During one of the most decadently divine food & wine festivals in BC, Whistler’s Cornucopia, you can find balance at the Nourish Retreat. With seminars, farm-to-table meals, yoga, wellness workshops, forest forages, spa time, and festival events at night, Nourish is the most soul-satisfying way to amp up your Cornucopia experience.

Nourish Retreat at Cornucopia

Where: Whistler Conference Centre
When: November 17 to November 20, 2016
Tickets: Available online now

Set within one of BC’s premier food and drink festivals, the Nourish Retreat, hosted by Allison Hunter, Nourish producer and veteran strengths coach, Tracy Hutton, will lead you through four days dedicated to nourishing your strongest life.

Greet each day with meditation and yoga, and then fuel your body with healing local foods and cooking demonstrations by the chefs and experts at the Nourish Culinary Stage. The afternoons are spent connecting with Whistler’s natural beauty, through forest forages, spa visits and more. The stage is set for exploring your best life – through Tracy’s strength coaching sessions, discover and uncover your gifts – leave with a vision and path for a life fully expressed.

After a dynamic day of movement, healing and relaxation, join in Cornucopia’s world-class food and wine events and celebrate the best of what this region has to offer. The Nourish Retreat is a perfect blend of restoration and inspiration.

I attended the Nourish Retreat last year and it was so unique, and so refreshing. From the welcoming smudging and tea ceremony and a longhouse dinner at Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, to morning meal demos and yoga. I am not usually a kale-smoothie-and-morning-yoga person but I learned so much and felt amazing at this retreat.

If you have the chance to get away, I highly recommend you book the weekend away with a friend, partner, or loved one. Find out more by following the Nourish Retreat on Facebook.

Dress for Success will host the Success Luncheon on November 3rd to celebrate and inspire business leaders in our community. Featured panelists include Lynne Platt, U.S. Consul General, Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, CEO of Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, and Ratana Stephens, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Nature’s Path Foods.

Success Luncheon

What: Dress For Success Vancouver Success Luncheon
When: Thursday, November 3, 2016 from 11:00am to 2:00pm
Where: Pan Pacific Hotel (300-999 Canada Place, Vancouver)
Tickets: Purchase online for $125 ($75 tax receipt) with table option available
About: The luncheon features a panel of female executives sharing experiences with mentorship throughout their careers and personal lives. The Luncheon will also recognize a DFSV client and recent graduate from the Professional Women’s Group, who has found her success through Dress for Success programs.

The Success Luncheon is an annually anticipated opportunity to bring together the Dress for Success Vancouver corporate community and supporters. The event is hosted and panel moderated by Shaw TV personality Fiona Forbes.

“The Success Luncheon is a cherished event.” says Jennifer Halinda, Executive Director of Dress for Success Vancouver. “Talking about mentorship is so important as it touches all of our careers and plays a vital role at Dress for Success. It will also be a honour to recognize Fiona Hogg, an amazing client who has achieved so much and who is such a valuable member of our Professional Women’s Group program. We are very grateful to our corporate community who support not only this event but our programs year round. Nothing we do is possible without this support.”

In addition to the panel discussion, guests are invited to a pre-lunch networking event where they will meet with speakers and local corporate supporters across sectors. Raffles tickets and opportunities to support a DFSV woman will be available.

About Dress for Success Vancouver

Dress for Success Vancouver is a registered charity committed to empowering women into the workforce by providing professional attire, career development tools and a career advancement program. An affiliate of the international organization Dress for Success, DFSV was established in 1999 as the first international affiliate and has served over 22,000 women in the Lower Mainland.

The Professional Women’s Group program is then an 18 month program that provides education, mentoring and professional guidance.

How You Can Support Dress for Success

There are several ways to support Dress for Success on top of online donations:

• Planned giving: Support one women or specific programs for clients by sponsoring an interview suiting, job preparation, or the Professional Women’s Group. Use the gift tool to plan your contribution throughout the year.
• Item donations: The organization is currently in need of specific types of item donations (and wish list items) such as handbags (appropriate for work), plus size interview attire (18 and up), small size interview attire (size 00-2), outerwear, and new makeup.
• By attending special events throughout the year.

For more information about Dress for Success Vancouver, follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their blog.

When I spoke with Safety Chick, Kathleen Baty, about returning to the West Coast Women’s Show she was excited. “All these entrepreneurial women, with all these different businesses, and the best way I can describe it is walking into a Superbowl-filled arena full of empowered women, who are just there to have fun. I’m so looking forward to going back!”

There is one panel that is building up some anticipation as it features some amazing women from around the region: Meet the Entrepreneurs of the Fraser Valley (on the Main Stage Sunday, October 23rd at 12:30pm).

Entrepreneurs of the Fraser Valley

New to the main stage this year, you are invited to an intimate conversation with some of the fastest growing Entrepreneurs based right in our own backyard. Learn their secrets to success, their rise to social media stardom, how they took the pages of Vogue by storm and how they balance growing their booming businesses while raising their busy families.

Amanda Penner
Owner, minimoc
The inspiration for the popular soft-soled shoes came from Amanda’s desire to give custom, ‘made-with-love’ gifts to the many babies being born to her friends and family. After giving a few pairs to babies in the Fall of 2013, Amanda and her husband Jeff started receiving orders and it has been full steam ahead ever since! Minimoc leather shoes are handmade in Abbotsford, BC from ethically sourced materials and are available for sale online as well as in over 250 stores across North America.

Lorene Mah
Owner, Glitter and Spice
With Lorene’s second born, her son, the teething, drooling, and constant need to smack mom’s face and pull her hair while nursing was in full-blown effect! She immediately scoured the shops for the perfect teething necklace, but came back disappointed. So inspired by her darling son, she decided to create stylish teething necklaces for the modern day mom that are safe and fun for babies to chew. Products are handcrafted right here in Canada and for sale online or at the Glitter & Spice booth at the West Coast Women’s Show.

Laura Derksen
Owner, Arrow and Lace Designs
After Ariella, Laura’s daughter, was born in May 2010 she starting making hair accessories which quickly became popular with family and friends. In August 2013, with her second child, Kenton in tow Arrow & Lace Designs were born as a way to work while staying home with her kids. Arrow & Lace is vintage inspired apparel accessories with a focus on quality and extra measures to make these accessories last. Details like adjustable headbands, ribbon lined alligator clips, and headbands use felt so they are soft and comfortable to wear. Arrow & Lace designs are available online as well at the West Coast Women’s Show booth.

Karen Johnson
Owner, k’pure Natural Body Care
Karen’s business kind of happened by accident. Five years ago, when her youngest son was a newborn, she found out that he had abnormally high levels of aluminum and plastics in his system. Turns out, Karen’s deodorant and skin care products were loaded with aluminum and plastics and making their way into her breast milk. This is where her quest for natural skin and body care started. Each product is hand made, labelled and packaged, with the strictest attention to quality control and detail. K’pure Naturals can be found online or at the West Coast Women’s Show today.

Meet the Entrepreneurs of the Fraser Valley on the Main Stage Sunday, October 23rd at 12:30pm.

West Coast Women’s Show

• When: Friday October 21, 2016 from 1:00pm to 9:30pm; Saturday October 22, 2016 from 10:00am to 9:00pm; Sunday October 23, 2016 from 11:00am to 5:00pm.
• Where: TRADEX in Abbotsford (1190 Cornell Street)
• Tickets: At the door: Adults $12; Seniors (65+) $9; Seniors (65+) Friday from 1:00 to 5:00pm $7 (no coupon required); Youth (13 – 17) $9; Children (6 – 12) $4; Children (5 & under) are free. Save $2 online and in store at London Drugs!

Theme Days

Show themes include Fashion & Style, Home & Interior Décor, Health & Wellness, World of Taste, Natural & Organic Products, the Active Women’s Zone, Travel Showcase and the Artisan’s Marketplace.

• Friday is Girls Night Out Martini Night. Calendar Firefighters Fashion Show (Main Stage) 7:30pm
• Friday is Seniors Discount Day – Only $7 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm (65 + years)
• Saturday is Girls Night Out Martini Night. Calendar Firefighters Fashion Show (Main Stage) 7:30pm
• Sunday is Mothers & Daughters Day at the West Coast Women’s Show. The first 500 visitors to the show will receive a FREE Gift Pack from Pretty Things

Stage Schedules are available here: Main Stage, Health & Wellness Stage, Kitchen Theatre Stage, Beauty & Cosmetics Stage, Cheese Tasting Stage.

Follow the West Coast Women’s Show on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more information. Join the West Coast Women’s Show VIP Club to receive information on the best ticket deals, show updates and exclusive deals available only to VIP Club members.

Spring clean in autumn and benefit Canuck Place Children’s Hospice as they host a clothing and textiles drive in Abbotsford and Vancouver.

Stop by the Canuck Place Clothing Drive at these locations:

Drop off your unwanted clothing, textiles and footwear — in any condition — at both hospice locations and help raise funds for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice at the same time. Leading up to the main events on October 19th, you can also drop off at two locations in Abbotsford, between October 11th and 19th:

Accepted Donations include:

• Used clothing and textiles in any condition
• Rain jackets and outerwear
• Linens and table cloths
• Towels, pillows and quilts
• Leather clothing, handbags and belts
• Shoes, runners, skates and rubber boots

Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides innovative, holistic clinical care with compassion through our hospices, in hospitals and communities in BC and the Yukon. They provide respite, family support, pain and symptom management, end-of-life care and bereavement services to newborns, children, youth and their families living with progressive life-threatening conditions.

Follow Canuck Place on Facebook and Twitter for more information about ways to give.

The 3rd annual Chefs’ Charity Dinner, a fundraiser for the Dan Snook Trust Foundation (Dan’s Legacy), is coming up October 27th. Chef Sean Cousins, along with four other top chefs in Vancouver, will create a menu of culinary masterpieces guaranteed to delight the senses.

The evening begins with a selection of cocktails and canapés followed by dinner with wine pairings. Live music and a live auction featuring fabulous prize holidays to exclusive destinations round out the entertainment. All proceeds from the event support Dan’s Legacy, which provides therapeutic counselling to youth overcoming addiction as a result of trauma and abuse.

Chefs’ Charity Dinner

Where: The Vancouver Club (915 West Hastings)
When: Thursday, October 27, 2016 from 7:00pm to 10:30pm
Tickets: Available online now. Individual tickets are $250, with VIP packages also available. Call (604) 329-9186 for more information.

Hosted by Fred Lee, the gala showcases a five-course meal specially created by Vancouver Club Head Chef Sean Cousins, working in collaboration with Lee Cooper, Head Chef of L’Abbatoir, the Bauhaus Restaurant’s Chef Stefan Hartmann, Chef David Gunawan of Farmer’s Apprentice and Vancouver Club Junior Sous Chef/Pastry, Jessica Caparas. Music, and live and silent auctions round out the evening’s entertainment.

“This year we mark the 10th anniversary of our Foundation, and the gala is also an opportunity for us to thank our supporters, as well as raise funds to continue our work,” says Barbara Coates, Executive Director at Dan’s Legacy. “As we’ve seen with the recent drug-related health crisis in BC, our programs are needed now more than ever before.”

The Dan Snook Trust Foundation (Dan’s Legacy) was founded in memory of a promising and vibrant young man who fell victim to a sexual predator. As is common with victims of abuse, he turned to drugs to suppress the psychological pain of the experience. Stints in rehab only provided a partial solution. What was needed was counselling support to uncover the root of his addiction. Tragically, Dan relapsed and died from an overdose. He was nineteen years old.

“The Foundation has been my family’s way of keeping Dan’s memory alive,” says Kevin Snook, Dan’s father and Chair of the Board. “Dan was such a gentle soul with a free spirit and lovely heart, who always brought happiness to those around him. Whilst it has been a personal journey of pain and sadness to have lost my son, it gives me great joy and satisfaction knowing how many youth we are helping today through our work.”

Follow Dan’s Legacy on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more information about The Foundation and the Chefs’ Charity Dinner.

Win Tickets

I have two tickets (value $500) to give away for this very special evening*. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post on Facebook tagging @DansLegacy and @Miss604. You can say why you would like to attend the evening, you could tag who you would bring as your guest, or you can say why mental health issues are important to you. (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2016. *The winner will be asked to share 5 social posts on their network of choice (either Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram) live from the event on October 27th using the tag #ChefsCharityDinner and @DansLegacyBC. Thank you for supporting Dan’s Legacy and I look forward to sending one lucky reader and their guest to this wonderful gala!

Update The winner is @c_tsoukalas!