Lying between bustling downtown business hubs and Stanley Park, Vancouver’s West End is a very special neighbourhood. It’s a place where birds sing and heritage houses become museums, community facilities, and B&Bs. Cherry blossoms line the streets in early spring, tulips pop out in late April, and a lush green canopy hangs over roadways throughout […]

Being a West End resident for the last six years, I’ve been watching the gold and brown Pacific Palisades towers undergo a transformation. I don’t cover real estate development often, but it’s been interesting to see the Robson and Jervis based hotel buildings (circa the 1960s) shift into rental properties. Now owned by Austeville Properties, […]

Last year the City of Vancouver approved and expanded street food selection that went beyond hot dogs and chestnuts to fish tacos, brisket, and fresh juice smoothies. As of May 1, 2012, twelve new vendors can now roll out becoming part of the fleet of 103 street food carts around downtown. Food selections from Ukraine, […]

Those little blue boats that transport you from the Aquatic Centre near Sunset Beach to the Maritime Museum or Granville Island are celebrating their 30th anniversary this week. False Creek Ferries started out in 1982 with only two boats and two destinations. Now, they have ten vessels and half a dozen routes. Photo credit: Judy […]

Vancouver’s a great city for a walking tour and now we can add murals to the list of sights to see. The City of Vancouver has outlined four self-guided mural tours, that take about 30-60 minutes each, which you can explore in advance through an interactive online map. Each tour has a map and a […]

The Burrard Hotel has recently undergone a complete renovation, overhaul, re-branding, and everything else associated with bringing this 1950s style motor hotel up to Vancouver’s world-class city standards. Tipping their hat to their roots, you can find retro charms like plastic patio furniture in the swinging garden courtyard mixed with modern amenities like complimentary WIFI […]

Despite the chilly weather and frozen rain pelting down on the coast, winter is almost over and local company Spring Advertising is once again hosting “Boink Day” to celebrate. On the first day of spring, March 20, 2012, stop by the Vancouver Art Gallery for a public pogo challenge in support of the Greater Vancouver […]

The jovial A-Maze-Ing Laughter statues in Morten Park by Chinese artist Yue Minjun have brought smiles to the faces of locals and visitors for the last few years. As a part of the Vancouver Biennale public art exhibition, time is running out on these painted bronze figures at English Bay. That is, unless the Park […]

This morning it was announced that Sears was closing its downtown Vancouver location, along with others in Calgary and Ottawa, by October 31st [News1130]. While rumours are flying about what will move into the Pacific Centre Sears spot, which they took over from Eaton’s back in 1999, my immediately reaction was that now we can […]

With another year until we get a statutory holiday in BC, February could be looking pretty gloomy at this point. However, with events to celebrate the two year Vancouver 2010 Olympic anniversary, a city-wide festival, a film festival, a comedy fetival, and more, the February 2012 calendar is looking pretty bright. Photo credit: couloir on […]