Be Coconut Water and Bikram Yoga Giveaway

Comments 103 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Be Coconut Water has offered up a special contest with Miss604 to promote the all-natural refreshment that comes from coconut water. Some enjoy it on a hot day or add it as an ingredient when cooking, while others might chug it to power up after yoga. I know that ever since coconut water came into the spotlight, John has sworn by its powers to rejuvenate after a hard workout thanks to naturally occurring electrolytes and potassium.

Be Coconut Water

Packed with vitamins, you can get varieties of coconut water from Be Coconut Water that include Be Pure Coconut Water, Be Pomegranate Coconut, Water, Be Mango Coconut Water, and Be Aloe Coconut Water. These all contain natural fruit juices and do not not contain added sugar or fat, cholesterol, or gluten.

You can even cook with coconut water, just look up some recipes on Be Coconut’s website. Dishes like raw avocado coconut water soup, butternut squash quinoa soup, chocolate and banana coconut water pancakes, coconut water mojitos, and more.

In Vancouver, you can pick up Be Coconut Water at Urban Fare, London Drugs, Nesters Market, Buy-Low Foods, Meinhardt, Pharmasave, Stongs, Famous Foods, Donald’s Market, and Pure Integrative Pharmacy.

The prize package offered up by Be Coconut Water includes a 3-month supply* (any flavour) and a 3-month membership to Bikram Yoga Burnaby — “Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Each posture stretches and strengthens specific muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints needed for the next posture. The Bikram method also stimulates the organs, glands, and nerves moving fresh oxygenated blood to 100% of the body helping to restore all systems to a healthy working order. Bikram Yoga Burnaby provides a beautiful physical space offering first class amenities combined with high quality Bikram Yoga instructors.”

Here’s how you can enter to win this prize to try out some coconut water AND yoga in the coming months:

  • Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win 3 months of yoga @BikramBurnaby & @BeCoconut coconut water from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/h4jRa

I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 12:00pm. Learn more about Be Coconut Water on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Follow Bikram Yoga Burnaby on Facebook and Twitter too.

*4 cases of Be Coconut Water (Pure, Mango, Pomegranate, Aloe, or a mixture). Each case contains twenty-four 520ml cans. Recommended daily intake is 1 can per day.

Update The winner is Cyndi!

Vancouver: Most Walkable City in Canada

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Vancouver has earned many distinctions and topped many lists, from having some of the best city beaches, being the most congested or most expensive to the most livable, and now it’s Canada’s Most Walkable.

Most Walkable City Vancouver
Vancouver walkability heat map.

The popular website/service Walk Score ranked Canada’s cities and the list included:

  • 1. Vancouver (Walk Score = 78)
  • 2. Toronto (Walk Score = 71)
  • 3. Montreal (Walk Score = 70)
  • 4. Mississauga (Walk Score = 59)
  • 5. Ottawa (Walk Score = 54)
  • 6. Winnipeg (Walk Score = 53)
  • 7. Edmonton (Walk Score = 51)
  • 8. Hamilton (Walk Score = 51)
  • 9. Brampton (Walk Score = 48)
  • 10. Calgary (Walk Score = 48)

The “Walk Score Algorithm” measures the walkability of individual addresses based on proximity to nearby amenities along with city boundaries, neighbourhood boundaries, and population data.

IMG_0905
Photo credit: TheVancouverGuy on Flickr

The study rated the walkability of more than 300 Canadian cities and 1,200 neighbourhoods. Given the number of points Vancouver racked up, it also outranks Seattle (where Walk Score is based) by 4 points. Victoria actually scored the same as Vancouver but its population is too small to make the ranking.

Walk Score is a helpful tool for planning how you’ll be able to get around a city in which you’re vacationing or looking for a new home. They also have Bike Score and Transit Scores that you can look up for various cities.

Roxy Vancouver Love Affair Contest

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Roxy, in my opinion, is a right of passage in Vancouver. Watching upcoming bands compete in a radio station contest, spotting hockey players, and dancing to the house band like no one’s watching although 10 people are pressed against you because this song is just rockin’. Birthday parties, bachelor parties, a special event or a Friday night, it’s been a staple of local nightlife for 25 years and they’re celebrating in a big way.

80's Night at The Roxy 80's Night at The Roxy
Photo credit: John Bollwitt & John Bollwitt

The Roxy is actively looking for as many couples as possible who met at their establishment and who are now married. Couples are encouraged to send in a video entry or email a photo and written entry to promotions[at]roxyvan.com over the coming weeks. Entries can also be submitted through the Roxy Facebook page.

The top entries will be selected and invited down to The Roxy on Friday February 15th for cocktails and a private gourmet dinner. After dinner, the couples’ friends and family members are encouraged to come down to watch them compete to be THE official Roxy couple. The competition will be a sort of Newlywed Game show where couples are asked questions about their spouses and the pair who does the best (with the most correct answers) wins a second honeymoon to an all-inclusive 5 star resort in a tropical destination.

For more information, follow The Roxy on Twitter and Facebook, and encourage your friends and family members – who have that special ‘how we met at the Roxy’ story to submit their entry today.

Vancouver Fog Photos

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

Every few years Vancouver gets tucked into winter with a blanket of fog that drapes over the region leaving only the mountain peaks to bask in the sunshine. Back in 2009 I put together a collection of fog photos and given the pea soup streak we’ve had recently, it’s time to compile another featuring photos from the Miss604 Flickr Pool:

Above The Clouds
Photo credit: JeremyLim.ca / JeremyLim.ca on Flickr

Swing Bridge Queensborough Fog - Cycling in Richmond BC
Photo credit: Erich J Harvey & Erich J Harvey on Flickr

Foggy Glow
Photo credit: Mark Faviell Photos on Flickr

Fog Still crazy amount of fog out this morning #Vancouver
Photo credit: Zorro1968 & John Biehler on Flickr

Seymour Snowshoe, Jan 2013
Photo credit: wanderunghike on Flickr

Seymour Snowshoe, Jan 2013
Photo credit: wanderunghike on Flickr

Seymour Snowshoe, Jan 2013
Photo credit: wanderunghike on Flickr

Foggy Saturday Fog & Rocks
Photo credit: Tom Wiebe & Mark Faviell Photos on Flickr

Back to Earth
Photo credit: JeremyLim.ca / JeremyLim.ca on Flickr

Today in Vancouver: Origami Swan Eerie Solar Glow
Photo credit: [travelfox] & gherringer on Flickr

BC Place and Viaduct, foggy Digital Orca, foggy
Photo credit: colink. & colink. on Flickr

Vancouver's Fog Inversion
Photo credit: TylerIngram on Flickr

As always, please click through on these images to view more work from the photographers and feel free to share your own photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool. View all photo collections here.

Port Mann Bridge Safety Plan: De-Icing, Coatings, Robotic Sweepers

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The new Port Mann Bridge hasn’t had the best track record during its first winter in operation. There are about 340 insurance claims filed since the December 19th snowstorm that include damage from a 40-car pile up and falling ice. Yesterday, the Ministry of Transportation revealed a three point plan to make the bridge safer for all – including robotic ice sweepers on the cables.

After the recent events on the Port Mann Bridge, engineers working on the project have assessed the concerns and identified solutions to help prevent snow and ice build-up from happening again on the bridge cables. They’ve come up with three ways, all working together, to improve safety. They include:

1) Custom-designed cable sweepers: custom-designed devices fitting around the outside of the bridge cables and move along their lengths to remove snow and ice before it can build up. The sweepers are currently being put together, with installation and additional testing planned this week. The sweepers will be installed on all 152 bridge cables crossing the roadway.

2) Hydrophobic coatings: four types of hydrophobic coatings (which reduce adhesion of water and ice to surfaces) are being tested, on the bridge and in labs, to confirm which may perform best on the Port Mann Bridge cables. These include water, ice and snow-repellent solutions that can be applied to the existing cable sheaths to determine how effective and compatible they are with the Port Mann Bridge.

3) De-icing Solution: could be applied to the bridge cables as a preventative measure in addition to the other two solutions. The de-icing solution would be applied to the bridge cables before a forecasted snow storm. If this sounds familiar, it’s because similar solutions are used to prevent ice build-up on aircraft and ocean-going ships. FYI – this concoction is non-corrosive and environmentally friendly, too.

Reflections of the Port Mann Bridge Bridge
Photo credit: TranBC on Flickr

Authorities are hoping that these measures will ensure a safe crossing for all. You can find out more about the safety plan and get news from the Ministry of Transportation by following them on Facebook and Twitter.