Vancouver and Lower Mainland, BC

"A hired assassin. A pious and vulnerable girl. A predatory duke. A father’s curse. Terrible things are bound to happen in Verdi’s masterful tragedy, set in a 16th century court." That's Rigoletto , and it is currently onstage at Vancouver Opera in an intriguing new production directed by Glynis Leyshon. The production runs from March 7 -17, and word on the street is it's wild. I wish I were visiting my family right now so that I could drive-up and see it, especially since it boasts a stellar cast, including Donnie Ray Albert . I had the pleasure of performing with Donnie when he ... Read Full Story

It is not wrong to call Burnaby the “Glory of Canada.” Incorporated in 1882 and recognized as a city in 1992, this place serves as a vital gateway of transportation between Vancouver and the Fraser valley. Its ideal location shares most of the credit for its growth. It lies between urban centers of Vancouver and New Westminster. Interior of the province is also accessible through this transportation corridor. Occupying 98.60 square kilometer of land, Burnaby is situated in the center of Greater Vancouver Regional District. City of Vancouver and New Westminster flank Burnaby on the west and east respectively. Burrard Inlet and Fraser River ... Read Full Story

For some time now, the province of British Columbia, Canada, has marketed itself as "The Best Place on Earth."  It's position atop the land of superlatively-branded destinations may now be usurped by New Mexico, whose tourism marketing team has decided to engage in a little one-upmanship. The new tagline?  New Mexico: The Best Place in the Universe. Where to go from here, really?  "The Best Place Even If You Could Travel To Another Dimension?" Normally, I'd be whinging on about copycat branding, but in this case the two brands have obvious differences.  BC plays off its natural splendour and laid-back lifestyle, while New Mexico ... Read Full Story

Olympic Village in Whistler, British Columbia for for the 2010 Winter Olympics on 20 August 2009. Submitted by: mark17 Added: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:17:05 -0700 Read Full Story

[ Xposted : Reading Vancouver ] Last night I was at the October installment of the Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup and - wow, was I impressed! I have been both a participant and an organizer for Meetup in the city since 2004 and the organization has seen both ups and downs. It all started as a simple idea and interface on the Internet. Choose a topic, choose a LOCAL venue then choose a date and time to meet. The cool thing about it was how you were GUARANTEED to meet new and interesting people. My enjoyment always was at the very beginning of the meeting. ... Read Full Story

Big Ben, a herd of African elephants and a likeness of Scott of the Antarctic are some of the giant sculptures transforming a seaside resort today - all made entirely from sand. Dedicated sand-artists are at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset this week recreating the world's best known-landmarks and faces on the famous beach. Twelve experts in the medium are turning 360 tonnes of sand into iconic images from seven continents - including the Empire State Building complete with King Kong. The artists have until Saturday to finish their masterpieces in time for the opening of the Sand Sculpture Festival 2008. Last year's event attracted 30,000 ... Read Full Story

Three other places that my wife and I have visited a few years ago were Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler, B.C., Canada. British Columbia is on the western coast of Canada. The climate of Vancouver is Mediterranean similar to San Francisco, California. Vancouver is about 2 hours drive north of Seattle, Washington and has also a large Filipino-American community. We enjoyed Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth(Sunken Garden) Park and Exotic China Town. Historic Gas Town and the drive along English Bay Drive was great. We took a sunset dinner cruise along Vancouver Harbor passing through English Bay, False Creek, Burrard Inlet and under the Lions Gate ... Read Full Story