On Thursday, December 6th, the Bloedel Conservatory will have its 43rd anniversary which makes it a valid candidate for this week’s Vancouver Icons photo profile:
The conservatory was built thanks largely to a $1.25 million donation through the Bloedel Foundation from lumber magnate Prentice Bloedel and his wife Virginia, and smaller amounts from the city and provincial governments. Mayor Tom Campbell officiated, joined by Mr. and Mrs. Bloedel and Bill Livingstone, the Vancouver parks board assistant superintendent “responsible for the main creative inspiration.”
This is Canada’s largest single-structure conservatory. Its domed design is based on the geodesic principle, which utilizes a structural space-frame to support the roof, enabling a large interior volume to be enclosed without the need for internal supporting columns. The Conservatory dome consists of 2,324 pieces of 12.5 cm (5 in.) diameter extruded aluminum tubing and 1,490 triodetic plexiglass “bubbles.” The bubbles were designed by Thorson and Thorson, structural engineers. [Source: Vancouver History
Lady Gaga is kicking off her North American tour right here in Vancouver with two shows, January 11th and January 12, 2013. She’ll be hitting the stage at Rogers Arena before making her way to Tacoma, Portland, San Jose, Los Angeles and more during her Born This Way Ball tour.
Photo credit: PictureGroup via Live Nation
Tickets for both Vancouver shows are on sale from $49.50 to $175 plus service charges. I also have a pair to give away for her show on January 12th — here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment here naming your favourite Lady Gaga song (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tickets to see Lady Gaga in Vancouver from @LiveNationWest & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/fMGUe
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, December 17, 2012. Prize includes two tickets to Lady Gaga in concert in Vancouver on January 12th.
Founded by the Vancouver Aquarium, Ocean Wise is a conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood. You’ve most likely spotted the Ocean Wise logo in local restaurant menus and last month, Vancouver’s Szechuan Chongqing restaurant on West Broadway became Canada’s first Ocean Wise restaurant. Now to make your sustainable seafood choice choice even easier, Ocean Wise released an iPhone application in 2011.
The first thing I look for in a dining guide on my iPhone is a feature to see what’s around me right now (like I can do with Yelp). The app has “Restaurants and Markets Near Me” as its first menu option. You’ll need to allow the app to see your current location to provide accurate details otherwise results for all of Canada will appear.
The “Ocean Wise Directory” lists restaurants, retail locations, caterers, private clubs, schools and suppliers. The “Seafood Guide” lets you learn up on species, their region, and their harvest method. For example the wild Northern Anchovy is from the Northwest Pacific Ocean, its harvest method is Purse Seine, and is recommended by Ocean Wise. However the Basa (catfish) is not recommended. It is harvested in open net pens, farmed, and from Cambodia and Vietnam.
The Ocean Wise Gallery is an interesting touch, where you can upload your own photos, but I’m not sure of the relevance unless you can tag your photos for a specific restaurant and then your image will show up in that listing.
For a free app, it packs in a lot of information. I find the Seafood Guide and location-based restaurant options the most helpful. You can pick it up in the app store today, available for iPhone, iPod, iPad.
Enjoy hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge, in the rainforest walk, and on the CliffWalk. Canyon Lights will also feature a scavenger hunt for children, gingerbread cookie decorating, glassblowing demonstrations with Malcolm Macfayden, and sing-a-long carols with the holiday band.
When you purchase your Canyon Lights tickets they’re valid all day, with activities running between 4:00pm and 9:00pm from Saturday, December 1, 2012 to Saturday January 5th, 2013. New this year is a FREE shuttle service from Canada Place to Canyon Lights running every hour on the hour from 10:00am to 7:00pm.
Tickets are $31.95 for adults and $12 for children (ages 6-12). Family packs are $65 (for a family of 2 adults, 2 children). See full pricing guide online for exact details and hours.
Over the past five years, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park has donated over $112,000 to support the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund and they’ll once again be donating proceeds from Canyon Lights admissions to the cause and the Burn Awareness Week in BC elementary schools campaign.
Capilano Suspension Bridge has offered up a great prize pack for one of my readers that includes:
Family pack of 4 tickets to Canyon Lights
2 glass icicle ornament workshops for the adults with glassblower Malcolm Macfayden
A family set of mittens:
A pair of women’s Woolrich touch tip gloves
A pair of mens Woolrich touch tip gloves
A pair of Kitty mittens
A pair of raccoon mittens
The total value of the prize pack is $238! 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 a #CanyonLights prize package from @CapSuspBridge & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/fJhDQ
I will draw one winner next Friday, December 7, 2012 at 12:00pm. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park is located at 3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for more information about Canyon Lights and year-round activities.
![Conservatory Autumn [Explored, Oct 16]](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4089/5086692742_c8e11a6737_z.jpg)
