Archive | May, 2017

Night of 1,000 Stars – Fundraiser For Jess Nichol and Keating Gudgeon Memorial Awards VCC – May 13, 2017

8 May

JessNicholVancouver Community College Foundation is hosting a fundraiser this Saturday, May 13th at the Broadway Campus. The Foundation is a registered charity whose mandate is to raise funds for VCC student scholarships, bursaries and training materials.  This Saturday, there are raising funds for two memorial awards in honour of Jess Nichol and Keating Gudgeon.  For those that don’t know the names, Jess was a bit of a ‘celebrity” bartender. He worked in Gastown at Boneta at the time of his death. We are told that Jess had long battled mental illness and committed suicide in 2011. Jess had a love for music, so family and friends hosted fundraisers to create an award that helps a musician with preference given to someone from the DTES. The aim is to help a musician who has faced and overcome challenges, stay in school. They will offer a two-year award whereby the recipient receives a total of $3,000 over their 2 year music program at VCC. The second memorial award is in the name of Keating Gudgeon. Keating was Jess’s foster brother. The recipient of this award will be a promising writer. Although VCC doesn’t offer a journalism program, they will be seeking learners with an interest in writing, regardless of their current program. Their preference is a student who identifies as LGBTQ2S.  If you would like to check out last year’s recipient of the Jess Nichol Award, we invite you see this video by VCC on Adam Willey.

There is a stellar line up for the fundraiser including best-selling author Christopher Gudgeon will be launching a new short story collection “Encyclopedia of Lies”. The evening will feature words and music by:

§  Craig Northey from the Odds

§  Singer/songwriter, Nathan Rogers

§  Award-winning author, Yasuko Thanh

§  Singer/songwriter, Dante Hadden

§  Featuring VCC students & faculty

§  Plus: A Very Special Guest (6-time Juno Award Winner)

The event will be held in the Auditorium of VCC’s Broadway Campus this Saturday, May 13th from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Tickets are $25 and available online through Eventbrite.   We invite you to come out and support this event.

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East Van Artist June Hunter Hosting Studio Sale May 6-7, 2017

5 May

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East Van artist, June Hunter, is hosting a Studio Sale this weekend, May 6th and 7th, just in time for Mother’s Day.  If you follow us regularly, you know we are big fans of her work.  Nature features prominently in June’s work as do some iconic East Van landmarks. If you wish to know more about the crows that inhabit the green space in our neck of the woods, you may wish to check out some of her blog posts. She regularly features crows and other birds that come to visit her idyllic backyard which houses her working studio. This weekend, her working studio will be transformed to showcase all her creative works which include jewellery, small prints, large scale wall art, crow-bars, wall decals as well as some discontinued items.  Her rescue dog Geordie will again be on hand as ambassador to greet you. June Hunter’s Studio is located at 2785 Parker Street (one block west of Renfrew – between Hastings St. and First Avenue). The Studio Sale takes place Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th from 10:00 am. to 5:00 pm.

If you are not able to attend this weekend’s Studio Sale, we invite you check out her online shop which is open 24/7.  You can also find some of June’s pieces at Doctor Vigari Gallery, 1816 Commercial Drive and Bird on A Wire Creations, 2535 Main Street.

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Spring & Summer Farmer Markets In East Vancouver 2017

3 May

The warm Spring weather is now finally here which also brings with it more options for local produce.  We are fortunate to have yet another season of farmers markets lined up which offers us not only produce, but handmade goods, artisans breads, locally made jams, cheese, free range and organic eggs and of course wineries, breweries and makers of spirits are now on hand offering tastings as well.  Each market is unique and offers a little something different. Trout Lake is the largest and a great place to sit down and have a picnic on the spot at the park with your new purchases. River District is one of the smaller markets situated just below Marine Drive at the foot of Kerr Street in SE Vancouver, but generally different vendors than the markets organized by Vancouver Farmers Market.  Mount Pleasant Farmers Market is also smaller than Trout Lake, but we love that it’s on a Sunday so giving some options when faced with a busy weekend. The Italian Market is held on Friday afternoons in front of the Italian Cultural Centre and is a personal favourite. Along with produce, you will find artisans, food trucks, coffee and more. The added bonus is the Italian Cultural Centre often has other events going on including art on display, live music and/or dancing.  The Main Street Farmers Market is a great afternoon market and perfect for those just leaving downtown for home, or a quick cycle from Mount Pleasant and the Olympic Village.  We have set out below the dates when the markets begin and end for the Spring/Summer season. We invite you to get out and support local.

Trout Lake Farmers Market
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Every Saturday: May 6 – October 21, 2017
Location: Lakewood Drive & E 13th Avenue

Main Street Station Farmers Market
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Every Wednesday: May 31 – October 4, 2017
Location: 1100 Block Station Street along Thornton Park across from the VIA Rail Station and near the Main St Skytrain Station

Mount Pleasant Farmers Market
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Every Sunday: May 28, 2017 – October 8, 2017
 Location: Guelph Street between 7th & 8th Avenues (on the paved play area between Mt. Pleasant Elementary and Guelph Park/Dude Chilling Park)

Riley Park Farmers Market (New This Year)
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Every Saturday: June 24, 2017 – October 28, 2017
Location: 30th Avenue & Ontario Street

River District Farmers Market
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Every Saturday:  May 13, 2017 – October 14, 2017
Location: 8683 Kerr Street (at E. Kent Avenue S.)

Il Mercato: Italian Market
Fridays: 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
June 16, July 21 and August 18, 2017
Location: Il Centro, Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan Street (off Grandview Highway)

 

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Mump & Smoot In Anything At The Cultch April 25 – May 6, 2017

1 May

Mump&SmootIanJacksonHave you heard that clowns are in town? Mump & Smoot, a famed Canadian clown duo from Toronto have landed in Vancouver. They bring their latest show, Mump & Smoot In Anything to The York Theatre for a short run. Their show brings a rather twisted world straight from their imagination.  We sent our new contributing writer, Tiva Quinn, to check out Mump & Smoot.  Tiva is originally from Washington, DC and more recently lived in Alaska for a good 13 year stint. She has herself recently landed in East Van and loves it.  She will provide a fresh perspective as a newcomer to East Van. Tiva has a passion for the arts, food, the environment and storytelling.  You can find her participating either on stage or as an audience member at the monthly Story Slam held at the Cottage Bistro. Here’s what Tiva had to say about Mump & Smoot In Anything:

There were scenes during Mump and Smoot’s show where my cheeks hurt from grinning so much. But really, the best thing of all about the show was the audience. Some of you might recall that Vancouver audiences are downright famous for being a bit detached, but when I went to see Mump and Smoot in Anything, the audience cheered, we clapped and hooted for each scene, and sometimes we all chanted, “aww…” in support of Smoot, who gleefully breaks the fourth wall looking for support in his endless contests of will with Mump.

In a lot of ways, what you get is a live action cartoon show. Mump and Smoot’s love/hate relationship reminded me of Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam – except in this show the cartoon violence sometimes results in a lot of blood, and sometimes the physical or emotional wounds from characters being hilariously awful to one another take a while to resolve themselves. You can thoroughly enjoy Mump and Smoot as a dark little confectionary, or if you’re like me, and have to mull on absolutely everything, there’s enough stuff in here about the games people play to keep you going for weeks. 

Review By Tiva Quinn

Mump and Smoot in Anything is being performed at the York Theatre from May 2 – 6, 2017. Tickets are available from $20 through The Cultch.

Photo Credit: Ian Jackson

 

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