February 16, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
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After watching coverage of Alexandre Bilodeau receiving his mogels gold medal, it was time to get out and celebrate Canada's first gold at a winter Olympics. I headed down to Livecity Yaletown for the Matisyahu concert.
Unbelievably the queues to get in were even longer than Saturday's Wilco lines – and we were still waiting as the opening tracks rang out. Luckily we got a decent view through the fence.
Cutting a striking figure in his black baseball cap, and skater jeans, Matisyahu was on fire, bounding around the stage and building his mix of rock, hip hop and reggae to blinding sonic heights. A Hasidic Jew from New York he seamlessly blends culture, religion and politics in his lyrics – and does a kicking human beatbox number to boot.
“Hey Vancouver, thanks for coming together in the rain tonight – PEACE!” he yelled to sodden fans. We were treated to hits like King Without a Crown, the lilting Jerusalem and my fave, the epic One Day off his latest album Light.
February 15, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
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“QUAAAAATCHIIII!!!! SUUUUUUMIIIIII!!!! MIIIIIIGAAAA!!!!!” Hysterical fans of 2010’s cuddly Olympic mascots were screeching their heads off just for a chance to pet or hug the giant furry creatures. I thought I might be the only big kid at Robson Square’s GE Plaza in Vancouver but no, ‘kids’ of all ages crammed around the ice rink to meet their idols. You’d have thought Madonna or Brad Pitt was in town – such was the level of excitement.
The ice rink had been transformed into an enchanted forest and other skaters in leafy green outfits twirled in formation around the stars. A commentator gave us the lowdown on the Winter Games Mascots: Miga (black and white) is a sea bear, which in First Nations mythology is part Orca whale and part Kermode bear. A snowboarding fanatic, she normally lives in surf capital, Tofino. Quatchi (huge and fluffy with blue ear muffs) is a Canadian sasquatch from the Great White North – and he loves ice hockey.
Mascot to the Paralympic Games, green Sumi loves skiing. He wears the hat of an Orca, flies with Thunderbird wings and skates on furry bear legs. Their sidekick marmot, Muk Muk was absent, maybe marmots just don’t skate?
At the end, we all did get our moment with the mascots as they glided around for big hugs, and putting wide grins on little faces. And afterwards it was time to put on skates (rentals are $3) and make the most of the free ice rink.
February 14, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
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By now, I’ve learnt to leave a couple of hours to get into Vancouver’s free Olympic events – at least the big ones. So my friends and I joined the line around David Lam Park early to see alt-rock Chicago band, Wilco perform at Livecity Yaletown. And surprisingly we all moved pretty fast, getting in to see today’s Games highlights on the big screens. Canadian Jenn Heil’s silver medal win at the Women’s Moguls at Cypress Mountain was going down a storm, with US fans jubilant over Hannah Kearney’s Gold.
Award winners (of the Grammy kind), Wilco got everyone rocking enough to forget about the pouring rain. I got chatting to Steve from London, UK who’s a big fan, but even more psyched about his Olympic snowboarding tickets. “It’s one thing watching the Games on telly, but way more special getting to see them live,” he admitted.
As the band drew to a close, we checked out the rest of Livecity Yaletown, stalls offering global street food, 3-D videos in the Panasonic marquee and computer games in the Samsung tent. Coca-Cola’s tube-shaped pavilion showcased bottle designs through the ages, interactive games, a giant polar bear and video footage of the Olympic torch relay.
Trooping out, we were just in time to catch a spectacular firework display over False Creek.
February 13, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
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Avoiding steep ticket prices to the Vancouver Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony in BC Place, my friends and I joined the majority of Vancouverites and visitors on the streets. Every bar, restaurant and Olympic Pavilion seemed to be showing the ceremony on big TV screens. Livecity Yaletown in David Lam Park was at capacity so we caught the athletes’ entrances, Nelly Furtado performing with Bryan Adams and more on TV at The Hub bar before heading down to False Creek. Across the water, the Athletes’ Village and Vancouver’s globe-shaped Science World were gloriously lit up.
As we passed the backstage area of BC Place, dancers still in costume were streaming out ready to party. A surreal case of art and reality colliding. After stopping for a curry at the Plaza of Nations food stalls, we continued along False Creek to Ontario House at Concord Place. Unforgettable ‘wow’ moments followed as, on the huge outdoor screens we watched Wayne Gretzky light the Olympic cauldron, just as to our left, an enormous burst of red fireworks exploded into the night sky above BC Place. Quite literally, the city went wild.
February 10, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
I took a trip downtown to see the art installations, the pavilions and the buildings that have been decorated for the 2010 Olympics. I saw the Olympic clock counting down the seconds unitl the opening ceremonies and couldn't help but notice the excitement with all the visitors, international press and athletes all starting to arrive.
October 06, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
The Vancouver Biennale is a series art installations around the city and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition partners up with the Bienalle on its official opening for the "bikenalle" which is a bike tour of the installations that allows you to view the art and also see a lot of Vancouver. I decided to hop on my bike and take the tour.
I thought it was a great way to ride the seawall that now goes almost all the way around downtown. I saw parts of the city that I hadn’t seen in years, the art was fantastic and I was reminded how beautiful and bike friendly Vancouver actually is.
August 10, 2009 | Field Reports >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
I went down to
Vancouver's Plaza of Nations for the Ultimate Saturday of the 2009
World Police and Fire Games. There I watched the Dragon Boat races and
the Ultimate Firefighter competition and asked a few of the competitors
what they thought of Vancouver. What an amazing event!
June 18, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
The video is coverage of the recent 'car free day'.
Commercial Drive is great to visit any day of the week. If asked to describe the vibe on the Drive I would say it is a mix of the city, mixed with the hippie easy going life and Italy.
Catch the Skytrain to Commercial Drive station or Broadway station and walk all the way to Venables street (about 1 mile from either station). Along the way experience over 400 businesses, most being owner operated.
If you are looking for a modern shopping excursion I would suggest to stay downtown. The Drive offers you the best coffee in the world served at Café Calibria (run by three sons and their father). Amazing food choices (Stellas and Havanas are always a good choice) to a few good greasy spoon cafes serving up a full breakfast for a very affordable price. Then there are local clothing shops (new and used), organic food shops, a large park often offering free live events, lots of coffee shops, one of the best independent magazine shops in the city, and alot more.
Commercial Drive is the right combination of new shops mixed with businesses that have been around for many years. It is a mix of good family values, quality, and a warm hearted feeling of inclusion.
Enjoy a good day exploring the Drive.
June 05, 2009 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
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How lucky was I to get to see opening night of the
Bard on the Beach presentation of Othello at Vanier Park. It had been years since I enjoyed one of the company's first class theatrical presentations in the big red and white tents which command such a spectacular presence in behind the Museum of Vancouver and the HR MacMillan Space Centre. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the Othello story line, the fantastic costumes and the unforgettable setting, but I was very taken with the whole tent set up - the boardwalks that lead from the mainstage tent to the snack counter, gift shop and to the wine bar...I loved to that birds flew through the mainstage tent while we were watching the play and that the lighting changed so dramatically as the sun sank into the Georgia Straight. We are so lucky to have Bard on the Beach....and they are celebrating their 20th anniversary. I may just join the many number of regulars that I met last night and come see the company's other summer 2009 performance, A Comedy of Errors. Their season runs until September 26, 2009.
April 05, 2009 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Festivals & Events
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When I first moved to Vancouver one of the things that impressed me the most about the city is that there's a defining moment when you know that spring has finally arrived. Two years on, I still look forward to the time when the city literally blossoms and explodes with colour and pinkness for the first time.
Visiting Vancouver at the end of March and beginning of April is always a treat - the crocus are out, and the cherry blossoms line every street. Their arrival ushers in warmer and longer days and it somehow lifts everything. The city also holds its annual
Cherry Blossom Festival too - lots of music, events and celebrations around town.
Here's a picture taken just off of Granville and 7th in Vancouver - I think it's fair to say that spring has truly sprung!