Support for LGBTQ youth was at an all time high. Here are a few photos to really get in the spirit. Happy Anti-Homophobia Day!

Photo courtesy of CanadaPenguin

Vancouver diners are invited to help take a bite out of the public school funding crunch at the second annual Eat for Education evening taking place this Wednesday (May 2). Launched last year with one school and nine restaurants, the event has grown to include four schools and 21 restaurants (and counting). The majority of restaurants are based on Main Street with a few also participating in North Vancouver.

Here’s how it works: Local restaurants will donate a percentage of Wednesday’s food profits directly to participating schools in their area. Each school controls how the funds are used, and so far updating technology for students has been a focus. This year, VSB schools Mount Pleasant Elementary, Florence Nightingale Elementary and Simon Fraser Elementary stand to benefit from diners.

“We are delighted that some local restaurants in this area are committed to supporting education. Their willingness to get involved is amazing,” says Sue Stevenson, Vice Principal at Mount Pleasant Elementary. “As an Inner City school we believe that it takes a village to raise a child. This fundraiser will support our school initiative to increase access to technology and provide these children with outdoor educational experiences.”

The idea for Eat for Education was born at a Mount Pleasant Elementary Parent Advisory Council meeting in 2010. The first event was held in 2011 and most of $2,100 raised was used to buy the school a SMART Board. Remaining funds helped with travel costs for outdoor educational experiences.

Organizers say they hope to raise even more money this year.

Restaurants are still being encouraged to join. The whole event is being organized by bcfoodies.com.

This year’s Eat for Education restaurants in Vancouver are:

8 1/2 Restaurant and Lounge - 151 East 8 Avenue (604) 568-2703

Latitude - 3250 Main Street (604) 875-6246

Hyde - 2960 Main Street (604) 709-6215

Habit Lounge - 2610 Main St (604) 877-8582

The Cascade Room - 2616 Main Street (604) 709-8650

Elysian Coffee - 590 West Broadway (604) 874 5909

Che Baba - 603 Kingsway (604) 558 1519

Slickity Jim’s Chat n Chew - 3475 Main Street (604) 873 6760

Grub Restaurant - 4328 Main Street (604) 876-8671

The Five Point - 3124 Main Street (604) 876-5810

Locus Lounge - 4121 Main Street (604) 708 4121

Portland Craft (formerly Coppertank) – 3835 Main Street (604) 569 2494

Mavericks (in Howard Johnson Hotel) – 395 Kingsway (604) 872-5252

BierCraft - 3305 Cambie Street (604) 874-6900

Pizzeria Barbarella - 654 East Broadway (604) 210-6111

Vera’s Burger Shack - 2922 Main Street, (604) 709-8372

The Whip Restaurant - 6^th and Main 604.874.4687

Photo courtesy of World Economic Forum

The dust is finally starting to settle after two controversial (and some might say prophetic) by-elections in the valley yesterday. In both elections, the NDP’s candidate triumphed over their liberal and conservative opposition.

In the case of Port Moody-Coquitlam, the NDP’s Joe Trasolini captured about 54 per cent of the vote pushing him far ahead of BC Liberal Dennis Marsden and the Conservatives’ Christine Clarke who combined only took 45 per cent of the vote. It was a decisive (though not overly uprising win) for Trasolini who was a well known former mayor. He was also formally a liberal.

More controversial was the NDP’s win in Chilliwack-Hope. Gwen O’Mahony, who had twice run unsuccessfully, took 41 per cent of the popular vote. Meanwhile, Laurie Throness from the Liberals and John Martin of the B.C. Conservative Party shared about 58 per cent.

Throughout the afternoon, BC Liberal politicians and their allies repeated ad nauseam how the Chilliwack-Hope by-election was going to be the perfect case of splitting the “free enterprise” vote. They pointed to this polling as the reason anyone right of centre should be voting for the BC Liberals.

What’s not acknowledged in these tactics is the genuine difference in all matter of things between the BC Conservative and BC Liberal parties (and their supporters). While many BC Liberals seem to hope these differences could be smoothed under a single economic banner, the fractures are much deeper and more socially driven than they give credit. Whether its the HST, environmentalism or social beliefs, the reality is that there are many British Columbians (especially in rural BC) who believe the BC Liberal party is not sufficiently socially or fiscally conservative. They look east to Alberta’s Wildrose (a party vying to be more conservative than the progressive conservatives) in envy. These voters should not be seen as simply “free enterprise” voters as BC Liberal party strategists would hope, but rather fundamentally as “conservative” voters. No one should mistake them for anything else.

When one looks at federal or municipal politics, no one complains about vote-splitting the “free enterprise vote” in either of those arenas. It’s clear that 3-4 parties legitimately represent the political spectrum and that if I vote for Prime Minister Harper’s party, I’m not called out as a closet Liberal who should vote for that party instead to avoid a vote split. People acknowledge that the different parties stand for different things and everyone moves on trying to convince their opponents swing voters to come over to their side.

Right now we’re witnessing a titanic shift in provincial politics similar to what we saw the last federal election and earlier in the 2002 (with the ascendency of COPE) and again in 2005 (with the rise of Vision Vancouver). Whether you support this change or not, one should at the very least acknowledge it.

Their secret? Booze. That’s what I learned from the Kelso Theatre Pub’s owner (a big bull of a man who’d returned recently from a stint oversees in the marines). The secret to the theatre’s success, according to him anyway, was the ability to serve beer, pizza and other pubby foods to patrons while they watched their favorite flicks. The whole theatre was decked out with large coaches in the balcony and tables in front of the seating for easy-pizza access. It was brilliant. So why can’t BC do the same thing?

The Rio - courtesy of Christopher Richmond

Turns out we now can – sort of! Weirdly enough (considering his portfolio), this week Rich Coleman, Minister of Energy and Mines (what he has to do with liquor regulation is beyond me)  announced a change in the Province’s licensing. Provided it’s an”adult-only event” in the auditorium – I guess that means NC-17 rated movies (nothing tastes better with horrible violent or rampant sex scenes than a cold frosty one) you can drink booze in theatres. Here are the specifics according to a recent Vancouver Sun article:

Multiplex theatres will now be allowed to apply for a licence to serve alcohol in “adult-only auditoriums and adjacent lobbies.” Single-screen and live theatres will now be allowed to apply for a licence to serve alcohol in lobbies, if minors are present, and in auditoriums, if it’s an adult-only event

Big thanks go out to the Rio (my favourite little neighbourhood theatre), Denman Cinemas and undoubtedly countless others (props to Councillor Heather Deal and MLAs Spencer Chandra Herbert and Jenny Kwan) who made this happen.

Now we can finely drink a beer while we watch a movie at the same time. CRAZINESS!

Header image by pocius

Word is soon we’ll have a vacation day in the middle of this post-holiday stretch courtesy of Christy Clark called Family Day. Until then, Easter will remain for me the beacon to which we can look forward to a break from our labour. It also happens to be a nice dividing line between dreary winter months and the coming bloom of Spring.

So with that said, best wishes to you and your community during this Easter Break. Enjoy the chocolate eggs, time off work and (or course) the company of good friends and family!

Photo by stevendepolo

“This is a comprehensive document that is intended to provide the Board with a foundational understanding of the challenges and opportunities of our district,” said Jordan Tinney, Deputy Superintendent. “There is a lot of information and suggestions here that could have a huge impact on the future of the Vancouver School Board. It’s a very exciting time to be involved in public education and we’re hoping many Vancouverites will get involved and lend their voice to this process.”

The report is well worth having a look at if you’re vaguely interested in the future directions of the Vancouver school district and the education of Vancouver youth. Key recommendations include:

• To expand programs of choice. This could mean more Montessori, International Baccalaureate, Mandarin Bilingual, Intensive French and Early Intervention/Reading Recovery coming to a neighbourhood school near you… and soon.
• To align services to avoid overlap. This could lead to brand new educational systems such as the centralization of kindergarten registration along with the implementation of both balanced calendar and hybrid semester systems in the coming few years. Balanced calendar alone would revolutionize how the school year looks (goodbye super long summer break…) for hundreds of students and their families.The report also suggests the reworking of some school catchment areas, the consolidation of VSB online learning and the optimization of the District’s Reception and Placement Centre and International Student Program.
• Repurpose schools to continue to serve the public as a community asset and to demonstrate our stewardship of public lands. This is a big deal. The report outlines how some schools that are under-capicty (in some cases a little over half full!) should be re-purposed like was the case at Carelton Elementary, who is now the host of Green Thumb Theatre.
• Develop non-school sites for revenue. Key here is international students. According to the report, these students pay a fee of $12,000 annually to attend our schools and they come from countries around the world. The income from the International Student Program represents approximately $12 million of the Boards budget. That’s a lot of money and its apparent from this report that district staff are hoping to grow this cash-pot in the coming years

Photo courtesy of Gerry K.

Nothing like a hard fought soccer game under the open Vancouver sky. This weekend, I got to experience it first hand as the Vancouver Whitecaps took on DC United in their third game of the season. Coming off a two game winning streak, first at home against the Montreal Impact and then (miracles!) on the road against Chivas USA, there were big expectations and a heady sense of optimism about a winning streak that’d last to three games in a row. In the end, we got a tie (certainly better than a loss) – but that’s not all that we witnessed that night.

Equally powerful was the sense of community (particularly in the first part of the second half) when the Whitecaps really turned the electricity on!

It started outside the stadium. Unlike BC Lions games or even Canucks games, the community built by the Whitecaps tends to be young, diverse and the total opposite of “rough around the edges” turkeys that were made famous last summer during the Vancouver’s most disgraceful night.

Milling around the outside of the stadium, thousands of fans clad in blue and white meandered towards the gates. Few were ridiculously intoxicated or surely. Hundreds had goofy grins on their faces.There was a young family vibe to it all.

Once in the stadium, we set up close to the Whitecaps goal next to three dozen fanatical fans equipped with jerseys and dozens of multi-color flags. The super fans included a big burly Scots as well as French, Koreans, Filipinos and even a group of guys who appeared to hail from the Middle East. It’s part of what I love so much about soccer – the multiculturalism of it all. Together we sang a dozen uniquely Vancouver chants inspired by the great European clubs.

On the field, our team mirrored the diversity of its fan base. Players hailed from Brazil, Spain, China, Korea, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, the US and Canada. When Long Tan ran on from the sidelines in the late stages of the game, a group of Chinese fans a few seats away gave a mighty cheer.

Talk about a terrific community building event.

Header courtesy of Albumen. 

Photo courtesy of nonanet

Sitting 20 meters above a steep black diamond run on the back side of Silverstar, I watched in wonder as a tiny soul slowly but surely trooped up the hill (not down it as per usual) with skis slung on her shoulder. She was accompanied by a ski-patrol guy clad brightly in red. As the Powder Gultch chair lift rotated me closer and closer I recognized with a shock, that the little figure carrying her skis up the mountain was indeed my lovely red-headed wife. As I soon learned, after skiing for an entire day and a half on a green run called Far Out, she’d decided to diversify her “easy run experience” by trying out a new run – this one on the other-side of the mountain. This wouldn’t be a bad idea, but unfortunately, my wife’s sense of direction leaves something to be desired. After following the markers for Aunt Gladys (a long meandering easy run that tracked across most of the mountain), my wife had “missed the turnoff” and ended up on Calipher – a steep black diamond populated by massive moguls. There was no easy way down.

Worry turned to panic as she stared down a steep black diamond run under the chairlift and contemplated snow-plow turning down the hill, all the while under the steady eyes of gawkers in the chairlift above. Several skiers came by and asked if they could help. One kindly gentleman from Salmon Arm named Pat (an older retiree who frequented the mountain every week) offered to coach her through the descent and take each mogul together. Even this was too scary a thought to contemplate.

Pretty soon, my wife made up her mind. Unstrapping her skis, she began a long march up the hill, tearing up under little goggles as she went. That’s when Matthew, the ski-patrol savior arrived. With constant reassurances that “this sort of thing happens a few times every year – don’t worry about it!” she trekked with Matthew to the top of the hill where Sarah, another ski-patroller waited patiently with a snowmobile to complete the extraction. It was an embarrassing journey that was made significantly less embarrassing by the considerate nature of all those around who were lending a helping hand.

After she’d been zipped back up the hill and rendezvoused with me, my wife was still regailed by the generosity and helping nature of all those on the mountain who lent a hand to help during her little personal skiing crisis.

Everyone at the mountain was incredibly nice and thoughtful and it showed how many good kind-hearted people are out there. Maybe you’d find that on every mountain, but part of me wonders if its something peculiar to the smaller and more rural ski areas.

Header courtesy of Paul Jerry

Who are you?

A guy who loves  being around his family.

Psychiatry is a passion of mine, and I am fortunate to practice and teach at both Saint Paul’s Hospital and UBC Hospital; also, I combine my clinical work with research on mental health.

What do you do for fun?

I am a relentless soccer player, and a photography enthusiast. Since my first daughter was born, however, I can spend hours just witnessing the wonders of live reflected in her development. It might have something to do with sleep deprivation, but when I’m around her the notion of time and space often seem to get on hold and I can submerge into a pure here-and-now moment. Frank Cottrell, a British writer, once said that family is probably the only distraction that makes you feel virtuous when you surrender to it; and I couldn’t agree more.

What’s your favourite community and why?

Even though I have lived most of my live in large cities and feel comfortable living in them, there is something reminiscent of my childhood that I can only experience whenever I spend time in small communities. It is difficult to pin-point what it is, but I sense that a special connection between people happens in such communities. The Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast are places in BC where I have had such experiences.

What is your superpower?

This is rather mundane, but I have recently been told that I am a people’s person.
Reflecting on this recent comment, I realized that I have always seen myself as someone who enjoys listening to people around me, and that has allowed to create meaningful connections.

How does your superpower help you build community?

A great deal of what a can be accomplished as a community relies on the strength and meaningfulness of the relationships its members create among themselves.

Patient and active listening seems to be a good ingredient to promote the above.

My Three Favourite Things About Fidel Are…

1. Phenomenal soccer prowess.  There’s a reason that we (or maybe it’s just me…?) call him the Spanish Hurricane. It’s not just his ball control or killer spinning shot that makes him great. It’s that way he moves and passes and sets his team-mates up that makes him truly inspiring. When Fidel’s on the field, you know he’ll make you somehow pull off beautiful plays. It’s inspiring to play with so a generous a player.

2. His sympathetic and kindly manner. Here’s a guy who exudes warmth and thoughtfulness. He’s the type of person you feel you can trust and who general aura gives off a kinship. This might be something that you’d think would be a given as a psychiatrist. But with Fidel, it isn’t professional; its personal.

3. Commitment to helping his community. Be it his hard work writing grants to raise money for the Portland FC, his thoughtful suggestions at countless organizing meetings or the hours he devotes to coaching and mentoring street soccer players on the court – this is a guy who’s committed to his community and giving back to it wherever possible. And that’s just his volunteer stuff. His day job is to help those suffering from all sorts of mild and severe mental illness find their way in life.

Special Bonus Reason #4. He makes an amazing Spanish tortilla!

As told by Kurt Heinrich…

The pink shirts knew they were up for a challenge. Casting themselves as the underdogs, the Octopi steeled themselves for battle. When the whistle was blown it quickly became clear that pink would be the underdog of this match. Nomads FC were just as skilled, aggressive and quick as the team had remembered. There chatty British lilt could be heard throughout the field as they communicated as well as anyone in the PR industry could dream. Fortunately, after a season of playing together Octopi’s own team had melded significantly.

It was a hard fought battle throughout the first half with the Nomads pressing in every which way while Octopi’s defense struggled to contain them. The ball rarely left Octopi’s half and forced strikers John Horn and Erin Loxam to drift back to mark orange’s midfielders and they pressed ceaselessly. Despite their pressure, the Nomads were unable to capitalize until late in the first half. After hammering countless balls over or far to the left of Octopi’s goal, the Nomads finally hit pay dirt with a long throw in that seemed to span half the field. After a few random heads, the ball somehow found its way into the goal putting the Nomads up a point. Later in the second half, Nomads managed to capitalize on a quick turnover close to Octopi’s box. It was 2-0.

That’s when Octopi really started to turn it on. Slowly by surely they ground their way towards the Nomads like the British Army in some godforsaken battle of World War 1. After a series of failed starts, defenseman Kurt Heinrich managed to make a run for the Nomads’ half. Tracked by three orange defensemen, he flipped the ball to the other side of the orange’s box with a long cross. Streaking in from mid-field like a F-16 was striker Erin Loxam, who was hungry to take advantage of one of the team’s first scoring opportunities of the game. Loxam, as she always seems to do in a pinch, managed to be there exactly when she needed to be and was able to pound the ball past Nomads’ chippy goaltender. The score was now 2-1 and Octopi was energized. They continued to hound Nomad players with the ball and run like demons, but with only four minutes left in the game, there was simply not enough time.

The end result of the spirited match was 2-1. Nomads FC will proceed to the final leaving Octopi to contest for third place.