2010 Olympics brings civic war to Vancouver?

Have you read the headlines lately in the paper?

"When the International Olympic Committee troops did not pull out of Vancouver after the games, the city should have erupted into civic war..."

Well, I did not see this quote in the paper but I read this disturbing thought when I attended "Reece Terris: The Western Front Front - Another False Front". The exhibition was vibrant.

I learned about this exhibition from the 2010 Cultural Olympiad website:

The Western Front, one of Canada's longest running artist-run arts centres, is
located in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. In an architectural
intervention, artist Reece Terris constructs a temporary false front on top
of the centre’s already existing false front. This work is in keeping with
the idea of architecture as an expression of perceived wealth and culture,
and it emphasizes Vancouver’s long-running upswing in the real-estate market
and subsequent boom economy.

I was even fortunate to attend on a day that there was a symposium called "Learning from Vancouver". I even learned the interesting history and the reason behind the architecture of tht Vanvouver Art Gallery.

Cultural Olympiad: Ginger Goodwin Way Research Image

Vancouver is rich in cultural activities this year. There are many galleries open. One of these galleries is the Or Gallery where I went to the opening of the "Ginger Goodwin Way". The gallery was small and it featured few art pieces but it had a nice video presentation and best of all it was free. If you are interested in labour relations, this would be a good exhibition to attend because its about artists that “take ownership of stories that are in danger of being lost or distorted.”

According to Vancouver 2010:

"In 1918, Albert “Ginger’ Goodwin, a miner and vice president of the British
Columbia Federation of Labour, was avoiding conscription, hiding out in a small
cabin on Vancouver Island’s Forbidden Plateau, when he was killed by a police
constable. His death sparked the first general strike in Canada’s history. Those
are the bare facts, but the story surrounding them is still hotly debated today.

In Ginger Goodwin Way, an exhibition curated by Jesse Birch, outstanding
visual artists wrestle with contested histories, inspired by Goodwin’s plural
and ambiguous life story. Mariana Castillo Deball, a Prix de Rome winner from
Mexico who is based in Amsterdam, Until We Have A Helicopter, the Vancouver duo
of Wes Cameron and Matthew Robertson; and Vancouver-born Michele Di Menna, now based in Frankfurt and Berlin, take ownership of stories that are in danger of
being lost or distorted."

Presented With: Or Gallery, 555 Hamilton St., Vancouver (604)683-7395
When: 1/30/2010 to 3/06/2010
Tuesday to Saturday, Noon to 5:00 pm

What the V?

I walked around downtown and noticed so much activity going on. I was surprised to see that Vancouver's waterfront has been blocked by a fence and decorated with Olympic themed material. Why was I surprised? Well, this is one of my favorite parts of Vancouver and now that it is being blocked, I think alot of people visiting the city will miss out on seeing the beautiful view from the area around Canada Place and the Convention Centre. On the positive side, the material looks fabulous.


It seems the new Fairmont Hotel is almost complete and it's ooking great.


The Olympic signage is also becoming more apparent. Olympic bus routes and maps are popping up. I think signage is essential for the success of the Olympics.

Lastly, late into the evening I noticed an artistic demonstration in a window on Seymour Street between Pender and Dunsmuir. I am uncertain who was hosting this item or if it was part of the Cultural Olympiad but it was looping and really caught my attention. All these changes are making Vancouver a more exciting place to live.

2010 Olympic city gets a new amazing video

Downtown Vancouver, Lion's Gate Bridge, Granville Island, False Creek, Second Beach, Gastown, Canada Place, BC Place, Harbour Tower, Cambie Bridge and Science World are just some of the attractions the world will see during the Olympics but why wait...you can see all these things in this amazing video from TimeLapseHD.

Oh Canada ... the red and white flag, keep it high, keep it visual !

A few days I wrote about how the Olympics inspires great music while searching for the "Official Olympic Song". As the 2010 Vancouver Olympics get closer, the Canadian in me can't wait to cheer the home team to gold.

If you need more inspiration check out Classified's tribute Oh ... Canada:


Or listen to Julia Bentley and Andrew Gunadie's Canadian, Please!

Light up the world

The Cultural Olympiad began today and I headed out to Lunarfest on Granville where you could find 2,010 lanterns. It's a bright public art display designed by schoolchildren, Aboriginal creators and professional artists from Taiwan and Canada. It was a beautiful site.

Before

After







The display will remain until February 28, 2010 and anyone can bring their own lantern on February 13, 2010, the day after the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

You look good....are you new?

Vancouver just got a little bit greener ... sort of. The much anticipated Olympic Line opened today just outside of the Canada Line Olympic Village station. The last time Vancouver had a functioning streetcar was 1958. The trams will operate 18 hours a day, seven days a week during the Olympic and Paralympic period between Granville Island and the Vancouver Athletes Village.

I first talked about the Bombardier "Flexity" light rail trams in October and could not wait to ride them at that time. Today I was one of the first Vancouverites to get the chance to do so.

Athletes signed autographs on mini-streetcars. The Olympic Mascots (Quatchi, Sumi, Miga)
showed up and got the crowd excited.
There were also performers.
City staff were there too. They counted people
for each ride and distributed certificates.
By the way,
did you know that 170 people fit per ride?
and that each ride takes only 6 minutes.

I was 130th in line.
However the story does not end there.
I could not believe how many reporters
were at the opening.
However, what really impressed me the most was the quality.
Leather handles and chairs + great design.
I am certain the old ones looked nothing like the Flexity.
At the end of the ride,
I was very pleased
by the experience.

I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

Olympics inspire Great Music

Music is great. It brings people of different races, classes, sexes and cultures from around the world together. Music can ease struggles and even move mountains. Sometimes a song can trigger many memories about a specific moment in our lives so I thought it would great to look into the official song of the 2010 Olympics. I started by going to Vanoc's site which led me to Youtube where I found myself watching great videos from VANOCwebteam. One of the best videos was "Celebrate the Possible".



Although there were various videos with music in the background, unfortunately I did not find an "official song" . However, the search triggered a flashback to 1988 and I remembered David Foster's Winter Games song when the Olympic Flame was in Calgary. I searched for his video on youtube and could not find "an original" video for the song but found cinupina had recreated it.



It was great to hear this song again however my quest to find the "official song" was not done. So I kept searching and found other great videos. NBC has a good video featuring our American cousins to the south which I found touching:


the song in the video is from Matisyahu featuring Akon, who released his single on itunes this month.

I also found some local Vancouver talent.


The National Arts Centre Orchestra and Suzie's McNeil's Olympic Inspired Version of Believe great!

I think this inspired song is the "official version".

Go West...Go North...It's all good!

What a beautiful day. There was so much activity today. The Art Gallery was being covered up by large mural paintings, the TD Tower was being plastered with a Samsung Olympic advertisement and if you stopped to observe, you could see the buds in trees begin to bloom.

The highlight of the day came when I visited Canada Northern House at 602 West Pender. I was pleasantly surprised by all the displays that showed off what Canada's North (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) has to offer. From mining, to arts & culture, to adventures, our nation's most remote places has great history and opportunities. I even made my own inukshuk, sent my family a digital postcard and stared a wolf in the eyes. I am certain it will be a hit with Olympic tourists.

BC Just Keeps Looking Better!

Michael J. Fox, Ryan Reynolds, Erick McCormack, Kim Cattrall, Steve Nash, and Sarah McLachlan all star in a small clip to promote British Columbia called "You Gotta Be Here in 2010"... Just in time for the Olympics.

Can't wait to hear the sweet words...He shoots, he scores!

I recently came across a coca-cola ad, called "He shoots, he scores" and found it hit the right vibe what Canada expects from its athletes at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Coca-Cola, an official sponsor of the Olympics, always has great ads. This one is no exception.

Tragedy affects us all.

My heart goes out to all the people in Haiti who experienced the tragedy of the earthquake. The government announced they are matching funds and below you will find LEGIT ways you can help by instantly donating using your cell phone:

Wyclef Jean's Organization
http://www.yele.org/
$5 text Yele to 501501 to donate.

Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/
$10 text "Haiti" to 90999.

Olympic Tickets!!!

After waiting for what seems forever, I finally received my first order of 2010 Olympic tickets.
I carefully opened my Purolator envelop to find:

a letter
+

an official spectator guide+
another envelop

which had my tickets to:
The Opening Ceremonies
+
Snowboarding
+
Victory Ceremonies
+
hockey
=
FUN!!!!

I was really impressed by the quality of the tickets. Vanoc has done a great job to create a strong brand for the 2010 Olympics. I can't wait until I receive more tickets.

Back and just in time...thirty-one days to the Olympics

While in Vancouver for the Peace Summit, the Dalai Lama expressed concerns that technology may be getting in the way of peace so I started using less technology to understand his view. However, as more of my family and friends embrace technology to stay connected using Facebook, Skype and other communication tools, I think technology can help us understand each other better and will begin to blog on a more regular basis.

So I'm back and just in time to celebrate the Olympics. With only 31 days left for Vancouver welcomes the 2010 Olympic Games, my excitement is building. This morning I was listening to Bill Good on CKNW online where it seems the buzz is increasing. As the torch travels the country, Vancouverites have seen Olympic banners and signs decorate the streets. Also, buildings, such as the Bay, have embraced the "look" and "spirit" of the Olympics which look great. There have been great events hosted at Robson Square getting people in the mood to celebrate. In addition, I have started to book my calendar with Cultural Olympiad 2010 which officially starts in 10 days and plan to travel on the "Olympic Line". This is a once in a lifetime event for Vancouver. Let's experience the Games!