The 9th annual Diversity Health Fair is coming up on the weekend with over 50 health and wellness exhibitors and resources provided in at least half a dozen languages. It is the largest event of its kind in Canada and has evolved into one of the most exciting and dynamic multicultural events in the Lower Mainland.
Where Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver) When Saturday, March 9, 2013 from 10:00am to 3:00pm
The Fair aims 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, Mandarin, Persian/Farsi, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Last year over 3,500 people attended this free and family-friendly event. The theme of this year’s Fair is “Chronic Disease Prevention” and there will be interactive culinary demonstrations, health screenings and onsite tests, multicultural entertainment and children’s activities. View the full event program online.
Guests on the Healthy Cooking Stage include Chef Victor Bongo (Super Chefs of the Universe), Chef Gerry Kasten (Vancouver Coastal Health), Chef Vikram Baja (Ace Curries To Go), and Chef Chantale Roy (UBC Culinary Arts Instructor & Rawsta Flora Organics). You can a live stream of the stage during the show and download a Healthy CooKing Recipe Guide online in advance. New this year is a Food Truck Cafe that includes an assortment of local vendors offering up an array of tasty ethnic eats.
The first 1,000 visitors will get tote bags and other prizes and getaway giveaways will be handed out at the event. As a proud media sponsor again this year, I am giving away lunch for two at the Salvadorian food truck Guanaco Truck, which will be on-site. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win lunch at @GuanacoTruck at the @YVRHealthFair from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/i1Kfj
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, March 4, 2013. The winner is to claim their prize at the Diversity Health Fair on Saturday, March 9th. Follow the Diversity Health Fair on Twitter and Facebook for more event information.
The Diversity Health Fair is presented by AAMSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Services Agencies of BC): AMSSA facilitates collaborative leadership, knowledge exchange and stakeholder engagement to support member agencies that serve immigrants and build culturally inclusive communities
Hollow Tree in Stanley Park has been the main focus of tourist photo ops for the last century. Images of cyclists, couples, and even cars (inside the tree) come up often in my search of the Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver City Archives. However, when I search for recent photos, like in the Miss604 Flickr Pool, there are far fewer results. Perhaps it’s no longer considered an anomaly or it’s just in a part of the park (along Stanley Park Drive) that locals don’t reach often. Whatever the case, I still wanted to profile our Hollow Tree as a Vancouver Icon:
(Left) 1900s – VPL Number: 5487 & VPL Number 7185. Photographer: Philip Timms.
The Hollow Tree has existed on the west side of what is now Stanley Park for approximately 1,000 years. When the city of Vancouver was created in 1886 from the tiny logging village of Granville, the first elected city council made a motion to create Stanley Park at the first city council meeting. Shortly after, a road was constructed around the perimeter of the new park and it ran directly to the Hollow Tree and was curved around it. The Hollow Tree soon became a ‘must see’ attraction for visitors and new arrivals to the city, who invariably were urged to take the trip around Stanley Park. [Heritage Vancouver, 2009]
By 2008 the tree, which was as crooked as ever having withstood the elements (including a few fires) for centuries, was in shambles. There was a great debate about its future — and who would foot the bill to keep it around.
A slow degradation of the structural support of the soils at the base of the tree was exacerbated by the strain from the extreme wind storms of 2006 which devastated Stanley Park, and currently the tree lists at an 11-degree angle. The Vancouver Park Board, who manage Stanley Park, determined that the Tree presented a falling hazard to park visitors in its 2007 condition, and in April 2008, the removal of the tree was approved by the Board.
The Stanley Park Hollow Tree Conservation Society developed a conceptual design and performed much of the preliminary work to right the Hollow Tree and to brace it in perpetuity for future generations of Vancouver residents and visitors alike to enjoy with the same sense of wonderment, awe, and humbling perspective that 120 years of previous visitors have drawn from the Hollow Tree. After a great effort, as of December 31, 2009, the stabilization was completed. [Save The Hollow Tree]
Although merely a shell of what it once was, the Hollow Tree was propped up in 2011 and it stands tall today.
After a two-year campaign to raise the $215,000 privately to save the tree, hydraulic jacks were brought in to straighten it and place it on its new foundation. [CTV BC]
For more information about the Hollow Tree’s history and how it still stands today, watch a full length documentary online thanks to the Knowledge Network.
The Spring West Coast Women’s Show is coming up next weekend at the PNE Forum with special guests like TV stars, workshops, and Hall of Flame firefighters. On top of the entertainment, there’s plenty more to see, learn, and taste from over 200 unique exhibitors.
Photo: West Coast Women’s Show
The show will feature several zones: World of Taste, Health & Wellness, Fashion & Style, Home & Interior Decor, Natural & Organic Products, Marketplace, and Careers & Opportunities.
The Spring Into Style Main Stage Fashion Show is a great place to check out the latest fashions from local designers and stores, all of whom are also exhibitors such as Trev Deeley, Lace Embrace Atelier, Chrzaszcz Designs, Red Fox, Ariana Bridal, Art to Wear, Indiverve Retail, and Mai Tai Dress. Check out the Spring Into Style Fashion Show, get some home decor ideas, and shop til you drop.
The Spring West Coast Women’s Show will take place at the PNE Forum on Friday March 1st (1:00pm to 9:00pm), Saturday March 2nd (10:00am to 6:00pm) and Sunday March 3rd (10:00am to 5:00pm).
Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors ($7 on Friday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm), $8 for youth (13 to 17), $4 for children (6 to 12), and children 5 and under are free. Ticket prices include HST. Ticket sales are cash only at the gate at PNE.
You can save $2 on an adult pass for any day of the show at your local London Drugs. You can also print a $2 off coupon for Friday only, between 1:00pm and 5:00pm.
I still have a handful of tickets available to give away as well. Visit this post for details. Contest closes at 4:00pm on Friday, February 22, 2013.
Follow the West Coast Women’s Show on Twitter and Facebook for more event information throughout the year. You can also sign up for the VIP Club newsletter for coupons, show information, and special offers.
Miss604.com is the official Social Media Sponsor of the 2013 Spring West Coast Women’s Show in Vancouver, BC.
The anthems ends, scarves go up, chants begin, and the ball is set in motion by some of the league’s top athletes. The stadium sings and roars without coaxing from the jumbotron, and when your team scores it feels like you’ve already won the season — and you can’t help but leap into the air and distribute High Fives all around. MLS soccer kicks off again in Vancouver on Saturday, March 2nd as our Vancouver Whitecaps FC take on Canadian rivals, Toronto FC.
Single match tickets for the 2013 Whitecaps season are now on sale for just $25 (plus taxes and fees). Season tickets start at $349, 9-packs start at $249, and student season tickets start at $199.
Last year, John and I were first-time season ticket holders and we even followed the Whitecaps to Los Angeles for their first MLS playoff match (they were the first Canadian team to make it to the playoffs). We renewed our season tickets as soon as they were available since we’re absolutely hooked on the fan experience and the beautiful game.
To get everyone just as excited as we are for the season, Vancouver Whitecaps FC have offered up 4 tickets to their opening match against Toronto for a lucky Miss604 reader. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win 4 tix to the @WhitecapsFC season opener from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/hXMZt
I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 12:00pm. Follow the Whitecaps on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for photos, news, ticket information, and special offers throughout the season. Follow @WhitecapsMatch on Twitter for play-by-play updates during the matches and the tag #VWFC for topical updates from various users.
Comments1
by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Review — My quick trip to Courtenay & Comox was compliments of the Vancouver Island Visitors Centre along with my Dine Around dishes. I was not paid to write this post and views are my own. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley is hosting Dine Around for the next few weeks, offering up set price, multi-course menus at over 20 restaurants. They hosted a group of media this week and I was one of the lucky diners who got to sample dishes from a handful of the participating venues.
Restaurants
Dine Around restaurants are hosting $17, $27, or $37 menus (per person) for this campaign that will run until March 17, 2013.
Bisque Cafe – $37 Dine Around menu
Chef Steve Dodd prepared an array of appetizer samples for our group that included Fanny Bay oysters casino, fresh shrimp ravioli, duck pate with Comox brie, local clams sauteed in white wine, and house-smoked sockeye salmon.
Blackfin Pub – $27 Dine Around Menu
We had each of the appetizer options that included seafood chowder, spinach and arugula salad, and a prawn stack with a rice cake prepared by Chef Nigel McMeans and his team.
The Union Street Grill & Grotto – $17 Dine Around Menu
You can imagine how full we were getting at this point but the beer and wine flights, roasted squash lasagna, grilled Caesar salad, risotto, and seafood platter were irresistible. The staff was very knowledgeable and I had to take a photo of their complete gluten free menu as it was the most extensive that I’ve ever seen at a restaurant.
Locals – $37 Dine Around menu
There’s always room for dessert! Especially when it’s Chef Ronald St. Pierre’s white chocolate and matcha green tea Bavarian mousse and coconut lime panna cotta with Comox Valley bumbleberry.
Actual dishes may or may not appear exactly as shown since we were served family style for a few options.
How to Get There
From Vancouver, take the Horseshoe Bay ferry crossing to Departure Bay. From Tsawwassen, take the Nanaimo ferry over to Duke Point. Courtenay, Comox, and Cumberland are located about 70 minutes north of Nanaimo just off the Island Highway.
The scenery is awe-inspiring with snow-capped mountain views that drape down to sandy shores and seashell-covered beaches. I did a quick 24-hour trip this time but if you have a weekend to explore, book a reservation at a Dine Around restaurant (or four) and then pop in at Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Natural Pastures Cheeses, Fanny Bay Oysters, Island Bison, Beaufort Wines, and many other destinations along the way that will inspire your inner chef.
Accommodation packages are also available through the Best Western Westerly Hotel & Conference Centre, Travelodge Courtenay, Comox Valley Bed & Breakfast Association, and The Old House Village Hotel & Spa. We had Ambassador Shuttle Service driving us around all night as well, which was very handy since there were wine pairings at each location.
