The Cinematheque presents Canada’s Top Ten 2012, an upcoming film screening series that will feature the year’s ten best Canadian feature-length films and ten best Canadian short films as chosen by two separate independent panels of filmmakers, festival programmers, journalists, academics and industry professionals drawn from across the country. If you’re looking to enjoy (and support) some Canadian films, check out the series:
On January 18th, TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey will introduce screenings of Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell (TIFF & VIFF) and Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle (TIFF & VIFF).
Regular online ticket prices are $12 with double bill prices starting at $15. Check online and box office postings for exact pricing information. Follow The Cinematheque on Facebook and Twitter for more showtimes and information.
Whether you live gluten free, are crazy about cupcakes, addicted to all things bacon or have a deep relationship with chocolate, Vancouver probably has a festival for you. Here are three upcoming events and foodie series that speak to your sweet tooth and your savoury side.
Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival
The 3rd annual Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival takes place January 19th to February 14th, 2013 at locations throughout the city featuring 23 ‘chocstars’ and over 60 flavours. Participating venues include: Beaucoup Bakery, Bel Cafe, Bella Gelateria + To Die For Banana Bread, Beta 5 Chocolates + The Juice Truck, Blenz Alma + Cocolico Chocolates, Blenz Thurlow + Kale & Nori Culinary Arts, Chocolate Arts, Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France, Cocoa Nymph, French Made Baking, Gem Chocolates, Leonidas Chocolates, Rubens Chocolate, Schokolade, Soirette Macarons & Tea, Terra Breads, Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe, and Thomas Haas.
Funds from the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival benefit Vancouver’s A Better Life Foundation. Follow organizers CityFood Magazine on Facebook for more information.
The Oyama Choucroute (Sauerkraut) Festival
Oyama Sausage, one of the busiest stalls at the Granville Island Market on any given day, is hosting The Oyama Choucroute (Sauerkraut) Festival from January 17th to January 20th, 2013. They’re offering up their own Alsatian style sauerkraut for you to take n’ go. Fully cooked, all you need to go is heat it up. They also have beer and wine pairing recommendations thanks to Liberty Wine Merchants and Granville Island Brewing. Pick up some of Oyama’s corned beef to make a reuben sandwich or try it with some of their sausage, smoked pork, and other delicious combinations.
For five generations the Oyama Sausage family has been schnitzing and dicing, grinding and spicing to make the best sausages, hams and pates they can. Find them on Granville Island at #17, 1689 Johnston Street, Vancouver. Follow them on Twitter @OyamaSausage.
Poutine Festival Vancouver
The Poutine Festival is returning to Vancouver after an incredibly high turn-out last year. Anticipating that it will be just as popular this year, organizers are planning ahead and getting the word out early. This Francophone party will take place at Heritage Hall on Main Street (a much larger venue) on Saturday, March 9, 2013 with live music from Liftoff and more poutine for everyone thanks to a partnership with La Belle Patate. Families are welcome and there will be activities for kids so scoop up your tickets early to get in on all the cheese curd and gravy-covered festivities.
Presented by Youthink magazine, BC’s Best Teen Band contest had over 40 entries this year and the judges have now selected the Top Ten. Online voting is now open so that the public can crown a champion from one of the following acts:
Northern Rain: alt-rock band from Surrey
Roy Has Fire: alt-rock band from Castlegar
The Distributors: blues rock band from Nanaimo
Collect Call: indie-rock band from Surrey
DaniElle: country solo artist from Pitt Meadows
ADOB: an alternative, funk, ska band from Port Moody
The Racket: rock, blues, folk band from South Hazelton
Lucy Mistreated: alternative, rock, blues band from Duncan
How We Survive: alt, metal, punk band from Saanichton
The Flying Fishmongers: rock metal band from North Vancouver
The three bands with the most votes will compete live at the Electric Owl in Vancouver on April 27, 2013 then only one will receive the title of Youthink’s BC’s Best Teen Band 2013. The winner will receive a recording session with Jay Evjen of Juicemix Productions at Greenhouse Studios, $2000 cash for artist development, the May/June cover of Youthink magazine and more.
To cast your vote, visit the BC’s Best Teen Band contest website and listen to tunes from each of the finalists.
Follow Youthink (a magazine written by teens, for teens in BC) on Facebook and Twitter. Use the tag #BTBC2013 to follow tweets about the contest.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has been communicating with the world below by sending Twitter updates and posting photographs from aboard in the International Space Station. Hadfield blasted off from Kazakhstan on December 19th to start a 5-month mission and has been posting information about his work. Along the way he has also been answering questions for everyone from students to celebrities, and has boosted his Twitter following from 20,000 to about 212,000 today.
He starts off each day with listing some housekeeping items, you know just you run of the mill “to do” list… from SPACE: “Good Mon Morning, World! Today: start installing a new telescope in the US Lab window, finish H20 sampling, and run a colloids experiment.” Between tasks, he takes photos and shares them with the world: “I do my best to take photos & Tweet in the short gaps between work tasks; a wonderful motivation to get ahead of the timeline.”
His photos of Earth have included tropical islands, geological anomalies, sand storms, the Australian wildfires, and the aftermath of blizzards on the East Coast of Canada. A few weeks ago I noticed that he hadn’t posted much from the West Coast of North America. There was a shot of Seattle that appeared but doing a quick Twitter search I found quite a few people asking if he would capture Vancouver.
Yesterday at about 3:00pm Pacific time, the Vancouver and Victoria photos came in:
Now we’ve seen photos of Vancouver before. Taken from planes, satellites, and zoom-able on Google Earth or Maps. However it’s quite something to have a man, in orbit, snap the picture for you.
Hadfield’s mission is to carry out scientific experiments, operate the Canadarm2 to perform robotics tasks and oversee operations as the first Canadian Commander of the ISS as of March 2013. Because of his accessibility, passion for photography, music, communications, and philosophy, Hadfield has become a Canadian celebrity. He’s made science and space a daily topic of conversation.
Follow him on Twitter @CMDR_Hadfield and I also recommend following the Canadian Space Agency.
The 19th annual Taste BC fundraising event, that pairs food and drink with helping out a deserving local cause, returns Tuesday, January 15, 2013. Hoted by Liberty Wine Merchants, it features live music, door prizes, a silent auction, and tasty offerings from local restaurants and wineries.
Come to Taste BC on January 15th at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver from 4:30pm to 7:30pm to experience the best of BC wines together with local food and entertainment. Tickets are currently available for $49.99 at all Liberty Wine Merchants locations.
Proceeds will once again support the BC Children’s Hospital’s Oak Tree Clinic. Follow Taste BC on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
