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Canada Day gets the retro treatment as commemorates Expo 86

pamelag on July 1, 2016

Attracting up to 250,000 people during the day with numerous activities and live performances at Canada Place, it’s no wonder Vancouver’s celebration of Canada’s birthday is the largest outside Ottawa.

The 29th annual Canada Day at Canada Place on July 1st, promises a fun-filled day from 10 am to 6 pm for children and adults, and continue into the evening showcasing a colourful, diverse parade, and fireworks show.

This year, however, the event organized by Port of Vancouver, will also bring the 1980s back by commemorating the 30th anniversary of Canada Place, which opened as the Canadian Pavilion for Expo 86.

The annual Canada Day at Canada Day offers a fun-filled day with free live entertainment and activities for both adults and children.

Guests will relive their Expo 86 memories, by exploring the Expo Pavilion (Ballrooms ABC, Vancouver Convention Centre East) which will feature memorabilia and imagery of that time, as well an arcade with old video games for the public to enjoy–fans of Pac Man and Pinball take note.

‘We started to plan for this year, realizing it was the 30th anniversary of this beautiful building [Canada Place] that was built originally for Expo 86, and so we thought “what a great way to celebrate [the exhibit’s anniversary] with some of the programming that we would have on site for Canada Day”,’ said Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Laurie Purdon, event organizer.

‘It was a very special time for Vancouver, a lot of people say [Expo 86] put our city on the international map and they have some many great memories . It’s a really fun way to remember what we all enjoyed back in ’86… It’s a time for

Scottish singer and 1980s icon, Sheena Easton.

Iconic Scottish singer Sheena Easton will be co-headlining this year’s Canada Day event.

people that weren’t there, to have bit of that experience [too].’

Originally proposed under the name of Transpo 86, the city won the bid to host the international transportation exhibition in 1986, year also of Vancouver’s Centennial.

In 1983, Queen Elizabeth II and former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau initiated the first concrete pour on the construction site for what would become the Canadian Pavilion.

On May 2, 1986, former prime minister Brian Mulroney , Prince Charles and the Princess Diana inaugurated the Fair, where participated pavili0ns from 54 nations and organizations.

This special Canada Day edition will feature renowned international, national and local performers, including legendary Canadian DJ Red Robinson, at Hall A (Vancouver Convention Centre East), who will be reprising his presenter duties at Expo 86, in between multicultural performances and talent, sharing stories about his more remarkable moments and interviews with stars (including Elvis Presley and The Beatles) , during his 50-year career.

Among the musical guests, Grammy Award winner, Sheena Easton, who also played at Expo 86, will be back to co-headline the event taking the Main Stage at 3:30 pm, followed by Canadian country singer, Aaron Pritchet.

The electro-dance band Bear Mountain (BMTN), Rococode, Mo Kenney, Famous Players and many more will be also performing at the event.

As in every Canada Day celebration, a Citizenship Ceremony will take place at Hall A at 11 am, where 60 citizens will become Canadian.

Bear Mountain.

In addition, other entertainment include the Pogo Stunt Team at Jack Poole Plaza, south of the cauldron, featuring championship pro athletes flying over 10 feet in the air on extreme pogo sticks throwing down flips and incredible tricks, a zone dedicated to the Canadian Forces, and hockey games.

Canada Day Parade & fireworks

The 7^th Annual Canada Day Parade will kick off at 7 pm from Broughton & Georgia Streets with dispersal at Burrard and Pender Streets.

The patriotic festivities will close with a two barge simultaneous fireworks placed in Burrard Inlet, at 10.30 pm, viewable from various locations including Harbour Green Park, Coal Harbour , Stanley Park, Crab Park, West Vancouver Seawall, between Ambleside and Dundarave, North Vancouver, Lower Lonsdale Area. The fireworks cannot be seen from the English Bay or Spanish Banks.

A ticketed fireworks viewing zone will be open at Canada Place’s West Promenade — a family-friendly, licensed area. Free admission for children four and under.

For more information on Canada Day at Canada Place, schedules, performances’ lineup and street closures, visit canadaplace.ca.

Vancouver is one of the most livable cities in the world: Survey

pamelag on February 29, 2016

Vancouver ranks amongst one of most preferred cities to live in the world once again.

According to the 18th annual Quality of Life survey by Mercer, a global consulting and investment organization based in Toronto, Vancouver ranked at 5^th , offering the best quality of living and working worldwide for residents and expatriate employees.

Vancouver is the only in North American city amongst the top 10 – despite its skyrocketing housing prices. In a survey published last month, Vancouver also got into the top 5 cities with the most expensive real estate markets in the world.

On the other hand, economic uncertainty in Europe, hasn’t deterred Western European cities to get top spots. Vienna takes again the first place, followed by Zurich (2) and Munich (4) . Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Auckland grabbed the third place.

Mercer evaluated the local living conditions in more than 440 cities worldwide (230 were included in this year’s list) and were analyzed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories – including politics, social-cultural, environment, health, education, public services, recreation, consumer goods, housing and natural environment. The research is aimed to assist companies to ensure their employees receive fair compensation and meet their needs while working abroad.

Mercer's Quality of Life Survey 2016. Source: Mercer

Mercer’s Quality of Life Survey 2016. Image source: Mercer

Other Canadian cities also ranked fairly well in the survey — Toronto (15), Ottawa (17), Montreal (23) and Calgary (32).

‘Quality of living continues to be high in Canada with a stable political environment and positive social benefits, offering a very desirable and safe place to live and work for residents and expatriate workers,’said Gordon Frost, Leader of Mercer’s Talent Business in Canada, in a press release. ‘Our sustained high ranking is attractive to multinational corporations and their employees as they look to expand in Canada and provide significant opportunities to both Canadians and workers from abroad.’

In the United States, San Francisco (28) ranks highest for quality of living, followed by Boston (34), Honolulu (35), Chicago (43), and New York City (44). In North America, Monterrey (108) and Mexico City (127) take the lowest spots and for the Caribbean, Havana (191) and Port-au-Prince (227).

Mercer's Quality of Living Survey 2016. Source: Mercer.

Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey 2016. Image source: Mercer

South American cities Montevideo (78), Buenos Aires (93), and Santiago (94) remain the highest ranking cities for quality of living, while Bogota (130), La Paz (156), and Caracas (185) rank lowest in the region.

The city with the world’s lowest quality of living is Baghdad (230).

The survey also studied personal safety and compiled a list of cities based on internal stability, crime levels, performance of local law enforcement, and the home country’s relationship with other nations.

‘Heightened domestic and global security threats, population displacement resulting from violence, and social unrest in key business centres around the world are all elements adding to the complex challenge facing multinational companies when analysing the safety and health of their expatriate workforces, ‘ explains Ilya Bonic, senior partner and president at Mercer, in a statement.

As for the personal safety list, all the aforementioned Canadian cities ranked 16th, in contrast with US cities, which didn’t make the top 50.

‘Canada’s major cities continue to be much safer than every US counterpart. This is extremely appealing for ex-patriate employees looking to bring their families with them as they move abroad for work,’ Frost explains.

In addition, the report reveals that most North American cities are safe for expatriates, but Mexican cities are ranked relatively low, because of the drug-related violence. Monterrey is the highest ranking Mexican city at 108th, whereas Mexico City takes the 127^th place.

In the rest of the American continent, Kingston (199), Tegucigalpa (201), and Port-au-Prince (211) show the lowest levels of personal safety and at 96th Montevideo is South America’s highest ranking in personal safety; while Caracas (214) is the lowest. Unemployment, economic crisis and political unrest in some of the countries, are factors that explains these low rankings in personal safety in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Globally, Luxembourg tops the personal safety list followed by Bern, Helsinki, and Zurich, all three in the second place. Whereas, Baghdad (230) and Damascus (229) made the bottom of the list.

Poignant chamber work to pay homage to Holocaust survivors

pamelag on January 26, 2016

Songs of the Wasteland is an epic musical work –creation of Vancouver-based musician and teacher, Renia Perel–anda presentation of the Vancouver Academy of Music (VAM), falling on the eve of the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 26. A chamber ensemble of VAM faculty and leading Vancouver musicians will perform the piece to share a true story of survival and pay tribute to the millions killed and lost during the genocide.

The story of Perel is one of relenting hope and courage. Born in Poland in 1929, Perel and her older sister Henia started their journey in Southern Poland in 1941, it was the last time they saw their mother at the train station and eventually arrived in Canada in 1948 from Germany. The sisters were the only survivors in their family — both parents and young brother were killed, as well as other relatives.

The Nazi genocide included the mass murder of 6 million Jews and an additional 5 million non-Jews.

‘My music is my way of sharing my painful memories with the world. I hope that by sharing these memories with you, together we will find a way to heal the wounds of yesterday and bring hope for a better tomorrow,’ Perel has said about her work.

Perel’s opus made its debut at the Chan Centre in 2010. Four years later, she approached noted cellist and VAM’s executive director, Joseph Elworthy to bring the piece to the stage again. Vancouver-native Elworthy was already familiar with the piece and some of the cast, and had harboured the desire to perform it live.

‘Then by sheer coincidence Renia Perel approached me and said she had a long-standing record of working with community and arts groups throughout Vancouver, (…) and it became clear that the point of collaboration was definitely Songs of the Wasteland — a very important piece of music,’ Elworthy said over the phone.

After a meticulous preparation, Elworthy explains things fell into place scheduling the concert –just before the UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan 28). Elworthy, who played the cello for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for 12 years, will also play in this performance.

The chamber work includes seven musicians: VAM faculty members Elworthy (cello), Robyn Driedger-Klassen (soprano), and the concertmaster at the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Mark Ferris (Music Direction and violin), and Mark Fenster (baritone), Francois Houle (clarinet), Lani Krantz (harp), and Kozue Matsumoto (koto).

Songs of the Wasteland is a song cycle divided into two sections. The first From Tragedy to Triumph, ‘In terms of thematic direction is about remembrance and pain for those who lost their lives in concentration camps’. Elworthy explained. ‘Musically is somber in mood and character.’

It opens with Psalm 23: Verse 4 ‘Yea tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me”. The piece draws on elements of musical and linguistic fragments of pre-WWII European Jewish culture.

Towards the second part ‘Survival’, a metamorphosis takes places, turning into a more personal theme, entitled ‘Songs of Life’.

‘We got from talking about the Holocaust –which is a universal subject to something that is incredibly personal –that is Renia’s account of her love for her late husband’.

The koto, a Japanese traditional stringed instrument, is also present in the second part. It symbolizes the gratitude to the Japanese Consul Chiune Shuguhara, who helped to rescue thousands of Jewish people during WWII. Boris III, Bulgarian Tsar, who prevented the deportation and killing of 48,000 Bulgarian Jews, is also honoured.

The piece concludes with ‘Jerusalem’ that represents salvation and hope and ‘a desire for peace.’

The soprano and baritone sing mostly separately –the baritone plays the role of the cantor in a synagogue, infusing religious overtones. Meanwhile, the soprano’s songs are more secular in nature — they are about ‘the emotional reality of the Holocaust and, then later on , the experiences of (Perel’s) love for her husband Morris (Perel)’.

Elworthy points out that this piece is not only important for its profound and historical content, but as well serves the VAM’s to attain its mandate — to promote ‘the importance of music in form of the examined life and the enrichment of life’ amongst its 1,400 students.

‘We believe that productions such as Songs of the Wasteland will bring credibility to our belief that our own personal lives can be transformed through music.’

Setup

On the other hand, Elworthy describes the staging as minimalist and austere. A large screen will accompany the cast with scrolling names of Holocaust victims, part of the Vancouver Holocaust Memorial.

Along with the vocalists, six teenaged candle bearers –three girls and three boys — will stand on the wings on the stage symbolizing next generation’s hope, leadership and power.

In addition to the night show on January 26 (Koerner Recital Hall at the VAM, 7:30 pm) the VAM will offer a performance earlier same day for high school students.

For more information visit:

http://www.vancouveracademyofmusic.com

Architects reimagine future of Vancouver in exhibit

pamelag on December 31, 2015

Your Future Home: Creating the New Vancouver is a timely and provocative exploration of the future of Vancouver as a response to the mounting concern on the changes taking place in the region, shifting the dialogue from real estate to the future state of the city.

Thus, Urbanarium Society in partnership with the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) will bring an exhibition that will feature 20 different scenarios of Vancouver’s future landscape, while engaging the public to discuss four exceptionally pressing issues: housing affordability, residential density, ease of transportation and quality of public space.

The exhibition will take place from Jan. 21 through May 16, 2016 at the MOV. Organizers at the museum expect to welcome a few thousands attending Your Future Home throughout its duration.

Urbanarium is a non-for-profit educational organization, created 30 years ago by architect and planner, Ray Spaxman, who was inspired by a then-newly opened planetarium in Toronto. He envisioned a place where people can gather and have discussions about the future of the city and the region, as well as exhibitions, lectures and workshops, where visitors can learn about design and urban planning.

After some inactivity, in 2013 Spaxman and a group of architects, planners and volunteers — including, renowned Vancouver-based architect Richard Henriquez, chairman of the board of directors– revived Urbanarium. Still a virtual space, Urbanarium’s website was launched a year later.

“This is by far, one of our most ambitious programs yet, along with the debate series,” says Jamaican-born Henriquez in a phone interview. He arrived first in Manitoba as a teenager in the late 1950s, but has called Vancouver home since 1967.

This exhibition aims to expose the city’s issues and “get people thinking about the choices that might have to make in the future as time goes on”.

Henriquez is the founding partner of Henriquez Partners Architects, recipient of numerous accolades, and the creative force behind iconic estructures, such as the Gaslight Square, the New Westminster’s Justice Institute of BC and the Sinclair Centre.

Exhibition

Your future home exhibition will feature a 1,400-square-foot model, a sort of a real estate “sales centre,” advertising new condominiums.

“Except that instead of showing off one building, we are showing off the whole city. (…) It’s a miniature model of Vancouver, ” Henriquez explained.

This model will include photographs, infographics, animations, dramatic models, panoramic images relating to Vancouver’s downtown and suburban neighbourhoods. Visitors will have the opportunity to discuss the future scenarios, offer feedback and propose new solutions.

Image courtesy of Richard Henriquez.

The second part introduces about 20 different scenarios focused on ideas about ways to improves the city in the future. “They have to do with affordability, public open space, transportation and increasing density, which is a big concern for a lot of people.”

Some of the case studies will also include the Arbutus Lands redevelopment, the expansion of the CPR line to Marpole, possible changes in Granville Island, and new ways of heating buildings in the Downtown area and sustainability issues.

One of the future scenarios will feature a 2,500-foot vertical city as a three-dimensional model, a representation of Granville Street turned on end to run vertically, to be displayed in the “Urban Grid.’ It’s a lesson about scale and people’s changing notions of scale over time.

Among the various topics, high sky home prices is certainly the most urgent issue in Vancouver. “There is a lot of pressure from outside people to get housing,” says Henriquez. A foreign investor can buy six or eight apartments at a time – most likely to remain empty.

“Vancouver is like a bank (…) It’s a safe place to park money.” Henriquez says he thinks it’s the federal government’s responsibility to look into this matter.

On a municipal level, the City of Vancouver and developers are working together to create affordable housing in the benefit of low-income individuals. Developers are allowed to build condominiums at a higher density than usual, in exchange the City will get 20% of the suites for free.

From an architectural point of view — although Henriquez doesn’t advocate for it — miniaturization of suites is another option. “In designs with very small spaces, everything is multiuse, so you can shrink the space and still live in.”

Debates

During the exhibition, members of the public will have the chance to participate in six Oxford-style debates among architectural, real estate and urban planning experts, by casting their votes with mobile devices.

The debates will take place at the Robson Square, except for first one to be held at the MOV on January 20th (Free admission by donation –currently sold out), which will focus on densification of neighbourhoods. The debates will be a yearly affair, depending on their success.

For more information visit: MOV’s website.