Vancouver’s improv scene is getting an explosive infusion of guest talent this summer as Vancouver TheatreSports (“VTSL”) explores what it means to be a woman in Vancouver. Themes such as dating and romance, career and work/life balance, female friendships and body image will all be examined through the audience suggestions motivating the improvisers’ wicked wit.
Vancouver TheatreSports Firecracker Dynamite Ladies
Starting Thursday, July 21st and running every Thursday evening at 9:15pm, VTSL presents Firecracker Dynamite Ladies. Explosive comedy. “One of VTSL’s mandates is to increase the diversity in our company, and in the improv world,” states Executive Director Jay Ono.
“I am very proud of the fact that VTSL’s ensemble includes very strong female improvisers. In addition, almost 50 percent of our Rookie League and Improv Comedy Institute (ICI) are women. This is an exciting time for the development of the art form thanks to these amazing improvisers – they rank among the best anywhere.”
Inaugural shows will honour a special female guests whose stories of their life, work and achievements will inspire the performance. We are delighted to have the following guests join us for these performances:
July 21: Me! Rebecca Bollwitt
Miss604, Blogger/Social Media Maven
July 28: Cassandra Anderton
Good Life Vancouver, Wine/Food Writer, Life-style Commentator
August 4: Briana Buckmaster
Actress, Sheriff Donna on Supernatural
August 11: Sadie Campbell
Singer, songwriter
August 18: Burgundy Brix
Burlesque entertainer
August 25: Beverley Elliott
Actress, ‘Granny on ABC’s hit series Once Upon a Time
September 1: Morgan Brayton
Comedienne, CBC’s The Debaters , Girls Like Me
September 8: Nicole Oliver
Actor, Producer, Director, the voice of Princess Celestia on My Little Pony
Subsequent performances may not always include special guest. However, all will celebrate the fun and foibles of female life in early 21st Century Vancouver.
As in all VTSL productions, audience suggestions about the show’s theme will play an integral role in determining and driving the improvised action. All shows are at the Improv Centre on Granville Island. Tickets, priced at only $10 at the Box Office (slightly higher online) are on sale now.
Founded in 1980 Vancouver TheatreSports™ League is Vancouver’s #1 improv comedy company and a well-respected international leader in the art form. Female alumni include Ellie Harvie (The New Addams Family, Stargate SG-1), Nancy Robertson (Corner Gas) and Veena Sood (The X-Files, Supernatural). Boasting six International Improv Comedy Awards, Vancouver TheatreSports™ League entertains more than 60,000 people per year through 11 shows a week, 52 weeks a year at its own theatre, The Improv Centre, located on Granville Island – Vancouver’s arts and culture hub.
Win Tickets
I have a four-pack of tickets to give away to Firecracker Dynamite Ladies on July 21st, where I’ll be on stage! Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win @VanTheatreSport tickets from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/BKot3028m8q
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Sunday, July 17, 2016. Follow VTSL on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — This post is sponsored by the City of Surrey / Heritage Surrey Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
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The Surrey Museum is bringing back Music at the Museum this summer, with a free concert on Wednesday, July 20th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Grab your lawn chair, kick off your shoes, dance on the lawn, and enjoy music from the Genuine Jug Band.
Music at the Museum
Typical of the museum, the lively event will double as a musical history experience. While the genre jug band is not as well known today as others, it is in fact the genre jazz and blues were born from. Developing in the Southern states in the early 1900s, it was largely founded by descendants of slaves. By definition, it includes a jug player and a mix of traditional instruments, as well as many homemade instruments, such as the washtub bass. Visitors can expect an eclectic mix of ragtime, jazz, blues and hillbilly.
Jug band music is fun, approachable, informal and accessible. The first recorded bands were based in Louisville, Kentucky and the sound travelled from New Orleans to Memphis, and across the continent. There was a revival in the 1950s and 1970s, with pop tributes from bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Lovin’ Spoonful. Nowadays, there are post-modern jug bands, with roots in Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
The Genuine Jug Band plays 1930s jazz, ragtime and Delta blues with a few original songs that blend perfectly. Their show, both unusual and unique, fascinates and mesmerizes audiences of all ages. See it for yourself the night of July 20th at at 17710-56A Avenue, Surrey.
The Surrey Museum is pleased to present this interesting, and entertaining, element to the community this summer. In 2017, the museum will expand and one of the major elements involved is an indoor/ outdoor space to accommodate more events like this. Hours of operation are Tuesdays to Fridays, 9:30am to 5:30pm; Saturdays, 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sundays 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Closed Mondays and Statutory Holidays. Admission is sponsored by the Friends of the Surrey Museum Society.
For more information, call 604-592-6956 and follow the Surrey Museum on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
For two decades, the Secret Garden Tea Company in Kerrisdale has been offering a tranquil haven for Vancouverites to enjoy a spot of tea and delicious fresh-baked treats with friends and family.
Co-owner Kathy Wyder’s grandma was the inspiration for the tea room after lamenting there wasn’t one in Kerrisdale. So Kathy and a friend opened the tea room’s doors in October 1995. Since then, staff have poured countless cups of steaming tea in elegant china and served elegant sweets and scones, along with breakfast and lunch to anyone who simply want a break from the hectic pace of life.
Secret Garden Tea Company Moves to New Location
Growing demand for a quiet, old-fashioned afternoon tea spurred the decision to move from its current home on West Boulevard to a larger location at 2138 West 40th Avenue. It will be able to serve more of its traditional high tea to customers later this summer when it opens.
While the tea room is moving, the traditions its customers have come to love over the years will remain the same. The new room will include some updates but will retain many elements of the original one.
The larger Secret Garden will allow for milestone events and large gatherings such as bridal showers, birthdays and other celebrations in their customers’ lives.
Win High Tea for Two
To celebrate Secret Garden’s move, I have High Tea for Two to give away. The menu changes each month to offer the freshest seasonable treats.
For July, High Tea for Two includes: Secret Garden Egg Pinwheels, House Caesar Roast Beef on Mini Croissants, Smoky Caramelized Bacon on Petit Kale Muffins, Scone with Raspberry Jam and Devonshire Cream, Tea Cake Slices, Tangy Mini Lemon Curd Tart, Summery Upside Down Nectarine Cake with Salted Caramel Whip, Chocolate “Peanut Butter Cup” Tart, and of course a Pot of tea.
RT to enter to win High Tea for Two at @secretgardentea from @miss604 http://ow.ly/LQwl3026jOJ #newgardensamesecret
Follow The Secret Garden Tea Company on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, July 15, 2016. High Tea seatings are available three times a day at 12:00pm, 2:15pm, and 4:30pm. Vegetarian options available.
This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Communications Specialist with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End over a decade ago and I have been a member for four years. I wanted to offer the team an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I have created “SPES Saturday” where they contribute and share stories with my audience once a month.
The Big and the Small of It in Stanley Park
When people think of Stanley Park, it’s the big things that come to mind: towering old growth cedars, majestic Siwash Rock, or the 7 km seawall. But get down to the microscopic level and you’ll find an intriguing world overlooked by Park visitors – until now. Stanley Park Ecology Society’s new microscope is revealing the miniature wonders of the Park to enthralled audiences during SPES’ school and day camp programs.
A SPES volunteer displays a damsel fly larva on a laptop connected to the microscope.
Courtesy of funding from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, the new dissecting microscope has a stage large enough to accommodate the small treasures that program participants collect in the Park. Pond dipping at Beaver Lake, for instance, produces a plethora of aquatic insects whose individual details are lost to the naked eye. But, pop a “find” under the scope (which can be hooked up to a screen projector or camera), and a whole group of explorers can observe the quivering gills of a may fly nymph or count hundreds of square scales, arrayed like shingle siding, on a moth’s wing.
Detail of moth wing and scales & Vein structure of dried holly leaf.
“Even I, who have spent countless hours peering through microscopes, was mesmerized by the complexity in colour, pattern and design revealed by the larger-than-life screen projections from the microscope,” exclaims Dylan Rawlyk, SPES’ School Programs Manager. “My computer’s desktop is one of these images now!” Indeed, magnified up to 70 times, parts of insects, plants and animals resemble breathtaking works of abstract art.
A dried rose petal becomes a work of art under the microscope.
A digital camera attached to the microscope enables SPES educators to photographically store and share their microscopic discoveries with subsequent groups of school kids and summer day campers. “We can now develop resources that are more detailed than ever before to allow for further study and research within the classroom,” says Dylan. As staff collect more photos of the Park’s microbiota, you, too, will be able to view this unique photographic collection at the Stanley Park Nature House on Lost Lagoon. The Nature House is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00pm.
This weekend, Miss604 is proud to sponsor Carnaval del Sol, which is a part of Latin American Week in Vancouver. This event is free to attend and will feature several themed plazas down at Concord Pacific Place, filled with food, music, and dance.
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.
Never miss my TOP PICKS for events in Vancouver! Receive this event list right to your email inbox by signing up for the Miss604 Weekly Events Newsletter below:
Check out the full July event listings here and if you have an event to include, please send it in by email for a free listing. Follow Miss604 on Twitter for more daily updates.
Starting Thursday, July 21st and running every Thursday evening at 9:15pm, VTSL presents Firecracker Dynamite Ladies. Explosive comedy. “One of VTSL’s mandates is to increase the diversity in our company, and in the improv world,” states Executive Director Jay Ono. 
For two decades, the 
This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Communications Specialist with the 
