No Richmond Night Market in BC

Although I've enjoyed the fabulous restos of Richmond, BC, I've never been to the Richmond Night Market.

Well, it's not going to happen this year. According to Target Event, the 2008 Richmond Night Market has been canceled due to the increased cost of leasing their former space and the inability to find a suitable new space.

Plans are in the works for the Richmond Night Market to resurface in 2009, with announcement of a location in October 2008.

In the meantime, there is no shortage of Asian restaurants in Richmond. Oddly enough, when my friend and I were staying at the Best Western Richmond Hotel before flying off to Campbell River the next day, we ended up at an Irish pub just down the street.

It's somewhat of an oxymoron to have an Irish pub in Richmond, but the Foggy Dew Irish Pub was a fun spot to hang out on a summer's eve. Dinner for two, including a bottle of Aussie wine, was only $55.

A window at the Foggy Dew Irish Pub in Richmond, BC
Photo by Sue Frause

Window on Canada : Strange Sign, Indeed

I spotted this sign off the Westminster Highway while staying at the Best Western Richmond Inn.

What is an executive cold beer and wine store, anyway?

Photo by Sue Frause

Victoria's sewage raises a stink in US

Lots of folks in Washington's San Juan Islands are not happy with Victoria's ongoing sewage disposal program.

According to an article by Gordy Peterson of Friday Harbor's Island Examiner titled Supernatural BC, the dumping of sewage by BC's capital city has caused an "international stink."

You can read Peterson's take on the dumping of raw sewage here.

There's also an article in the Times Colonist about the smelly situation.

Victoria as seen from Kenmore Air en route to Seattle
Photo by Sue Frause

Happy Bastille Day!

If I was in Montreal today, Bastille Day, I would book a table at Europea. The lovely restaurant's table d’hôte features a 5-8 course service using fresh Quebec ingredients.

Ooh la la!

Or at least I would go to the acclaimed resto's boutique, located just a few steps from the Notre-Dame Basilica. They have the most scrumptuous little macarons (macaroons in English), with such flavors as double pistachio, lemon + cream and mint with chocolate.

They look like mini-burgers but taste nothing like a Big Mac!

Macarons at 33, Rue Notre Dame O in Montreal
Photo by Sue Frause

Queen Celine wants same as Sir Paul

"A battle over the site for free outdoor concerts on Quebec City's Plains of Abraham by Celine Dion and Paul McCartney appeared settled Monday, as organizers for Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations stuck to their decision to stage Dion's concert in an open field."

You can read the rest of the scintillating story in the Calgary Herald.

Both Celine Dion and Paul McCartney are part of the 400th anniversary celebration of Quebec City this summer.

McCartney performs July 20 and Dion on August 22.

The Plains of Abraham, a popular outdoor concert venue in Quebec City
Photo by Sue Frause

Win Weekend for 2 @ Whistler Music Fest

Fast-track your way to the Whistler Musical Festival by entering Tourism Whistler's VIP Experience Contest.

Here's what you could win:

• Two-day exclusive VIP Passes plus free parking, private entrance, access to Festival Lounge with all-day beverages, premium food service, private restrooms, exclusive viewing platform, commemorative merchandise and more
• Backstage passes to hang out with the stars
• A post-concert dinner at one of Whistler's top restaurants ($150 gift certificate)
• Accommodation for the evenings of July 19-20

The two-day event will be held at the Whistler Blackcomb Tube Park at Base II on Blackcomb Mountain. The festival lineup includes:

• Elvis Costello and The Imposters
• Thievery Corporation
• The Roots
• Broken Social Scene
• Allen Touissant Band
• Robert Randolph & The Family Band
• Meshell Ndegeocello
• Medeski Martin & Wood
• Bedouin Soundclash
• Serena Ryder

The contest ends July 15. Details and rules are at Whistler Music Festival.

Kamloops-Seattle winter flights cancelled

SEATTLE — With fuel prices remaining at record high levels, Horizon Air is cancelling its winter flights to Kamloops, BC. Horizon has provided the flights from Seattle every winter since December 2003.

“Sky high fuel prices. A U.S. economy that’s in the doldrums. In this economic environment, we just couldn’t see how it would be possible to operate these flights profitably this year,” said Dan Russo of Horizon Air.

“I would like to thank the Kamloops Airport, the Kamloops business community and Tourism Sun Peaks for their past support of this service," said Russo.

The Seattle-based airline hopes to resume the flights once economic conditions improve.

The annual Okangan Icewine Festival at Sun Peaks Resort will be held Jan. 13-18, 2009 at Sun Peaks Resort. Photo by Sue Frause.

My Winnipeg : A Canadian Childhood

I held my own movie marathon the other day, and out of the trio (Savage Grace, Diminished Capacity, My Winnipeg), My Winnipeg was the "no question about it" winner. No surprise it took the Best Canadian Film Award at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.

Directed by Guy Maddin, who co-wrote it with George Toles, it's Maddin's personal portrait of his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Maddin grew up at 800 Ellis Street, above Lil's Beauty Shop. "I always wondered what effect growing up above a hair salon had on me," muses Maddin in the film.

Played by Darcy Fehr, also born in Winnipeg, the narration style of the movie is reminiscent of The Wonder Years, a hit TV show of the '80s. The words are much heavier and headier, however:

"We are always lost, befuddled."
"These old, dreamy addresses."
"At school I wreaked of hair product."
"Never underestimate the tenacity of a Winnipeg mother."
"A chunk of home. White. Block house."
"The dreams are sweet back home, but the waking is bitter, bitter, bitter."

The use of old and new footage in black & white is effective -- a few shots of color are interspersed at the end. Maddin longs for the haunts of his childhood, from the familiar department stores now bulldozed down to the Winnipeg Arena, where he spent many hours in the land of blades and ice.

And who knew that Winnipeg had ten times the sleepwalking rate of any other place in the world? Or that it was famous for its "man pageants" back in the day? My Winnipeg is heartwarming, hilarious, somber and soulful. I'll have to ask some Winnipeggers what they think about it.

Fishing in Winnipeg's Red River, with the Provencher Pedestrian Bridge in the background. Photo by Sue Frause.

2010 Olympic Winter Game Stamps

Canada Post has been named an Official Supplier for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

From iconic sports imagery to the Vancouver 2010 mascots — Sumi, Miga, and Quatchi — 2010 Winter Games-themed stamps will decorate Canada’s mail starting in December 2008.

As part of the $3 million Official Supplier partnership, Canada Post will provide mail delivery services within Canada. In addition, Canada Post — as an authorized user of VANOC trademarks — will design, produce and sell more than half a billion 2010 Winter Games-themed stamps and associated philatelic products, including collectors’ packages and special cancellations.

In turn, Canada Post receives sponsorship rights for the Canadian Olympic team for the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Games.

Stamps will be issued to celebrate all three Games.

Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock
Photo by Sue Frause

Canadian double bass player honored

The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal honored Canadian double bassist Dave Young with the 2008 Oscar Peterson Award. He's the 20th artist to receive the award, which was created during the 1989 festival to honour Canadian musicians for the quality of their art and outstanding contributions to jazz in Canada.

Young has collaborated with the greats of jazz, including Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan, Ellis Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Oliver Jones and his friend Oscar Peterson from 1975 to 1995. During the ’60s and ’70s, Young performed in Toronto cabarets, with the Edmonton and Winnipeg Symphony orchestras and with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. His twin careers as a classical musician and jazzman have taken him around the world.

Young will be presented the award by Oscar Peterson’s wife and daughter, Kelly and Celine Peterson, at the closing concert of the Montreal Jazz Festival on July 5.

Musicians honored in the past include Francois Bourassa, Yannick Rieu, Bernard Primeau, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Lorraine Desmarais, Moe Koffman, Charles Biddle, Maynard Ferguson, Guy Nadon, Rob McConnel, Nelson Symonds, Michel DOnato, Paul Bley, Fraser MacPherson, Vic Vogel, UZEB, Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson (pictured above).

Peace Arch Park : Canada/US Border

It's the Fourth of July in the US, our biggest summer holiday of the year. Canadians celebrated Canada Day earlier this week, so as with many things, we have a lot in common.

Whenever I drive to British Columbia, I'm fortunate to pass by the International Peace Arch. OK, I don't feel all that fortunate when the line is horrendously long.

The Peace Arch is located on the international boundary between Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington. One foot of the arch is anchored in Canadian soil and the other in America.

At the top of the monument is inscribed, Children of a Common Mother on the US side. On the Canadian side, Brethren dwelling together in unity.

The Peace Arch represents the longest undefended boundary in the world. It was dedicated in 1921 and is the first monument to be built and dedicated to world peace. It's also one of a few landmarks in the world listed on the National Register of Historic Places of two countries.

Peace Arch International Park
Photo by Sue Frause

BC a very lyrical place to be

A Burnaby, BC based company is making big waves in the website world. MetroLeap Media's flagship site, MetroLyrics, is now the most trafficked lyrics site in the world. Its numbers are impressive. With more than 22 million unique users per month, up from a mere 14 million in December 2007, the site has gone from number three to number one in just six months. It's among the fastest growing sites on the Internet in numerous countries, including Canada, USA, UK and Australia.

In April, MetroLyrics announced an agreement with Gracenote® to adopt Gracenote’s lyrics service, making MetroLyrics the first and only existing lyrics site to provide its users with the largest database of licensed, complete and accurate song lyrics in the world.

Through the agreement, MetroLyrics replaced lyrics submitted by the community with Gracenote’s authorized lyrics to ensure users that artists, songwriters and music publishers are being properly compensated for the use of their copyrighted work. MetroLyrics users are still able to submit lyrics to the site, but they are now put through an accelerated clearance process.

Singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris performs on a Caribbean cruise in February 2008. Photo by Sue Frause.

Window on Canada : Regina

Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan
Photo by Sue Frause

Canada Day : What's it all about?

Being an American, I know what the Fourth of July is all about.

But every year, there it is on my calendar: July 1, Canada Day (Canada).

What's the scoop on this holiday, anyway?

I went straight to Wikipedia, which has a lot of information about the holiday.

I also checked out the Canadian Heritage website:

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1st.The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day.

O Canada!

The Canadian flag at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, BC
Photo by Sue Frause