Vancouver Magazine, September/October 2019 by Canada Wide Media

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

$5.99

THE STYLE ISSUE

Hot fall trends, looks we love and the return of our Best Dressed list

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The ARC: Beautiful and Smart

A complete package, Concord Pacificâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest development combines architecture and livability.

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The ARC: Beautiful and Smart A complete package, Concord Pacific’s latest development combines architecture and livability. LOOK UP, WAAAY UP: Vancouver is now home to the highest glass-bottom swimming pool in Canada, suspended 200 feet above the ground. The stunning space anchors the ARC Vancouver, a new residential project that harmonizes ground-breaking architecture with superior livability—smart and beautiful suites for discerning homeowners. The ARC’s unparalleled sky-high amenity is more than an architectural marvel, however. It’s also the nexus point of community in the heart of Vancouver. Peter Webb, Senior Vice President of Development at Concord Pacific, explains that the ARC heralds a new era for architecture and livability.

“It’s not just architecture for architecture’s sake or aesthetic,” Webb says. “We believe architecture is capable of enhancing livability. As we were searching with Walter Francl for something provocative and innovative, it became clear that it made sense to connect the two buildings at the top so people from each can meet each other there. “Community is created through connection,” he adds. “A patio and terraced with a view over the city and a pool you can see through to the public plaza below are going to draw people together. And the pool is an aesthetic playground: it really brings out the child in everyone.” Some buildings sacrifice livability for

design, or vice versa. The ARC Vancouver, on the other hand, is the complete package, offering smart homes that are as comfortable and efficient as the architecture is eye-catching. Luxurious suites are designed in such a way as to maximize light, space, privacy, and energy efficiency. Progressive features include a touchless auto car wash, 100-percent EV parking, and the 20th-storey Sky Gym and Sky Spa. A feat of engineering, the 38-footlong glass-bottom reveal on the 40 foot pool on the 20th level connects the two 30-storey residential towers. There’s nothing like this amenity for homeowners anywhere else in the country, the nearly

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completed project being the most bold and exciting gateway to downtown Vancouver from the Cambie Street Bridge. The span that carries the pool and all of the homes above it supports the weight of approximately 1,650 cars. With a six-inch thick acrylic glass bottom, the pool is also the most expensive price per square foot condo amenity ever built in Canada. Only three companies in the world make this type of pool bottom, with just one located in North America, Colorado’s Reynolds Polymer Technology Inc.

“It’s not just architecture for architecture’s sake or aesthetic. We believe architecture is capable of enhancing livability.” — Peter Webb “The precarious and challenging pool installation only made our job more interesting as we had to store the solid acrylic panel among the construction while the building was being completed, and lower the panel into place once construction was finished,” says Mark Johnson with Reynolds Polymer. “The ARC’s extraordinary design continues throughout the entire building, and manufacturing a piece of acrylic that realizes its beauty is always an honour for our engineers.” Beyond the pool is the Sky Lounge, a stunning space for homeowners to relax and entertain. With floor-to-ceiling windows, it opens up to a 270-degree outdoor patio deck offering spectacular skyline and water views. The Sky Gym and Sky Spa are also on this level. Gracing the ceiling above the glass-bottom pool is an Ode to Canada

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maple-leaf mosaic backlit in shades of red, orange, and gold designed by LIV Interiors. At night, it can be seen from blocks away, with a lantern-like glow. Natural elements like wind and shoreline inspired the ARC’s striking wavy exterior. “The ARC responds to its unique site and vibrant urban context by its organic shape and undulating façade,” says Walter Francl, principal at Francl Architecture. “The perspectives vary as you approach the site, making the ARC a very animated and unique development in this dynamic part of downtown Vancouver.”

Situated across from One Pacific, Concord Pacific’s sister property—which also features an organic, curved façade and a cantilevered glass swimming pool—the nearly completed project is a bold response to the city’s gateway to downtown Vancouver from the Cambie Street Bridge. There are 560 homes in the ARC, with a limited number of residences remaining. For more information, call 604-899-8800 or visit arcvancouver.com For more information, please visit concordpacific.com

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COVER ILLUSTRATION: JENNIFER TAPIAS DERCH; LUCY YUN: CLINTON HUSSE Y

VA N M AG .C O M

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Turns out we’re not just a city of yoga-pants-wearing slobs. Fashion inspo from our favourite tastemakers starts on page 31.

FE ATURES

Vancouver’s Best Dressed List 2019 Meet your new fashion icons: five Vancouverites making a serious sartorial statement.

Autumn Rising Leopard everything, slouchy suits and more hot fashion trends for a cool new season of style.

City

COVER ILLUSTRATION: JENNIFER TAPIAS DERCH; LUCY YUN: CLINTON HUSSE Y

19 At Issue Vancouver’s doctor drought; contract beer makers brew up some trouble.

26 What It’s Like To A sugar baby gives us the inside scoop. 28 City Informer Why did Vancouver have a Jimi Hendrix shrine?

Culture

60 48

44 Travel Head out on a very different kind of safari right here in B.C.

52 The Ticket Indigenous drag, disco dumplings and more fun for your calendar.

47 On the Rise Okoko’s all-natural skin-care line shines.

56 Reviews Can new modernGreek restaurant Hydra live up to its own hype?

48 Lucy Loves Stylish rain gear that pairs fashion with function. 50 Modern Family Strumming along with Vancouver’s ukulele club.

60 The Dish Reinvigorating our love affair with fresh pasta. 62 Sometime in Vancouver Photographer Grant Harder captures a slice of city life.

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Publisher Samantha Legge Editorial Director Anicka Quin Creative Director Catherine Mullaly Executive Editor Stacey McLachlan Food Editor Neal McLennan Associate Art Director Jenny Reed Style Editor Lucy Lau Associate Editor Nathan Caddell Videographer Mark Philps Contributing Editors Frances Bula, Amanda Ross Editorial Interns Jusneel Mahal, Shelley Mason Editorial Email mail@vanmag.com Sales Manager Gabriella Sepúlveda Knuth Account Managers Johnny Alviar, Matty Lambert, Michelle Rickards, Nicholas Stanley Online Coordinator Theresa Tran Production Manager Kristina Borys Advertising Designer Amanda Siegmann Sales, Marketing and Events Coordinator Alexandra Day Sales Email gsepulveda@canadawide.com National Media Sales Gabriella Sepúlveda Knuth Email gsepulveda@canadawide.com U.S. Sales Representation, Hayes Media Sales Lesley Hayes, 602-432-4868 Email lesley@hayesmediasales.com European Sales Representation, S&R Media Sylvie Durlach, +33 1 44 18 06 62 Email srmedia@club-internet.fr

Suite 230, 4321 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6S7 Tel 604-299-7311 Fax 604-299-9188 Chairman and CEO Peter Legge, OBC, LLD (HON) President Samantha Legge, MBA Senior VP of Integration Brad Liski VP of Content Marketing Ryan McKenzie VP of Digital Kevin Hinton VP of HR/Admin Joy Ginete-Cockle VP of Finance Sonia Roxburgh, CPA, CGA VP of Innovation and Growth Jennifer Smith Executive Creative Director Rick Thibert Director of Editorial Michael McCullough Director of Production Kim McLane Director of Circulation Tracy McRitchie Director of Sales Brianne Harper Head of Brand Partnerships Johnny Alviar Marketing Lead Chris Hinton Systems Administrator Brian Fakhraie Accounting Terri Mason, Eileen Gajowski Circulation Katie Gajowski, Rhiannon Jones, Kelly Kalirai, Lori North

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VANCOUVER MAGAZINE is published six times a year by Canada Wide Media Limited, Suite 230, 4321 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6S7. Phone 604-2997311; fax 604-299-9188. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission. Not responsible for unsolicited editorial material. Privacy Policy: On occasion, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened organizations whose product or service might interest you. If you prefer that we not share your name and address (postal and/ or email), you can easily remove your name from our mailing lists by reaching us at any of the listed contact points. You can review our complete Privacy Policy at Vanmag.com. Indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia Ltd. and also in the Canadian Periodical Index. International standard serial no. ISSN 0380-9552. Canadian publications mail product sales agreement #40068973. Printed in Canada by Transcontinental Printing G.P. (LGM Graphics), 737 Moray St., Winnipeg, Man. R3J 3S9. All reproduction requests must be made to: COPIBEC (paper reproductions) 800-717-2022, or CEDROM-SNi (electronic reproductions) 800-563-5665. Distributed by Coast to Coast Ltd.

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In Her Fashion we’ve been regularly joking in our weekly editorial meetings that this month’s Style Issue should actually be titled “The Lucy Issue.” It’s our annual look at fashion and design in this city, when we highlight both the people and the designs that shake off Vancouver’s (I say undeserved) slob-city reputation. And you’ll find the fingerprints of our style editor, Lucy Lau, all over these pages. She sleuthed out the five style icons who grace our Best Dressed List for 2019, from a self-described “femme-of-centre utilitarian witch” to an interior designer whose latest splurge was a dusty-rose wool gabardine Dries Van Noten coat that was featured in an exhibition at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs. She shares her finds for fall’s hottest fashion trends (page 39), and despite the fact that, as I write this, we’ve just come out of a heat wave, I can’t wait to wrap myself in one of the giant scarves she’s predicting will be huge (no pun intended) once the weather turns. She profiles cosmetics genius Oyéta Kokoroko of Okoko Cosmétiques (“On the Rise,” page 47), and she also manages to track down glam rain gear in a category that’s legendarily unstylish (“Lucy Loves,” page 48). And, lest you think that fashion and style are her only bag, she also tackles our lead story (“Who Let the Docs Out?”) about the city’s critical doctor shortage. (She’s just that good.) If you’re one of the 121,000 Vancouverites without a primarycare physician (a number that’s climbing, the evidence for which can be found in your Facebook feed, which is likely full of friends pleading for an opening in a clinic), you’ll want to read more about why we’re in this state (page 19). Sadly for all of us here at VanMag, Lucy’s headed to Toronto this month to start a new adventure: she’ll be exploring the world of broadcast journalism at Humber College. We miss her already, so I’ll just have to console myself by wrapping up in one of those big cozy scarves in her honour.

Coming Up Next Issue The Power List Who’s up? Who’s down? Who’s making the list for the first time? It’s our annual look at who runs this city, from the politicians at the top to the activists keeping them in check and the business leaders making it rain, to the health workers on the front line. Discover who’s moving the dial in Vancouver.

Do Crosswalk Buttons Actually Do Anything? Our City Informer gets to the root of your biggest questions, like, Where does laundered money go? And, Can you own a private piece of the beach? And next month, How many times should I push that crosswalk button?! (Deep dives here, people.)

On the Web On Lucy’s last day, we honoured her with a personalized magazine cover from our sister publication, Western Living.

Follow me on Instagram!

Anicka Quin editorial director

aquin @ canadawide . com

@ aniqua

What’s the Toughest Restaurant Reservation? A very scientific experiment: which restaurants are always booked?

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E VA L I N A B E A U T Y. C O M C R U E LT Y A N D PA R A B E N F R E E

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T E A R S OV E R B E E R S / S U G A R B A BY T E L L-A L L / H E N D R I X H I S TO R Y

VA N M AG .C O M/C I T Y

City

Who Let the Docs Out?

A shortage of GPs in the province has left Vancouverites desperate for a little medical attention. by

Lucy Lau

illustration by

Cynthia Vo

vancouver-based publicist Carine Redmond suffered a stress fracture in her foot in November 2018, an injury that impacted her day-today life to such a degree that, before it was diagnosed, she was offered the use of a wheelchair at Palm Springs International Airport when visiting that city one weekend. But without a family doctor—a circumstance that forces her to rely on walk-in clinics—she didn’t know it was a broken bone she was dealing with until almost a month after the pain started. “I went to five different clinics and no one would give me an X-ray,” she says. “So I had a broken foot for weeks until I begged someone—as a favour—to get me an appointment with their podiatrist.” Redmond says her complaints were rebuffed by physicians at the walk-in clinics she visited because they were unfamiliar with her medical history. She believes that with the continuing care of a family doctor, her broken foot would’ve been identified and addressed much earlier than it was. Redmond’s primary care physician, whom she had been seeing for five years, closed her practice in 2015, and she’s been without a family doctor since. And not for a lack of effort: Redmond says she has been placed on multiple wait-lists for a family doctor in

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City AT I S S U E Vancouver but has so far had no luck being accepted because so many practices are simply at capacity. It’s an increasingly common reality for Vancouverites. According to the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, 121,000 people in Vancouver are “unattached,” meaning they do not have a primary care physician. (In B.C., 18.2 percent of the population was unattached in 2017, the most recent date that this data is available from Statistics Canada.) And if you’ve missed the news headlines in recent years that detail long patient wait-lists and a seeming shortage of doctors in the city, a quick search of the words “family doctor” on Vancouver’s subreddit reveals just how dire the situation is, with a majority of the 100-plus resulting posts in the online community titled some variation of “How the hell do I get a family doctor here?” So why is it so difficult to secure a family doctor in Vancouver? And why does it seem like the demand for primary care physicians is rapidly outpacing supply? It depends on who you ask. For Dr. Rita McCracken, a family physician and assistant professor in UBC’s faculty of medicine who’s done extensive research on community-based primary care in B.C., the answer has more to do with structural challenges than with numbers. “Right now, almost all family doctor services in B.C. operate as individual businesses, where the doctor is required to provide all the services of running a business in addition to providing primary care,” she explains. “But that’s no longer what doctors are looking for.” McCracken says that her study found that the fee-for-service model that many of the province’s primary care facilities operate under, which sees family doctors remunerated for each service they provide—rather than for their time—and requires them to pay costly overhead expens-

es as small-business owners running their own practices, has become less attractive to many established and new primary care physicians. In a 2016 survey of 188 community-based primary care physicians in Vancouver and a 2018 study of 525 physicians in B.C., McCracken and her team found that 45 percent of participants would prefer to be an employee of a clinic rather than a business owner. Forty-nine percent of participants said they believe that an alternative payment model, such as capitation or salary, would make it easier for family doctors to provide longitudinal primary care, while

Many familymedicine grads are forgoing the familydoctor route and opting for careers as hospitalists or in spaces like palliative care or emergency rooms. 76 percent agreed that changes need to be made in the way that primary care is delivered in B.C. McCracken says that she began noticing this shift in 2012, when she helped conduct a survey about how family-medicine grads in the region would like to provide primary care. She found that many were “describing a work environment that was very different from the current work environment that we are offering family doctors.” As a result, many family-medicine grads are forgoing the familydoctor route and opting for careers as hospitalists or in spaces like palliative care or emergency rooms, which employ doctors under contracts that outline a predetermined salary and benefits paid in exchange

for a specific set of services. (In other words, a work agreement that “most Canadians are looking for,” says McCracken.) Other young doctors are choosing to split their time between walk-in clinics and health authority–run services that provide care for those with substance abuse issues, for example—an arrangement that offers physicians a better work-life balance. This lack of doctors who are willing to operate their own community-based practice puts pressure on existing primary care physicians to work longer hours and see more patients, especially as B.C.’s population ages and faces more complex diseases. Dr. Michelle Linekin, a family doctor at 8th Avenue Family and Maternity Care, says she doesn’t have a “strong opinion” regarding what payment model communitybased primary care physicians should be compensated under, though she agrees that the demanding nature of running a business combined with changing patient expectations and increasingly multi-faceted medical conditions (often now requiring counselling-oriented care) has made the position unsustainable. “It’s grown into a job that I don’t think anyone can reasonably keep,” says Linekin. “The social structures are not there anymore to support a general practitioner doing this for their whole life.” Linekin, who has worked as a family doctor for 18 years, decided in 2015 that she no longer wanted to operate her own practice. Since then, she’s been looking for another physician to pass the torch to—practices cannot be sold; “you have to beg someone to take over your practice for the sake of your patients,” she explains—with no luck yet. Unfortunately, taking on a set of patients, running a business, arranging after-hours coverage and

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City AT I S S U E

“archaic” billing systems can be intimidating for many new grads looking for work-life balance. “To me, it’s obvious that doctors should not be running businesses,” she says. “They should be doing what they’re trained to do, operating to the highest of their skill sets. They should be interpreting tests, ordering tests, making diagnoses. They shouldn’t be organizing human resource reviews and payroll—all of that stuff doesn’t make sense.” Dave Baspaly, executive director of the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, acknowledges that the pay-for-service model and business challenges have played a role in the shortage of family doctors in the city, though he notes that there are other contributing factors. Among these, he says, are a rapidly growing population and Vancouver’s high cost of living, which makes rent expensive for young doctors who may be interested in setting up a community-based practice. “Doctors have choice,” says Baspaly. “And they can choose to move to a place where they can find a place to practice and have a reasonable quality of life.” While these realities may be exacerbating the issue in Vancouver, it’s worth noting that a shortage of family doctors is being felt across not only B.C. but also across Canada. In recent years, long wait-lists for primary healthcare providers have been reported in cities such as Montreal and Halifax, for instance, and the situation has even been declared a “crisis” in cities like Victoria and Perth, Ontario. In B.C., Baspaly and Kathleen Ross, president of Doctors of BC, see a team-based approach to community-based primary care, in which comprehensive care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of doctors, pharmacists, nurse practitioners and other health-care

providers, as the way forward. This model has been the focus of B.C.’s NDP government, which launched a primary health-care strategy in 2018 that promises funding for up to 200 new general practitioners in team-based clinics, as well as the launch of primary care networks, groups of allied health-care professionals that will work to streamline referrals and provide better support. The introduction of urgent primary care centres—clinics that will provide primary care to patients who currently do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner,

based approach protects primary care physicians from burnout while offering young doctors the collaborative work environments—and alternative payment models—they are looking for. “We’re hearing from younger physicians that they would prefer to work in teams, that they prefer flexible schedules and opportunities for training and other activities outside of clinical work,” she says. Such a model must also consider the “democratization of health care,” notes Ross, a trend that sees patients wanting to access care in ways that make most sense for them, whether that be through more flexible clinic hours, telemedicine or other avenues. (The NDP’s renewed health-care strategy also promised technology solutions such digital health monitoring and remote access to health care professionals.) Progress in the city, however, has been slow. The first urgent primary care centre in Vancouver opened in the West End last November, with a second one on Commercial Drive expected to be operational by October. (Eight of the 10 urgent primary care centres that the NDP swore to establish in B.C. between May 2018 and May 2019 opened in areas outside Vancouver, like Surrey and Nanaimo.) And while Doctors of BC says it is actively in the process of organizing its members into primary care networks to deliver more streamlined care in metropolitan hubs like Vancouver, thousands of Vancouverites, like Redmond, remain unattached. Baspaly advises patients to be, well, patient. “Changes are happening in the community as we speak,” he stresses. “There won’t be a major shift overnight, but you’ll see it. We’re not waiting. We’re trying to get out there.”

While these realities may be exacerbating the issue in Vancouver, it’s worth noting that a shortage of family doctors is being felt across not only B.C. but also across Canada. including on weekends and after hours— and an increase in community health centres, which combine health and broader social services, have been proposed, too. “Our priority is to find new ways of working, coordinating services and delivering care so that British Columbians don’t have to wait so long, travel so far and search so hard,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said at the time of the strategy’s unveiling. “We’re providing the opportunities and framework for health professionals, stakeholders and organizations to come together at the local level.” According to Ross, who, as part of Doctors of BC, has been working consistently with the province to roll out these initiatives, this team-

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Trouble’s Brewing

Contract brewing can be a necessity for those trying to get into Vancouver’s craft beer game, but it can also come with a bad reputation. by

Nathan Caddell

kurtis sheldan has a look of tired determination on his face as he surveys the haphazard construction zone that, he hopes, will be a fully operating brewery in a couple of months. Right now, the only indications of what this mixed-use heritage house in Strathcona used to be—and what it will once again become—are a couple of long-abandoned taps and a mural, painted by darling of the Vancouver art scene Ola Volo, with the branding of the space’s previous owner, Doan’s Craft Beer Company. Sheldan and Chris Charron are industry veterans who founded Slow Hand Beer Company near the end of 2017 specifically, as Sheldan says, to craft “simple, easy beers that are done well.” That means applying the same kind of care and precision that are commonly put toward the trendy beers of the day (hazy IPAs, barrel-aged sours) to more mainstream fare, like Pilsners and lagers. Only one problem. They didn’t have the time or money to invest in a bricks-and-mortar brewery that could take years to get off the ground and risk being flooded out of the market by the many competitors in Vancouver’s brewery scene. So they brought a recipe to Factory Brewing (since renamed Craft Collective Beerworks) for the team there to create the first Slow Hand brews in hopes of establishing a following that would eventually pave the way for a full-fledged brewery.

A year and a half later, the pair is on track to do just that, and it wouldn’t be possible without what’s called contract brewing. Of course, they were also aware of the drawbacks associated with it—not the least of which was (and still is) the negativity directed to contract brewers from this city’s bricks-and-mortar operations. “We knew we needed to get our name out there and needed to get something to market, just to get our foot in the door and get into the broader conversation,” says Sheldan. “Then we were able to finance the business ourselves to get it up and operational, and I think that story resonates with beer drinkers.” Though the practice of using a contracted facility to brew your beer and then selling it in stores without having a physical brewery is widespread in places like Ontario and much of the United States, it remains associated with controversy in B.C. “The intent of contract brewing is, if you’re out [of capacity], you can continue to produce. It shouldn’t be, ‘This is my business plan, I’m not going to have a brewery; I’m just going to produce somewhere else,’” says Ken Beattie, executive director of the BC Craft Brewers Guild. “You can’t just be a fellow with a recipe that gets the same benefits as somebody who has invested a million and a half dollars in a bricks-and-mortar spot.” Beattie adds that breweries with no physical representation don’t exactly add to the provincial economy in the same way that bricks-andmortar breweries do, nor do they add to the sense of community a local brewery creates: “The magic is going to the

brewery, talking to the brewer or the people who work there. If it’s a shadow brand and a marketing company with a recipe, it will dilute the intrinsic value of having these local breweries in 50 to 60 communities in B.C. It doesn’t add to the economy at all, or create jobs, or create an experience.” Yet in a city that’s slow to give out permits and has ludicrously high rents and real estate prices, others argue that contracting has become something of a necessity. Stephen Smysnuik, former marketing director of Craft Collective and founding editor of craft beer publication The Growler, doesn’t shy away from the fact that there is, indeed, some ill will toward contract brewers in B.C. “There’s major backlash from people who don’t like contract brewing and don’t particularly like our business model in general,” says Smysnuik, who recently left Craft to start a new agency. “Contract brewing has been going on for years and years, but it was always this hidden thing, which was weird to me, especially as a reporter covering the beer industry. There was a lot of negativity toward it and that made me uncomfortable; I don’t know why people would be so ashamed of something that is such a widespread practice and is considered fine in other communities in North America.” But it can be seen as a slap in the face to those individuals and teams that have put their time (and money) into a full-fledged brewery. Vancouver residents and lifelong industry vets Ralf Rosenke and Aly Tomlin took their talents to Cowichan Valley for the sole purpose

ISTOCK

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2596 Granville St. Inside Edward Chapman Woman of starting a brewery in 2013. Three years later, they finally opened Riot Brewing in Chemainus, about an hour away from Victoria. “It’s done what we envisioned it to do, minus the money,” says Tomlin of Riot, which won two awards at the 2018 World Beer Awards, more than any other B.C. operation. “I think we’ll make it and be fine, but right now it’s still just a revolving door of cash we don’t have.” So when Craft Collective first opened in 2017, it represented something of a sea change. While other breweries occasionally employ contract brewing—Strathcona Beer Company notably lends space out to cult favourite Superflux, for example—Craft was the first space dedicated to that one purpose. Since then, the company has made major moves, including last October’s acquisition of Postmark Brewing. And it has different agreements with others in the industry, like Doan’s, which employs co-founder Evan Doan and allows him to produce his beer out of Craft’s facility. For his part, Sheldan plans to keep brewing most of his large orders at Craft Collective and work on smaller batches at the physical brewery. It’s a necessity, given the size of Slow Hand’s operation and the demand its lager and Pilsner have created in the market. “Yes, having a bricks-andmortar brewery will shield us from some criticism, but we’re going to continue to use contract brewing,” says Sheldan. “The B.C. beer market is still trying to figure out what it is, and anything that’s new, that flies in the way of conventional thinking, is always going to ruffle feathers. ”

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City W H AT I T ’ S L I K E T O

Sweet Talk

A former sugar baby spills the highs and lows of the sugar world—and how to distinguish the minted from the “salt.” Steph Lee,* as told to Lucy Lau

a few years ago, my roommate at the time told me about this website where sugar babies and sugar daddies can connect. I had recently gotten out of a relationship, and I was on Tinder and doing the whole dating thing. And I was like, “You know what? Why don’t I go out with guys and actually get paid for my time?” That, to me, seemed smarter than going out on regular dates—and I had nothing to lose. So I signed up on the website: I made a profile, put some pictures up and described myself and what kind of arrangement I was looking for. The whole thing is basically like a dating app: when you first start receiving messages, you get the whole “Hey, what’s up?” and boring questions like that because some

guys like to warm up before talking numbers. But then there are the ones who are like, “I’ll pay you this; I’ll pay you that.” I kind of didn’t like getting those messages right up front, because you could tell they were being insincere and copy-and-pasting that same thing to multiple people. It was nicer when you could tell they had read your profile and were trying to get to know you first. In those cases, the guy is typically more serious about the arrangement and is less likely to screw you over. You usually have to do a lot of filtering, too, because there’s so much salt out there. That’s what we call the cheap ones, or guys who aren’t actually sugar daddies: “salt” or “salt daddies.” There are a lot of guys out there who just wanna fuck you and then leave. At my first meeting with a potential sugar daddy, I didn’t know what to expect. But I tried to treat it like a business meeting and go into it with the same attitude I’d have with a dating app: it’s just like meeting a stranger from Tinder—except they’re much older and have a lot of money. For dates, we’d go to really nice establishments. Hotel bars are really popular, or a quiet, intimate restaurant—usually at a corner table because the sugar daddies like to be discreet. Sometimes it ends up being only a one-off thing—what

we call “pay for play”—because maybe you don’t jibe or something. But what you ideally want is a longterm arrangement with a monthly allowance because you can both determine how often you want to see each other and what the pay rate will be. Some guys expect you to be available at all times; some only want to see you once a month. Your pay rate is something you list in your profile— it can range from “negotiable” to thousands of dollars a month. By the end of my run—as I became more confident and knew my worth—my pay rate was probably in the high range: $3,000 a month. You should always aim high. It’s kind of like negotiating your salary. Overall, my experience was positive. Most of my sugar daddies were out-of-towners: American men in their late 40s or early 50s who would visit every few weeks or a few months out of the year. I remember one time, I was flown down to Connecticut. I was literally there for one night and I got paid $1,500, which is crazy. It was kind of stupid because I hardly knew the guy and it could have been a very dangerous situation, so I’d never advise anyone to do that. But it ended up being a good payout for me. I had a long-term sugar daddy in Vancouver for just over

ISTOCK

At my first meeting with a potential sugar daddy, I didn’t know what to expect. But I tried to treat it like a business meeting and go into it with the same attitude I’d have with a dating app.

*Name has been changed for privacy.

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ISTOCK

two years, which was great. We took trips all around the world: Cuba, Scottsdale, the French Riviera. We’re still friends, and we go out to dinner once a month. I ended up putting all my sugar money into my savings. There are also networking opportunities because most sugar daddies work in corporate: they’re lawyers, finance guys, entrepreneurs. It really depends on what you want to get out of it. I did have one bad experience where the guy was crazy—just loud, boisterous and completely disrespectful. I never saw him again after that one time. I retired from the sugar world after four years. I was 27 and I was just like, “I don’t wanna do this anymore. I wanna find a long-term relationship, focus on my career and settle down.” But when I was sugar dating, I was very open with my family and friends about it because first, it’s just better that way, safety-wise, and second, that’s just who I am. Most people who know me were understanding, but there are always going to be people with preconceived notions about the whole thing, who slap a label on sugar babies like we’re all hoes. When, really, it’s not always just about sex. It’s always negotiable. Most of my relationships were actually platonic; if they got sexual, it was because I was attracted to them. Of course, there’s a bad side to sugar dating—guys can smell the desperation when your priorities are out of whack, and that’s when trouble comes in—but you just have to have a strong sense of self and be aware of the situations you’re putting yourself in. I’m a normal chick; I work in an office. I did sugar dating because I was able to make more money that way. For me, it was about working smarter.

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CIT Y INFORMER

Why Did Vancouver Have a Jimi Hendrix Shrine… and Will It Ever Return? by

Stacey McLachlan Byron Eggenschwiler

illustration by

If you’ve ever walked through Chinatown on your lunch break, you’ve probably experienced this familiar dilemma: should you get a steamed pork bun or just skip lunch and contemplate the impact of legendary American guitarist and cultural icon Jimi Hendrix on both music and history itself? It’s actually such a common phenomenon that it’s known as “Vancouver’s Sophie’s Choice,” but fret, Meryl Streep–style, no more, because the days of having the latter option are over. You’re going to be eating a stupid delicious meal with stupid great value today and every day going forward because, as any Hendrix-head and/or Australian backpacker knows, the tiny shrine to the musician’s legacy that operated at 796 Main Street for 20-plus years was shuttered a few years back. It’s a shame because it was an inspiring institution for both music buffs and

In the sense that he ‘lived here,’ he, technically speaking, ‘did not.’ But is this not a global village? Are we all not just passengers on Spaceship Earth? people who dream of having their own unauthorized tribute in a city of which they have never actually been a resident. Don’t worry: it’s only natural to wonder why there was a shrine to a famously Seattle-based musician here in a city that is famously not Seattle—it’s just part of growing up! As a presumably cool tween, Hendrix came up to Vancouver on the regular to hang out with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, spending summers doing whatever kids did in the ’50s. (Pushed a hoop with a stick? Danced the Twist? Tried to navigate the overt systemic racism of the time?) He even went

to Sir William Dawson Elementary School (now closed) for two months. As a young adult, Hendrix would visit and stay with Grandma Nora, busking outside a chicken shack and jamming at local clubs, even playing the PNE in ’69 before being caught with drugs at the border and being banned from Canada. So in the sense that he “lived here,” he, technically speaking, “did not.” But is this not a global village? Are we all not just passengers on Spaceship Earth? Do we all not eat our steamed buns one mouthful at a time, unless we’re sharing with someone else and trying to do a cute Lady and the Tramp thing?

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Sicilian immigrant Vincent Fodera started the Jimi Hendrix Shrine back in the ’90s, after he bought a building and found out it used to be a restaurant, Vie’s Chicken and Steak House, where Hendrix’s grandma was a cook. He stapled a few records and family photos to the wall and, in a brilliant vertical integration move (is this guy basically Vancouver’s Gordon Gekko?), was immediately provided with a steady stream of visitors from the nearby American Backpackers Hostel, which he runs. In 2015, Bonus Properties bought the building for development under the condition that they would one day reconstruct the shrine on the ground floor, incorporating both a 32-foot statue of Hendrix and a takeout fried chicken counter into the design—reasonable demands that I will include in all of my future real estate dealings. But construction delays have, as it turns out, delayed construction, so for the time being, the artifacts (perhaps a generous way to describe a bag of tie-dyed flags) are in storage now at the hostel, and fans will need to look elsewhere for a brush with Hendrix history. Perhaps the new Nora Hendrix Place housing complex, which opened up in March, honouring Grandma, will do. She helped found the now100-year-old African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was a centrepiece of Hogan’s Alley and remains a great place for people who actually live here to gather… and to pray that there’s a shrine of their very own out there, somewhere far from home. Got a question for City Informer? stacey.mclachlan@vanmag.com

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C OV E R STORY

Vancouver’s

Best Dressed 2019

We searched high, low and between endless racks of stretchy spandex for Vancouver’s most style-savvy folks, who, over two whirlwind, outfit-change-filled afternoons, taught us that dish towels are for wearing, oversized is the new fitted, and “utilitarian witch” is definitely a look—sorry, lewk—worth emulating. by

Lucy Lau | photography by Clinton Hussey

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Alda Pereira DAY JOB: Interior designer PERSONAL STYLE: I like an effortless, minimal look with a bit of whimsy. WHAT CLOTHING OR ACCESSORY CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT? A little black dress and silver or gold bracelets or earrings—they’re effortless, timeless and help you achieve a low-key look. WHEN DID YOU START DEVELOPING YOUR SENSE OF STYLE? When I was in my early teens, my mother would buy me issues of American and British Vogue—that’s how I discovered the fashion world. She also passed on to me her love of fine linen, cashmere and wool, which has come to inform my fabric choices in clothing and furniture. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT “MAKES” AN OUTFIT? Confidence, the details and the tailoring. ARE THERE ANY PAST LOOKS OF YOURS THAT MAKE YOU CRINGE? Twin-sets! I must confess that I also once wore a custom-made outfit that looks very much like a controversial La Croix logo-esque piece of public art in Yaletown. WHO IS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE FASHION DESIGNERS? Phoebe Philo. Old Céline. No explanation required. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT POPULAR FASHION TREND NEEDS TO DIE? The comeback of overstated brand names. Nobody needs to know who you are wearing to that extent! WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST STYLE-RELATED SPLURGE? A dusty-rose wool gabardine Dries Van Noten coat that was featured in the Dries Van Noten—Inspirations exhibition at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs in 2014.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Alda wears an orange Dries Van Noten jacquard coat, an Acne Studios mockneck knit sweater, Weekend Max Mara trousers, Maria Black hoop earrings and Tory Burch boots.

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CAPTION TO GO PUMPKIN SPICE HERE Bottles RESORT Lucy of kefiran glisten wears Auxiliary in the lighthat, atop by Aritzia stones by ariver Kimhekim Judson Beaumont translucent of Straight a Line button-up, Jenny Designs. Bottles Bird necklace, of kefir rings byglisten Melanie in theJewelry, light atop Auld a river stones by a Vince midi skirt, Judson Beaumont Cult Gaia bamboo of Straight Line bag and tie-up Designs. ribbon heels by Yuul Yie.

Lucy Yun DAY JOB: Freelance marketing specialist PERSONAL STYLE: Fearless and funky! WHEN DID YOU START DEVELOPING YOUR SENSE OF STYLE? My earliest fashionrelated memory is me taking my mom’s black high heels when I was in the fifth grade, and wearing them underneath my desk while I was studying. WHAT CLOTHING ITEM OR ACCESSORY WOULD YOU NOT BE CAUGHT DEAD IN? Crocs and Uggs. I just can’t. WHO IS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE FASHION DESIGNERS? Simon Porte Jacquemus—his designs are deeply rooted in and reflect the south of France, where he is from, and I love that he named his brand after his mother’s maiden name. I also love his sensual, feminine and conceptual aesthetic. WHAT’S AN ITEM IN YOUR CLOSET THAT EVERYONE HATES BUT YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE? My significant other hates this strappy triangle bag I have (he told me it looks like I'm wearing a dog leash!), but I am madly in love with it. WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BEST FASHION-RELATED BARGAIN FIND? My red off-the-shoulder dress. I got it in Korea for around $15, and it is great quality, durable and stylish. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT POPULAR FASHION TREND NEEDS TO DIE? Ugly dad sneakers. I prefer timeless pieces over short-lived and “hip” items that will make me cringe 10, 20 years from now. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST RECENT STYLE-RELATED PURCHASE? A ginormous floppy hat!

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Evan Ducharme DAY JOB: Founder and creative director at Evan Ducharme, and co-host of the Fashion Hags podcast PERSONAL STYLE: Femme-ofcentre utilitarian witch—think Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic. WHERE ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP FOR CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES? Community Thrift and Vintage, Mintage Mall and my own archive. IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE, WHAT THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU SAVE FROM YOUR CLOSET? The grey crewneck sweater my mom wore while she was pregnant with me; a green striped shirt that belonged to my mémère, Lavallée; and the perfect blue jeans that my mom wore before she had me. IF YOU COULD RAID SOMEONE’S CLOSET, WHOSE WOULD IT BE? Tilda Swinton's or Solange's. I constantly gravitate to them when it comes to personal style. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST RECENT STYLE-RELATED PURCHASE? Some beautiful handmade jewellery, including some deer-hide drum earrings by LadyBear Designs, from Indigenous artisans at the Squamish Nation Youth Powwow. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS AN UNDERRATED GARMENT OR ACCESSORY? Fun, sexy underwear that you wear for no one else but yourself. WHAT’S THE OLDEST ITEM IN YOUR WARDROBE? A fur coat I inherited from my great-aunt, which she originally received as a gift in the ’40s. I have a number of pieces from my family that are now firmly part of my archive.

DASHING BUT DEMURE Evan wears a corset and culottes (both from his own line), a vintage chain necklace, a Dickies belt, an Indigenous-made beaded ring and Aldo boots.

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POCKETFUL OF SUNSHINE Lydia wears a vintage coat, a Sotela jumpsuit, a top from Community Thrift and Vintage, vintage rings and Converse sneakers.

Lydia Okello DAY JOB: Marketing at a homedecor company PERSONAL STYLE: Colourful, a little bit preppy, chameleon. DESCRIBE YOUR GO-TO EVERYDAY OUTFIT. A great jumpsuit! Or jeans, a vintage tee and a bright jacket. I also love bold, bright shoes. WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOUR STYLE? I find inspiration in many things, including editorial content and folks on Instagram and the internet. I have a soft spot for Teddy boy style from the ’50s as well. Art, photography and music affect my mood and style outlook. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS AN UNDERRATED GARMENT OR ACCESSORY? A motorcycle jacket—it offers so many opportunities for the wearer to share their personal style. You can go for one that’s supercropped, oversized or a vest; depending on the colour and finish of the jacket, you can also convey different moods through it. It’s one of my favourite pieces to play around with. IF YOU COULD RAID SOMEONE’S CLOSET, WHOSE WOULD IT BE? Rihanna's. Her taste and access to shops and designers mean there would be an excellent mix of haute and cool. Plus, I want to know what her favourites pieces are! WHAT’S THE OLDEST ITEM IN YOUR WARDROBE? I have a vintage dress from high school that I wore during my first visit to New York City. To me, it represents how far my dreams can take me. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST RECENT STYLE-RELATED PURCHASE? I found a great pair of About Arianne pink mules for my wedding. They feel a little bit French courtesan, a little bit dandy. I love them!

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M’ckenneth Licon DAY JOB: Digital content author PERSONAL STYLE: Effortless, confident and always fun. WHERE ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP FOR CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES? Vintage stores, my mom’s closet and small independent shops that I find while travelling. WHEN DID YOU START DEVELOPING YOUR SENSE OF STYLE? Very early on—I grew up in a farm town in a rural part of the northern Philippines, where fashion isn’t as available. For special occasions, my mother would often have her dresses custom-made by the local seamstress. I made sure I went with her on every one of these trips because I got to collect all kinds of scrap fabrics from the seamstress’s floor, which I later hand-sewed into Barbie dresses. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT “MAKES” AN OUTFIT? Attitude, always. WHAT CLOTHING ITEM OR ACCESSORY CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT? A crisp white button-up shirt. It’s classic and will always be in style. You can dress it up or down, and if you’re lucky, you can eventually pass it on to others. I’ve collected numerous white button-up shirts from the ’80s and ’90s from my mom and dad, all of which I wear on heavy rotation. WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BEST FASHION-RELATED BARGAIN FIND? I bought a mustardyellow leather circular bag from Milan when I was there in 2017. It was what I call “love at first try”—it was a steal for the price and has definitely paid for itself through the mileage I’ve gotten out of it.

TOWEL BOY M’ckenneth wears a Mao collar button-up by Hugh and Crye, custom-tailored kids’ trousers, a dish towel by the Organic Company styled as a waist wrap and suede slip-ons by Massimo Dutti.

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ST YLE ISSUE

Autumn Rising The superior of the four seasons (I said what I said, summer) has arrived, one that allows for polished boots of all heights, pullovers so plush you could sleep in them and all the rich, toasty layers your frame can handle. Looking to make the most of this decidedly sartorial time of year? From I’m-the-boss power suits to supersized neckwear, here’s how to amp up your wardrobe for fall. by

Lucy Lau

SUIT UP ’TIS THE YEAR OF THE JUMPSUIT, if

the getups in runaway hits like Fleabag and Booksmart are any indication. And while the authority-asserting power suit contains one more item to throw on than those plunging one-pieces and utilitarian coveralls, it deserves a spot in your wardrobe for the very same reason the latter garments do: it earns you maximum style points for minimal effort.

1. Allen Schwartz Aria jacket, $595, and Darcy pant, $525, blubird.ca 2. Comme des Garçons Homme Deux wool mohair sharkskin jacket, $1,595, and wool mohair sharkskin trousers, $890, shopneighbour.com 3. Burberry slim-fit press-stud tumbled wool tailored jacket, $1,980, and tumbled wool wide-leg trousers, $810, burberry.com 4. Hugo Akata double-breasted blazer, $575, thebay.com 5. Hugo Hulana wideleg trousers, $350, thebay.com

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LEATHER, PLEASE WHETHER YOU PREFER A VEGAN option or the real thing, drape yourself in a layer of soft, buttery leather once the mercury drops. Not because it’ll keep you warm—no, leather isn’t the best insulator, but fashion isn’t always about practicality, okay?!—but because how else are you going to assert your tough city-folk edge once you inevitably end up in a middle-of-the-country pumpkin patch this season?

1. Nanushka Hide black vegan leather puffer jacket, $825, holtrenfrew.com 2. H&M faux leather pants, $99, hm.com 3. Jacquemus Les Bottes Pantalon boots, $1,680, leisure-center.com 4. Louis Vuitton Savoir-Faire calfskin trench coat, $11,400, louisvuitton.com 5. Brixton Fiddler cap, $44, nordstrom.com 6. Want Les Essentiels Luka leather belt bag, $425, wantapothecary.com

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WILD CATS I’VE SAID IT ONCE AND I’LL SAY it again:

leopard is a neutral, y’all. And the wild, wild print looks equally fierce whether you rock it in hints—say, with a pair of nylon-andcanvas high-tops—or unabashedly from top to toe, Fran Fine–style. Plus, few other patterns capture the public’s feline obsession more astutely than this classic does. (I’m not the only one still trying to scrub that Cats trailer from my brain, right?)

7. Just Don reversible coach’s jacket, $1,169, rodengray.com 8. Bevza Anna puffer coat, $835, secretlocation.ca 9. Marni leopard print belt, $525, simons.ca 10. Wilfred leopard shirt-dress, $158 aritzia.com 11. R13 faded leopard turtleneck, $525, rebeccabree. com 12. Dior B23 high-top sneaker, $1,450, dior.com 13. Aldo Wiema boot, $130, aldoshoes.com

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2 1

SECURE THE BAG THERE’S SOMETHING LIBERATING

about ditching the big-enough-tohold-everything-but-the-kitchensink tote and opting to carry only the essentials (which, no, do not include that stray triple-A battery and the same lip tint in three different shades because reasons). You can count on these modestly sized bags—don’t worry, none are as comically teeny as Jacquemus’s Le Mini Chiquito—to lighten the load. 5

1. Jacquemus Ceinture Bello leather belt bag, $615, baccisvancouver.com 2. Nana-Nana A6 bag, $90, secretlocation.ca 3. Prada small Saffiano leather smartphone pouch, $895, holtrenfrew. com 4. Loewe Gate mini-bag, $1,790, leisure-center.com 5. Clare V. Chou Chou purse, $415, hillsofkerrisdale.com

3 4

BIG SCARF ENERGY

You know what they say: when in doubt (or when you’re freezing your tail off in sub-zero temps), wrap it up. And up and up and up when it comes to these supersized and oversized scarves, which protect your neck, chest, ears and nose—and hey, maybe even that forehead—in one ultra-cozy go. The bigger (and thicker) the better.

6. Acne Studios Vexter puffy scarf, $430, shopneighbour .com 7. Loewe Anagram mohair and wool scarf, $895, nordstrom.com 8. Moncler tartan plaid wool blend scarf, $515, moncler.com

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Luxury Okanagan Valley Lakeside Homes The is Cottagesrom f exempt ation BC’s Vac Tax Home

Act now for best selection on remaining homes The word is out that The Cottages on Osoyoos Lake is the best year-round new home community in the Okanagan Valley. The Cottages includes a community centre with a gym, two pools and hot tubs as well as our private sandy beach and boat slips, there’s something for everyone. With over 220 homes sold, the remaining opportunities won’t last long. With eight different home plans to choose from ranging in size from our modest 1,300 sf meadow homes to the exclusive 3,000 sf Meritage plan, there really is the perfect home for you. We have several unique homes under construction and all homes can be customized to suite your needs. Please contact our sales team at 1.855.742.5555 or visit our website for a full tour.

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T R AV E L

GRIN AND BEAR IT Make some new friends (from a safe distance).

WILDLIFE SAFARI, B.C.-STYLE A seafaring journey from Vancouver Island to the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest is a chance to explore a world of wilderness right here in B.C. Margaret de Silva

i count them on my fingers. Since moving to B.C. seven years ago, I’ve seen three black bears in this province—almost always from a car—and never worried about running into grizzlies. And yet, after just a single day a few hours north, I’ve already spotted four bears on empty beaches, including a mama grizzly cracking open mussels to feed two almost cartoonishly fuzzy cubs. This is Canadiana at its extreme. Covering 6.4 million hectares, the sprawling Great Bear Rainforest is one of the world’s last intact temperate coastal rainforests. The BC Ferries 10-hour route from Port Hardy to Bella Coola (running June to October) is opening up access to this wilderness and offers plenty of opportunities for wildlife sightings.

CULTURAL ADVENTURES Start in the historic village of Telegraph Cove, in the eastern corner of northern Vancouver Island, for your gateway to adventure. Mike Willie is a local hereditary chief and owner of Sea Wolf Adventures. Depending on the season, Willie knows where to find pods of orcas, spot breaching whales and, yes, view grizzlies in the maze of inlets of Broughton Archipelago Marine Provincial Park. Willie is also passionate about sharing the stories and culture of his Kwakwaka’wakw ancestors as he navigates his powerboat through the misty green fjords. “Our culture is based on wildlife, so it made sense to link it together, the bear viewing and cultural tours,” he explains. ISLAND-HOPPING PADDLES If you prefer to move at a slower pace, a multiday paddle with Andrew Jones of Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures includes overnight stays on your own private island (well, basically private—a few other camps, a whale research station and an old fishing resort may attract the

POD LIFE Spot orca families in the Broughton Archipelago.

Finally, a vision appears—a mama and cub wade through the stream, fishing salmon, while an eagle soars overhead. odd additional occupant). As we gently bob on the ocean, the peaceful scene is constantly broken by the cacophony of ocean life: the unmistakable sign of whale spouts explode in the distance while nearby sea lions bask on an exposed rock. As we cruise past, the enormous sea dogs piles on top of each other into one big mass and bark in disconcertingly loud displays of territorial dominance. It’s enough to get us moving quickly back to base camp, where a delicious barbecued salmon feast and cozy bed await. EASY RIVER CRUISING Resting in the foothills of staggering mountains, the tiny town of Bella Coola is home to a cast of characters, charming cabins and a handful of surprisingly good restaurants—but the real draw is the great outdoors. Leonard Ellis runs Bella Coola Grizzly Tours, where he delights guests with incredible tales as he shows off Central Coast wildlife. While Ellis’s

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ORCAS: ISTOCK; GRIZZLIES AND T WEEDSMUIR: DANO PENDYGRASSE; DANCING, RAF TING, MASKS: SEA WOLF ADVENTURES

CULTURE CRAWL Experience totem poles, traditional dancing and boating with Sea Wolf Adventures.

WATER WORLD Paddle past sea lions and eagles with Kingfisher’s excursions.

GETTING THERE Skip the Vancouver Island drive and Horseshoe Bay lineups and K AYAKS, EAGLE, SEA LIONS: KINGFISHER WILDERNESS LODGE

take to the skies. Pacific Coastal tour to hidden hot springs shouldn’t be missed, for a gentle journey into bear country, we opt to raft down Bella Coola River from Tweedsmuir Park Lodge. This mode of travel is an exercise in patience. We take in magnificent scenery as we anticipate a ferocious grizzly around every bend, only to come up empty-handed. We start to think we’re cursed—each time we arrive at a viewing platform, fellow bear enthusiasts excitedly tell us we just missed the show. Finally, a vision appears—a mama and cub wade through the stream, fishing salmon, while an eagle soars overhead. Slam dunk: Canada at its finest.

CABIN FEVER The quaintest accomodations at Tweedsmuir Park Lodge.

Airlines flies from the YVR South terminal right to Port Hardy (1 hour and 5 minutes) or Bella Coola (1 hour and 15 minutes) so you can get off work and head right to wildlife watching. pacificcoastal.com Wherever you start, travel between the two towns with direct service via BC Ferries’ Northern Sea Wolf—it’s a 10-hour journey but a breathtaking one. bcferries.com

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R A I N PR O O F G E A R / U K U L E L E C R E W / T H I N G S TO D O

VA N M AG .C O M/S T Y L E

Culture ON THE RISE

SKIN DEEP Oyéta Kokoroko was studying naturopathic medicine in Montreal in 2010 when she began paying more attention to the labels on her beauty products. For the most part, the ingredients she came across—endocrinedisrupting parabens, irritating perfumes and the like—weren’t pretty. So she began crafting skin-care goods in her kitchen using natural elements like shea butter and nettle leaves. Almost a decade later, that pastime borne of curiousity has become Okoko Cosmétiques. Now based in Vancouver, Kokoroko produces clean, luxurious skin-care products that steer clear of the cheap fillers and potentially harmful components typically found in more conventional beauty items and instead use high-performance plant-based ingredients that bring results. The bakuchiol-infused Les 16 Précieux Serum, for instance, works to plump and hydrate visages, while the Sublime Balm—a buttery whipped cream—soothes with its antioxidant-rich blend of tomato oil, pomegranate extract and astaxanthin. Much of Kokoroko’s time is spent poring over scientific research to find innovative ingredients that push the envelope in the all-natural beauty realm. “This is what I enjoy most: learning about these ingredients and how they can work together synergistically to produce results,” she says. by

Lucy Lau

photograph by

Eydís Einarsdóttir

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Culture L U C Y LOV E S j Take cover with Rains’ check Boonie hat ($50), which features a wide military-inspired brim and secure chinstrap to ensure you stay dry amid strong winds and any last-minute dashes for the bus. rains.com

RIGHT AS RAIN

k If you can’t beat the rain, sport it— preferably with this limited-edition umbrella ($50) by Vancouver-based Westerly Goods, which is splashed with a cool raindrop print captured by local photographer Stephen Vanasco. shop.walrushome.com

In Vancouver’s precipitation-heavy fall, you have two choices: one, hide away, emerging from your preferred site of hibernation only for the occasional pumpkin-flavoured pint. Or, two, embrace the wet—ideally, with smart, water-resistant wardrobe picks that don’t compromise a drop of style for defence against torrential downpours and unpredictable drizzles alike. by

l Grey camo goes swimmingly with Vancouver’s gloomy skies—especially when the pattern adorns Maharishi’s Camo Tech reversible track pants ($204), which are crafted from a durable nylon ripstop for protection against the elements. deadstock.ca

Lucy Lau

p Minimalist Japanese craftsmanship meets breezy

West Coast cool in the Sil Sacoche waist bag ($160) from Tokyo-based street-meets-outdoor label And Wander. Two hiking carabiners allow you to adjust how low the pouch hangs for the perfect fit. deadstock.ca

l The Stutterheim Chelsea Rainwalker boot ($215) ensures puddles are no problem with its flexible, natural-rubber construction. The classic (and unisex!) shape makes them apropos when the sun decides to make an appearance come noon. rebeccabree.com

i The Group by Babaton’s Lou trench coat ($198) is at once timeless and of the moment, thanks to its relaxed double-breasted fit and flashy wax-coated bronze hue. Inspector Gadget, but make it fashion. aritzia.com

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RAChefsS

PROMOTION

THANK YOU to these 16 Restaurant Awards finalists for participating

PHOTOS BY ALLISON KUHL

RESTAURANT AWARDS

in our Chefs’ Showcase and making the 2019 reception unforgettably delicious. The spread of diverse hors d’oeuvres, which was served with local wines provided by our generous sponsors, had guests hungry for results. The full list of winners is available at vanmag.com/ra2019.

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3 “Like a lot of people in Vancouver, I live in a condo. And the trumpet’s maybe not the best instrument to practise there. So I like that the ukulele isn’t too loud; it’s small, affordable and you can play a variety of music style on it. It’s also very portable: I can bring it with me to play for my nephews and my friends.” —Leif Royle, pedorthist 1 “I was in a really bad accident last year, and I received so much love and support from everyone at the school. It made every day so much easier, knowing that I’d be back with my ukulele and playing again with everybody.” —Kristin Selle, makeup artist

5 “My husband is about to start at the school after hearing me play for eight years. He said, ‘Okay, you’ve done it, so maybe I can do it, too.’ My daughter-in-law has also started playing, and I have a toy ukulele that my grandkids play with.” —Patti Grann-Bell, retired

2 “It’s a great group of people, but we’re not just goofing around. You actually learn a lot. You walk away energized for the next three days while you practise what you learned. It’s really exciting.”—Ronn Mostat, GM of an HVAC company

4 “We do numbers by Queen, Guns N’ Roses and the Beatles—really upbeat stuff—but then we’ll also do a little Bach. It’s quite the gamut. What I really like is when we get people who come up and start singing and dancing during our performances. That’s really something.”—Susan Hyde, semi-retired

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9 “I used to play guitar

7 “I love the teaching

style, because I’m an adult—not a kid—learning something new. And they totally break it down for you as a beginner, and they let you know you’re allowed to be a beginner at that age. The classes are never the same, too. I’ve taken the same classes multiple times and I keep learning new stuff, which is awesome.”—Faith Malakoff, recreational therapy facilitator

and sing. Then I had my brain injury, and my speech was affected and I lost my singing voice. I was very sad, but I thought, ‘You know what? I need something new and different.’ I was at a café and I saw a flyer for Ruby’s Ukes, and it was like it was calling to me. And I said, ‘This is exactly what I need.’”—Michele Smythe,* on disability leave

10 “You feel so good once you’ve mastered something or when you succeed after you’ve struggled in learning how to play a certain song. There’s no pressure—it’s about going there and making joyful noise.”—Andeen Pitt, advertising executive

11 “I had gone to a jazz concert and I saw this musician rocking out on a ukulele. I just loved it. The next day, I went to a record store on Commercial Drive to buy tickets to another show. They had a window display with two ukuleles and I was like, ‘Uh, are those for sale?’ The guy said they were, and the next thing I knew, I was the proud owner of a ukulele.”—Mona Tsui, architectural designer

* Name has been changed for privacy

11 7 8

10 6

6 “The ukulele is very

accessible. There are no expectations; it’s inexpensive. You can play by yourself or you can easily play with others. It’s a global instrument that’s only getting more and more popular.”—Daphne “Ruby” Roubini, jazz vocalist, musician and founder of Ruby’s Ukes

8 “I gained enough confidence to perform in a talent show on a cruise ship. My husband and I actually did a duet; we did a song that I learned at Ruby’s, ‘Marry You,’ by Bruno Mars. You know how they say you should do one thing a day that scares you? That was it. And I never would have done that before being part of the school.”—Shira Standfield, park planner

City M O D E R N FA M I LY

School of Ukes

The humble ukulele may be small—both in size and, arguably, popularity—on the grand scale of musical instruments. But for the hundreds of students who attend Ruby’s Ukes ukulele school in downtown Vancouver, the fourstring guitar with Hawaiian roots is a point of discovery and community; neophytes and experienced ukesters alike converge here daily to pluck, sing and strum the day’s worries away. Lucy Lau Adam Blasberg

as told to photo by

s h ot o n lo c at i o n at t h e b ay s i d e lo u n g e

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Quanah Style

Culture T H E T I C K E T

From Comics to a Cabaret

JB the First Lady A Thousand Splendid Suns

This month’s best bets. by

Alyssa Hirose Jay Som

RAVEN TRANSFORMING CABARET FESTIVAL DATE October 2 to 12 VENUE The Cultch PRICE From $26 thecultch.com A drag artist, burlesque performer and circus star walk into a theatre: the result might be funny, but it’s no joke. The Raven Transforming Cabaret Festival is Vancouver’s freshest multi disciplinary Indigenous performance festival, and it has a focus that stretches from stand-up to DJs to intimate club acts. Fes tival curators Corey Payette (artistic director of Urban Ink) and Heather Redfern (executive director of the Cultch) are excited to spotlight a new form of performance in our cabaret-lacking city. “Having a large body of work showcased in a relatively compressed period of time creates synergies between artists who are often siloed into one aspect of cabaret,” say the festival organizers. Don’t skip leg day—you’ll need those edge-of-yourseat muscles.

VANCOUVER IMPROV FEST DATE September 24 to 29 VENUE The Cultch PRICE From $18 vancouverimprovfest.com This fest features local com edians, out-of-town celebs (including Andrew Phung of CBC’s Kim’s Convenience) and open public workshops—so get ready to play yourself. JAY SOM DATE September 17 VENUE Imperial Vancouver PRICE From $12.50 jaysommusic.com Some mistakes are better than others. This indie rocker uploaded her first album to Bandcamp accidentally, and her dreamy tunes have since gained an international following.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS DATE September 12 to October 13 VENUE Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage PRICE From $29 artsclub.com This haunting but hopeful show is an adaptation of Khaled Hos seini’s best-selling page-turner and tells the story of an unlikely bond between two women living in Kabul in the 1990s.

ROCK THE RINK DATE October 7 VENUE Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre PRICE From $36 rocktherink.com Attention, triple axel admirers: iconic Canadian figure skaters Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir and Patrick Chan fuel this starstudded skating spectacular.

Disco Dumplings

DISCO DUMPLINGS DATE Ongoing on Mondays VENUE Burdock and Co PRICE From $10 burdockandco.com Celebrate surviving the first day of the workweek by getting down with savoury dumplings, an all-natural wine list and a live DJ spinning vinyl.

The Shipment

THE SHIPMENT DATE September 24 to October 5 VENUE Firehall Arts Centre PRICE From $20 firehallartscentre.ca However woke you think you are, prepare to get woker: Young Jean Lee’s modern min strel show about black identity confronts bias with a bite. POSTMODERN JUKEBOX DATE October 12 VENUE Vogue Theatre PRICE From $32.50 postmodernjukebox.com If you like “Old Town Road” but think it could use more sousaphone, look no further than this giant vintage musical collective (also known by their acronym, PMJ)—their weekly YouTube covers have gained over four million subscribers.

JAY SOM: LINDSE Y BYRNES; JB THE FIRST L ADY: MEL ANIE ORR; DISCO DUMPLINGS: STEPH WAN; THE SHIPMENT: RYAN McDONALD

Vancouver Improv Festival

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The Wine

World is Here

YOUR GUIDE TO GREAT WINING AND DINING Looking for the best wine programs in the city (not to mention BC and Alberta)?