Local Love This Valentine’s Day

10 Feb

We know not every one gets behind Valentine’s Day. Some see it as a made up day. Even if that’s your view, considering what a struggle this past year, why not show someone special a little love just because. It can be your partner or a good friend who has been a great support for you this past year, your sister, mother, brother. Or what about that next door neighbour or isolated senior? Whomever it might be, there are so many ways to say “I Care”. As we love our local businesses, we wanted to highlight a few you can throw your support behind this Valentine’s Day.

Soprasotto

Pizza Love

A few East Van pizza joints (and likely more) are doing heart shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day. Check out Lombardo’s Ristorante and Soprasotto on Commercial Drive and Pizza Farina on Main Street.

Flowers

Who does not love to get flowers? There are so many great options in East Van whether it’s local florist shops like the Flower Factory at 4285 Main or Full Bloom on Commercial Drive. If you are lucky enough to have a neighbourhood corner store, be sure to check them out. They often have a nice selection on hand. If you are in River District this Sunday, you can also stop by the Brock Floral Cart which will be on site at the foot of Kerr Street near Romer’s Burger Bar. This is a mobile floral cart that will have a selection of flowers available from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm or until sold out. It won’t be quite as pictured, but you get the idea.

Sweet Treats

Oh Sweet Day

So many great local businesses are offering sweet treats for Valentine’s Day whether it’s chocolates at Beta 5 or the Purdy’s outlet store on Kingsway. If it’s cookies you are after, Oh Sweet Day, Bench Bakehouse and many others have a great selection. To see a full list of our Favourite East Van Bakeries, click the link. If you are looking for sweet treats for the kids (big and small), don’t forget the Licorice Parlour. They’ve added some new items so not just licorice.

Jewellery

White Sapphire Anna

If this is the year, you are going big on the jewellery front, we invite you to check out Era Design Jewellery at 1795 Venables Street near Commercial. They design some beautiful jewellery whether custom or ready made.

Love Songs

Jill Barber

If you are looking to set the mood with beautiful love songs, you will want to catch Jill Barber’s live streamed performance from The Cultch on February 14th.

Whether you celebrate the ‘day’ or not, be sure to show your local businesses some local love this weekend.

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Virtual Cooking Class With Just Giulia February 12th

9 Feb

Giulia Lombardo invites you to join her for a virtual cooking class this Friday, February 12th. Giulia is going to teach you how easy it is to make fresh pasta. You can follow along step by step as she cooks, or watch her cook and then try it on your own after the cooking class. The menu for this upcoming class is:

Squash and Mascarpone Filled Heart Shaped Ravioli with
Sage and Brown Butter Sauce
Suggested Wine Pairing: Poplar Grove Pinot Gris

The cost of the cooking class is $20 with a percentage of the proceeds being donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. The fun kicks off at 6:00 pm. To register, email her directly at justgiulialombardo@gmail.com. Note, space is limited. You can also find Giulia on Instagram @justguiliaa or check her out You Tube. We’ve included one of her delish You Tube videos below. Mangia bene (translation: eat well).

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A Valentine’s Day With MAD Jazz Live

5 Feb

If you are looking to kick it up a notch and romance someone this Valentine’s Day, you have lots of options this year. If you enjoy live jazz, then you may wish to check out the virtual presentation by MAD Jazz Live happening on February 14th. This is a great opportunity to set the mood, chill some bubbly, maybe pick up a great meal from a local restaurant and relax to the music of Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and many more. Music will be performed by Mandy Rushton, Aaron Pang and Dane Warren. The evening also includes a special guest host Jay Joseph joining them all the way from Las Vegas, Nevada. The performance runs for 2 hours and kicks off at 8:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. Tickets start at $20. To grab your tickets, visit Dane Warren Entertainment.

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Love Songs With Jill Barber February 14th

3 Feb

The Cultch along with The National Arts Centre invite you for an evening of live music by Jill Barber this Valentine’s Day. Jill will be performing some heartbreak ballads, steamy love songs and classic French chansons. The event will be live streamed from The Cultch to your living room. You can get dressed up for the occasion, or well not. Entirely your call. As with most celebrations this past year, Valentine’s Day will be a little different. This is a great way to support local arts and take in some beautiful music. This performance will be live streamed at 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time and 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on February 14, 2021. Tickets start at $17.93. To purchase yours, visit The Cultch. If you aren’t familiar with Jill Barber, we invite you to give this You Tube clip a listen.

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Pandemic Pivot: Loved & Local New Online Shop

1 Feb

2020 was a year of challenge and change for many and 2021 continues on that same vein.   The pandemic has many people pivoting to earn an income from a new source. Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenn Franzen who did a complete 360 and created Loved & Local.  Jenn was a self-employment travel agent for 15 years. As we all know, with the current travel restrictions, planning trips isn’t first and foremost on people’s mind nor will it be for some time. So Jenn pivoted and created Loved & Local.

Loved & Local is an online store that features gently used clothing and accessories for women, men and children.  Loved & Local also carries items from local artisans including Oona Clothing,  Mosaic Earrings, beeswax food wraps by Etta & Olive, candles by Grain & Honey and knitted toques by Littlee Lambs Boutique to name a few.

Loved & Local carries a wide range of items and yes they deliver!  They offer free delivery on orders over $20 within a 10 km radius of Loved & Local which is located in Hastings Sunrise. If you are interested in trying on a specific item, feel free to reach out to them directly.   They have also just added a weekly auction on Facebook and Instagram that runs from Thursday to Sunday with a starting bid of $1.00. For those wishing to give back to charity in an easy way, Loved & Local supports some local charitable endeavours including Victory House Mental Health Facility. They are currently selling Valentine’s Day cards made by residents. 100% of the sale proceeds go back to Victory House.

We invite you to visit Loved & Local online and give them a follow on Instagram where they post many of their newly acquired items.  As always, support local when and where you can.

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Bell Let’s Talk: Now More Than Ever Every Action Counts

28 Jan

The pandemic has cast a new light on mental health. Many know it is an issue, but for so many isolated from their support system during COVID-19, mental health has come home literally. People are struggling for many different reasons, each has their own personal story. No two people are the same nor are their coping mechanisms, but YOU can be part of the action that makes a difference. It’s that call to a friend to check in, it’s checking on that senior neighbour that lives alone, saying hello and acknowledging that person you pass by. This year more than ever, every action counts. What will you do today?

Do you need help? Visit Bell Let’s Talk which has a great list of resources.

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Dine Out Festival February 5 to March 7, 2021

27 Jan

Dine Out Vancouver Festival is back this year for a longer run being 31 days vs. last year’s 17 days. Diners will have more time to safely explore more restaurants over a longer period of time. The festival brings together over 300 restaurants, wineries, craft breweries and suppliers for dining and culinary events. What’s new this year is a host of virtual tasting events. We invite you check them all out at Dine Out Vancouver Festival, but have set out a few that caught our eye.  

Virtual Beer Tasting

A Virtual Beer Tastings is presented in part by Canadian Craft Tours and runs from February 5th to March 6th. This event is open to those in the Greater Vancouver Regional District and includes the delivery of your supplies for the event along with a virtually hosted event which lasts 90 minutes. Cost is $90 per person plus taxes. You can add a cheese pairing for an additional $30 per person. For more information and to book your spot, visit Canadian Craft Tours.

Dumpling Masterclass with Chinatown Tours

This Dumpling Masterclass got us excited. Having once made dumplings from scratch, they were some of the best. This is a great opportunity for some hands on experience with expert guidance. During this masterclass, they will discuss what makes a good filling, how to prep the ingredients and the best way to fold the wrappers. Cost for the event is a very reasonable $30. To book your ticket, visit Peek.com.

Virtual Coffee Tasting

If you love cold coffee, this one’s for you. The Vancouver Coffee Snob and Prototype Coffee present a virtual tour into the world of cold brew coffee. You will have the opportunity to sample cold brew coffee and learn how the different non-dairy milks affect the taste. You will also get to play some trivia and test your coffee knowledge. This event runs several times between February 6th to February 21st. Cost is $90. To book your ticket which includes delivery of your supplies, visit Canadian Craft Tours.

To see all the restaurants participating in this year’s Dine Out, visit their website. Note, for those not comfortable with dining in during this time, many restaurants are offering a Take Out option for Dine Out. Visit Dine Out Vancouver Festival for more information.

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Pandemic Pivot Creates Roman & Ash Design

24 Jan

2020 was a year of change and challenge for many.  With it also brought new opportunities and new ways of looking at things.  We’ve seen a few creative pivots due to the pandemic we’d like to share with our readers.  First up, Johnny Defazio of Roman & Ash Design.

Johnny creates handmade wooden shelf units perfect for Vancouver’s often tight living spaces.   In March of 2020, Johnny lost his decade long executive job right before his second son, Ashton, was born. So pandemic hits and he’s a family man with 2 young children to support, Roman 3 ½ years old and Ashton 5 months old, what do you do?

Johnny chose quickly to pivot and ditch the suit & tie for a saw and wood. He already had a great space to work in and a passion for using tools. So last Spring he started creating some fun and unique designs in his garage. He started with small hexagon shelf units, then he started rolling out triangles and unique corner shelf units. Over the Christmas holiday season, he created white wash stars which were a big hit. Soon came the requests for custom work which requests continue to roll in.  

Johnny is also now creating wooden hearts in a white wash which can be personalized to display someone’s name or a small phrase. We think that could make a unique personalized gift for someone’s birthday or maybe even Valentine’s Day. Just sayin. You’ll see we’ve included photos of a number of Johnny’s designs. We invite you to give Johnny a follow on Instagram @johnny_defazio. Of course, feel free to reach out to him directly with any custom orders to requests for information.  As always, support local when and where you can.

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Valentine’s Day Cheese Tasting Event For Two – SOLD OUT

22 Jan

Like many things this past year, Valentine’s Day will be a little different. Whether you believe in the ‘day’ or not, there’s no harm in showing some love to those you care about whether that’s your partner or a close friend. For us cheese, wine, chocolate and bread is just a little piece of heaven. With that in mind, we wanted to share a fun event the good folks at les amis du FROMAGE are hosting. It is a virtual Facebook Live event hosted by Allison Spurrell. Les amis du FROMAGE will set you up with a tasting kit to pick up just prior to Valentine’s Day which includes:

Cheese (8 types)
Crackers
Chez Christophe flutes
Accompaniments 
Kasama Karkar Island dark chocolate bar
Tasting menu

The Facebook Live event runs for one hour. Cost is $95 for your kit loaded with delish goodies which will be available for pick up from the East Vancouver store on 3 different days. Note, wine is not included but they do have some recommendations for you. Cut off for ticket purchase is February 7th. To grab your ticket, or get more information visit, les amis du FROMAGE.

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East Van’s Housewives Of Hip Hop Kicking It On Tik Tok

17 Jan

Truth be told, we are not big fans of reality TV shows and even the mention of the housewives shows make our eyes glaze over. Then something caught our eye on a scroll through Instagram recently and we were hooked, East Van’s very own Housewives of Hip Hop.   These ladies we can get behind.  They are 6 moms brought together by their love of dance and having fun. Along their journey, they have built meaningful friendships as an added bonus.

It all started 6 years ago when the moms were dropping their kids off at Boogaloo Academy for a dance class. The ladies decided the kids were having all the fun and they wanted in on some of that. Soon after, the owner of Boogaloo Academy, Jheric Hizon, taught them some hip hop moves which they then performed at a studio year end dance and that’s where the journey took off.  In 2018, they entered some dance competitions in the “adult street dance” category and next thing you know, the ladies won 2 silver medals and invites to perform at the WestCoast Women’s Show and the Victoria Women’s Show.

So who are the women behind the Housewives of Hip Hop?  There are 6 women in total, Kerrie, Mirella, Alexa, Jen, Julie and Natalie.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions, they have been unable to dance as a group in studio, so 3 of the East Van moms who live close to each other have been dancing in back lanes, carports and parks in various parts of East Van getting their grove on to some great tunes. For those who danced their way through the 80s and 90s, you’ll recognize a number of songs. The music takes us back to a much simpler time in life, a lot to be said for that in a pandemic.

To date, the Housewives of Hip Hop have 2.7 million views on TikTok. You can check them out there, or give them a follow on Instagram @thehousewivesofhophop to cheer them on. Most video clips are 12 -15 seconds.

The Housewives of Hip Hop also have a message they wish to share with women of all ages. Find something that brings you joy.  They would like to inspire others to be true themselves, have fun and follow their passions.  They have secretly found theirs.

Photos & Video: Courtesy of The Housewives Of Hip Hop

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