Hummingbird604.com » local events

Vancouver’s 125 Anniversary Celebrations

Raul — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:21:43 +0000

I have lived in Vancouver (on and off, with moves to Europe and Mexico in between) for almost 14 years of my life. So, whenever I cross Customs and Immigration Canada and I get asked “what brings you to Canada” my response is always “I’m coming home“. This is my home. Vancouver has been my home for most of the time I have spent in Canada, so I’m excited to be part in some little way of Vancouver’s 125 Anniversary Celebrations.

My good friend Rebecca Bollwitt is involved in the Vancouver 125 Heritage Committee so I asked her to tell me a bit more about the initiative and the project they just launched, Places That Matter To Vancouver. Rebecca has been writing quite a bit on the topic. She told me:

Although Vancouver is celebrating 125 years since its incorporation, this is also a time to celebrate our rich past and heritage that goes back even further. Through First Nations partnerships, community events, art exhibits, performances, and two major city festivals (Birthday Live & Summer Live) Vancouver will be reliving the city pride felt last year during the Olympics — all year long. The City has at least 125 events planned so far most of which are free to the public. 2011 will offer the perfect opportunity to get to know Vancouver a little better, and celebrate the city which we call home.

There’s a number of great events that are coming up, including “Birthday Live” on April 6th, 2011 and “Summer Live” July 8, 9, and 10th, 2011. You can also check their Event Listings.

I love the city of Vancouver, a city I’ve called home for more than a decade. So I can’t wait to start celebrating its 125 Anniversary. I’ll be covering and writing about some of the events that will be taking place throughout the city. I already participated in the launch a couple of weeks ago, when the Vancouver PuSh Festival 2011 launched in conjunction with Vancouver 125. And I will continue to participate as events come along.

I feel conflicted about Pride Vancouver 2009

Raul — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:47:46 +0000

And before anybody asks, no, I am in no way, shape or form at odds with either the GLBT community nor with the Vancouver Pride Society. I love the celebration itself. It’s a day I usually spend with people I absolutely adore (most often, my offline friends, but other Pride Days I’ve spent with my Mom when she’s visited me here).

Credit: David Drucker

My conflict stems more from the fact that it’s such a rich celebration and so filled with events that it will be almost absolutely impossible for me to attend or even attempt to cover as media even a minimal amount of events. I have very little energy during Pride Week in Vancouver (don’t ask me why – it just so happens that way). Therefore, I am wondering what I should do.

Obviously, and knowing my friends and many of my readers, I am pretty sure I’ll get a lecture “you don’t have to do EVERY SINGLE EVENT, Raul”. True, but I still think that I should at least attend a couple of events. Even more so as I know that many of my readers would be expecting at least some sort of coverage (since I’ve attended several events this year associated with the GLBT community). I’ll see how to deal with my energy levels. In the mean time, be sure to check out the Vancouver Pride Society events page. East Side Pride already took place at the end of June but the next event is July 18th with Gay PlayLand at the PNE (I won’t be attending as I will be at Bard on the Beach).

Theatre review – “The 21st Floor” at PAL Theatre (Coal Harbour)

Raul — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:01:14 +0000

Photo by Wendy D. (c) Lyrics Stage

If you only see a play this season, “The 21st Floor” should be the one. Trust me on that one. Being a former stage actor myself, I have a very deep appreciation for well-created, solidly-developed, non-formulaic theatrical experiences.

The 21st Floor, a masterpiece created by Michèle Lonsdale Smith in a harmonious and skillfully coordinated effort with the rest of the cast as an ensemble, is an examination of the lives of 11 residents of a Coal Harbour apartment building. These apparent strangers have their lives intertwine (and at times, collide) by virtue of being neighbours in the 21st floor.

Lonsdale Smith and the Lyrics Stage Project have made sure that the play is consistent with their core objective: to tell stories that are relevant to the people in the time and the place where the play is being shown. This six-month project saw the light just recently (November 11th) but you should totally run and see before November 22nd.

“The 21st Floor” is an in-depth examination of the behavioral patterns of Vancouverites through the lenses of their domestic lives. What goes on in 2107 every night? Who is that blogger who broadcasts our daily comings-and-goings to the world? And the most important question, have we lost the opportunity to create a sense of community by choosing to isolate ourselves within the confines of our apartments? Are the doors to enter our souls closed, as demonstrated by our choosing to close the door behind us and ignore what else is going on in the 21st floor? All of these are questions that I believe the cast was exploring throughout the play.

The stage design was phenomenal, as the stage manager recreated a full floor with different apartments (although we could very easily see through). I was deeply moved and strongly connected with the themes of the play. As you may remember, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, I’ve previously written about the sense of aloofness in Vancouverites and asked the question whether Vancouver is a toxic city.

“The 21st Floor” will definitely resonate with long-time Vancouver residents, and I strongly suggest you to take an opportunity to go and enjoy the performance. The actors are simply phenomenal. I can’t single out any particular one of them, as all did a wonderful job of portraying the characters they were assigned to play. At no point does the play feel cartoonish. On the contrary, it’s such a strong, lived performance, that I really, really want to go and see it again.

I had the opportunity to enjoy “The 21st Floor” thanks to an invitation by Simon Ogden, of The Next Stage Magazine and the Marketing Director of Lyrics Stage Project. Amongst a gazillion other things he does, Simon blogs about theatre in Vancouver and is very passionate about helping raise awareness on the world-class theatre we have in our beautiful city.

One thing you should know is that the show is rated around PG 13 as it contains strong language, scenes of violence, nudity, and sexuality, with some occasional loud noises. The show’s length is 90 minutes with no intermission. But you won’t even notice. The play flows so nicely that you won’t need the intermission.

Performances of The 21st Floor run Tuesday through Saturday, November 11th to 22nd at the PAL Theatre, 581 Cardero Street, Vancouver. You can reserve tickets online at www.ticketstonight.ca

If you’re not making a lot of $$$, you can go on Tuesday November 18th, as it’s “Pay What You Can” night. You REALLY, REALLY should go and see it. I strongly recommend it. And I do hope to have a chance to hang out with the actors after one of the performances, as I didn’t have a chance to do so when I saw the show. Everyone involved with The 21st Floor should be proud of their work. Maybe at some point, I might be able to participate in one of their plays (not in the near future, though! — too much stuff going on in my life)

UPDATE – You can check details on the UQ Events page!

Upcoming events in Vancouver – early Aug to early Sep 2008

Raul — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:02:38 +0000

Even though I’m not in Vancouver right now, I always try to provide link love for friends of mine’s causes. Actually, when people let me know about what’s going on, I feel much more connected (because let’s face it, I do miss Vancouver). Anyhow, without further ado.

CHARITABLE CAUSES

- Karen Parker is doing the Bicycle Trek for Life and Breath, and you can sponsor her here. I am not sure if you can still participate in a draw she was having, but trust me – 4 hours of her geeky tech support is equivalent to gold, so sponsor her and get a chance to get some tech help from Karen!

- Barbara Doduk and Keira-Anne Mellis are doing the SPCA Paws for a Cause on September 14th (the day that my flight back is scheduled, though not sure if I’m actually going to be back in Vancouver then) and you can donate to their causes here (Barbara) and here (Keira-Anne).

- Tanya Davis (aka NetChick) is joining Team Diabetes, and you can pledge her here.

LOCAL EVENTS

- The Vancouver Queer Film Festival takes place from August 14th to … Unfortunately, I am in Mexico and won’t be able to attend, but if you do attend and want to do a movie review on my blog, you can be Hummingbird604.com’s official correspondent Actually I kinda need an official correspondent. I could even find something to throw as a reward… how about a free beginners’ salsa lesson? Even if you think you have two left feet, I’ll teach you how to dance at least the very basic 2 steps, how’s that? Or one or two hours of conversational Spanish/Italian/Portuguese?

- VinoCamp is taking place on August 16th, 2008. I am not able to participate but you really should attend. Wine and geekery, what else do you need?

- Travis Smith just sent me an email about an upcoming event (the ExpressionEngine Road Show) that you can check out here.

VANCOUVER MEETUPS

- I am a big supporter of Vancouver meetups, particularly since I frequently organize them (Vancouver Bloggers Meetup), live-blog or recap them (Vancouver Young Professionals Meetup, Sales Performance Meetup and Real Estate Tech Meetup). And since I missed this month’s Vancouver Real Estate Tech Meetup (where Steve Jagger gave a presentation), I was feeling bummed. Fear not, Steve himself uploaded a recap!

- I will be missing the Third Tuesday and Net Tuesday meetups, but I’ll be linking to them as soon as I get any scoop. I am particularly bummed about Net Tuesday as I am a total non-Drupal geek, but I want to learn.

- Jordan Behan has been organizing impromptu, informal Tweetups sorta regularly (I hope you keep doing it at least until I can make it to one!) around the Gastown area. You may want to check on Twitter what’s going on (or search Summize for #GastownTweetup)

NOT SO LOCAL EVENTS, BUT STILL…

- WordCamp San Francisco 2008 is taking place this weekend too. Two of my Vancouver friends, Andy and Duane are going down. Andy is presenting on the status of his project BuddyPress and Duane is attending the whole Camp, although given that Duane and Dale’s BraveNewCode project, WPTouch 2.0 for the iPhone was just released, I would have thought that Matt would have invited Duane to speak. Next year, I’m sure. I will link to Andy’s talk if he (or anyone else) uploads video. Heck, who knows. If I become really proficient with WordPress, maybe I will be presenting at WordCamp!

IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR…

And somehow I didn’t highlight your event, fear not – drop me a comment or send me an email or a tweet. And while I am sure that most of my readers follow her blog, Rebecca usually has the comings-and-goings in Vancouver, so if I missed something about an event here, I could almost bet she has it there

Quick update post

Raul — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:27:25 +0000

I had written a really cool, after-the-Blogathon post, but I have a head-shattering headache again (potentially due to lack of sleep or excess caffeine – I had two Americanos while doing Blogathon) so I saved it in my drafts and will publish it later.

Super quick updates -

- Yes, you CAN still donate to the BC Cancer Foundation (my cause for Blogathon 2008) by clicking HERE.

- Today is the July 2008 Vancouver Bloggers Meetup at the Blackwater Cafe (Cordova and Carrall in Gastown) at 7:00pm. There’s wi-fi, beautiful art in the walls and about 35 or so bloggers confirmed. If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, I’d appreciate it if you did as I have to talk to Shane about numbers (for tables, etc.). You may not know this, but my good friend Isabella Mori has now bestowed the Organizer role for future VBMs on to me, so now it will be up to me to keep tabs on all of you Vancouver bloggers

- This coming weekend is Pride Weekend. There will be LOTS of stuff happening, and if there is a city that should be proud is Vancouver, where you can, without a doubt, have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or both and nobody will say anything. How cool is that? I will, of course, be attending several of the Pride events and will potentially drag several of my online and offline friends. Pride Day (Sunday) I will NOT be blogging at all.

- My 1000th post is coming up. Technically, I’m at 1005 but several of those were guest-posts, so I’ll let you know when the post is going to be published. And there will, indeed be a celebration. Either a RaulCamp or an Imbib-o-Camp, as Derek called it (Airdrie and I had been talking about a MargaritaCamp, Ryan suggested a GinCamp and Kerry-Anne said that she’d bring wine (oh speaking of wine – check out VinoCamp!) Alas, I won’t be able to check VinoCamp unless it is in the role of a volunteer, because wine (in all its forms) gives me headaches.

That’s all for now. It’s 2 am and I need to sleep.

Events in Vancouver roundup – Week of June 23

Raul — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:45:49 +0000

One of the reasons why I get so tired (physically and mentally) is because I try to do a lot. Beth Snow said it perfectly, indicating that I do 17 things a day. So I decided that to keep my sanity, I’m just going to do ONE roundup post for what I got up to this past week.

STEAKCAMP (Monday)

Great turn-out, more than I expected. Thanks everyone who showed up. My restaurant review of The Brave Bull is here, Karen’s review is here, Buzz’s review on the 24 Hrs is here and link-love on his review of BabyEats is here and the Unofficial The Brave Bull page is here… Thanks everyone for coming!

VANCOUVER BLOGGERS MEETUP (Tuesday)

Nancy, Carol, David, Monica and I got together for a mockup (dry run) just to get a feel of the place. You can read the comments on the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup site. I like the Blackwater Cafe and am a big supporter of locally-owned, organic businesses. I vote that we stay there for at least the summer/early autumn.

OUR FAVES GATHERING (Tuesday)

I had the pleasure of attending, at the invitation of Candice Spektor from Our Faves Toronto, a nice small gathering of friends at SoMa (the former coffee shop now transformed into upscale, hip restaurant/bar). I had a great time, and had the pleasure of meeting lots of fun people, including Ryan (who right now is technically a friend of mine, given that he is friends with Ianiv and Jarrett) and of course, brief appearances by Karen and Lisa (both of whom Candace also invited to the event). Thanks to Candice for inviting me and for a wonderful time. I’ll be getting involved with OurFaves for sure!

REDWERKS ROOFTOP PARTY (Wednesday)

Too many friends from the social media world for me to list here, I made an appearance even though by Wednesday I was physically exhausted. Great work by Colleen Coplick, Lisa Thomas-Tench, Tris Hussey in the organization (Colleen, it was a blast! – thank you). Great conversation about all-around bloggery AND Japan with Heather (aka Hez). Good times all around with the usual crowd (Rebecca, Monica, Boris, John, Ianiv, Arieanna, Jenn, Nadia, Dave O, Jordan, all my usual peeps) though we missed some of you who didn’t come (you know who you are!)

WEST END BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION SUSTAINABILITY EXPO (Thursday)

Invited by Christy and Dave O from HappyFrog.ca to guest-blog for them, I admit that I arrived late to the WEBIA Sustainability Expo, but managed to still speak with the Executive Director of WEBIA and the organizers. Having already some connections with the people in the sustainability field, I know that I can give you all some insight into what was going on there (posts to come throughout the week).

MODERNE BURGER OPENING NIGHT

I didn’t go even though I wanted to, but Andrew Morrison from Urban Diner did and he offers a quick recap. Since I’m all about the link love, go visit his recap and then come back! I did go to Moderne Burger this week, but restaurant review is still forthcoming.

As for my weekend? For the first time in a long while here at Random Thoughts of a Student of the Environment, I am NOT going to recap my weekend. I am going to take a good break, which I think I do deserve. We’ll be chatting more soon.

[UPDATE - Rebecca will be liveblogging on Monday and Tuesday at the Vancouver Young Professionals Meetup AND NetTuesday - check her blog for updates on both events!]

WordCamp Fraser Valley and coffee/snack sponsorship

Raul — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:35:22 +0000

On July 16th, 2008, a number of local, Metro Vancouver bloggers who use WordPress as their main platform will be descending on Langley’s The Cascade Casino (no, we are NOT gambling, just in case you were wondering) to present at WordCamp Fraser Valley, and according to the most recent update from BlueFur, they’re already at 33% capacity (and it’s not even July) so be sure to register, PRONTO!

At any rate, I found out that Gary Jones is looking for coffee and snacks sponsorships. Given that I work in the environmental field, ideally I’d like to see a reduced environmental footprint. One idea would be to contact local, environmentally-conscious producers to see if we can get some type of sponsorship (e.g. organic vegetable platters, or organic, ethically-traded coffee). I’ll see what we can do – I am sure amongst my readers there must be people who work in environmental issues and the food industry, so if you do (or know of someone), drop me a comment or send me an email.