Big things are happening all around the country for Canada 150 celebrations this year including the world’s largest film festival — ever! National Canadian Film Day 150 (“NCFD 150”) is a massive one-day, coast-to-coast-to-coast celebration of Canadian cinema in honour of our nation’s sesquicentennial. In partnership with REEL CANADA, the Vancouver International Film Festival (“VIFF”) will be celebrating the occasion with a full week of Canadian film programming.
National Canadian Film Day 150
NCFD 150 in Vancouver will include a full day of free programming with award-winning director Atom Egoyan on April 19th, and the screening of six Canadian-made features throughout the surrounding week.
Egoyan will be in Vancouver on April 19th to introduce his Academy Award-nominated film, The Sweet Hereafter to mark its 20th Anniversary, and participate in an in-depth Q&A session with fans. Actor Bruce Greenwood, who stars in the film, will also join the Q&A. Egoyan’s 1994 film Exotica will screen on the same day, along with 1977’s Skip Tracer, a Vancouver-made cult classic chosen by Egoyan himself. All programming on NCFD 150 (April 19, 2017) at VIFF is complimentary and open to the public.
Audiences will also be treated to a selection of new and independent Canadian films, many of them filmed and produced in BC. A rebellious soccer mom, an imaginary friend modelled on Beyoncé, an astrophysicist, and a troubled drone operator are among the intriguing characters who appear here. Documentaries will also be screened, shedding light on the dark side of the internet, and offering a touching and inspiring portrait of addiction, poverty and redemption. These fresh and stimulating stories showcase the talent, creativity and spirit of Canada’s filmmaking community.
Black Code
Friday, April 14, 2017 at 7:40pm; Saturday, April 15, 2017 at 4:30pm; Sunday, April 16, 2017 at 4:50pm
Menorca
Saturday, April 15, 2017 at 8:15pm; Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 6:30pm
In attendance for the festival: John Barnard, writer/director
Sensitive Parts
Sunday, April 16, 2017 at 6:40pm; Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 8:30pm
In attendance for the festival: Brendan Prost, writer/director
Grand Unified Theory
Sunday, April 16, 2017 at 8:30pm; Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 8:10pm
In attendance for the festival: David Ray, writer/director
Drone
Canadian Premiere: Monday, April 17, 2017 at 8:20pm
The Stairs
Friday, April 21, 2017 at 7:30pm; Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 6:15pm; Monday, April 24, 2017 at 6:20pm; Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 4:45pm; Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 8:30pm
In attendance for the festival: Hugh Gibson, producer/director
The Variety Show of Hearts Telethon has been entertaining British Columbians for over 50 years and last year, it inspired local musician Todd Richard to support Variety BC in a very unique way.
Follow Your Heart with Todd Richard and Variety BC
“My wife and I watch the Telethon year after year,” Todd told me over the phone last week. A semi-finalist in CBC Music’s Searchlight with multiple BC Country Music Award nominations, two albums under his belt, and numerous singles to country radio Todd has been growing his fanbase in the Canadian country music scene.
The Show of Hearts inspired Todd to start donating proceeds from merchandise, popcorn sales, and more to Variety. “It started in that way but I had a song I thought would be really cool to use, titled ‘If I Could Change The World With Just a Song’, and so I started brainstorming about doing this song and releasing it for Variety.”
Todd’s vision was to produce the song in a ‘We Are The World’ style, and that’s where more collaborators came into the mix. He contacted producer Jeff Johnson, who helped co-write an original song, just for this purpose, and the momentum grew from there with country artist George Canyon also coming on board along with a host of others.
“It was the fastest song either of us had written, like it just wanted to be on paper.” Todd and Jeff had the created the song so quickly and were excited about the end result. They presented it to Variety, with guitars in hand, and they just knew a lot of the organization’s member would be able to relate to it. “We have a really cool song here, it’s just really uplifting and powerful.”
The result is Follow Your Heart, available now for just $0.99 on iTunes with all proceeds going to Variety BC.
For more information, follow Todd on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, along with Variety BC on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to download Follow Your Heart on iTunes to show your support, and get your toes tapping!
Variety – the Children’s Charity steps in where health care ends, providing direct help to children with special needs in BC and the Yukon. For over 50 years Variety has ensured children have the support to reach their potential. Rebecca Bollwitt, of Miss604.com is a proud Board Member of Variety BC.
Follow Your Heart collaborators: Todd Richard, Jeff Johnson (Bailey Way Entertainment), George Canyon, Wes Mack, Todd Richard, Ty Waters, Becca Hess, Rod Black, Rick Tippe, Phil Puxley, Shylo Sharity, Gord Maxwell, Ty Waters, Trevor Murray, Tianna Lefebvre, Mike Sanyshyn, Damian Marshall, Brad Darrid, Emily Chambers, Tommy West, Emily Taylor Adams, Kirsten Bunyan. Musicians: Jay Buettner, Jeff Johnson, Ryan Stead, Rob Becker, Jay Benison, Sheldon Zaharko, Jordan Oorebeek, Soren and Janice Lonnqvist.
Hop on the Stanley Park Easter Train for an egg-citing Easter ride through Stanley Park. After the train ride, purchase carnival strip tickets so your kids can enjoy fun activities.
Stanley Park Easter Train
Enjoy a carnival style event with the themed train rides, Easter Bunny and egg hunt, mini golf, bouncers, face-painting, plant a posy craft activity and an expanded food and beverage service: Cloud Nine Cotton Candy, Innocent Ice Cream and Insomniac Coffee.
Where: Located just off Pipeline Road in Stanley Park, via the West Georgia Street park entrance.
When: April 8 and 9 (train only) 10:00am to 5:00pm
April 13-17, 2017 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Last train is at 5:00pm, last egg hunt is at 4:40pm
Tickets: Ages 3 and up $6, free for children under 3.
Carnival activities: 2 tickets $5; 3 tickets $7; 5 tickets $10 Buy advance tickets now via Ticketleader. Buy same-day tickets in person at the ticket booth next to the train, starting at 10:00am.
Tickets are sold in half-hour time slots. They are good for one train ride during the time slot shown on the ticket and for one entry to the other activities. On rainy days, you can stay dry with a covered train and line-up, and indoor egg hunt. More information is available on the Stanley Park Easter Train website.
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Review — This trip was in partnership with Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory. Views are my own. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Paddling a river to a spectacular waterfall, cooking up foraged ingredients on a farm with locals, and putting our Gore-Tex to the test in a mountain rain forest in the Pacific Northwest at the base of a volcano. John and I spent the last shoulder season discovering three sides of Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory, where we got in touch our Pacific Northwest cores and explored Oregon in a new way.
The itinerary set out for us by our friends at Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory tourism office was a dream for us, so much so that I want to mention every stop and every bite we took in a bullet point list – but that would hardly make for interesting reading. Instead, I’ll highlight the three main pillars of our schedule: On the Mountain, In the Country, Around the City. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Renowned folk group Anda Union will captivate Canadian audiences for the first time at the Chan Centre on March 26th, with their stirring, mystical sounds from Inner Mongolia. Playing rare traditional instruments, including the horse head fiddle and the two-string lute, the nine-member group blends haunting throat singing and stunning harmonies to conjure visions of Inner Mongolia’s remote regions.
Described by The Guardian as “stirring and sophisticated”, Anda Union are a band of artists brought together by a passion for preserving the forgotten sounds of their Mongolian heritage. The members, who consider themselves musical gatherers, come from different tribes united by the legendary Genghis Khan, and blend the styles and influences of their respective lineages. The result is a singular collective sound from the Mongol tradition.
Through a combination of ethereal melodies, soaring vocals, reverberating throat singing, and heart-pounding rhythms, Anda Union evoke the natural wonders of their rustic homeland.
Anda Union rose to international fame with the release of their first album, The Wind Horse (2011), and have since headlined world music and mainstream festivals. The momentum surrounding this exceptional group continues to build.
For their second album, Homeland, Anda Union worked with 14-time GRAMMY-winning producer Richard King, whose credits include Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road, The Goat Rodeo Sessions, and the film soundtrack Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Recently, Homeland was selected as one of the ‘Best Albums of 2016’ by Songlines Magazine.
As a special treat, the Chan Centre will host a free workshop with the group for all ages that includes a throat singing demonstration and lesson opportunity Sunday, March 26, 2017, 11:00am at MBA House, 3385 Wesbrook Mall, UBC. Follow the Chan Centre on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about performances this season.
Win Tickets & Dinner
The Chan Centre has offered up two tickets for a lucky Miss604 reader to see Anda Union, along with a set dinner menu for two at Sage Restaurant ahead of the show.
Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a @ChanCentre date night with @AndaUnion tickets + pre-show dinner http://owl.li/3xAn30a5YLU” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, March 23, 2017. Dinner prize must be redeemed on the same day as the show. A reservation will be made for the winner and their guest at 5:30pm on March 26, 2017.
