal to multi-generational audiences. Be prepared to participate!
The all-day fun also includes face-painting at the Volunteer Burnaby tent, button-making with the Burnaby Public Library folks, and completing the World Rivers Day Passport activities.
Over 25 environmental exhibitors with hand-on activities, demonstrations, and educational sessions will be on-site. Evergreen BC has great information on caring for urban streams and watersheds. Again this year, they will be leading small groups to help remove invasive ivy growing on the banks of Deer Lake Brook. Interested volunteers should ‘bring your boots’.
Join an Aboriginal Medicinal Plant Tour lead by Coast Salish educators. There are a variety of plants that have grown naturally in the area for millennia. Learn how to identify these plants and how they have traditionally been used.
The Britannia Creek Clean Up’s lego model of the creek and their water cleaning demonstrations are always popular. Check out the displays from Reptile Rescue, O.W.L. Orphaned Wildlife, and the Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society.
Need a break? The Ice Cream Parlour will be open for lunch. The special of the day is a Salmon Burger BBQ. Other light meal options and treats will also be available.
Be sure to pause on the bridge that crosses Deer Lake Brook to take in the beauty of this ecologically significant waterway that runs through the village site. For the past two years, Coho salmon have been returning to this brook.
Leave time to stroll through the Village and into Burnaby’s past. Explore the interurban tram, chat with the clerk at the General Store, watch the blacksmith demonstrations at the forge and hear the printer working the Platen Press. Grab a seat in the Central Park Theatre where a special rivers day themed documentary will be screened and a take spin on the vintage C.W. Parker Carousel (rides are $2.60 each).
World Rivers Day is celebrated by millions of people around the globe. The event was created by Burnaby resident and internationally renowned conservationist, Mark Angelo. Mark will be onsite and speaking during the ‘Welcoming Remarks’ at 1:00pm. In 1993, the City of Burnaby was the first municipality in BC to proclaim BC Rivers Day. Special thanks to event sponsors: CIBC Metrotown and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
More event details are available on the Burnaby Village Museum website. Follow along on Facebook and Twitter for information about this event and more.
