The Drive Dance Centre Opens September 10th!

Garden Tours Happening Today

These tours of private gardens are sure to give you ideas and inspiration

Steve Whysall, Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, June 15, 2007

If you haven't done one yet, how about going on a private garden tour this weekend or next? June is the perfect month to visit gardens when roses and clematis and many of the best perennials are in full flower.

It can be fun to see how other gardeners do things. And you can pick up a lot of practical ideas for your own garden.

What I like most about private garden tours is that they allow me to see how the same plant performs differently in different locations.

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Liam plays on the swing while parents Ian McSorley and Kelly Brooks and sister Hannah (right) enjoy the rest of the garden, part of the Eastside Garden Tour.

Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun

Sometimes a tree is grown as a shrub, sometimes a shrub is grown as a tree. Some plants that we are told only thrive in the shade can be found to be flourishing perfectly in full sun.

Others that you'd think would only flower in bright sun can be found blooming their heads off in dappled shade. It's a lesson in the quirkiness and diversity of horticulture.

Visiting other people's gardens is a great way to get a better understanding of how plants can be used in different locations.

And it is also amazing to see how clever and creative gardeners have been in their use of containers, growing all sorts of perennials and shrubs in combination with flowering bulbs and tender annuals: phormiums with spirea, columbines with pineapple lilies, hostas and hydrangeas.

Ten private gardens will be open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the annual Eastside Garden Tour.

These gardens are all located within walking distance of Commercial Drive, making strolling or riding a bike viable options for getting around.

Tickets are $10 from Figaro's Garden store, 1896 Victoria Drive (604-253-1696). Proceeds from the tour go to support the "greening of public spaces."

Read the full story here...

Picture of the Day by Peter Valentine

Selling Candy and Flowers on the Big Day

Words and images taken with permission from Susan's Super Citizen Showcase

“When you’ve got three or four of us working here behind the counter all at once and we’re all stepping all over each other, then you know it’s as busy as we were hoping it would be,” says Georgia Temple with a laugh, as she ties a bow on a box of delicious hand made treasures at Dutch Girl Chocolates at 1002 Commercial Drive in Vancouver, Canada. “It’s been really crazy. Yesterday in the evening was a lot worse actually – now today it’s all the last-minute people.”

Crazy, yes – in a good way, if you’re a retailer. According to a new study conducted for the Retail Council of Canada by POLLARA, 54 percent of a sample of Canadians intend to give candy and chocolates to their loved ones. Of the 1,885 people surveyed, the majority of 84 percent plan to give a Valentine's Day gift to their spouse/partner. Giving gifts to other family members, including children, is also very popular at 43 percent.

Interestingly, it is reported that B.C. residents are least likely to give gifts – with only 44 percent intending to buy. (I imagine the other 56 percent saying they express love throughout the year and don’t need a “special day” for doing so.)

Up the street at the flowerbox (1704 Charles) a cluster of people are packed in amidst a rainbow of flowers poking their luscious heads out of their white plastic buckets.

Read more of this story...

Susan's professional page:
http://www.mainwriter.com/

Event: Car-Free Day Planning Meeting

On Thursday Feb 15 at 8pm, we will have the kickoff all-organizers meeting for Car-Free Drive Days 2007. It'll take place in the Common Room at 1707 Charles St. (the Turks building on the Drive, around the side throiugh the gate). If you may be interested in taking an organizing role for this summer's Drive Days, we'd love it if you could attend.

We are looking at up to THREE Car-Free Drive Days this summer, in June, July and August. The City is behind us on this, and it's a very positive move. The ultimate aim is to turn the Fests over to the people, and spread out the "programming" so effort does not need to increase drastically. Still and all, it's going to require lots of hands and minds and hearts to bring this off, and if last year's effort is any indicator...we have those, and our work/play force is growing exponentially.

With climate change the buzz everywhere, Car-Free Drive Days are the perfect opportunity to get everyone locally involved in changing the climate for the better. And awareness around the Gateway Project has also suddenly skyrocketed, so no doubt we will be bringing that issue way into the forefront and showing the City what a car-free street can offer, as opposed to a traffic-ridden thoroughfare.

It's all very exciting, and we are stoked to re-create The Drive yet again as the paradise we know is possible.

RSVP if you can.

Music - Hip Hop Night

HIP HOP

COMMERCIAL DRIVE

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION

HOUSE OF HIP-HOP

6^TH & COMMERCIAL

STARTING FEBRUARY 23^RD - 7pm to 10pm

OPEN MIC JAM SESSION

www.calypsohutbc.com

Music - Trinidad Carnival Friday Night Fete

Friday February 16 at the Canadian Legion

Commercial Drive & 6^th Avenue

Steelband music, 3 DJs’, Limbo floorshow

Carnival costumes, Caribbean food, bar services, 50/50 draw

Doors: 8pm. Tickets advance $15.00, at the door $20.00

Ticketmaster 280-4444 – Zulu, Highlife, Abantu,

Caribbean Market, Piassa Hair Style, Small World, Simply Roti.

www.calypsohutbc.com - Calendar of events 24/7

Lifestyle - Eating Well on Practically Nothing

by Joni Miller

Exclusive to Commercial Drive – Live!

This column will be about eating fresh, eating simply, eating tasty, and eating SOON. If you are looking for recipes that require a lot of fussing and preparation, fancy tablecloths, the correct fork, expensive ingredients, 20-year-old wine, etc. - go elsewhere.

I will shamelessly promote local stores that provide great produce and good value for your money.

If in doubt, I'll consult outside experts - fellow cheapskates who live well and contribute to society through their eccentricity, cooking, and art.

Influences:

The greatest influences on my style of cooking include my mother, James Barber (author of the Urban Peasant cookbooks) and a long-haired guy named Michael I knew when I was 19. My mother gets credit for teaching me you can keep your recipes in your head, and make something tasty with whatever you can find in your kitchen; James Barber for the phrase "peasant cooking" and the advice to follow your nose - (when something smells different, it's time to check the stove); Michael for introducing me to the art of the stir fry.

Hint One: If you want to eat well for cheap, live near Commercial Drive!

I've shopped for groceries all over BC, and I've gotta tell you - the freshest and cheapest produce in BC can be found on the Drive. I live part time in the Okanagan - where they GROW the stuff, by the way. Before I head out to the Interior, I regularly go shopping at Santa Barbara, and take a cooler full of vegetables back to where they came from. A bunch of fresh spinach that I can get for $.59 on Commercial Drive will cost me $1.79 in Salmon Arm. Go figure.

My Essential Ingredients

I cannot cook without:

garlic

onions

vegetable oil (preferably extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil)

soya sauce

chili peppers

black pepper

Essential Tools

cast iron frying pan

cutting board

knives

knife sharpener

wooden spoons

mixing bowl

various size pots

casserole dish

baking pan

colander

Hint Two: Get the good, thick steel pots. If you're flush, buy them new, if you're not, haunt garage sales, second hand stores, or get them off your grandmother when she moves into the seniors residence. I got mine at a flea market in the West End Community Centre - a 6-piece set in an array of sizes. It cost me $ 40 (and that was the moment when I knew for sure I would never have to get married). The cheaper, thinner pots will burn your dinner the minute you turn away to put on some music or answer the phone. The good pots will be with you for a lifetime.

BTW - don't skimp on the cast iron frying pan. I advise buying a big one - unless you have no friends, of course. Teflon flakes off and ends up in your system, where it will do more damage than trans fats. Aluminum burns your dinner and has been suspected of contributing to Alzheimer's disease. You want to protect your brain at all costs. So - get the cast iron.

Okay, this is lesson one. Go shopping for equipment and I'll be back soon with some mouth watering recipes. While you're out scouring for pots, stop by the Dollar Grocer's at 6th and Commercial, and pick up some of their bulk garlic. At 33 cents per 100 grams, it's the freshest and best deal on garlic the Drive has to offer. Unless someone knows of a better place....

Joni Miller is a writer, musician, graphic designer, fund raiser, mother of two. She is the author of a forthcoming book entitled "The Starving Student’s Guide to Eating Well on Practically Nothing". As a lifetime freelancer, mother and travelling musician, she is well versed in the art of living on nothing.

http://members.shaw.ca/laughingwillow

http://members.shaw.ca/millereastman

Visual Art: City Blocks by Martha Jones

Upcoming: Twisted Poets Literary Salon

Monday Feb 19, 2007

Katherine McNeil and Jeremy Waller featured @
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON

"Bump N Grind" with poets and guest speakers. Bring your best, favourite, newest or oldest poems and share in an evening of literary surprises.
Time: 7pm Sign Up, 7:30pm Open Mic & Literary Salon
2007 Guests:
February 19th: Katherine McNeil and Jeremy Waller

March 19th: Louie Adell, Jacqueline A. Colquhoun, Kath Street, Adrian

April 16th (National Poetry Month): Evelyn Lau

May - Nov: Names/groups will be announced at a later date.
Location: The Bump N Grind Cafe, 916 Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC
Hosts: Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni (Pandora's Collective)
Contact: blnish_pandoras@yahoo.ca

A Brief History of Commercial Drive

From Wikipaedia
Photo by Mussels

The Drive was originally a skid road for dragging logs to the harbour. It was named "Park Drive" but renamed "Commercial Drive" in 1911, possibly to avoid confusion with other Park Drives in Vancouver. Commercial Drive ends in the south at 16th Avenue, the former end of Vancouver/start of City of South Vancouver, when it does a diversion to Victoria Drive. A limited light industrial Commercial Street carries on to 22nd Avenue, and around the Selkirk school there, until 54th Avenue as a residential street.

In 1891 the Drive became part of the Vancouver-New Westminster Interurban, a streetcar line. The streetcar line encouraged the growth of local businesses and residences, an influence that is still felt today. The Interurban ceased operation in 1954.

After World War I many Italian immigrants settled in eastern Vancouver, and the northern part of Commercial Drive came to be known as "Little Italy".

Commercial Drive was the center of a prosperous suburb during the 1920s, but declined during the Great Depression and never significantly recovered until World War II. One result of this is a significant number of historical buildings and residences in the area.

During the 1960s, immigration from Asian countries began to dilute the European influence.

In the years around 2000, local outlets of multi-national companies became the target of anti-globalization protesters and civil disobedience campaigns. As of 2005, there are still very few large retail or restaurant chains on Commercial Drive.

In 2002, many restaurant owners were upset with the infamous "dancing police"; bylaw enforcement officers who ticketed establishments hosting any dancing to live music.

In late 2004, Commercial Drive gained national notoriety when the media revealed that several cafes there were openly selling marijuana. The issue has publicised the city's lack of enforcement of Canadian drug laws, and demonstrated a commitment to its stated "Four Pillars" drug strategy.

In early summer 2005, Commercial Drive hosted its first car-free festival, in which 16 blocks were cleared of all vehicles and tens of thousands of people celebrated with walks, dancing, and food.

Take me to the full Wikipaedia entry...

Profile: Britannia Art Gallery

The Britannia Art Gallery showcases the work of local artists in the newly renovated space in the Adult Lounge of the Library at Britannia Community Services Centre at 1661 Napier Street (at Commercial Drive) in Vancouver. Each month we show 2-dimensional work on the walls and 3-dimensional work in the display case. Interested community members are invited to attend an opening reception on the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Artists are usually in attendance making openings a great opportunity to talk to artists about their work. Openings are free and the public is welcome to attend. Catering by Open Sesame (with artistic flare inspired by each new exhibition's theme!) Watch for the posters!
CURATOR - Call Haruko Okano at 604-874-5916 or leave a message at 604-718-5800 or email Haruko at harokano@telus.net

See the the Wednesday, January 10th post (Visual Art) for current exhibits.
Upcoming Exhibits:
Feb 7 - Mar 4, 2007
Home is a Scattering of Wings Across the Sky, photographs by Danielle Gauld
City Blocks, installation by Martha Jones
Opening Reception: Wed, Feb 7, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Live performance by Jimmim Pan at 7:00 pm, Artist talks at 7:30 pm

MARCH
Mar 7 - Mar 31, 2007
Figurative Paintings by Stanley Mishkin
Figurative Sculptures by David Robinson
Opening Reception: Wed, Mar 7, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Live performance by Glen Watts at 7:00 pm, Artist talks at 7:30 pm

SECOND SUNDAY ARTIST TALKS
The Second Sunday Program offers a public opportunity to hear artists give presentations, demonstrations and workshops. These events happen on the second Sunday of the month year 'round except when the gallery is closed for statutory holidays. Free to the public. Next talks:
Jan 14, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, presentation by Danielle Gauld
Danielle Gauld's work, entitled "home is a scattering of wings across the sky..." will be exhibited from February 7th to March 3rd in the Britannia Gallery. In this talk, she will speak about the changes that have occurred in her photography since she moved to Vancouver two years ago. She came from a small town in Northwestern Ontario, trading the vast, sweeping expanses of water, trees and sky for the small, vivid moments of nature and beauty that make East Vancouver such a compelling place to live and work. Participants will have an opportunity to interact with the photographs and help shape the exhibition.
Jan 14, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, presentation by Danielle Gauld
Feb 11, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, presentation by Martha Jones
Mar 11, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, presentation by Stanley Mishkin


THE ARTERY NEWSLETTER
For those people interested in subscribing to the Artery newsletter for exhibition announcements, courses offered by the artists, special events featuring the artists and the Gallery's activities, please send your name and email address to: harokano@telus.net or you can sign up on the sign-up sheet in the Gallery (1661 Napier St. in the library). The email newsletter is produced and distributed twice monthly.
Note: The Artery now has guidelines for submitting information:
The Artery newsletter is primarily focused on supplying information to artist and art patrons on Vancouver's east side where the second highest density of artists in Canada live and/or work. The newsletter mandate is to support and promote the artists who live or have a studio within Britannia Centre's catchment area. Support takes the form of exhibition announcements, courses offered by the artists, special events featuring the artists. the Artery also supports and promotes the Gallery's activities to the general population in the catchment's area. Submissions can be sent by email to: harokano@telus.net or leave the information in the Gallery's in-box at the Britannia Information Centre (1661 Napier St., Vancouver, BC).
DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSIONS:
For events happening in the first half of the month you must submit information 7 days before the end of the previous month. For events happening in the last of the month, you must submit information by the 7th of that month. Please use the following format:
- Title of Event
- Name of artist(s)
- Dates/times
- Hours of access
- Contact information
- jpeg image resolution 72 ppi (optional)
- Description (maximum 25-50 words) optional
Submissions that do not follow the criteria are less likely to be accepted due to the growing amount of information submitted.
NOTE: The e-mail version of the Artery newsletter is in a simpler format than a hardcopy.