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Bike to School week begins Monday
Bike to School Week rolls out May 27 to 31 and Eric Hamber secondary, the winner of the annual Bike to School Week competition for three years running, is preparing to defend its title by hosting a Biker Bootcamp, Wednesday, May 22. Instructors from HUB: Your Cycling Connection hope to inspire confidence with cycling skills and games for a chance to win cycling accessories. A bike mechanic will assist with minor bike repairs. Students who participate in Bike to School Week and recruit new participants will receive daily giveaways and a chance to win bigger prizes, which include a new Norco bike. HUB and HASTe B.C. organize Bike to School Week. HUB promotes cycling through education, action and events. HASTe B.C. serves as a hub for groups taking action on reducing school transportation emissions in the province. For more information about Bike to School Week, visit biketoschoolmetrovan.ca.
Jellyfish invade Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium is presenting a new exhibit that will allow visitors to get up close and personal with thousands of jellyfish - without the need of anyone urinating on them as a result.
Artist to explain piece on The WALL
In March, a large work by artist Paul de Guzman entitled "the people are the city." was unveiled at "The WALL" at the CBC Plaza on Hamilton Street.
Killarney Market gets its 15 minutes of fame
Erin Cebula didn't expect to find herself dancing in the middle of an East Vancouver mini-mall parking lot late at night and being showered with confetti while several cameras rolled.
Waldorf crew forms new production company
Although Vancouver lost one of its more vibrant cultural venues with the closure of the Waldorf Hotel two months ago, the people who used to run the place appear to be as busy as ever. Last week, three of the main players behind Waldorf Productions - Ernesto Gomez, Thomas Anselmi and Danny Fazio - announced a new partnership with Rickshaw Theatre owner David Duprey to turn the seedy Fox Cinema porn theatre on Main Street into a new live entertainment space later this year.
Wine fest pairs with Bard
The Vancouver International Wine Festival, formerly known as the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, offers opportunities for connoisseurs and those not so familiar with wine to gain knowledge on everything from pairings to varietals to growing grapes. But it also raises money and publicizes worthy cultural organizations. The festival launched in 1979 as a fundraising initiative for the then-Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company and featured sole vintner Robert Mondavi. That inaugural event saw 1,000 people attend the two-day event at Hycroft Mansion. Unfortunately, the Playhouse ceased operations last year after almost five decades. Over 34 years, the festival raised more than $7.8 million for the Playhouse. The newly named Vancouver International Wine Festival announced last September its new charitable partner is Bard on the Beach Theatre Society.
Church, Schools, Canada Important To Filipinos
Re: "Filipinos replace Irish in St. Pat's pews, schools," Jan. 18.
What makes a 'hood special? Friends and friendly neighbours
Last week, the Courier published its first feature in a year-long series about Vancouver's neighbourhoods, beginning with Mount Pleasant. Early responses suggest readers are as excited about it as we are.
Nacho average plate of chips and cheese
If you've eaten the famed nachos from the Foundation restaurant on Main Street, you've eaten a chip of the ol' Mount Pleasant block.
Biltmore continues to thrive in condo-crazed hood
It's outside of the club comfort zone of Granville Street and smack dab in the middle of Mount Pleasant's newest condo development wonderland. Yet somehow, the Biltmore has been able to occupy that slightly awkward nightlife space at Kingsway and 12th since the 1960s, and more recently serve as the neighbourhood's only mid-size music venue - in style.
The neighbourhood at a glance
Bounded by Cambie Street to the west and Clark Drive to the east, Second Avenue and Great Northern Way to the north and 16th Avenue and Kingsway to the south, Mount Pleasant is one of Vancouver's oldest neighbourhoods and considered by some to be the city's first suburb. Home to several breweries, creeks and fish-bearing streams in the late 1800s, hence its original nickname Brewery Creek, the area was annexed by the city in 1911 and grew into a bustling working class neighbourhood, luring first-time homeowners with more affordable real estate than on the city's West Side.
Neighbours gather in a roundabout way
It's a crisp Sunday morning - one of those rare, bone-dry, sunny winter days - and Julien Thomas has a satisfied look about him. Sitting on a kitchen chair that's seen better days in the middle of a traffic circle at the intersection of St. George Street and the 10th Avenue bike route with a fresh pot of coffee at his feet, the 26-yearold Mount Pleasant resident holds court. A shawl-wearing cyclist breezes past and rings her bell. Cars slow down and drivers nod in approval. A three-year-old chocolate lab named Hobbs stops by with his owner to investigate the rosemary, lavender, mint, sunflowers and ferns planted during the warmer months. Neighbours wave. A musician lugs his stand-up bass down the street to get it repaired. A bearded man on a customized, yarn-bombed "tall bike" teeters towards us and asks Thomas about his breakfast plans.
Mountain film festival returns to town
Film buffs, adrenaline junkies and overall outdoorsy types will want to mark Feb. 8 to 15 on their calendars for the return of the annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. Celebrating its sweet sixteenth birthday, this year's edition will feature a total of 50 films from 13 countries and nine guest speakers spread between the Rio Theatre, Pacific Cinematheque and the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver.
Xmas tree disposal: 101
There are several ways to rid yourself of the Christmas tree still standing in your home littering dry needles onto your living room floor. Among them are tree chipping events, a number of which raise money for schools or other charities.
Word up: A look back at
From protests over developments to job action by teachers, Vancouverites had a lot to say about this city in 2012. We've selected the best comments from the past 12 months of the Vancouver Courier to present who said what about the most prominent news, community, entertainment and sports stories of the year.
Dissent grows as Vision fiddles
"What we've got here is failure to communicate." That line is from the 1967 Paul Newman movie Cool Hand Luke. And you could say that's the kind of year it was in 2012 for Gregor Robertson and his Vision crew.
A year of births for Daniel Wesley
Daniel Wesley is pretty excited about what the new year holds. The 30-year-old Vancouver singer who grew up in Langley will be back home to ring in the New Year at the soon-to-be-demolished China Beach.
