For the past six years, the Canucks Autism Network (“CAN”) has hosted the CAN Family Festival, a free day of activities for families in Downtown Vancouver. Beyond the event, CAN delivers programs in safe and highly supported environments across the Lower Mainland, on the Island, and in the Interior.
Canucks Autism Network
Founded in 2008 by Vancouver Canucks Co-owners, Paolo and Clara Aquilini, the Canucks Autism Network provides year-round sports and recreation programs for children, teens, young adults and families living with autism, while increasing autism awareness and providing training in communities across British Columbia.
Families living with autism can become CAN members for an annual fee of only $25 per individual with autism by visiting canucksautism.ca/join. CAN currently supports over 3,000 families and continues to welcome hundreds of new families each year. One such family has been particularly impacted by CAN.
Karen Owen is a mother of three boys, Nicholas, Oliver, and Alexander, two of whom have autism. When she and her husband first got the diagnosis, she found herself letting go of many dreams she had for her son. She came to terms with the fact that he would not have a typical childhood and that she would likely never be a hockey mom.
Soon after, the Owen family found CAN.
The Owen boys have participated in many CAN programs including soccer, skating, and swimming but it was not until the hockey program was introduced that Karen truly felt her dreams becoming a reality. She remembers the exact moment she received the call confirming that her son had made the CAN hockey team. Flooded with tears, she immediately called her husband telling him he was going to be a hockey dad. One of the best calls of her life.
Through specialized support techniques, parent collaboration, and a high ratio of trained staff and dedicated volunteers, CAN is able to ensure that every participant is successful on their own terms, regardless of their level of need. CAN programs empower individuals with autism to build the confidence and skills necessary to enjoy a lifetime of sport and physical activity, while developing social and communication skills.
Last year, CAN filled over 10,000 program spaces, delivered 476 programs, and supported over 3,000 families living with autism. With 1 in 68 individuals now being diagnosed, and over 11,000 children and youth living with autism in BC alone, the need for support is greater than ever. To learn how you can donate, volunteer or join as members, please visit canucksautism.ca or email info[at]canucksautism.ca.
The 2017 CAN Family Festival
Stop by Jack Poole Plaza on Sunday, April 9, 2017 for the free CAN Family Festival. The day’s festivities will kick off with a fundraising walk and the lighting of the cauldron to commemorate April as Autism Awareness Month.
Follow the Canucks Autism Network on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for more information.
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers is launching a multi-platform awareness campaign to reinforce the message that individuals can play a crucial role in fighting crime and help make their communities safer.
Using social media hashtags #WorldWithoutCrime, #WorldWithoutGangs and #WorldWithoutIllegalGuns, the campaign takes an unusually lighthearted approach to the very serious issues of gang activity and gun violence in British Columbia by showing what life might look like without crime.
“We want to reach out to people who may know individuals committing criminal activity — relatives, friends, people in the hospitality industry, and even rival gangs. We want to remind them if they suspect gang activity, possession of illegal guns or other crimes are taking place they can report it safely and anonymously,” says Linda Annis, Executive Director, Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. “Crime Stoppers has been a household name for decades but we want to connect with a new generation who may not know how our organization works.”
The province-wide campaign will reach people through more than 500 billboards and bus shelters as well as washroom posters, digital advertising in restaurants and bars, and eventually public service announcements on radio and television. There will also be an extensive social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Tips to Crime Stoppers can not only be provided by phone but through a secure server, texts, or free mobile apps.
» Download the app for iPhone
» Download the app for Android
Crime Stoppers is not the police. Tips from the public are passed on to authorities to investigate. They don’t record phone calls, log IP addresses and they don’t need to know your name. Tipsters are provided with a code number and if their information results in a charge, arrest, the seizure of stolen property or illegal weapons, or the denial of a fraudulent insurance claim, a reward of up to $2000 may be offered.
About Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers
Crime Stoppers is a non-profit society and registered charity that receives anonymous tip information about criminal activity and provides it to investigators in communities. Tip information is provided to a wide variety of provincial, federal and international investigative agencies.
Citizens may witness all or part of a crime without being aware of the importance or value of what they have seen. As a result, they may unknowingly possess key information that could assist police in solving the crime or taking a criminal off the street.
Crime Stoppers provides an effective opportunity for private citizens who can join together with law enforcement officials to solve crime without worry of reprisal. It serves as a chance for private citizens to relay criminal information to police and absolutely remain anonymous.
People can leave their anonymous tips in a variety of ways including downloading their information onto an iPad or iPhone app, calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, at www.solvecrime.ca, following the link on Crime Stoppers Facebook page, or texting a message to CRIMES (274637). Crime Stoppers accepts tips in 115 different languages.
» Download the app for iPhone
» Download the app for Android
You can learn something new with every footstep you take in our remarkable coastal rainforests, especially if you do so under the guidance of knowledgeable volunteers and experts. Here are just a few ways the whole family can connect with, and learn about, nature this season:
Guided Nature Walks Around Metro Vancouver
Surrey
Join guided walks in Surrey’s nature parks this season and learn a little more about the urban forest. These walks are part of the 20th Annual Surrey Environmental Extravaganza, a series of over 100 free nature programs and events happening April 22 to June 11, 2017. Explore Redwood Park, Bose Forest Park, Hawthorne Park, and Godwin Farm Biodiversity Preserve. Drop-in, rain or shine. Parent participation required for children ages 13 and under.
Stanley Park
Browse the Stanley Park Ecology Society‘s events calendar for a variety of guided nature walks throughout the year. Register online for a lower program fee. $5 for SPES members, seniors and children, $10 for non-members. In-person registration fees cost $7 for members and $12.50 for non-members. Unless otherwise noted, programs begin at the Stanley Park Nature House below the viewing plaza at the corner of Alberni St. and Chilco St. Walk themes include Birds of a Feather, Indigenous Plant Use, and events during the Big Tree Weekend April 30th.
UBC Botanical Garden
Experience the Pacific temperate rainforest, exploring 80 Acres of rare trees and plants, an intricate system of trails, and a tree top walkway for a squirrel’s eye view. Greenheart TreeWalk staff typically provide hourly tours from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily with paid TreeWalk admission. For groups over 10 guests, pre-booking is required. There are also Segway tours, group tours, and becoming a member of UBC Botanical Garden includes private seasonal tours with garden staff, horticulturalists and world-renowned experts.
Watershed Tours
Metro Vancouver hosts Watershed Tours, for Capilano and Coquitlam in the winter (by snowshoe) and in the summer. Metro Vancouver manages three protected watersheds to provide 2.5 million residents with a clean, reliable and affordable supply of drinking water Discover the treasures of the watersheds, where ancient trees tower in steep mountain valleys, wildlife abounds and water flows through natural landscapes to our drinking waters supply system. Summer tours run July to September.
Burns Bog
There are Burns Bog Public Tours every month. Join knowledgeable tour guides for an interpretive tour of the unique ecosystem that is Burns Bog. Learn about what a bog really is, the story behind the infamous sunken tractor, and what is capable of surviving the harsh conditions of a bog. Meet in front of Planet Ice Delta doors (10388 Nordel Crt, Delta). 10:00am to 12:00pm (check the schedule for which day). Pre-registration $7 per person, drop in (day of) $10 per person. Burns Bog Conservation Society members get a free bog tour. The next tour is April 15, 2017.
Chali-Rosso Art Gallery, Vancouver’s largest private gallery of original European Modern Master collections, has announced that it will temporarily gift the City of Vancouver with an original Salvador Dali three-dimensional, museum size, large scale bronze sculpture called Dance of Time I, valued at $750,000. This will be the first time that this sculpture has ever been displayed in Canada.
Salvador Dali Sculpture on Public Display in Vancouver
The official public unveiling of the seven-foot tall exhibit will take place on May 6, 2017 at 2:00pm in Downtown Vancouver at Lot 19 – West Hastings and Hornby.
The sculpture will continue to be on public display, in an open environment, until September 2017. For the duration of this “Definitely Dali Project” presented by Chali-Rosso Art Gallery, public donations received, as well as a percentage of Chali-Rosso Gallery sales will go to Arts Umbrella, a non-profit arts education centre for young people located in Vancouver and Surrey, BC.
Dance of Time I
Dance of Time I is on loan from The Stratton Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of culture and the arts, and which possesses the world’s largest collection of Dali’s monumental sculptures.
The sculpture was conceived in 1979 and the first cast was created in 1984. It exemplifies Dali’s controversial relationship with time, and the importance he believed to be inherent in memory. As Canadians reflect on the past 150 years during Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations, time and memory are topical subjects. The Dance of Time I symbolizes this evolution of time, and change that everyone can relate to.
As part of the Definitely Dali project, the Chali-Rosso Gallery has 100 additional original Salvador Dali artworks, including 20 gallery size sculptures, at their Howe Street location.
Don’t miss this five month public display of Dali’s museum-sized sculpture in Vancouver, supporting Arts Umbrella. Follow the Chali-Rosso Art Galler on Twitter and Facebook.
Marching into April, we have a busy month ahead. Check out the brand new April event list and the lineup of fun things to do around town this weekend noted below:
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Looking Glass BC Gala
Camilo the Magician: Abracadabra
St Paul’s Labyrinth
EVACS Launch Party! Curated by ‘Untitled’
Vancouver International Burlesque Festival
The 2017 Creative Ink Festival
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Vancouver South African Film Festival
Theatre UBC Presents: Les Belles-soeurs
Vancouver International Auto Show
Firehall Art Centre Presents: Refuge
The Cultch Presents: Daisy Theatre
Hardline Productions Presents: Red Patch
Saturday, April 1, 2017
S.E. Hinton Author of The Outsiders in Vancouver
Whitecaps FC vs LA Galaxy
Grouse Mountain 90th Anniversary Celebration
Camilo the Magician: Abracadabra
Capture Photography Festival Launch Party
Vancouver International Burlesque Festival
Opening Reception: SPECTATOR-Photography by Fang Tong
Trivia Night Fundraiser for Hospital Outreach Program
Bloom Handmade Baby Market Fort Langley
Master Class: Colour – Nature As Your Guide w/ Heather Ross
Vancouver International Auto Show
The 2017 Creative Ink Festival
LitFest New West
Vancouver South African Film Festival
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Theatre UBC Presents: Les Belles-soeurs
Pacific Theatre Presents: Valley Song
Firehall Art Centre Presents: Refuge
Holmes and Watson Save the Empire
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Upcycled Fashion – Panel Discussion
Herring People: An Arts-based Initiative
BC’s Women’s Suffrage Historical Walking Tour
Vancouver Bridal Swap
Sakura Night Gala
Cooking Series: Easy Freezer Meals
Zealous Art – Magnolia Blossoms at West Coast Gardens
The 2017 Creative Ink Festival
LitFest New West
International Film Festival for Youth
Vancouver South African Film Festival
Vancouver International Auto Show
Hardline Productions Presents: Red Patch
Pacific Theatre Presents: Valley Song
Holmes and Watson Save the Empire
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