After a 963-day hiatus, the Vancouver Canadians open the gates to Nat Bailey Stadium on Tuesday, April 19th for their home opener.
The Canadians will play 3 night games (Tuesday-Thursday) and 3 day games (Friday-Sunday) in each 6 game home series of April and May. Adding to the fun:
Fortis BC ‘Nooners at The Nat return on Fridays
Saturdays are Nat-inees
A&W Family Fun Sundays finish the weekend
Saturday games will be played at 7:05 pm beginning in June, when they will be accompanied by a total of nine postgame fireworks extravaganzas
Three-foot hot dogs are back, being BBQ’ed nightly on a 40-foot smoker
The all-new Nutrl porch
There will be daily promotions including BCLC Play Now Tuesdays, RBC We Care Wednesdays and Throwback Thursdays when the team will wear special throwback jerseys to honor the franchise’s first season as the Canadians in 1978.
Season tickets, half season plans, NatPacks and single-game tickets are now available. To snag your seats or get more information on game times, visit CanadiansBaseball.com or call (604) 872-5232.
An unforgettable night of comedy comes to the York Theatre, 639 Commercial Drive, Saturday, April 9, 2022. One Night Stand happens across Canada and features some of the best stand up comics for one night only. What makes this event unique is that all proceeds from ticket sales are donated to Rose Charities Ukraine Emergency Fund. This fund directly supports children and families caught up in the current crisis in Ukraine.
Vancouver’s show happens at the York Theatre and features lots of great local talent including Charlie Demers, Peter Kelamis and Jane Stanton among many others. There will be two performances on April 9th, 6:00 pm and 9:30 pm. Ticket prices range from $25 – $100. For more information on the line up and to grab your tickets, visit The Cultch.
First Saturday Open Studios happens this Saturday, April 2nd from Noon to 5:00 pm. What is it? It is an opportunity to visit artists in their studios and get a chance to ask questions, learn techniques, see work in progress and if the urge strikes, buy artwork directly from the artist.
This is a once monthly event as the name eludes, the first Saturday of the month, in Vancouver and North Vancouver with different artists participating in each month.
This weekend, we know Jesse Toso, of Toso Wood Works, is hosting an Open Studio with a number of other artists at The Annex, 1001 Parker Street. Expect beautiful handmade furniture in this space along with beautiful art. If you are looking for things to do this weekend, this is definitely something worth checking out. What studios are open this weekend? Visit Next Open Studios here for more info.
The Neigbourhood Small Grant program is back for 2022. The foundation of this program is connecting people within their own communities. The premise of the program is fairly simple. It is the belief that the best people to affect change in a community, are those that live within it. When money is less of an issue, it allows more ideas to flow. This is where the grants come in. The Neighbourhood Small Grants program allows you to apply for up to $500 for your idea to connect your community.
What have other people done? A few ideas include book exchanges, benches and community gardens. Some other ideas include creating small care packages for seniors with a few spring flowers and crossword puzzles and/or word search games. For young children, creating a scavenger hunt in a park with prizes. People have also created art cards for seniors in long term care. Connection is the key and the ideas are only limited by your imagination and, of course, the $500 budget. Want more ideas or thinking about applying? We invite you to visit Neighbourhood Small Grants for more information.
The basic principles of the Neighbourhood Small Grants Program:
Small is beautiful. Small ideas are beautiful and manageable.
Everyone has something to offer. Whether you can teach a skill or give some tips, or provide a service. We all have something valuable to share.
It’s your project. You create how you want it to look and feel.
Create your chosen family. A platform to help build networks within your community.
Applications are now open until April 30, 2022. Applications may be accepted for a second cycle in the Fall depending on whether funds are still available. This is a great opportunity to create something memorable for your community.
First Pick Handmade is returning to the Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, on Sunday, March 27, 2022 for a Spring Pop Up Market. They will be featuring a wide range of high quality Canadian made fashion and accessories. Some of the makers that will be on hand include Bronsino, Silver & Gold Clothing, Mimi and Moo, Mata Home, Dougherty Glass Works, Callipyge Collection and Heather Johnston Art which will have some beautiful cushions with iconic Vancouver imagery. So whether you are looking for something for your home, for yourself, or a gift, lots to choose from with all this talent under one roof. We encourage you to stop by and check it out between 11:00 am and 6:00 pm. Admission is free.
If you are looking for some light hearted fun and good laughs, then you may wish to check out The Comic Strippers coming to the York Theatre. This is a 19+ show featuring a fictitious group of male strippers played by a cast of improvisational comedians. They sing, dance and gyrate and aim to be sexy, but ending up being funny. They are semi undressed and completely unscripted which makes each show unique as they banter with the crowd during each performance. You have a few opportunities coming up to take in their performance at the York Theatre being April 1 & 2, 2022 and June 3, 2022. To purchase your tickets for a fun night out, visit The Cultch.
Here’s what others are saying about The Comic Strippers:
“Extremely Funny!” UK FRINGE REVIEW
“The show is suitable for both men and women. An entertaining ride where anything goes.” RIP IT UP MAGAZINE
“One of the most hilarious shows I’ve ever seen.” VANCOUVER SUN
The Cultch, 1895 Venables Street, has put out its annual call to visual artists to submit applications to exhibit their work during the 2022/2023 gallery season. Each exhibition will run for 3 to 4 weeks between September 2022 and July 2023. If you are an artist, why should you exhibit?
The Cultch is excited to be able to showcase your work on their walls again.
Exhibiting artists are paid an exhibition honorarium.
Exhibitions are now in person on the gallery walls and online.
The Cultch has built a reputation over the past 45 years as one of Western Canada’s most innovative and exciting presenting venues. The mandate of The Cultch is to contribute to the enrichment of the city and community’s social and cultural life through the presentation of innovative programs of contemporary music, theatre, dance and visual arts by established and emerging artists.
The Cultch Gallery is a multi-use space and not a traditional art gallery as it also serves as the lobby for performances and is occasionally used for meetings and other small events. Due to the diverse nature of this space, submissions that include sculptures or free standing art will not be accepted. Further, they will only be able to show works that hang from their gallery ‘rail’ system that does not have a depth of more than 12″ inches in depth.
Submission Criteria for Artists:
An artist statement
Artist bio(s)
Resume/CV
A complete list of images you are submitting, which should include title, size, medium. These images do not have to be the work you will be showing. They want to get a good overview of your work.
You can submit up to 10 images and not necessarily the images you plan on showing, but so they get a sense of the range of work you do. Image files should be in .jpeg format. No PDFs. File names must include the artist name, title of artwork and size of the work when framed: (example: Yuri Arajs – Sunny Day -18 in x 30 in. jpg). Images should be 300 dpi.
Deadline for applications is May 31, 2022. Email your submissions to gallery@thecultch.com. If you have any questions, you can email Yuri Arajs, the Gallery Coordinator at The Cultch gallery@thecultch.com.
February 28 to March 4, 2022 is National Invasive Species Awareness Week. What are invasive species and why should you care?
By happenstance, we’ve been learning a bit more about invasive plants over the last couple of years. It started with working with the City of Vancouver to create Green Street Gardens on City owned landed. It has been an ongoing learning process throughout that time. It also meant removing some invasive shrubs like Himalayan Blackberries and grasses. There are many groups doing this kind of work all over the Province of BC. One local group Free The Fern launched during the pandemic works with volunteers to remove invasive plants in Champlain Heights and replacing them with native plants, but invasive species are not limited to plants.
So what are invasive species? “An invasive species is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage“. Wikipedia
Why should you care? Native plants, animals and habitats provide us with ecosystem services such as removal of pollution, recreational opportunities, food and medicine, protection of water, soil, climate and nutrients. Some invasive plants are toxic and could cause medical problems for wildlife, domestic animals and people.
On walks, we often see English Ivy crawling up the trunks of trees which looks beautiful, but in effect is killing the tree by suffocating it. Urban wildlife and people will be relying on those trees more as we deal with climate change going forward. To learn how you can play your part in protecting our environment from invasive species, we encourage you to check all the information provided by the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia. ISCBC is an action-oriented organization working to stop the spread of invasive species in BC. They spearhead behaviour change in communities, organizations, governments and industry to help protect our province’s healthy habitats from invasive species. What can you do? We’ve set out some of the Invasive Species Council of BC’s programs below to help you become aware of things you can do to help stop the spread of invasives species in BC.
Don’t Let It Loose
Do not let unwanted pets like goldfish, rabbits, turtles and frogs loose in the wild. If you no longer want a pet, return it to the pet store you purchased it from, rehome it or deliver it to an appropriate animal rescue organization. For instance, Rabbitats in Richmond focuses on rescuing and rehoming rabbits. Do the right thing.
Plant Wise
Are you a new gardener? Learn to be Plant Wise and become aware of what plants are considered invasive before planting anything in the ground. Most reputable garden centres have stopped selling invasive plants, but some still do. There are many alternatives.
Buy Local Burn Local
If you are planning to go camping soon and plan to have a camp fire, ensure you buy and burn local wood. Why? Moving firewood, to or from a campground or cabin, can spread invasive species and diseases that can destroy forests and harm our air and water.
Clean Drain Dry
If you are planning on participating in any water sports such as boating, kayaking or taking the canoe out, you can easily spread invasives from one body of water to another. These aquatic invaders are entering BC’s beautiful lakes, streams, and wetlands. Boaters, anglers and paddlers can all take action now to help stop the spread by practicing Clean Drain Dry.
Play Clean Go
You can stop invasive species in its tracks with cleaning your shoes when travelling to and from different areas. Seeds are easily transferred by shoes.
Report A Weed
To help curtail the spread of invasives, knowing where they are located is key. To that end, YOU can be a steward of your own neighbourhood by reporting invasives to the Invasive Species Council of BC. It’s easy to do on your walks, hikes and travels around Vancouver, or within the Province. There are several ways to report invasives, but we found the easiest is the Report A Weed app. We’ve given this one a test run. It’s easy to use, take a photo, provide some contact info and submit. If you are unsure if something is in fact an invasive, iNaturalist is an excellent app and resource. If you aren’t already familiar with this app, upload a photo and the app with determine through AI what the plant is and at the same other citizen scientists will provide feedback as to their observations and can help confirm the identity of the plant.
What’s a really bad invasive? There are a number and that answer may vary depending on where you live in the Province. There are some invasives that are toxic to grazing animals, but for those of us located in Vancouver, our guess would be Japanese Knotweed. Japanese Knotweed has bamboo like stems and roots so strong, they can penetrate thick asphalt. This invasive can damage building foundations, pipes and if on your property, devalue your home. If you’d like to learn more about invasive species and how you can do your part to stop the spread of invasives, we invite you to visit Invasive Species Council of BC.
After a long run of online shows, Vancouver Story Slam returns to the stage with a live audience Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Ten storytellers share original stories and compete for prizes and bragging rights for best story. There’s a great line up of storytellers including our very own Al Tee who some may recognize as writing some great historical pieces for ILiveInEastVan. Also on hand to share their stories will be Bill Burnyeat, Emily Kelsall, Karen Spears, Karly Pinch, Maia Brundage, Marylee Stephenson, Reive Doig, Shwicks, and Zed Payne. Special guest storyteller and two-time storytelling champion Bryant Ross will also take the stage.
Vancouver Story Slam takes place at Hero’s Welcome (formerly the Legion) at 3917 Main Street (at 23rd Ave). Admission is $5 at the door and the show kicks off at 8:00 pm.
Note: Covid safety protocols will be in place and all audience members and participants must show proof of vaccination (vax card +ID) and masks are required when not seated or onstage.
The Firehall Arts Centre invites you to witness an unforgettable story of love and survival in their production of Mary’s Wedding. This is a play that weaves a theatrical spell of hope, regret, memory and dreams.
When Mary and Charlie – young, passionate, vulnerable, and impulsive – unexpectedly take shelter in a barn during a thunderstorm, a tentative love is born. But the year is 1914, and Mary and Charlie must surrender to the uncertainties of their tumultuous times.
Mary’s Wedding is written by Canadian playwright Stephen Massicotte and directed by Donna Spencer, the Firehall’s production of this award-winning script features two teams of performers: Sarah Roa (Mary) and Tanner Zerr (Charlie); and Emma Ross (Mary) and Jacob Leonard (Charlie). This play is an in person production with Covid safety protocols in place. To purchase tickets, visit Firehall Arts Centre.
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