A few weeks ago I met the organizers of the Baker’s Market (I had previously written about Baker’s Market and I will always promote things that are East Vancouver-specific. This year the Baker’s Market in Vancouver takes place at the Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre at 7646 Prince Albert Street in Vancouver, all Saturdays from 11 am to 3pm except October 22nd and November 19th. The Baker’s Market features a Cupcake Eating Contest.

I would tell JT but he does NOT like cupcakes. Seriously. The Baker’s Market in Vancouver features free parking, free samples and free admission. You can find more information on the website.

If you have a “sweet tooth”, this is the place for you. Inspired by traditional farmers markets in Vancouver, this market is even better since it is indoors with lots of free parking too. You’ll find talented budding, professional or home bakers selling fresh artisanal breads, soft German pretzels, butter croissants, chocolate croissants, cupcakes, yummy cookies, hand made chocolates, brownies, Belgian Liege waffles,vegan cupcakes, mini bundt cakes, muffins, gluten-free baked goods and much more! Baker’s Market was conceived by Happy Chipmonk Productions which consists of a husband and wife team that has been working together since 1999. The wife is the “ideas” person and the husband is the “get things done” person. Together they have built several successful businesses that they are passionate about.

Baker’s Market Vancouver came to exist because they felt there are so many talented bakers and artisans in the Vancouver community who do not have a venue and opportunity to sell their delicious baked goods. The market started with just a handful of vendors…The market is now larger and ALWAYS indoors. This year we are expanding the site to around 2000 sq ft so there will be a lot more new vendors.

Related posts:

1. Baker’s Market (Vancouver)
2. Robson Square Artisan Market opening up June 4th and 5th
3. Union Food Market (Strathcona, Chinatown, DTES)

African Beads at Portobello West market. Photo by Jessica Brodeur

As we approached, we were handed free entry tickets (that saved us a whopping $2.00) but we were very thankful and thought this was a great way to promote the market. I think my favourite little booth was the Cocoa Nymph’s chocolates, mostly because I love the tasters and I’ve heard a lot about this place, so it was nice to chat with the girls.
The clothes were definitely beautiful, everything was designed locally and showcased Vancouver’s amazing creative talent.

The main theme of the entire market seemed to be jewelry. Everyone had a stall selling handmade jewelry of some sort! I even found some fascinators, which I have been looking for in the back of my mind for a little while. Mostly everything was a hand-crafted item, and the prices were quite reasonable.

Cocoa Nymph chocolates at Portobello West. Photo by Jessica Brodeur

Jewelry at Portobello West market, Photo by Jessica Brodeur

This is definitely a great way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon, it’s held in the Creekside Community Centre and it’s a great little community market.

Related posts:

1. Comiditas at the Portobello West
2. Aeriosa at the Scotiabank Dance Centre
3. EAT! Fraser Valley

The inaugural breakfast of Creative Mornings Vancouver, a free monthly lecture series for creatives, taking place Friday, September 2 at W2 Media Cafe. Creative Mornings started in New York in 2009 and has since expanded to cities around the world, attracting top creative professionals for free breakfast, free coffee and free inspiration from some of the world’s most creative thinkers. The format is the same in every city, for every event: 20-minute talk, 20-minute Q&A, 20-minute mingler. Breakfast and coffee are always complimentary. And the idea is to get everyone in and out by 10am so they can hit work after getting all juiced up with creative inspiration.

Registration starts Monday, August 29 at 11am – and will likely sell out fast.

You can register on the Eventbrite, check out their Facebook and follow them on Twitter. And congratulations to Mark for bringing this to our beautiful city and his team of volunteers. I’m sure they’ll also be looking for sponsors so connect with Mark soon.

Related posts:

1. Tip # 10 – Book time for creative activities
2. Restaurant review – The Sour Pickle Cafe (Victoria, BC)
3. Creative Mornings Vancouver in November with @BifNaked

While it’s too late to participate in the walk itself, there will be plenty of activities for the whole family: live local bands, a “Kid’s Zone” with a bouncy castle and a dunk tank, performers and a variety of local vendors.

ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the person’s motor neurons that carry messages to the muscles resulting in weakness and wasting in arms, legs, mouth, throat and elsewhere. Typically the person is immobilized or deceased within two to five years of the initial diagnosis.

Please do stop by and take part in this fundraiser for a great cause; there will be plenty to do for everyone in the family. Visit their Facebook page for more information or follow them on Twitter @TriCityWalk4ALS

Related posts:

1. First Annual High-Steppin’ Walk-a-thon Parade @LangaraCollege
2. The Walk Score
3. The BC Healthy Living Alliance Walk (Tuesday Apr 28th, 2009)

The 2011 Illuminares festival revolves around the heron. An iconic Vancouver bird, the heron represents the spirit of the city: its life also depends on a balance between urban landscape and the natural world that surrounds and punctuates our space.

During the weeks before the July 30th procession, PSD is holding puppeteering, performance and lantern-making workshops. The heart of Illuminares is community engagement–they need community members to help puppet the giant 30-foot heron that will lead the afternoon walk from Harbour Green Park to Canada Place and the evening procession to the Vancouver Convention Centre. The workshops are open to everyone on donation and you might get a chance to manipulate the giant heron on Saturday.

From the Illuminares web site:

To lead the lantern procession this year, Public Dreams dreamt big with the creation of a 30-foot illuminated heron puppet. Inspired by the work of French puppeteers Royal De Luxe and their Giant Little Girl puppet, the giant bird has been built with a cross-sector team of Vancouver’s best puppeteers, designers and engineers. Now Public Dreams is looking to the community to bring this magnificent creature to life!

You can also get involved in one of the flash mob performances or simply make a lantern to take with you on the evening of the festival. There will be people from the Stanley Park Ecological Society educating visitors and participants about the Stanley Park herons.

The Illuminares festival is situated at the crossroads of sustainability, creativy and community engagement and performance. Festivals where people participate instead of passively watch or visit are rare; don’t miss your chance to get involved in one of the most original events in Vancouver this summer. Hopefully we will be able to attend the event (either myself or someone from my Universe Domination Team – you’ll get to know them soon enough!)

Related posts:

1. Illuminares 2010 at W2 Storyeum
2. Upcoming event – Ecodensity workshops (Vancouver)
3. 5th Annual Louis Riel Celebration (A Festival of Métis Culture) [win weekend passes]

I love the HP TouchPad, to be quite honest (and not only because I got one for free). I found it portable, it plays Flash and it was very intuitive to use. It’s a bit slower, from what I can see, compared to for example an iPad, and the WebOS is not as pervasive as Apple’s iOS.

HP TouchPad will be available from U.S. retailers, commercial resellers and direct from HP with the option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage(1) for $499.99 and $599.99, respectively.

I’m not totally sold on the selling point of the webOS being the major feature, but I did find it intuitive. The portability, the ease of setup and the fact that it connects to wireless point sources pretty effortlessly were major elements I liked. Even my Mom felt it was intuitive.

Made to work like you, but with fewer coffee breaks. Get productive, or at least fake it really well with a brilliantly large screen, the ability to multitask like a champion of multitasking, wireless printing to compatible HP printers, and thousands of apps from the App Catalog.1,2 And because you deserve it, play games, download movies or TV shows, listen to music powered by Beats Audio™, and browse the same web you know and love with support for Adobe® Flash® player.

I’ll definitely need to play more with the HP TouchPad but I can see the potential, particularly watching movies (something that is harder to do with iPad because it doesn’t support Flash) and reading academic journal articles and books. I’m also excited about the intuitive element to Facebook, and the portability of my calendars.

Related posts:

1. HP TouchPad (review)
2. Win an HP Mini 210 from Hewlett Packard Canada and @hummingbird604
3. How useful is a tablet computer?

I think that one of the ethnic minorities or groups that has really left an impression in Vancouver, yet for some reason it’s only visible once a year is the Greek community. I happen to have many friends who are of Greek descent and I love Greek food, myself. And as a matter of fact, I used to be a Greek mythology geek. So much so that I even participated in a contest!

Greek Day Vancouver 2011 takes place on June 26th, Sunday, and it’s a day that I thoroughly enjoy. I’ve blogged about it in previous years, and I love the music, the dance, the overall fun. I’ll do my best to try and swing by Greek Day Vancouver 2011, which usually takes place in Kitsilano (where there used to be a Greek enclave).

While Greek Day is this Sunday, there have been and continue to be a few events. Check the listing here. And check the Greek Day Vancouver 2011 program here.

Back for another exciting day filled with the sights, sounds and tastes of Greece. Broadway, from McDonald to Blenheim will be closed off to traffic for another year to make room for a world of delicious Greek Food, interesting kiosks and exciting entertainment. The original and still the best street festival in Vancouver and this year, we’re going GREEN! Be Greek for a day! This is a FREE, FAMILY event – everyone is welcome! On Broadway, between McDonald and Blenheim

Related posts:

1. Greek Day Vancouver 2009
2. The Greek Summer Festival 2011
3. Kerkis Greek Taverna [Kitsilano]

Emcee’d by my good friend Dawn Chubai, host of Breakfast Television, the President’s Ball was extremely well attended (despite going head-to-head against the hockey Stanley Cup finals). The event took place at the Renaissance Hotel, I think one of our most underrated hotels in the city. I had never been to Vista’s 360 Degree Event Space, on the 19th Floor of the Renaissance Hotel, and it’s a gorgeous space.

The amazing dinner and wines we were served were impressive. I was fortunate enough to sit besides Lynn, who is the co-owner of the Pacific Provider salmon fishing boat. Pacific Provider is certified Ocean Wise, and Lynn and Rick have done wonderful things to improve the sustainability of the resource. I was thrilled to read a profile of Pacific Provider on the website of the CCFCC 2011.

Our first course was a Sweet Pea & Butter Lettuce Soup with Butter Poached Local Wild BC Spotted Prawns, Wild Boar Smoked Bacon Brioche Croutons and Peas served with Peter Zemmer Alto Adige Sauvignon. I hate my photos of the soup itself, but the flavour was delicious. Personally (and with all respect due to the chefs) I think the spotted prawn is out of place there, but the bacon definitely added a nice touch (and, let’s face it, who doesn’t love bacon?). As for the Sauvignon, it was a really nice compliment to the soup (I’ll also admit that I love sweeter wines rather than dry).

The first main course was Slow Cooked Pacific Wild Coho Salmon with Sautéed Artichoke Hearts, Artichoke Cream, Finished With a Citrus Dressing and Hemp Oil served with Gray Monk Estate Winery Odyssey Pinot Gris. This Pinot Gris was a little bit more acidic and provided nice contextual flavor to the salmon. The salmon was extraordinary. I think it’s kind of hard to do a citrus dressing that goes nicely with a salmon without overpowering it, but this dish was exquisite. I’m not a fan of seared fish, but the final texture really highlighted the flavor of the salmon.

We had a second main course, which I found a bit strange but very much welcome. Sterling Silver AAA Centennial Sous Vide Beef Tenderloin with a Bone Marrow Crust, Red Wine and Truffle Braised Alberta Bison Short Rib, Sweet Potato Pave, Roasted Root Vegetables, Cipolin Onion, Seasonal Mushrooms, Mustard and Horseradish Scented Rutabaga with Bordelaise Sauce. Again, a creative concoction but I was a bit taken aback by the inclusion of two meats in one dish. Full disclosure: I like my meat well cooked (I know, perhaps not the best admission, but it’s true), so this dish wasn’t my favorite, but not because of the quality (it was extraordinary), but because of the meat itself. This dish was served with Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Carmenere. The best way to characterize this – I love Casillero del Diablo. Simple as that. Wonderful red wine that goes well with a dish that requires you to highlight the flavour of the meat.

Quite obviously, I was a fan of ALL of the desserts.

Chef Mickey Zhao, with Saint Germain Bakery was who made the Walnut Financier with Vanilla Roasted Nectarine and Mascarpone Tofu Cream.

Chef Ben Pernosky with Pastry Chef Fumiko Moretom, Terminal City Club offered us Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcakes with Liquorice Cream

Chef Arthur Chan and Chef Suzanna Ngo, Fairmont Pacific Rim served us Chocolate Passion Fruit and Pistachio Cake

I’m mildly shocked that I didn’t take more photos of the desserts, but at least here’s one!

There were even more desserts with the Stations (Bella Geletaria Gelato Station, Nk’Mip Icewine Station, Okanagan Spirits Station, Canterbury Coffee Station, Silk Road Tea Station). Overall it was an amazing evening, and despite the Canucks’ loss and the subsequent riots, we managed to have a wonderful time at the Presidents’ Ball.

More information on the CCFCC2011

The goal of the Canadian Culinary Federation is to unite chefs and cooks across Canada in a common dedication to professional excellence. The Canadian Culinary Federation (CCF) was founded in 1963 and incorporated in Ottawa as a non-profit association in 1972. Since its inception, the federation has enjoyed a deep and long-standing tradition as Canada’s true representation of the professional chef and cook.
The Federation is a Federally Chartered, not for profit organization, and is managed by a member elected board of directors. Its membership is derived from Regional and City Branches who maintain affiliation with the CCFCC by way of charter and acceptance of National Bylaws. The business of the CCFCC is presented annually at recognized annual conventions and is open to general membership, invited guests and persons or organizations associated with the hospitality industry.

I had the pleasure of having my good friends Melody Fury and Julia Watt in the crowd along with Cassandra and Dawn, we had an absolute blast. Thanks for the invite!

Related posts:

1. National Chefs Conference 2011 in Vancouver
2. Funding shortages, university presidents resigning, what else is coming?
3. Restaurant review – Goldfish Pacific Kitchen

She has put together a little gift basket which includes a variety of products from the store, each made by a different local artist. The gift basket includes:

• Greeting cards by Wendy Deakins
• “Fuglies” stuffed toy by Suzanne Saint-Pierre
• Matchbox and soy teacup candle by Jenna Grant
• “Florarina” scarf made from vintage fabric by Emily Jo Heaps

It’s important to me to support local artists and my community within Mount Pleasant (I live in the area) so I was happy to run this giveaway. To enter all you need to tell me is what you consider is your favorite small gift. For me, an aromatic candle or a little bookmark is more than enough (I’m a rampant consumerist sometimes, but I appreciate the love, not so much the gift). So my question to you is – when you give a small gift, what kind of things do you like to give?

I’ll draw a random winner from all collected responses on the comments section until Tuesday June 28th at 2pm. Good luck everyone!

Related posts:

1. Win a prize package with the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association
2. Hershey’s Canada Swag Bag Giveaway
3. Farmstead Wines’ gift for first 10 photo submitters

50 BITES AND 50 SIPS IN 50 MINUTES AT EAT VANCOUVER

50 bites and 50 sips in 50 minutes at Eat Vancouver?  Not very likely unless I’m the Galloping Gourmet but apparently, that handle’s already been taken.  With 250 exhibitors and speakers galore, the six hours I spent was still not enough time to cover it all.  So I’ll just summarize what I thought were the ultimate highlights that no one should miss:

Food Celebrities

Contrary to his popular series “The Galloping Gourmet” from 1969 to 1971 in which he used butter and wine liberally in his dishes and galloped across the stage leaping over chairs, Graham Kerr’s new approach to food is to take the H factor out of eating habits that are a “threat” to your health and turn them into a “treat”. “If you grow it, you know it” a new cooking regime Graham advocates by eliminating synthetic additives and saturated fats from your daily diet which in turn, can save you $1000 a year: $500 of which you can in turn invest back into your own personal well-being and the remaining $500 being donated to charities.  His new book, “Growing at the Speed of Life” highlights his gardening adventures.

Rob Feenie, once owner of now defunct Lumiere, Food TV celebrity and Food Concept Architect of Cactus Club explains that their success (200 restaurants and 500 chefs) is based on casual fine dining with the emphasis on keeping it simple and affordable but with new twists. In his demonstration of making the Smoked Salmon flatbread, he even goes so far as to advocate reducing costs by buying ingredients at Costco.  Now that’s a man I think deserves the fabulously frugal cooking reward.

New Tools of the Trade

Having once been the designated cook of the household, I am fascinated by the variety of cooking tools designed for every aspect of cooking ranging from orange peelers, potato cutters and vegetable sharpeners.  In my dream kitchen, these would be the new cooking implements I’d recommend: Rosetta Stone Soapstone Kitchenware is completely environmental friendly made with 100% non-toxic materials that reduce energy consumption while maintaining the heat twice as long as any metal pot and lasts for a lifetime.

Handpresso (www.wespresso.com) is a “believe it not” espresso coffeemaker on the go – its compact, has a temperature gauge and doesn’t compromise on the taste.  Moreover, if parts break, the company will repair it for a nominal price as it is based on an easy design.  Great to have when you travel to foreign designations where there isn’t a Starbucks for miles around.

Groovy things for beautiful people!  Its Posh Accessories Ltd. glams up your kitchen nook with these stylish cooking utensils which make a great gift for all the culinary stars in your life   Eat drink and be sparkle!

Samples, Sips and Swallows

Forget about plain boring balsamic vinegar, Crescendo (www.crescendocanada.com) has arrived with their line of amazing flavored vinegars:  Fig-Chili Balsam Creme, Star Date, Mango Balsam, Star Forest Raspberry and much, much more

Peanut Butter is all grown up and has left the kid’s playground and entered the grown up’s world with amazing wacky flavors of Dark Chocolate, The Heat is On, White Chocolate Wonderful and more (http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/), straight from New York but available at Whole Foods.  I bought the Eat!Vancouver discount price of a six pack for $18.

Hot Mammas (http://hotmamasjelly.com/) proves that you can have your jellies and drink them too as I absolutely adored the Strawberry Daiquiri and Lime and Tequila Jelly.  Should I add that they also make the more traditional flavors like Lime, Mango, Raspberry, etc. They served them up on cheese and crackers which only made me crave a nice glass of wine.

On the Wine, Beer and Spirits Tasting Pavilion: I was told that no dead frogs were harmed in the making of Dead Frogs Pepper Lime Lager. Then straight fromEngland, Samuel Smith, Organic Strawberry Ale minus the taste of brew, a simple summer sipper of strawberry fields forever.  And from one fruit to the next, Luxardo Limoncello with Prosecco whose soft lemony bubbles filled me with citrus delight.  Then from your Backyard comes a great Riesling that has the perfect degree of sweetness and dry to add to your summertime barbecues.

Things I couldn’t even eat with a Nine Foot Spoon – I place this in its own special category as the civet coffee (Kopi Luwak) from www.doichaangecoffee.com is made from the beans of coffee berries eaten by a civet, and then passed through their digestive tract and then defecated.  The beans apparently keep their shape after defecation and are then washed and sun dried, yielding an aromatic coffee with less bitterness.  Should be coffee be on fear factor, I think so! At the Eat Vancouver, you can get it the reduced price of $45 per pound, a discount of $10 a pound.

Jack Link’s beef jerky (http://www.jacklinks.com/) deserves accolades as they make you stand around their booth for a long time as you watch their funny commercials featuring the Saquatch while nibbling on samples.

This was just a pure sample of the grazing I did during my six hours as I sampled Jack Link’s beef jerky, Zen Matcha lemonade, Divina Olives, Liberte blueberry yogurt, Green and Black organic chocolate bars, Bosa Foods espresso, Fresh is Best Sala, organic coffee from Asante, the list goes on and on.

Editor’s note: Thanks, Dianne, for representing me and covering Eat! Vancouver 2011. I really, really appreciate it.

Related posts:

1. The Kulth Music Festival 2011 (Coombs, BC) – guest post by Angie
2. Vancouver International Film Festival 2011 post-screening gala: Same Planet, Different Worlds
3. The Wizard of Oz (@CarouselTheatre) Guest review by @DianneChow

Unfortunately I can’t make it as I will be in Montreal, but if you can, you should! There will be a Performance and Reception at the Museum of Anthropology at 6393 NW Marine Drive in Point Grey, Vancouver.

Transcendent music sung in the Haida language, bridging the ancient and the present, by Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winners Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson and Bruce Ruddell.

Terri-Lynn and musicians will perform selections from her new CD ‘New Journeys’ followed by a performance by the Rainbow Creek Dancers and a reception. Admission is complimentary; attendees are encouraged to purchase a copy of the CD. Spread the music! You can RSVP to reception@whiteravenlaw.ca.

I wanted to find out a bit more about Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winner Terri-Lynn and Bruce Rudell’s collaboration. I learned that the broad vision for the “New Journeys” CD is to create music that bridges two cultures and helps people of different backgrounds to connect with each other reflecting the current need in Canadian society to reach reconciliation with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples. Such a wonderful goal.

I strongly encourage you to attend the CD Release Party which is coming up in a week and a bit, and do let me know if you attend, I’d love to hear your impressions of Terri-Lynn’s music.

Related posts:

1. Wordless Wednesdays: The UBC Museum of Anthropology at night
2. Wakali Wa Downtown CD Release Party (Thurs Sep 24th, 2009)
3. No Regrets (Robbie Williams)

For obvious reasons (the time that Ben spent in my life, how much I learned about Japanese culture and the language), I’ve grown a soft spot for all things Japanese. I realized that there was a little Japantown in Vancouver many years ago, and I asked my good friend Rebecca to blog about it (which she did here). To celebrate the remnants of Japanese-Canadian culture in Vancouver, we have the yearly Powell Street Festival, which in 2011 celebrates its 35th Anniversary in the form of a fundraiser (and check their Facebook Page).

Here’s some information that Kazuho Yamamoto sent me:

The Powell Street Festival, the annual celebration of Japanese and Asian Canadian Arts, Culture and Heritage. This year, the festival marks its 35th Anniversary and it is the longest and largest community festivals in Lower Mainland. The festival has been free event since 1977.

To stay stronger another 35 years, we are holding the 35th anniversary party KANPAI! (cheers! ) on June 15th at Performance Works on Granville Island. The event features hip hop artist JayKin, old time music by Shout! White Dragon, silent auction and appies by hapa izakaya etc. Tickets are $35 and 10% of sales will be donated to Canadian Red Cross.

When: Wednesday, June 15
Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 7:30pm
Where: Performance Works (1218 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC)
What: KANPAI! Powell Street Festival 35th Anniversary Fundraiser.

Related posts:

1. Powell Street Festival 2011 (July 30th, 31st, 2011)
2. Beat the Street: Asian Drum Festival + Remix 2011
3. Car Free Festival – Main Street, Grandview, West End and Kitsilano

Via my friends Summer Dillon and Rick Rake I found out that Ken Herar is embarking on a four-day, 200 km cycling expedition from May 18-21 from Mission to Victoria. His intention is to create awareness and showcase the need for harmonious and cultural diversity.The campaign is called ‘Cycling for Diversity’.

From the information I was sent:

The trip ends on the United Nations World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, shining a spotlight on the area’s diverse ethnic populations and the growing need for inclusive communities. Herar and his small group of riders will be stopping in Mission, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, Vancouver, Richmond and Victoria enjoying classroom visits and civic celebrations.

During the trek, Herar will be riding a Devinci Oslo Hybrid road bike, which was loaned from Wentings Cycle & Mountain Shop in Mission. Herar hopes to raise funds to purchase the bike and donate it to someone in need.

“By creating awareness, we are making a difference,” said Herar. “But we should never stop building cultural bridges.”

On the first day of the trip, the Cycling for Diversity team visits Griner Park in Mission at 8:15 a.m. for a diversity tree planting. The tree is a Ginko Biloba- an evergreen native to China, which is known to have medicinal properties. The District of Mission has also declared May 16 to 21 its official Cultural Diversity Week.

From Griner Park, the squad will make five stops at Mission schools and the Mission Indian Friendship Centre where they will engage in discussions about diversity and the cycling trip. From Griner Park, the team team will travel to Dasmesh Punjabi School in Matsqui Village before they speak to a Grade 12 Law class at W.J. Mouat Secondary at noon.

The next stop is Gordie and Colleen Howe Middle School where the team will be heralded by cheering students waiting on the school track. A second tree planting is set at 2:30 p.m. at Old Yale Road and South Fraser Way. Three maple trees will be planted to celebrate the ride. Canada Safeway in Abbotsford is the next stop at 3:30 p.m. followed by an hour-long diversity celebration featuring entertainment by Korean drummers and delicious Safeway snacks.

At 5 p.m. the team will also make a quick visit to the Abbotsford Heritage Sikh Temple to pay their respects to the historic building, which is celebrating its centennial. By nightfall the cyclists will make their way to Langley for more diversity activities to follow the next day. The trip concludes in Victoria at Legislature. The schedule for the next three days will include more school and civic visits. For those interested in riding or for more details, contact Ken directly at 604-615-2499.

For real time updates, supporters are encouraged to view the Cycling for Diversity Facebook page or follow @RickRake who is live-tweeting along the way. Donations for the bike Herar will be riding can be made to Envision Financial, Account #4577128 at the Mission branch.

Related posts:

1. Vancouver Diversity Health Fair 2011 (win prize package)
2. Where is the diversity in social media conferences?
3. Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (Whistler, BC)

More about Vancouver Craft Beer Week:

Featuring larger events, more breweries and special guests from the brewing industry (local and abroad), VCBW consists of a series of signature festival events and independently-organized satellite events at numerous venues around town.

photo credit: quinn.anya

There are numerous fantastic events planned for Vancouver Craft Beer Week 2011, paired tastings of food and beer, events on the relationship between beer and cocktails, showcases of different breweries, etc. The list of breweries of VCBW reads almost like a Who is Who in Craft Beer in British Columbia. I am a fan of Howe Sound Brewery, Steamworks and Yaletown Brewing Company, to mention a few. You should definitely check it Vancouver Craft Beer Week. I know for a fact that I (or someone who will be guest-blogging for me) will be checking out some of the events (as I am doing the academic conference circuit and I cannot be at all events, even if I wanted to!). Stay tuned for my coverage (my tag will be Vancouver Craft Beer Week 2011 and VCBW2011)

Related posts:

1. Beer before liquor, never sicker and liquor before beer, you are in the clear
2. Vancouver Pride Parade and Festival 2011 (Pride Week in Vancouver)
3. Homelessness Action Week (Metro Vancouver) October 10th–16th, 2011

photo credit: *_*

I looked at the website of the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society and found some information about what’s going with Vancouver Asian Heritage Month.

Since 1996, the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society has endeavoured to explore the diversity of Asian Canadian life and culture and promote the discussion of relevant issues and concerns within and beyond the Asian Canadian community. In Canada, the month of May is officially recognized as Asian Heritage Month to acknowledge the long and rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada.

The definition of “Asian” may be inclusive and broad, and applies to people who come from or whose ancestors come from: (not a complete list)

- East Asia – China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Japan, Mongolia, Korea, Taiwan.
- South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
- Central Asia – Iran/Persia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
- Southeast Asia – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

For a broad, eagle’s eye view of the calendar, click here.

Related posts:

1. Beat the Street: Asian Drum Festival + Remix 2011
2. Win tickets to rePercussion at The Vogue (May 1st)
3. Heritage houses on Hamilton Street (Yaletown)

This promises to be a great free, outdoor drumming concert which will launch the series of other events that take place in May for Asian Heritage Month. The participating includes (but is not limited to):
· Tetsu Taiko (Japanese)
· Cheondoong (Korean)
· Kathara (Filipino)
· Persian
· Reyhan Turkish-Arabic trio
· Mohamed Assani
· Vince Mai

Beat the Street will launch on May 1st, this coming sunday, at the CBC Plaza on the corner of Hamilton and Georgia, from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. It is a free event and you should totally check it out.

Related posts:

1. Vancouver Asian Heritage Month 2011
2. Powell Street Festival 2011 (July 30th, 31st, 2011)
3. Powell Street Festival 35th Anniversary Fundraiser (KANPAI!)

I am not much of a runner, but I am indeed a Bank of Montreal customer (have been ever since I moved to Canada) and have always appreciated the support they give to non-profit and sporting events. I heard from my good friend Deirdre Rowland (who is doing the media relations for BMO Vancouver Marathon) about the upcoming (May 1st) event, and I wanted to write about it, particularly because I hear that over 15,000 registrants are expected to take part in the 40th BMO Vancouver Marathon including the marathon’s original winner, Tom Howard. I asked for some historical facts about the event, and this is what they shared with me.

In 1972 the event was known as the “British Columbia Marathon”, organized by the Lions Gate Road Runners. In the first year only 46 runners signed up to run the five loops of Stanley Park. In total 32 runners finished the race with Howard crossing the line in a time of 2:24:08.

When I attended the media event recently, I learned that BMO Bank of Montreal is entering its sixth year as the title sponsor of the BMO Vancouver Marathon. The 2011 event features four races, the Marathon, 21.1 km Half Marathon, 8 km and McDonald’s Kids MaraFun; with the start/finish lines at Concord Place. The course is a Boston and New York Marathon qualifying event, and is attracting elite athletes and recreational runners from as many as 40 countries around the globe.  

I enjoyed the fact that the Marathon’s social media strategy for 2011 has provided runners with support, feedback, and access to videos that offer virtual coaching tips, as well as the ability to have conversations with other runners and to find encouragement in tough times. They had also an online T-Shirt contest – for both designers and runners. Vancouver resident Masaru Horie won for his design of an animated cityscape – with close to 2,000 online voters deciding on the winning shirt in only three days.

The event is organized and operated by the Vancouver International Marathon Society. The Society is a non-profit volunteer organization, with a goal to create a world class marathon and 21.1 km Half-Marathon. This is a fast and scenic course, providing both elite and recreational runners, walkers a lasting marathon experience, while enjoying Vancouver’s urban and natural beauty.

Online registration for the BMO Vancouver Marathon closes on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:59pm PDT.

Related posts:

1. BMO Marathon 2012 New Track Unveiled
2. Palais des Congrès de Montrèal (Montreal, QC)
3. Boris Bistro (Old Montreal, Montréal, QC)

Right now, I’m in a fragile emotional situation when it comes to being pitched to write about cancer or any other sort of illness, as you may know that a close friend of mine is on the late stages of cancer, and my cousin passed away less than two weeks ago. On the one hand, I would love to hide my head in the sand and pretend all these deaths around me aren’t happening. But on the other hand, I’m aware of the power of my blog in reaching people and highlighting relevant issues. So I decided to write about the new campaign launched by BC Transplant, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority.

BC Transplant’s social media 2011 awareness campaign, Live life. Pass it on is based on a new Facebook application that allows users to customize their profile pictures with the tag line ‘I Gave My Heart’ to show their social network they support organ donation.

From the information sent to me:

The campaign’s emphasis on social media and visual components reflect the inspiration of late double lung transplant recipient, Eva Markvoort, and the powerful, global movement for organ donation that she created online and through her documentary film, 65_RedRoses. Live life. Pass it on. is an extension of Eva’s passion to increase donor awareness, especially through various social media channels. There are currently more than 350 British Columbians whose lives are in jeopardy while waiting for a vital organ transplant. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was just a child, Eva Markvoort had been one of these people, but in 2007, she received the gift of life with a double lung transplant, which gave her two added years of healthy life and enabled her to continue her passionate work through an awareness art project with friend and photographer, Cyrus McEachern.

April 17-24 is National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week (something I did not know, but I’m glad I do now). This is a week where the success of organ donation and transplantation is celebrated across the country, but also when awareness is raised about the critical shortage of organs available for transplant. You can register to be a donor online at BC Transplant.

Related posts:

1. The @5days_Vancouver campaign for homeless/at risk youth
2. The @LetsFCancer campaign
3. World AIDS Day and the Treatment As Prevention Campaign

While my area of research isn’t food policy, I teach Public Policy and Environmental Politics, and I am well aware of the linkages between a healthy food system and our natural environment. I’m also a big supporter of non-profit projects and in particular, events that help inform consumers and the public in general on how to understand and make better choices in regards to the global food system. I like the idea of interrogating questions that range from the use of agricultural land to the politics of food consumption. As the tagline for the upcoming event “Change Through Food Systems” says, “From producer to intermediaries to consumers, how can positive change happen through our food systems? We all play a part – let’s talk it out!”

Change Through _ _ _ _ _ _ – your friendly, local farmers market of ideas – is back. Building on the success of Change Through Public Spaces, join us as four unique individuals spark a conversation about food systems and have your turn to make connections to new ideas, people, and passions. The event has a very intimate dialogue vibe, so all participants – official speakers and not – can have an opportunity to listen and be heard. Due to the event’s intimate nature, space is limited so register now! And since we’re talking about food here, you can probably guarantee that there will be some Thank you greatly to our space sponsor The Network Hub.

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Moderator:

Anthony Nicalo (@tonynicalo @foodtree)
Anthony Nicalo has spent his career as a chef and entrepreneur dedicated to the notion that story should be a key ingredient in everything we consume: the story of what, the story of where, the story of when, the story of how, and the story of why. His passion for food systems has been demonstrated through Inevitable Table, Farmstead Wines, nonprofit Farmfed, and most recently Foodtree, a global, participatory database of local food.

Speakers:

Arzeena Hamir (@arzeena @rfoodss)
Arzeena Hamir is an agrologist and works as the Coordinator for the Richmond Food Security Society, a non-profit group that advocates for people to have access to nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and culturally appropriate foods, produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just. Arzeena worked abroad for many years as a CUSO volunteer in Thailand and as a researcher in Jamaica, India, and Bangladesh. One of her current priorities is to engage the Chinese-Canadian community in Richmond in the food security conversation.

Herb Barbolet
Herb Barbolet is an Associate with both the Centre for Sustainable Community Development and the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. Herb helped found and works with Local Food First, a consortium of organizations developing a business approach to re-localizing our food supply. He also is a member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council and Vancouver Peak Oil Executive and a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives where he co-authored Every Bite Counts: Climate Justice and BC’s Food System.

Mijune Pak (@followmefoodie)
Mijune Pak is the creator of the award winning food blog Follow Me Foodie – a restaurant guide detailing culinary adventures locally and abroad, that has now expanded to video blogging and is a trusted online media source for food enthusiasts who have an interest in the culinary scene and enjoy dining out. Mijune is an active proponent of conscious engagement with food especially though facilitating conversation between the producers and consumers.

Change Through is an idea incubator. We provide you with the space to engage in dialogue with diverse, community-minded, ideas and action-oriented culturemakers. You leave inspired to make social change happen. Change Through nights happen throughout the year. You vote on a theme or concept you want to talk about, and we find three or four speakers to provide some context and provoke conversation.

—

Related posts:

1. The politics of climate change
2. Updated schedule of Projecting Change Film Festival
3. 2010: The year pollution control retook the center stage from climate change

I found MOGOMaxx, MOGO’s male superhero spokesperson and gay rights advocate, quite a fun idea. From the information sheet I was sent:

MOGOMaxx gives tips to his teenage Facebook “friends” on how to deal with bullies and sends out inspirational messages twice each day at 3:33am and 3:33pm (before and after school). His friends will also receive “Happy Birthday” wishes because as we all know, our birthday is the most important day of the year. People can also follow @MOGOMaxx on Twitter to see what he’s up to as he’s quite an amusing character.

I am all about promoting causes that deal with anti-gay bullying, particularly because a portion of the proceeds from this event will go to benefit the LOUD foundation and Out In Schools. Thus this event will be one that I’ll be looking at attending on my calendar. You can learn more about the event here.

You can use the promo code “hummingbird” when you purchase a MOGO Wear item on their online store and/or when you buy tickets to the event for a 25% discount. Hope to see some of you there!

Related posts:

1. LatinCouver launch party on June 6th, 2009
2. Launch Party 9 is on June 17th #lpv9
3. Launch Party Vancouver 6: Yet another resounding success!

Organized by Terry Costa, and now in its fourth incarnation, Gay Top Model 004′s Finale will take place this Saturday April 23rd at the River Rock Casino, and I have a pair of tickets to give away for a lucky reader to attend the finale. All you have to do is comment on this post and tell me why you want to attend the show (I’m pretty sure that many people will go for the eye candy). But these guys are MUCH more than just eye candy.

I had a chance to interview them and will publish my interview sometime next week, but for now, you should definitely make the time to attend the finale. It promises to be a fun event. You can find more information about Gay Top Model 004 on their Facebook page, or the official site.

I will be drawing a winner for my giveaway tomorrow Friday April 22nd at 5pm. Tickets for the live show can be purchased from Ticketmaster (the lineup of entertainment promises to be awesome)

Related posts:

1. The winner of Vancouver Next Gay Top Model 2010 is Fraser
2. Worst show on TV: America’s Most Smartest Model
3. Northern Voice 2011 Communities That Rock Panel and E-Book

Ah, it’s that time of the year again. The cherry blossoms are almost in full force. I have blogged about the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival almost every single year, and this year will not be an exception. From their press release:

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Society is a charitable not-for-profit organization which embraces the first moments of spring and honours the cherry tree through its festival’s unique cultural programming. The objectives of such community events include public education through seasonal, cherry themed, city-wide viewing programs, musical performances, fine art and design exhibitions.

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates this blossoming event through haiku. I wish I could do haiku (I don’t know how to be good at haikus). So I’m glad that the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival hosts the Haiku Invitational, a contest that awards the best haiku in five different categories including: British Columbia, Canada, USA, International and Youth. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival will be announcing the winners of the 2010 Haiku Invitational.

I wanted to learn a bit more about the festival, and here is what I learned:

Since it began in 2006, the Festival’s Haiku Invitational has attracted entries from more than 36 countries in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa and South America. The Haiku Invitational welcomes poems of 17 syllables or a haiku written in three lines. The 2011 invitational opened March 1 and submissions can be made online until May 31.

For more information on the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2011 head over to their site!

Related posts:

1. Cherry Blossom Haiku Invitational deadline extended to Jan 9th, 2009
2. Cherry blossoms photo-walk tomorrow (Sat Apr 5)
3. Cherry blossoms in Vancouver

I asked Marcela to explain what Comiditas is:

Comiditas are hand-made felt toys – fruits and veggies as bright as a Sunday market, and multi-ingredient kits that kids can assemble into their own version of a dish. For example children can enjoy making their own pancake, pizza or salad, choosing from various toppings and ingredients. Colourful, durable, washable and adorable, they are perfect for individual and group play, and a wonderful way to help youngsters develop an adventurous attitude and a love for fresh, healthy food. Comiditas are ‘food’ kids love to play with.

A little more information about Comiditas from their About Us page:

We are a small business who seek to create meaningful toys to play with and learn from.

We support toys that are simple but not dull. Toys made from fabric tend to be simple, as they don’t need batteries, make noise, or have lights. And without these distractions, they offer an open door to a world of creativity and learning.

With this educational approach, we support our values and we can pass them on to the children.

An example of this is that our toys are made for both boys and girls. While playing with food has traditionally been a girl’s game, we have found that it is also interesting and engaging for boys. Experimenting with the texture and colours of the food through play is a wonderful learning experience for boys and girls alike.

Playing with your food is an invitation to learn about different fruits, vegetables, and food combinations. Comiditas encourages curiosity about food, and we can take advantage of that curiosity to promote good nutrition.

Comiditas will be one of the booths at our local Portobello West this weekend March 26th and 27th and I have a discount code exclusive for readers of Hummingbird604.com (code: HMB604). On top of that, the first 2 readers who use the discount code will receive a free Comiditas-branded apron (value $16 on Comiditas’ online marketplace).

What: Comiditas at Portobello West Season Opener
When: March 26th and 27th, 11am to 5pm
Where: Creekside Community Centre, 1 Athletes Way, Vancouver
How much: $2 admission

I hope you have an opportunity to check out Comiditas, as it’s a beautiful idea.

Related posts:

1. Portobello West
2. Feliz cumpleaños Marcela!
3. Restaurant review: India Bistro (Davie Street, West End)

I have co-authored research papers and a book with my Mom, and to me, the women in my family were always worthy of respect and equality. I know that for many people, “machismo” has been a prevalent attitude of men in Mexican society, but my parents and their parents were extremely progressive and thus I really didn’t see it (if anything, I’d say I saw matriarchy rather than ‘machismo’). My favorite chemical engineering professor wasn’t a male, but a female (who in fact was an expert in chemical processes control, which requires some sophisticated math). And I am always a big fan of encouraging and mentoring my female students (I do that for every student of mine, though!).

It’s my understanding that there’s a march today (Saturday March 5th) to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. Here are the details as posted on the International Women’s Day Vancouver website.

The Parade will take place on Commercial Drive, followed by an indoor Festival at the WISE Hall on Victoria Drive in Vancouver.

When: Saturday March 5th
Gather: 12:30 pm at McSpadden Park (between East 4th and 5th Avenue and Victoria Drive)
Parade Route: West on East 3rd Avenue, North on Commercial Drive, East on Adanac to Salsbury Park, 1898 Adanac St.
Community Festival: 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm at the WISE Hall (1828 Adanac Street, Vancouver)

Hopefully many people will want to attend this event. And to women worldwide I say, let’s celebrate every day!

Related posts:

1. International Women Day is March 8th
2. World Theatre Day 2011 (March 27th)
3. The Ides of March (2011, movie review)

This past Friday I was invited by my good friend MJ Ankenman (aka @urbanista on Twitter) to be part of the unveiling of a commemorative painting that marks the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Hycroft Manor. In their own words (from their website)

The University Women’s Club of Vancouver was founded on May 11, 1907 by a group of eight young women graduates from universities in Eastern Canada and the U.S.A. It was the second University Women’s Club to be founded in Canada. Our first president was Dr. Evlyn Farris. The University Women’s Club of Vancouver is a private club for active and interactive women. Located at our heritage home, Hycroft, the Club provides a gracious and friendly environment for members.

Their motto, “We promote education and opportunities for women and enjoy sharing ideas, interests and fun in our clubhouse Hycroft”, rings particularly relevant to me as I am a faculty member of a Canadian university and I take it upon myself to mentor my female students (my Mom is an academic too and I’ve been a big fan of women in academia and higher education all my life).

Thus it was particularly important for me to attend this event (in spite of my serious lack of energy). And, of course, it was an invite coming from MJ who (as you know) is a dear friend of mine and you know I almost never say NO to any of my good friends.

Along with me, a number of friends of mine from the local blogging community attended (amongst them, Isabella Mori, Carol Sill, Ariane Colenbrander, David Drucker (and his wife Pam), and John Biehler, as well as my friend Cyndi Hunter from Yelp and a few other local lovely tweeps.

I’m thrilled to see that Hycroft Manor has started a blog to document the events leading up to the 100th Anniversary celebration. Two key events:

Saturday March 12th, 2011
An Evening Gala
6:30pm-10:30pm
Featuring Dal Richards & His Quartet, as well as Historical Tableaux, Silent Auction, Appetizers and No Host Bar.

Sunday March 13th, 2011
An English Tea
2:00-4:30pm
Featuring Ivan Sayer’s Vintage Fashion Show & Historical Tableaux.

I encourage you to attend both of those events, and to visit Hycroft. It’s absolutely beautiful. Thanks MJ for the invite! For more information, Hycroft Manor is on Twitter (@HycroftUWCV).

Related posts:

1. Maclure’s Cabs 100th Anniversary
2. The First Peoples House at University of Victoria
3. Vancouver Bloggers Meetup and Social Media Club Vancouver Event March 18th

To celebrate the anniversary, why not bring your friends and family for a day of skating at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver! Come down to skate or enjoy free hot chocolate, midway games, live ice sculpting and more. Make sure to get your free souvenir photo too. Sunday, February 27 – Noon until 4 p.m. Robson Square, 800 Robson Street.

I’m unfortunately not going to be there as I will be in Parksville covering Parksville Uncorked, but I would love to see some of the photos my readers snap.

Related posts:

1. Robson Square Artisan Market opening up June 4th and 5th
2. Free concert at Robson Square by Yuca
3. Robson Sushi (Robson Street, West End)

While I can’t afford living in Yaletown, I love hanging out there. Many great restaurants are within a quick, 2 stop trip from my office at The Network Hub, and I have a lot of friends who both live AND work in Yaletown. From Friday, February 11 to Saturday, February 12, 2011 (5:59PM to 10:30PM), Illuminate Yaletown 2011 (co-produced by the Yaletown Business Improvement Association and Fireworks Marketing Group Inc. ) takes place and it should be a lot of fun.

The Yaletown Business Improvement Association sent me a little bit more information about Illuminate Yaletown for my readers to check out:

The district will be illuminated with various installations lighting up Mainland and Hamilton streets, Yaletown Park, Bill Curtis Square and the Roundhouse Community Centre with colourful artistic expression. Yaletown will be fused with LED lights, animated projections, new media video displays, electronic soundscapes and 3D technology to create a striking visual landscape. Mainland Street will be closed to welcome the expected 50,000 spectators that will refresh the city’s memory of the unique experience lived during the 2010 Winter Games.

It’s a FREE event, and you should probably consider checking it out.

Related posts:

1. Taste of Yaletown 2011
2. The 46th Annual Variety Show of Hearts Telethon (Feb 11th and 12th)
3. Restaurant review – Yaletown Brewing Co. [plus Justin Trudeau sighting]

During the event, each director will screen their minute-long short film in front of a live audience of their peers. Winners will be selected by judging panel presided over by well-known Canadian music video director RT! and audience reaction. After the event, 10 finalist videos will be uploaded to Nokia’s YouTube channel where they will be given a platform to generate buzz and potentially become the next Martin Scorsese.

Smartphones have become increasingly advanced and are breeding a new generation of “citizen” filmmakers. The Nokia N8 is equipped with a 12 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens that allows users to shoot HD-quality video and edit them with an intuitive built-in editing suite. It’s also the first smartphone to offer a true home theater experience and only global smartphone that offers Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. Consumers can simply plug the device to their home theatre system with an HDMI cable that comes in the box.

I showed up very briefly at the event at the Vancouver Art Gallery, where I bumped into a few of my good friends, including Ariane Colenbrander, Roland Tanglao and John Biehler, as well as Peter Davies and April Smith (AHA Media) who documented the event almost in its entirety.

I wish I could have stayed for longer as it was a very well run event. I look forward to future Nokia Canada events.

Related posts:

1. Jabu Bags – an empowerment project
2. Streams of History Project on Saturday February 7th (Fearless City)
3. Living my life as an open book: The Living Library Project at UBC’s @ikblc

The MINI Richmond looked like a rather stylish soirée and I really wish I had been able to attend. Particularly because there was a staged performance of a getaway, some action-packed thug-fighting and saving of the maiden, as usually happens in spy action movies.

I know my friend Alisha Mann drives a MINI and I’ve been driven around one. I love this compact model, and I would be keen to test-drive the MINI Countryman sometime. And I loved the quote provided by Jason So, the Director of Group Marketing:

This MINI Countryman is the solution to the action-packed lifestyle, combining the DNA of a MINI urban-commuter with the adventurous spirit of a crossover. Whether you’re an outlaw on the run, or running from the in-laws – the MINI Countryman is your ultimate getaway car

Next time, I hope these events happen on a Thursday where I don’t have to meet with other colleagues in the evening. I look forward to future events that MINI may put together. Looks like I missed quite a fun event.

Related posts:

1. Win an HP Mini 210 from Hewlett Packard Canada and @hummingbird604
2. Richmond Centre (Richmond Brighouse Canada Line Station)
3. Vancouver NetTuesday April 2009 – Mini Social Media Camp for Nonprofits & Other Do Gooders!

I love my adoptive country, Canada. I have lived in several different countries in North America and Europe, but I consider Vancouver my home. This is the land where I have grown and flourished.

As an immigrant myself, I am keenly aware of the amazing ethnic and cultural diversity in our beautiful region. On the bus, I often listen to French, Japanese, Mandarin, Tagalog and several other languages I don’t even recognize. It’s fantastic.

So when my friend Kristi Ferguson (Double You Kristi) asked me if I would be interested in being a media sponsor for the Vancouver Diversity Health Fair 2011, I emphatically said YES.

When? – Saturday, February 12th (10 am to 3pm)
Where? -Croatian Cultural Centre – 3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
How much? – ZERO – it’s 100% Free!

The AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia) presents their 7th Annual Vancouver Diversity Health Fair, the largest event of its kind in Canada which has evolved into one of the most exciting and dynamic multicultural events in the Lower Mainland. The Fair was created to provide newcomers, immigrants and ethno-cultural communities with access to a wide range of health and wellness resources, presented in a number of languages including Cantonese, French, Korean, Vietnamese, Farsi, Punjabi, Spanish and Mandarin. The Fair features over fifty health and wellness related exhibitors, interactive fitness and culinary demonstrations, health screenings and onsite tests, spectacular multicultural entertainment and children’s activities.

Featuring:

* Over 50 health and wellness exhibitors
* Free health screenings + onsite tests
* Healthy cooking demonstrations for the whole family
* Interactive fitness workshops
* Spectacular multicultural entertainment
* Healthy Kids Activity Zone with sledge hockey, gymnastics + lots more!
* Onsite translation services
* Fantastic prizes, including the grand prize of 2 night’s stay at Times Square Suites Hotel downtown Vancouver, passes to Spokes Bicycle Rentals + more!

Some highlights of the 2011 Vancouver Diversity Health Fair

• Multicultural Stage sponsored by REDfm – to feature Chinese Lion Dancers from Lok’s Martial Arts Studio; Caritas Children’s Choir; Nia Dance Workshop by Joi Works; music and storytelling from the Shanti Mala Collective; Mukutano African singing & drumming; Estilo Cubano (Cuban salsa workshops) with Karlos Reyes; The Carnival Band and more!

• Healthy Cooking Stage sponsored by Safeway – to feature Today I Ate a Rainbow founder Kia Robertson and her daughter Hannah (simple recipes to make eating rainbows – fruits and vegetables – fun); Easy, Healthy Indian Cooking with Vikram and Jasvir of Ace Curries To Go; Homemade and Health Recipes with Simone of The
Rustic Gourmet; Easy Asian Basics with Chef Thaung Yan

• Healthy Kids Activity Zone – to feature Sledge Hockey by City of Vancouver Parks and Recreation Access Services; Circus Fun by Red Fox; Button-Button-Whose Got the Button personalized button making crafts with City of Vancouver Parks and Recreation.

To encourage my readers to participate in such awesome health fair and promote healthy living in diverse communities, the organizers of VDHF 2011 have entrusted me with a prize package. I am giving away a one month flexi-pass from the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to visit any of their community centres across Vancouver, and 2 passes to (any) half day bike rental from Spokes Bicycles (up to $100 value).

To enter my giveaway, all you need to do is to drop a comment on this post telling me what activities you engage to maintain a healthy living (or which ones you are vowing to do!). I do cardiovascular training every single morning and use weight training 3 days a week. How about you? Drop a comment on this post and let me know (contest open until February 10th, 2011 at 5pm). As usual, I’ll draw a random winner from all Twitter and blog entries. You can also enter via my blog’s Facebook page.

Alternatively you can earn an entry by tweeting the text below:

I entered @hummingbird604 and VDHF’s prize pack giveaway http://is.gd/9aJOvQ, you can too. Check @yvrhealthfair: Feb 12, 10am-3pm, FREE

Good luck!

Related posts:

1. Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2011: Diversity in Mental Health
2. Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2011 Call for Speakers
3. Volunteering and sponsoring Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2011

It’s hard for me sometimes to write about cancer. People I love are currently affected by cancer, and I lost two of my aunts and my grandmother to the disease. Gynecological cancers scare the heck out of me, for obvious reasons. I ask my Mom to check herself on a regular basis, and perhaps I’m paranoid but I strongly believe in early detection. I have Blogathoned in support of the BC Cancer Foundation and thus I make an effort to write about fundraisers towards cancer research. Thus why I am writing about National Wear Pink Day 2011. I have donated to friends of mine who run in the Weekend to End Cancer. Also, I have a good friend from Montreal (Christine, aka @MuseCrossing) who is a breast cancer survivor.

From the information I was sent by EndCancer.ca

A staggering one in seven Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancers in their lifetime. National Wear it Pink Day is about bringing attention to these staggering statistics, and raising awareness about the Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers benefiting BC Cancer Foundation.

To motivate a large number of people to get involved in fighting women’s cancers, we need your help. Please, invite your readers to consider some of the following actions:

1. Wear something pink on January 26th
2. Register for the 2011 Weekend on January 26th
3. If already registered for 2011, commit to getting at least 1 other person registered to walk.
4. Host a Pink Party, and let the Weekend office know about it by emailing vancouvercoaches@endcancer.ca or calling 604.684.9255.

And as I was finishing this post, I was informed that there will be a Pink party at Shoppers Drug Mart store at Granville/Dunsmuir, with The Beat Radio and their street team on site from 11 am-3 pm. I might drop by given that my office at The Network Hub is super close.

Consider participating in Wear Pink Day 2011 events, and/or donating. I certainly will.

Related posts:

1. Wear Pink Shirt Day Vancouver 2011 (Feb 23rd)
2. Wear Pink Shirt Day (Anti-Bullying Day) 2010
3. Take 5 Café Supports Pink Shirt Day (Anti-Bullying Campaign)

Close At Hand 8pm
Tanya Podlozniuk, Tanya Marquardt, Caroline Liffmann and Billy Marchenski

Inspired by a picture of skeletons moshing at a death metal concert, a line of text from Samuel Beckett, and the Hall and Oates song “You make my dreams come true”, Close at Hand is filled with games, songs, and improvised monologues, all rooted in the question, “what was your first experience of death?”

Inventions & Mysteries 9pm

Most magicians spend a lifetime chasing the spotlight, Bro Gilbert has spent his hiding in the shadows. Bro Gilbert is a magician, writer and creative consultant who actively works behind the curtain with many of the best magicians in the world. For one night only he speaks about astonishment, performs mysteries invented by strange men in small rooms, reads your mind and influences an evening of spontaneous miracles

The British Columbians 10pm

In the spring of 2009, The British Columbians were first brought to the public’s attention when they were unanimously voted “Canada’s Best Undiscovered Band” by a virtual who’s who of the Canadian music industry.

Tickets for this event are $25, and it promises to be a fantastic show. You can check the rest of the lineup for the PuSh Festival here. To enter my giveaway, just drop a comment on this post telling me how long have you lived in Vancouver (or the Metro Vancouver area), just for history fun purposes. I’ll draw a random winner on January 26th, 2011 at 5:00pm.

Related posts:

1. Triple O’s Picnic in the Park-ing Lot and launch of the Triple Os food truck
2. 7th Annual PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
3. New header image

The kind folks organizing the 2011 Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championship want to give two of my lucky readers a pair of tickets to attend the 8th edition of this awesome event.

The 2011 Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championships aim to demonstrate and educate the general public as to the benefits of yoga. All funds from the event send the top two champions, male and female, Youth and Adult categories to Los Angeles in June 2011 to represent Canada at the World Hatha Yoga Championships.

The 2011 Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championship is from noon to 4 pm on January 22, 2011 at the South Hall (8273 Ross Street, Vancouver, BC). Adult tickets can be purchased online, early-bird tickets $10 (until January 17); afterward and at the door $15. Children 12 and under are free.

Special Guests will include: Ida Ripley, Six-Time Canadian Champion; and Mari Dickey, 2010 Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Champion. Judges: Cynthia Wehr, 2007 US & World Yoga Champion; Brad Colwell, President of Canadian Yoga Federation; Lisa Ingle & Michael Harris, US National Judges. Event Master of Ceremonies: Craig Villani, Principal Teacher for Bikrams Teacher Training in Los Angeles.

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to attend the championships (I have two sets) you can just tell me either in the comments section or on Twitter if you have ever tried yoga, and how did it go? I will fully confess I have never really tried yoga. But I may have to, this year! I will compile all entries on Twitter and via comment on this blog and draw a winner on January 20th at 5pm. I will announce the winner here so check this post (if you have a Twitter account, please include it with your name and I’ll inform you that route).

Related posts:

1. The Dorchester Hotel [Best Western] (Nanaimo, BC)
2. 2011 Canadian Coffee & Tea Show in Vancouver
3. #musicthursday Theme: Canadian artists

photo credit: jimg944

Many of my good friends in Vancouver tend to go to Las Vegas for their holidays, and it’s almost a sure fact that they end up visiting the Caesars’ Palace. My own brother got married in Las Vegas! So it’s not a surprise that Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah’s Entertainment) decided to open a new sales and marketing office in Yaletown Vancouver. It does make perfect sense. And Caesars Entertainment hired an absolute pro to run things – my good friend Alex Lee-Behan.

To kick off the launch of the new office Caesars threw a big bash for their clients and VIP at Joe Fortes. Ten executives traveled up in a jet to attend. Caesars has now opened new offices in Chicago, New York, Dallas and now Vancouver, BC. I totally love Joe Fortes, even if I’m not a big fan of oysters. It was funny to hear that 800 oysters were shucked. I did get an in on one of the 9 giant seafood towers. Also, the champagne flowed and I got a chance to enjoy many of the appetizers (since almost none of them had cheese, yay!).

As I’ve said before, Alex Lee-Behan always throws the best parties, I have to admit. She is “in the know”, and has an amazing ability to ensure that the events she organizes are well covered. It was a great evening to hang out with a few select Vancouver media personalities, many of whom you may recognize (amongst them Dawn Chubai, Catherine Barr, and of course my lovely Plus One for the evening Yvonne Yuen)

I asked Alex about why did Caesars decide to open an office in Vancouver, although as I mentioned above, it does make perfect sense to me. Alex said to me

Caesars Entertainment is about the experience. We want our customers to get the best of everything; service, food, casinos and hotel amenities. We would love the opportunity to plan people’s next getaway to Las Vegas, Tahoe or even New Orleans. We’re bringing a more personal host approach to Vancouver.

If you’d like to stay at a Caesars Entertainment property, such as Caesars Palace, Paris and Planet Hollywood, you can call the Caesars Entertainment Vancouver Office at 604.568.9288 or email Alex Lee Behan at abehan@caesars.com.

Related posts:

1. Canon Canada opens new office in Vancouver
2. My definition of a good home office
3. On having the right equipment and the right office environment

Be a part of the Helm history and ring in 2011 with us! Canapes, cocktails and a sparkly, glittery evening celebrating one of the most fabulously decadent eras!

Tickets are only $50 and it includes a 3 course meal canapes/party favors/complimentary champagne at midnight. If regular guests choose to dine AND stay for the late night portion, we will sell them tickets for the late night at a reduced rate of $40 a ticket.. You can contact the folks at The Helm to purchase your tickets (this party promises to sell out, so act fast!). And there will be a lucky reader who will win my 4 tickets (I’ll be giving this prize away as a 4 tickets pack, so you and three friends can party in style).

To enter my giveaway, I want to hear your best memory from a New Year’s Eve. Maybe someone proposed to you on New Years Eve. Maybe, like my good friend Chris Walts, you were BORN on NYE. For me, the best NYE I ever had was in Madrid, with my brother and my Mom, ringing in the year 2002. That year, I had been extremely successful professionally and personally, and we spent Christmas in Paris and New Years Eve in Madrid. So blessed to have my brother and Mom as two of my best friends.

So, tell me in the comments sections for a chance to win 4 tickets to The Helm’s Boardwalk Empire New Year’s Eve Party, the story of your best NYE. I’ll draw a random winner from all entries that participate in the contest up until December 28th at 8pm. I will be away on holidays, but will just log on to my computer in time to check the comments, approve them and announce the winner. In addition to a comment, if you want to add one entry, you can also tweet the following:

I want to win tickets to Boardwalk Empire NYE from @HelmVancouver and @hummingbird604 – read my NYE story! http://is.gd/iNNSP

I can’t wait for The Helm’s Boardwalk Empire Party, promises to be great!

Related posts:

1. The Hangout at The Helm (30 Years of Vancouver’s HIV Cases Reported)
2. Boardwalk Empire Premiere (review by Anabelle)
3. The Helm (downtown Vancouver)

Admittedly, I attend restaurant openings (like The Helm’s recent opening)

Annika, Cindy, me and Cristina

Galas and fundraisers benefitting non-profits (like The Night of New Beginnings)

Michelle Clasius (Covenant House), Elaine Lui (Lainey Gossip) and me

Travel media events (like the recent Tourism Victoria social mixer)

Julie Ovenell-Carter (Why Go Canada and These Boots Travel) and me

Wine and food events (like the Mission Hill Wine)

Fashion shows (I used to model, so I can’t get it out of my system)

Fashion events, and product launches (like the recent Naked Boxer Brief launch)

Non-profit media events (like the Raise Your Hand for The Record with Josh Dueck event)

Richard Loat, Gus Fosarolli and me

But I don’t attend events for a living I wish I could, though!

I will fully admit that I felt really happy that Sarah (and for the most part, the vast majority of my fellow bloggers/media personalities as well as most of my PR partners) understood that the blogging, event and social media stuff I do is my side gig, not my main one. The main one is research, teaching and consulting. I’m a full-time academic (and even if I am not what you’d call a professional blogger, I take my blogging and social media activities quite seriously and professionally).

To be quite frank and honest, I decline a substantial number of invites. So, really, the number of events you see me at is actually a very small fraction of the total of invitations I receive.That’s not being snobbish, it’s being honest, and strategic. It’s also called taking care of myself. I can only attend so many events before I get exhausted. Admittedly, it was my “hummingbird-like” personality that added to the popularity of my blog: the fact that I would visit (and often, write about) so many events on the same night.

I really don’t do that anymore (the whole visiting 5 events in a night), or at least, I try my hardest not to. I don’t want event organizers to even think that I’m not adding value and respecting their event (a perception that is totally untrue, because if, with my ridiculously busy schedule, I make the time to attend even for 5 minutes, it means I DO care about the event). So, I’ve eschewed drama and conflicts around this and decided only to RSVP to events I actually can attend. I may say on my social platforms that I’m quadruple-booked for the evening, but in all truth, what that means is – I have 4 events on my agenda, but I only RSVP’d to one and I will only make that one. And sorry to the three who invited me. I often will tweet about the events I won’t attend to give them exposure, quite frankly. Simply because I find that’s the only thing I can possibly do.

I can’t do that to myself anymore (the whole “try to fit 5 events in one night”). My body can’t take it.

I keep finding old tweets and blog posts of mine where I say “I’m so exhausted I want to cry“. That’s not healthy to me. Particularly, if you think about the fact that I blogged last year about how in 2010 I was going to focus on myself, before focusing on anyone else.

I will fully admit I considered shutting down Hummingbird604.com earlier this year. Yes, I did. But I was able to (luckily) find a way to combine all of my professional activities with my social media side gig. Admittedly, this means I wake up earlier than most people do on Saturdays and Sundays and devote substantial amounts of times to writing blog posts, uploading photos, sending emails to PR representatives, managing contests, scheduling tweets to promote my content, etc. Blogging and social media are full time jobs!

At this point I am still working full time as an academic (with great consulting projects), but I definitely think I need to find a way to schedule my social media work within the actual work week. Because right now I’m working two full time jobs. I don’t know yet how I am going to do it, but stay tuned, because I will try my best.

[UPDATE – Yes, I know. It sounds slightly ridiculous that I insert a post on how I can’t be on the event circuit anymore, yet I also post about recent events I attended. I wrote this post PRECISELY because of the fact that in the past few months, and in particular this past week, I’ve managed to schedule myself properly, attending only one event per night – and that’s about as many as I’m going to attend in the future, one or MAXIMUM two).

Related posts:

1. The @CPRSVanStudents event on Social Media 101
2. Social Media 101: A Conversation with Vancouver’s Top Influencers (CPRS Student Event)
3. Be part of the plan! (Translink consultations)

Yeah. That one running? That’s me.

I am SO GLAD Whole Foods invited me to their Holiday Scavenger Hunt.

I never get to chat in-depth with Michael Robertson (Granville Magazine), Mijune Pak (Follow Me Foodie), Claudia Kwan (PolyMedia Athlete), Richard Wolak (VanFoodster), Erin Ireland (It’s To Die For) and Cassandra Anderton (Good Life Vancouver), even though all of them are actually foodie friends of mine and we usually attend the same foodie events (restaurant openings, media events, etc). Also, it’d been ages since I saw Karen Hamilton (Tiny Bites). So, it was really good fun. For the first time in a VERY LONG TIME, I actually got to chat with my foodie media friends, and that was very pleasant.

Moreover, the event itself was a riot. We were given shopping lists and we engaged in a race throughout Whole Foods to find our items. We got to keep said items, and the winner (in this case, Erin Ireland) got to have a huge cart of food donated on her behalf by Whole Foods to the Vancouver Food Bank (one of my favorite charities).

Yeah, that’s Erin with the Whole Foods donation to the Vancouver Food Bank

We were also treated to a number of nibbles from their Holiday Menu (did you know you can order your Christmas dinner turkey with all the fixings and stuff from Whole Foods? No, neither did I).

Festive Party Starters (as sampled)

• Prosciutto Wrapped Melons: seasonal wedges of melon and figs wrapped in prosciutto (Small: $44.99, serves 8-10)
• Tomato & Bocconcini Skewers: cherry tomatoes, bocconcini and fresh basil served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette (Small: $49.99, serves 8-10)
• Chicken Crostinis: toasted crispy bread rounds topped with grilled chicken, olive tapenade, roasted red pepper and pesto cream cheese (Small: $44.99, serves 8-10)
• Smoked Salmon Crostinis: toasted crispy bread rounds topped with smoked salmon, capers and dilled cream cheese (Small: $44.99, serves 8-10)
• Tomato Crostinis: toasted crispy bread rounds topped with roasted tomatoes, chevre and basil (Small: $44.99, serves 8-10)

I also liked the fact that they offer “budget-conscious” options (as they sent me on their email)

For the budget-minded host with a family of ten on the way into town, a focus on presentation and portioning can help create the finest flavours of the season without sacrificing quality or funds. Whole Foods Market “small bites” recipes cost approximately $0.50 per piece and are sure to provide flair to your holiday spread!

Related posts:

1. Happy BC Day! (statutory holiday in British Columbia)
2. Share your favorite holiday dish to win a KitchenAid food processor
3. The Holiday Waste Reduction Campaign of Metro Vancouver

While I am not going to gloat about the quality of my photos, I think that for the kind of online work I do (I write for the web) I think the quality is decent enough. The rest of my photos on Flickr.

Related posts:

1. Gingerbread Lane at the @HyattVancouver
2. Gingerbread Lane 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver
3. Gingerbread Houses at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver 2011

Kudos to DDB for organizing this wonderful event.

UPDATE – my friend Chris Walts just updated me with the following information:

The event was a huge success, we raised over $20,000 to be split between The James Lee Foundation and the Lookout Emergency Aid Society.

Related posts:

1. I like the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone
2. Happy birthday, @ChrisWalts
3. Happy birthday @ChrisWalts

Admittedly the photo is not exactly from the American Thanksgiving class, but hey, that is the photo that PhotoDropper found. At any rate, I am very blessed to have numerous friends from the United States of America (I do recognize it’s my pet peeve that they call themselves American when I *am* American, not from the USA, but from Mexico). Anyways, today the United States of America and its citizens (and permanent residents, like several members of my family) celebrate American Thanksgiving. The Canadian version was a month ago, so I take today a moment to give thanks for all of those friends of mine who were born in the USA, for those who live there and for those who celebrate American Thanksgiving. I know it’s a big deal in the USA, so Happy American Thanksgiving!

Related posts:

1. Happy American Thanksgiving!
2. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving
3. Happy 4th of July to my American friends and family!