April 24, 2014

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Gastown’s seedy past explored 9 The Dish: Nook comes to Kits 12 Filmmaker gets the Oprah bump 20

Shakers & Makers W H AT ’ S YO U R

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the week ahead Main line: 604-742-8686 Publisher Dee Dhaliwal ddhaliwal@wevancouver.com Managing Director Gail Nugent gnugent@wevancouver.com Managing Editor Robert Mangelsdorf editor@wevancouver.com Display Advertising sales@wevancouver.com 604-742-8677 Classified Advertising 604-630-3300 classifieds@wevancouver.com Circulation 604-742-8676 circulation@wevancouver.com WE Vancouver #205-1525 W. 8th Ave., Vancouver, BC, V6J 1T5

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Cringeworthy poetry

Ballet BC presents world premiere works

B

allet BC presents UN/A this weekend (April 24 to 26), a trio of world premiere works by Gioconda Barbuto, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano and Cayetano Soto.

After the success of TOUCH in 2011 for Ballet BC’s 25th Anniversary program, Montreal choreographer Gioconda Barbuto returns to create a new full company commission. Barbuto’s work reflects her personal characteristics as a dancer, specifically explosive physicality and subtle intelligence endowed with a fine sense of wit and theatricality. In 1998, she joined Netherlands Dance Theatre III, a company of professional dancers over the age of 40. In 1996, she received the Clifford E. Lee Award for excellence in choreography.

Gustavo Ramirez Sansano is a rising star in the international dance world. He is the artistic director of the prominent Chicago-based Luna Negra Dance Theater and the recipient of many awards for choreography, including competitions in Barcelona, Hamburg, and Valencia. He has shared his unique dance vision with Compañia Nacional de Danza, the Hamburg Ballet, Budapest Dance Theater, Bal-

let Junior de Genève, and Netherlands Dance Theatre II. Ballet BC is the first Canadian company that Sansano has chosen for his newest choreographic adventure.

Cayetano Soto is a vibrant new voice in contemporary ballet. Born in Spain, Soto studied in Barcelona and later The Hague before performing with IT Dansa in Barcelona and then Ballet Theater Munich. His work is in the repertoire of major companies around the world, including Royal Ballet of Flanders, Stuttgart Ballet, and the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. During this incredibly creative period in Soto’s career, audiences can anticipate an inspiring work of discovery.

BalletBC.com/Una.html

Ballet BC dancer Thibault Eiferman will be performing in the troupe’s UN/A contemporary dance performance this weekend. The show features world premiere works by Gioconda Barbuto, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano and Cayetano Soto.

Michael Slobodian photo

ROVE around Main Street art scene Main Street comes alive with creativity on Thursday, May 1, as seven opening art receptions take part in the ROVE Vancouver Art Opening Tour.

Local BC artists are always looking for an opportunity to show their work and the Main Street area of Vancouver is home to a variety of locations that showcase a vast array of artistic creations. The event is a great way for people to experience all the art, venues, and artists around Main Street in one fun and interactive night out.

Locations involved in the tour are Lüt Boutique, The Archer and the Horseman Gallery, Bird on a Wire, Kafka’s Cof-

fee, Hot Art Wet City Gallery, Visual Space Gallery and the ANZA Club. To find out more about the locations and artists involved and to print your map before you arrive visit, JamieSmithStudio.com/Rove.

You can grab a ROVE map at any of the art locations and walk, cycle, bus or drive between locations along Main Street and in the surrounding area. Watch for the red balloons along the way that will mark an art opening.

The opening night tour will take place from 6pm to 10pm on May 1 with a cocktail reception and prize draw, all taking place at ANZA Club at 9:30pm.

Relive your awkward teen years, or laugh at the folly of others at Comedy Gems’ Teen Angst Poetry Night at the Emerald on Monday, April 28.

Teen Angst Night is a comedic reading series where people read from their embarrassing old teenage journals, diaries, poems, songs, essays and more, hosted by comedian Sara Bynoe.

The audience is encouraged to share in the schadenfreude and participate in the reading with their own works.

You can share anything so long as the work is your own, it was written it between the ages of 10 and 19, and it absolutely makes you cringe while reading it.

The more embarrassing the better!

The Emerald is located at 555 Gore. Tickets are $8.

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April 24 – 30, 2014

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news

Vancouver Cubans hope to connect with families back home

By Jenny Peng

E

very time Vancouver resident Julio Montero calls his family in Cuba, he feels uneasy about the expensive long distance rate that costs money he would otherwise would send home to his relatives.

He hopes his costs decrease after the Cuban government’s decision over a month ago to relax restrictions for Cuban residents to access their email on mobile phones.

Montero says he’s fortunate enough that his mother has some access to the Internet through friends who work in government offices.

“I have the advantage of using email as an alternative. If I weren’t using email as an alternative I would be using way more [money],” he says. “It limits how much we can help our family. I want to help my family more.”

The challenges of high prices and bulging demand still makes Internet hard to obtain for ordinary citizens in the island Caribbean country.

Although Montero’s family has some email access, he says if they have their own email accounts and features like Skype then he could save more money. For every minute on the phone, Montero pays 90 cents to $1, which he considers “crazy” compared to rates his friends from Central and South America are paying to keep in touch with their families. To keep his bill from growing, he limits his con-

Kitsilano residents are afraid the Pine Free Youth Clinic on West 4th may be closed as part of Vancouver Coastal Health’s plan to restructure primary care services.

Kits youth fear losing clinic Vancouver’s Cuban community is hoping the Caribbean nation’s decision to relax restrictions on Internet use will allow them to better keep in touch family members. Dan Toulgoet photo technology, Fonseca says it would affect most Cubans living in North America and all over the world.

“We have paid dearly for communications with Cuba because of this [Internet] problem... It is true that it would make our lives easier.”

Internet access reforms in Cuba comes after an underwater fibre-optic cable was installed from Venezuela to Cuba in 2011. Since then, there have been reports in 2012 of the government stalling to provide access. Then in 2013, it was confirmed by the government’s telecommunications monopoly that the cable was activated but warned residents of limited access.

versation to around 20 minutes.

“Internet would simplify things a lot and I’m talking about an easily additional $100 that I could send my mom every month for her to look after herself... by using Internet, [it] will help improve the quality of life of our families.”

Julio Fonseca, a Cuban-Canadian professor at York University in Toronto, says he’s been following the new changes over email access in Cuba and applauds the government for “taking the right steps.”

Although he doesn’t plan to switch over to email to reach his mother, who’s incapable of adapting to the

ENTER TO CONTESTS

OF THE WEEK

Special Traffic Advisory Road Closures: May 3 & 4 NOTE: Midlothian Avenue is closed from 5 pm on Saturday, May 3 to 1 pm on Sunday, May 4. West Hastings Street between Burrard and Thurlow Street will have local access May 4 until 12 noon and is fully closed from 12 noon to 6 pm on May 4.

On Sunday, May 4, 17,000 participants running the 43rd BMO Vancouver Marathon, Half Marathon and 8-km race will experience three courses showcasing some of the unique neighbourhoods of the city of Vancouver.

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SW Marin

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W 41tst Ave

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Thank you for your patience and support!

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FOR MORE INFORMATION: bmovanmarathon@myliveagent.com or 778-653-9317

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April 24 – 30, 2014

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For details and listings of street-by-street closures, times, and alternate routes visit: bmovanmarathon.ca/ community/road-closures or vancouver.ca (under Road Closures)

Residents and commuters should expect delays and be prepared to use alternative routes. Times for road closures are approximate. Roads will be re-opened on a rolling schedule as the marathon and half marathon progress through the city.

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The marathon and half marathon start on Midlothian Avenue between Queen Elizabeth Park and Hillcrest Community Centre and finish on West Pender Street (between Bute and Thurlow Street). Most half marathon participants will finish the course by 10 am (strict 11 am course closure) and most marathon participants will finish the course by 2 pm (strict 4 pm course closure).

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W H AT ’ S YO U R

Vancouver Police, City staff, Ministry of Transportation, Metro Vancouver, Park Board, Translink and the Marathon Society are working to ensure a safe route.

Bu rra rd

Enter to win The Chocolate Tasting Kit, produced by local writer and chocolate educator Eagranie Yuh.

AIRPORT ACCESS: from 7:30 - 9 am on May 4, use Main Street to Marine Drive to travel to and from the airport. (Avoid Oak, Granville and Cambie Street.)

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Routes will impact traffic in Vancouver’s Riley Park and Coal Harbour on Saturday, May 3, 2014 and in Riley Park, South Cambie, Oakridge, Fairview, Kerrisdale, Dunbar, UBC, Point Grey, Kitsilano, West End, Coal Harbour, Chinatown, Yaletown, Cambie, False Creek and Downtown neighbourhoods on Sunday, May 4, 2014.

S

ome Kitsilano residents are anxious over concerns that a longtime walk-in youth clinic in their neighbourhood is closing. An online petition demanding that Vancouver Coastal Health provide more information about the closure of Pine Free Youth Clinic had 389 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

The petition at Change.org reads: “If the Pine Free is terminated, our community, and specifically our youths, will experience an increase in drug abuse, suicide, STI’s, depression, eating disorders, and pregnancy.”

Bryan LaRochelle started the petition when he found out from people working at Pine Free that Vancouver Coastal Health plans to close the clinic down.

Operating for more than 40 years, the clinic is well known to youth as a safe place to go for questions about sexual and mental health. Emelie Peacock, a 26 year-old UBC graduate, went to Pine Free as a student for STI and pregnancy testing.

“It was an important resource for me because I was new to Vancouver at the time and I didn’t have a GP,” she said. “It was a very welcoming place and the staff were non-judgmental. If they were to shut down, there would be a gap in services for young people.”

At times, the line up to see a heath professional at Pine Free extends out the door and onto the sidewalk.

Concerns over funding cuts for Pine Free and other community health centres stem from Vancouver Coastal Health’s plan to restructure primary care services. Salary-paid doctors at clinics such as Pine Free may soon be paid on a per service basis.

Vancouver Coastal Health responded to question from the Courier with an email: “Physicians are currently engaged in working with an independent consultant to pursue transitioning to a fee for service model which would see a clinic remain open at the Pine location,” the email read.

Vancouver Coastal Health’s website states that the health care services at Pine Free will be available at the Raven Song clinic, located on the corner of Ontario Street and Eighth Avenue. There is no mention of whether this will result in any change to services at Pine Free.

David Eby, NDP MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, questions the move to cut funding to clinics like Pine Free.

“It’s a model that works very well, and to see something like that taken apart for no reason is concerning,” he said.

–Stories courtesy of Vancouver Courier

Main St

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food

Chinese culinary ‘rock stars’ land in Vancouver

I

n North America there are entire television networks devoted to the cult of the celebrity chef.

It’s hard to imagine Mok Kit Keung and Lau Yiu Fai being asked to host their own shows. It’s not that they don’t have the chops – Keung is executive chef at the two-Michelin star Shang Palace at the Kowloon Shangri-La and Fai is executive chef at the one-Michelin star Yan Toh Heen at the Hong Kong InterContinental.

The problem is they don’t like to talk about why their food has impressed everyone from multi-billionaires to heads of state to travellers who simply want to experience a once-in-a-lifetime meal.

“They see being good at what they do as their job so they’re not ‘shiny, shiny’,” says Debbie Cheung, acting as their translator during an interview at the Four Seasons.

Keung and Fai are two of the master chefs who have been asked to cook at the Chinese Restaurant Awards’ Gold Medal Dinner at the Vancouver hotel on April 23.

Ask them what makes them excited about their cuisine, or what engages their creativity as chefs, and they both respond that their

satisfaction comes from pleasing their guests. Food is the gift they offer to the universe. They devote their lives to doing it well and ask for nothing more than an empty plate and a thank you.

“Cooking is about making people happy,” says Fai. While you can’t expect them to boast that the universe has responded by queuing up at their restaurants, it’s a sense of celebration that prompted the Vancouver edition of the Chinese Restaurant Awards to invite them to the black-tie dinner.

It’s all part of the CRA’s “global vision.” Vancouver is becoming a mecca for people who love authentic Chinese cuisine, and the awards honour the local chefs who live up to those expectations.

“We want to provide a stage for local chefs but also for master Chinese chefs to exchange ideas and collaborate,” says Rae Kung, the CRA’s project and public affairs director.

“In North America,” says Cheung, who is the awards’ media relations manager, “there are conventional perceptions of what Chinese food is.

We want to bring in the rock stars.”

Fai is opening the dinner with chilled Nova Scotia lobster with BC salmon caviar while Keung is

The Chinese Restaurant Awards have flown Michelin-star chefs Mok Kit Keung and Lu Yiu Fai to Vancouver to share their talents with local chefs at the Gold Medal Dinner at the Four Seasons on April 23. Martha Perkins photo expressing his delight with the flavours of Alberta beef with his pan-fried beef short ribs with a lily bulb, red date and beef sauce, accompanied by stewed ox tongue in his secret marinade.

Joining them in creating the

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eight-course dinner are Ming Yeung, executive chef at Richmond’s Bamboo Grove, Wu Wenbin, executive chef at ye shanghai, Tony Luk, executive chef at Richmond’s Jade Seafood Restaurant, Anthony Leung, executive host Chinese chef

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Always ................ inviting

By Martha Perkins

at the Four Seasons and executive chef at the Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in Burnaby, Joseph Tse, executive chef at Above & Beyond at the Hotel ICON in Hong Kong, Andy Lau, executive chef at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant in Richmond, and Bruno Feldeisen, the Four Seasons’ pastry chef. The Four Seasons’ executive chef, Ned Bell, is creating the canapés: Alberta beef tenderloin with black truffle, honey and Okanagan apple compote and Alberta pork belly with BC cranberry and maple jam.

“The techniques are traditional but we add new elements to make it contemporary,” says Fai. “I don’t like to complicate them — simple but elegant.”

For Keung, the wok is the source of Chinese cuisine’s harmony and energy. He was invited as the guest chef at the Shangri-la in Paris, where he discovered that many diners expected traditional dishes such as Peking Duck. But even though he is devoted to Chinese traditions — he challenged himself to recreate centuries-old dishes — he wants to introduce people to the vast scope of Chinese cuisine.

He spends his days off visiting markets to find the freshest, most imaginative ingredients.

As part of the Gold Medal Dinner on April 23, the winners of the CRA’s Critics’ Choice and Dinners’ Choice awards will be announced.

Details at ChineseRestaurantAwards.com.

Learning today - Leading tomorrow

Michelin star chefs grace the kitchen of the Vancouver Four Seasons for the Chinese Restaurant Awards’ Gold Medal Dinner

April 24 – 30, 2014

5

gastown

Shakers & Makers

Gastown bars are at the centre of the global cocktail revival

By Robert Mangelsdorf

T

here’s magic in the small ceramic tea cup Bambudda bar manager Buck Friend fills, pouring from a white teapot on high to aerate the golden liquid therein.

Of course, this isn’t the usual Chinese restaurant staple he’s preparing.

The Tsui Hang “cold tea” cocktail is Friend’s cheeky homage to the infamous late night Granville Street hole-in-the-wall that has been a familiar haunt for the city’s hospitality workers for decades.

The concoction of Dark Horse rye infusion, sherry, bitters, oolong tea, and Budweiser reduction is as delicious as it is playful, and that’s the point.

“We love to have fun with things,” he says.

“Everything doesn’t have to be stirred and shaken.”

Friend is one of a handful of skilled gourmet mixologists at the forefront of the local cocktail revival, for which Gastown is ground

zero. In fact, the restaurants and cocktail bars that surround the site of Gassy Jack Deighton’s long-gone Globe Saloon are serving up some of the most progressive and innovative libations being made anywhere, and attracting talent from all over the world.

“It’s the reason I came here,” says Friend, who grew up in Australia before moving to Vancouver in 2011 to further his cocktail career.

“Vancouver is in easily in the top five in the world for cocktails.”

The appeal of the cocktail is simple of course: It’s delicious! It’s fun and versatile, so it can suit any mood, occasion, or food pairing.

So what is a cocktail, exactly? Well, anything you want it to be, says Friend.

Traditionally a cocktail is defined as a beverage consisting of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. But modern bartenders like Friend have increasingly taken their inspiration from molecular gastronomy, incorporating elements like hibiscus bubbles, sake foam, and homemade infusions into their creations.

Keefer Bar owner Dani Tatarin prepares her signature Laoshi Old Fashioned cocktail. Rob Newell photo “We try to have fun with everything we do,” he says. “But it’s important not to be too self-indulgent.”

He’s quick to note that there’s no right or wrong way to make a cocktail, just as there is no right or wrong way to order one.

“If a paramedic comes in after his shift and orders a vodka soda, who am I to look down on him?” says Friend. “It’s our job to serve the people, so drink what you want.”

Steps away from Gastown is the tiny Keefer Bar, where owner Dani Tatarin has made a name for herself putting unique spins on classic cocktails.

Taking its cues from its Chinatown surroundings, the Keefer is decorated to look like a Chinese apothecary. Indeed, some of

the homemade infusions and tinctures use traditional Chinese herbs and ingredients, like cordyceps fungus and even seahorse (yes, SEAHORSE!).

Tatarin’s take on the Old Fashioned includes a dollop of traditional Chinese cough syrup, a nod to The Simpson’s Flaming Moe (aka The Flaming Homer).

The traditional elements of cocktail making have always intrigued Tatarin, and form the starting point for many of her creations.

“There’s flips, fizzes, sours, slings, high balls, punches,” she says. “And if you play with the base spirits, it’s going to taste very different.”

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gastown

Shaun Layton at home behind the bar at L’Abbatoir in Gastown. Rob Newell

Continued from page 6 The history of the cocktail goes back to the early 1800s, when the first published references to the mixed drink began to appear in print.

The cocktail took off on the West Coast during the California Gold Rush at San Francisco’s Occidental Hotel, while Prohibition led to an increased popularity in gin, which was easier to make illicitly than whiskey. The casual alcoholism of the post-war era, combined with the increased disposable income of the middle class, saw the cocktail reach its zenith in the 1950s.

This was the era of the tiki bar and the three martini lunch, when Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra crooned glass-in-hand.

The 1980s brought about a new – and perhaps forgettable – era in the cocktail. The classics gave way to sweet sugary concoctions like the Midori splice and the piña colada. While Hollywood movies like Cocktail glamourized the bartender, their portrayal was not as a skilled gourmand, but instead as a shaker-juggling bar clown.

The 1990s weren’t much better, as classics such as the martini were twisted into sickly sweet perversions that contained just about anything except gin and vermouth.

WEVancouver.com

Thankfully, there were those who knew better. Legendary bartender Dale DeGroff helped pioneer the gourmet approach to cocktailmaking at New York’s Rainbow Room in the late 1980s when he resurrected a number of nearly forgotten classic cocktails.

Instead of merely masking the presence of alcohol, DeGroff helped popularize “spirit forward” cocktails to showcase the quality liquors the cocktails contained instead of hiding them with globs of syrups, sugars, and fruit juices.

“He’s really the father of the modern day cocktail,” says Friend.

The past decade has seen the cocktail return to prominence, such that any restaurant worth its salt now carries a cocktail program.

“Seven or eight years ago, there were only three or four bars you could even get cocktails,” says Shaun Layton of Gastown’s award-winning L’Abbatoir restaurant. “Now every restaurant is expected to have a cocktail program.”

Layton has travelled the world to hone his craft; visiting distilleries, attending seminars, and learning new techniques. Layton won the Canadian Giffard Cocktail Championship in 2010, and was recognized at the 21st Annual Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards as Bartender of the Year.

Layton specializes in creating cocktails to please diner’s palates, including drinks that are savoury, rather than sweet, such as his signature avocado gimlet. But it’s not enough to simply be different, he says. Successful bartenders need to provide top-notch customer service, and that means ditching the pretentiousness.

“Vancouver is a small city, but it’s a fickle city,” he says. “There are a lot of options, so you really have to nail it.

Despite the wide variety of choices available to local tipplers, Tatarin says the city’s cocktail scene is supportive, rather than competitive.

“It’s not competitive at all,” she says. “There’s no animosity towards other bartenders. We help each other, we encourage each other, and we all drink at each others’ bars on our days off.”

Long Table Distillery owner Charles Tremewen says operating his own distillery allows him to be creative and work with great local businesses.

Kenzie Colbourne photo

BC Distilled highlights best local spirits

By Kenzie Colbourne

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ollowing the cue of the burgeoning craft beer scene, a handful of microdistilleries have popped up in Vancouver in the past year, offering mouthwatering spirits with flavours like black current, licorice, juniper, or crisp cucumber. The locally-sourced and independently-operated businesses are rapidly gaining attention for the superior product they produce, as well as the fun and jovial atmosphere they provide.

There are now more than a dozen microdistilleries in BC, with six of the 17 microdistilleries featured at the upcoming BC Distilled festival based in Vancouver.

Alex Hamer, the founder of BC Distilled, said he started the festival because it’s something he himself would love to attend: A place to go and indulge in an evening liqueur or try a new crisp and light vodka.

The festival will provide a chance for people to try new local spirits, evening liqueurs and crisp concoctions. Encouraging people to buy local, Hamer says the festival will give people a chance to see what is

available close to home.

“I’m a huge supporter of local anything... and I think a lot of people don’t realize what’s available locally,” said Hamer.

“The consumers are there, we just need to build awareness.”

Using BC grown grains, botanicals and other trade ingredients, microdistilleries boast unique flavours in their spirits. Most ingredients come from the province, and most product is sold here, too.

“It’s the first opportunity for people who want to understand what’s available in BC, and I think people will be surprised at not only the variety, but the quality of the products,” Hamer says.

Long Table Distillery opened last year as a brand new business on Hornby Street, and is a trendsetter in distillery culture in Vancouver. Long Table will be at the festival as Vancouver’s first microdistillery. They primarily distill vodka and gin, with other specialty products on their menu.

BC Distilled will be hosting the event Saturday, May 10, 6pm-9pm at CBC Studios on Hamilton Street. Visit BCDistilled.ca for tickets or more information.

April 24 – 30, 2014

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Gastown Experience First Nations culture in Gastown Visitors interested in learning more about Canada’s rich First Nations culture will soon have the opportunity to stay at an entirely aboriginal-themed hotel in downtown Vancouver. This May, Skwachàys Lodge will open an 18-room boutique arts hotel featuring distinctly cultural accommodations. Designed by six aboriginal artists and Vancouver-based interior design firms, each room boasts a unique theme featuring various animal spirits and original indigenous artwork like carvings, blankets and paintings. The property at 31 W. Pender also features a sweat lodge, an artist’s workshop, smudge room, and guest lounge. Skwachays.com

Gastown’s storefront law office is on the right track with practical, down-to-earth advice to help you with your legal matters, whether big or small.

Manager Chen-Wai Lee and chef Jimmy Stewart at Blacktail Florist.

Blacktail Florist serves up botanical beverages on Water St.

Wills & Estates Divorce & Family Issues Stratas & Co-ops Employment Elder Law Defamation Intellectual Property Disputes

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on’t go to Blacktail Florist looking for a spring arrangement. For food made from the best BC has to offer, however, this Gastown eatery should be your next dining destination.

Designed by Craig Stanghetta (Homer St Café, The Acorn) the restaurant’s secondfloor space is cleanly cosy in a white cedar-y, Scandinavian sort of way. And the menu?

An extremely localized focus has chef Jimmy Stewart drawing on provincially grown ingredients, with an entirely regional wine list ensuring both drink and food spring from the same soil and are thereby spiritually in-sync.

A starter of mushroom caps topped with cured duck ($4) perfectly matched the savoury meatiness of both, while cucumbers filled with verbena cream and slivers of crispy pig’s ear ($2) were refreshing and pretty.

Salmon belly topped with pop-rocks ($3.50) was gimmicky in accordance to the rule of all things topped with pop-rocks, but the pork hock sandwich ($2.50) evoked Montreal smoked meat admirably.

A generously portioned earl-grey braised bison brisket ($14) melted all over its accompanying chard and demonstrated that Blacktail Florist has triumphed in uniting herbivore vibes with carnivore tastes. Halibut cheeks ($14) were perfectly cooked but, despite pillowy dumplings, a poached-egg gnocchi dish ($12) suffered a soupy execution (and was arbitrarily filed on the menu under “meat”).

One of the most charming things about Blacktail Florist (aside from huge windows set to be thrown open on summer evenings, making it the romantic date ticket of the season) is Stewart’s dedication to cohesion.

Dessert was a sublime cinnamon chocolate

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Visit us at 88 Powell Street, Gastown 778-328-1570 • www.railtownlaw.com

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parfait (more of a semifreddo, really) with goat-milk rice pudding ($9), and the bees responsible for the accompanying honey drizzle also pollinated the same rice used in the pudding. Or maybe the chef rode the goat to work that morning? Anyway, there was a pleasing synchronicity, and it was lovely.

Can’t wait to taste? Try Blacktail bar manager Connor Gotowiec’s recipe for the Fawn – a sparkling wine cocktail enlivened with sweet blackberry syrup that makes us think of Baz Luhrmann setting the Gatsby party scene in the heart of Stanley Park.

By Anya Levykh

IA

15 ml Beefeater gin 30 ml Dubonnet 20 ml homemade blackberry syrup (2 lbs fresh blackberries, 5 cups sugar, 5 cups water) Sparkling wine Syrup directions: Over low/medium heat, add blackberries to a medium sized pot. Allow berries to reduce. When berries turn slightly pale in colour, strain pulp through a sieve. Reserve blackberry reduction (approximately 2 cups). Discard pulp. In a separate pot, bring 5 cups of water to a light boil and gradually add 5 cups of sugar, allowing it to dissolve. Once sugar is dissolved, set aside to cool. Add blackberry reduction and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Drink directions: Mix all ingredients together in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and fine strain into a champagne flute or coupe.

Top with sparkling wine.

BlacktailFlorist.ca, 200-332 Water, 604-6990249

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Gastown

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Gastown’s notorious Prohibition past

By Kenzie Colbourne

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tories of corrupt politicians, mobsters and back alley saloons colour the walking tour about prohibition conducted by Forbidden Vancouver.

Gisele Da Silva, appropriately wearing a fedora, takes people back to a time when Vancouver was full of showgirls, suited men and smoke-filled skies. A simpler time, some could imagine, but also a more dangerous one.

In 1917 prohibition came into effect in British Columbia. With encouragement from the business elite and the Christian Temperance Union, BC voted for prohibition after a referendum. Over the next several years, prominent figures like corrupt mayor L.D. Taylor, mobster Joe Celona and crooked prohibition commissioner Walter Findlay reaped the benefits of the illegal liquor trade, while many people were criminally punished for indulging their cravings. After years of corruption, half-hearted police efforts and fed up citizens, prohibition was voted out in 1920, and in 1921 liquor flowed free again. But the story is much more complicated. The time in between the referendums is full of scandal, luxury, and the dirty laundry of Vancouver’s past.

The tour, which starts in Cathedral Square and ends in Gastown, gives us a glimpse into a Vancouver when illegal boozing and shoddy whisky joints were seen all over the city. With an animated voice and lively demeanor, Da Silva leads the group around downtown Vancouver pointing out important land marks to the prohibition era and what happened there.

Whilst pointing out illegal hotspots and spinning tales about beautiful burlesque dancers, the tour encourages all the attendees to be “reporters.” Notepads in hand, they are told to listen to the facts to solve the mysteries of prohibition. Da Silva poses as a reporter from World News who was fired from the job for trying to uncover the dirty details surrounded the illegal liquor trade. Likely not an uncommon occurance for Vancouver newspapers at that time. Given tasks and clues, the tour keeps the “reporters” involved and entertained for the excursion.

Da Silva points out a back alley, which would have housed a blind pig, or saloon, places where you would need a secret knock and a cautious attitude. On Abbott Street, she brings to life a vivid scene at The Lotus Hotel, the location of a “private club” where the privileged would go to indulge – police,

WEVancouver.com

mayors and judges included. The Cambie Bar & Grill, one of the last stops on the tour, is said to be the location of the city’s first “beer parlour” after the prohibition ended, which still houses relics from when it opened.

Prohibition was a time where dealing in alcohol could mean years on a chain gang – hauling stone in a quarry, building stone roads – or time behind bars. You couldn’t legally manufacture liquor to sell or distribute and it was not an offence taken lightly if you were caught. The only thing you do could do safely was make your own alcohol to drink at home. Until prohibition, Vancouverites were accustomed to a life where booze and bars were commonplace all over town. Saloons covered the city, in hotels, on the streets, and they were usually filled with people. A small city then, only 20,000 people, bourbon and whisky soused over 60 saloons.

Exclusive private clubs allowed the rich and privileged to drink – technically speaking – legally. At these private clubs, you could bring your own homemade liquor to drink. It was legal to drink in private during the prohibition, so as long as you were a member of the private club, no problem, you just had to bring your own booze. But any saloon “worth its weight in whisky,” said Da Silva, would have liquor there, ready to buy. Bartenders, burlesque dancers, jazz bands and clouds of cigarette smoke would fill these clubs, along with those who had the means to back it.

Like any other legal activity, there were loopholes. Besides being able to drink in a private club or at home, you could drink with a prescription. Da Silva talks of a time where a gallon of whisky or a case of champagne would be prescribed; from a hangnail to an under active liver, all you had to do was call up the doctor, and you could be boozing away.

During the years of the prohibition Vancouver housed 400,000 people and over 385,000 prescriptions were filled for alcohol; a number that implies enough alcohol for every man, women and every some children. Churches of course had wine, so they too could bring in casks to serve during Sunday mass. The problem was that almost as much was going in the front door would be bootlegged out the back.

So did prohibition stop folks from drinking?

No. It just forced them to be more creative.

Aside from illuminating a time when Vancouver ran dry, the tour gives you a chance to see the city, from back alleys to noteworthy buildings, cobblestone roads and monuments. ForbiddenVancouver.ca

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hile the cherry blossoms are still in full bloom around much of Vancouver, let’s crack open a few wines that’ll suit springtime well!

La Stella 2012 Moscato D’Osoyoos | Osoyoos, BC | $20-25/500ml | LaStella.ca or Private Stores

This light and merry sparkler bursts with aromatics of peach nectar and red currant, but on the palate it’s all fruit cocktail with fresh slices of Bartlett pear thrown into the mix. At first sip, you’ll think it’s rather sweet, but as you continue on, you’ll note its lively acidity and find yourself reaching for more. Made from a couple Muscat varieties sourced around the Okanagan, never mind waiting until dessert – enjoy it with Thai or Indian curries instead.

many of us. In classic form, there’s a purity of citrus fruit here, and I’m also picking up the intensity and charm of key lime pie. Throw in some hints of limestone, very good length and, oh, is that a little jasmine, too? I love this wine; it’s well worth the price tag. Put it this way; the first thing I said upon tasting was, “Holy shit!”

Stag’s Hollow 2013 Syrah Grenache Rosé | Okanagan Valley BC | $22-26 | StagsHollowWinery.com This is totally a strawberry rhubarb pie cooling on a farmhouse window sill on the first day of summer.

Tucking into it a little further, there’s cherry jam, red wine gums, dried thyme and pinch of heat on the fairlydry finish. This isn’t a one-dimensional wine either, there’s ample character to ponder if that’s what floats your Kolt boat. Available winery-only at the moment, hitting Vancouver stores within weeks.

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Sauvignon Blanc isn’t often my thing, Marisco Vineyards ‘The Ned’ 2013 Pinot particularly when there’s that intense cat Noir | Marlborough, NZ | $20.99 | BC pee/ammonia thing going on. What I Clockwise Liquor Stores like with Chateau de Sancerre’s version, from top: This Pinot Noir has the quality and albesides its annual consistency, is the The Ned, by lure of a much pricier and handcrafted, full bloom of orange blossom on the Marisco Vineyards; small-production wine. nose, and then its fresh, abundant Stag Hollow’s Syrah How lovely then, that for just layers of Golden Delicious apples, Grenache Rosé; La Stella over 20 bucks you can get this Asian pear, green table grapes Moscato D’Osoyoos; Chateau de quite-solid testament to the and lemon curd. The acidity folds Sancerre; Domaine de Chaude Ecuelle. variety. Wild mushrooms, bay leaf, in well - not that extreme tearand then red and black berry fruit your-face-off style – but the kind float along, singing all the way. that lends a wee bit of a richer Give it a few minutes in the fridge viscosity and has a seemingly-endless finish. to chill, then enjoy. Marisco Vineyards is going to be one of over 80 New Zealand wines poured at the BC Hospitality Domaine de Chaude Ecuelle 2009 Chablis 1er Cru | Foundation’s annual Dish ‘n Dazzle, May 1 at the VancouChablis, France | $47.99 | Kitsilano Wine Cellars ver Convention Centre. For more information, head to Whiffs of zesty lemons and wet rocks on the nose will DishNDazzle.com transport you straight to Chablis, Chardonnay’s mecca for

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eat & drink

Afternoon Tea vs High Tea

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was going to let it go, but I couldn’t. It for the social elite and it’s what most think was getting to me like the mislabelling of as “High Tea.” Since having tea was such of Wagyu beef for “Kobe” or sparkling an occasion, the “snack” eventually turned wine for “Champagne.” I know, the into a full meal and dinners happened later at around 8pm. world won’t end, but the culinary world Generally, Afternoon Tea consists of won’t progress if we keep calling things by multi-tiers of crustless finger sandwiches, the wrong name. scones, dainty tea cakes and petit fours.

I’ve been there, calling it “High Tea” Sound familiar? Well if you’ve been going instead of “Afternoon Tea” and not even acfor “High Tea” in Vancouknowledging the difference. ver it should, however the It’s a big difference too, and term is being misused for it’s time to point them out. the most part.

Almost every place in As for the menus in the Metro Vancouver offering a UK (birthplace of AfterHigh Tea service is actually noon Tea) calling it “High offering an Afternoon Tea Tea”, they are doing it to service. Yes, the two names appeal to tourists who nowadays are somewhat relate to the term better. It’s interchangeable, but they

by Mijune Pak a bit of a sad truth. weren’t in the past.

Technicalities aside… Oh, Definitions change with heck, who am I kidding? I rarely put those time, but it’s important to recognize the original meanings of culinary terms to better aside, but if I had to put them aside then call it what you want. As long as you’re enunderstand them. joying yourself then it doesn’t really matter.

Nowadays, High Tea is often used to adContinue to believe the world is flat. Okay, dress Afternoon Tea. Perhaps it’s because it I’m being dramatic, but just know there is a sounds “higher class,” or it’s a more mardifference. ketable term than “Afternoon Tea,” which sounds somewhat uncultured and boring, but historically they are not related.

Find Mijune at the Vancouver Magazine Traditionally, High Tea happens after work Awards on April 22. She will be attending Chowzter’s Global Steak Symposium and the hours at around 5pm to 6pm. It was a meal Chowzter Awards on April 27 in London. time for the working class, not for the high She will also be at Veuve Clicquot’s World’s class like people tend to assume. Therefore Best Female Chef Awards, Cacao Barry’s the spread would consists of heavier items The World’s Best Pastry Chef Awards, and like chicken pot pies, quiche and beef welS.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna’s The World’s 50 lingtons. It was a replacement for a late Best Restaurants Awards on April 28 also in dinner and often had on high tables, hence London. Follow Mijune’s culinary adventures the name High Tea. on her blog, and follow @followmefoodie and As for Afternoon Tea or “Low Tea,” this #FMFinLondon on Twitter and Facebook for happens around 3pm to 4pm on a low table live updates. top. Tea was a luxury, so Afternoon Tea was

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Fresh Sheet

Local Food & Drink Happenings

by Anya Levykh

SCENE | HEARD Belgard Kitchen is now officially open at The Settlement Building at 55 Dunlevy Ave. Look for hearty, casual lunch items and charcuterie and small plates on the evening menu. BelgardKitchen.com Merridale Artisan Distillery in Cobble Hill has won Best in Class, Gold and Silver awards for their pear and apple brandies at the American Distilling Association’s 8th annual competition. Visit MerridaleCider. com BC Wine Institute, which represents 138 British Columbia member wineries, has announced the start of an independent third-party review of the organization’s governance structure, in part influenced by the latest Liquor Policy Review recommendations. Goals include expanding opportunities for those who work in BC’s wine industry, which contributes $2 billion annually to BC’s economy.

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery in Oliver has used funds raised in their tasting room to purchase land and donate it to the South Okanagan Rehab Centre for Owls and the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society, both of which work with endangered and injured birds. BOVWine.ca

WEVancouver.com

Milestones Grill & Bar Restaurants are the newest national partner of Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program. All 51 locations will now offer Ocean Wise-approved choices on the menus.

MilestonesRestaurants.com

DRINK | DINE On April 24, support the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation at the Jeans Day BBQ in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, 11:30am to 1:30pm. Each $10 lunch, provided by Glowbal Restaurants, includes choice of porchetta sandwich or vegetable wrap, along with choice of quinoa or potato salad, and Duso’s five-bean salad. All proceeds go to the BCCHF. BCCHF.ca Tickets for the annual Dish ‘n Dazzle fundraiser for the BC Hospitality Foundation on May 1 are 75 per cent sold, but there’s still time to get yours! This fifth annual showcase of wine, food and cocktails features the wines of New Zealand, as well as 14 of Vancouver’s top restaurants and six of the city’s most talented mixologists. DishNDazzle.com La Pentola is holding their next Famiglia Supper Series on April 27 at 6pm. The 10+ courses will take you on a journey through the Marche region of Italy. $55 per person.

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Another helping of EAT! The EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival is back May 30 to June 1 at BC Place Stadium. Featured chefs include Chuck Hughes, Lynn Crawford, Vikram Vij, Ned Bell, and Rob Feenie. Don’t miss the Celebrity Chef Throwdown, as well as more than 250 exhibitors. Eat-Vancouver.com

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Please look for your weekly Safeway flyer inside the Westender each week, delivered every Thursday!

Mamie Taylor’s is launching their southernstyle brunch this weekend on April 26. Look for eggs and grit, chicken-fried steak, smoked pork belly biscuit benny and Freedom Toast.

MamieTaylors.ca On Saturday, May 10, Calabash will be launching a brunch menu, focusing on authentic Caribbean food and drink. Look for roti with jerk scrambled eggs, salara French toast with spiced mango maple syrup, and other exotic dishes. CalabashBistro.com

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April 24 – 30, 2014

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eat & drink

Nook’s cozy fare arrives in Kitsilano The Dish

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by Anya Levykh

still remember the severe disappointment people expressed when they heard that the West End’s long-standing and extremely popular Tapastree on Robson was closing back in 2010.

That disappointment was slightly mollified when they understood that executive chef/owner Mike Jeffs and life/business partner Nicole Welsh were in fact closing it down in order to open up something new.

Tavola quickly became even more popular than its predecessor, adding to the success Jeffs, Welsh, and partner Brad Rourke had already established with Nook, just around the corner on Denman.

Fast-forward to a few months ago, and Nook’s second location arrived in Kitsilano, at the old Rossini’s space just up from Kits Beach.

Gone was the dark, smoky room that had seen its fair share of late-night jazz blowouts, and, in its place, a light, bright, airy room appeared, courtesy of designer Scott Posno.

The room is also larger than its West End cousin, with 60 seats, and, more importantly, the kitchen is larger as well, allowing for a few extra items on the menu, and the goal of offering lunch service by late May. “We have the space and manpower to do it here,” says Rourke over the phone. “Now that

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Owner Jamie Maxwell serves up pizza and more at at Nook in Kitsilano.

Rob Newell photo dinner is nailed, we can focus on other things.” There’s no patio, but the garage-style windows open fully, making it a perfect shaded retreat in summer.

Restaurant chef and new partner Jamie Maxwell runs the line here, and is turning out the same superb dishes that made the West End location such a hit. Meatballs are so moist and tender, I thought they must have been cooked for days, but it’s a clever trick involving a hard sauté in the tomato sauce, and then a quick 20-minute finish in the oven.

The new location also has a classic Lazio dish that I first fell in love with as a child in Rome, tonarelli cacio e pepe, long egg noodles with cheese and pepper. It’s the type of dish that’s easy to overdo, but Maxwell obviously and rightly favours simplicity, which helps showcase the

stellar ingredients being used.

Gnocchi with tiny meatballs is another winner, as is the rigatoni boscaiola, with prosciutto, mushrooms and sundried tomato. Buratta is sourced from Cioffi’s and is considered to be one of the best in the city, although, when speaking to Rourke, he mentioned they might be switching to something “even better.” (Is that possible?) Maxwell also makes his own bread, like the lovely crostini smothered in chicken liver or ricotta. He’s also been playing around with some ancient grain recipes, which, hopefully, will make it onto the menu by the time lunch service starts.

The best part of the new location is the brunch menu, which is exclusive to Kits.

Don’t look for eggs benny and hashbrowns on this menu, however. “Kits is such a brunchy neighbourhood,

but we didn’t want to do what all of our neighbours are doing,” explains Rourke.

The menu includes items like baked ricotta drizzled with honey, and skillets of eggs with wild mushrooms and sausage, or polenta with pork ragú, among other options. The full pizza menu is also available (who doesn’t like pizza for breakfast?) and there are even pancakes, although these are the puffy Dutch version, more like a popover, and served with apples and mascarpone.

The small, carefully curated wine list is a treat, with low mark-ups on bottles and decent by-the-glass selections, although rosés seem to be in short supply. The Aperol spritz was standout from the cocktail list, and, along with the rest of the menu, makes for a much-appreciated addition to the growing list of neighbourhood joints.

All ratings out of five stars.

Food: ★★★★ Service: ★★★ Ambiance: ★★★★ Overall: ★★★★

★: Okay, nothing memorable. ★★: Good, shows promise. ★★★: Very good, occasionally excellent. ★★★★: Excellent, consistently above average. ★★★★★: Awe-inspiring, practically perfect in every way.

No reservations. Open for dinner daily at 5pm, brunch Saturday & Sunday from 10:30am.

Nook | 1525 Yew St. | 604734-3381 | NookRestaurant.ca Find Anya Levykh on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook. com/FoodGirlFriday.

BIG. JUICY. TASTY. Now that’s a

FATBURGER!

Visit any of our 6 Vancouver locations to see why Fatburger has been a burger icon since 1952. Our extensive menu features award winning AAA Angus beef burgers, marinated chicken sandwiches, sage & rosemary infused turkey burgers, and premium hand-scooped ice cream milkshakes.

Davie • Denman • Dunsmuir • Harbour Centre Waterfront • West Broadway 12

April 24 – 30, 2014

fatburgercanada.com WEVancouver.com

Shop Talk: Get ready to race

style

Monthly Events

If the shoe fits Army & Navy, the Canadian owned and operated discount department store, has a long legacy with Vancouver’s historic Gastown neighbourhood. It opened its doors in 1919, and, 30 years later, the legendary shoe sales began.

In the lead up to this, the 65th edition, we looked at Canada’s largest designer shoe sale by the numbers: • 148,233: Pairs of shoes in this year’s sale • 5,148: Average number of shoppers across Canada who queue up opening day • 3.732 million: Total number of pairs sold to date The sale starts April 30 at 8am. If you left your line-up shoes at home, shelves are restocked throughout the day and while the sale lasts.

Closing Sale Lusso Verde, boutique purveyor of gourmet Italian foods and fine flowers, is closing its doors as of the end of April. The shop, at 1523 W. 8th and Granville is Canada gets American Girl selling all stock at Starting on May 3, the line-ups at Washington 40 per cent off. border crossings might be a little shorter.

That’s because parents will no longer have to go to the US to buy the must-have doll Eco Fashion Week for their daughters. The Chapters store on Value Village is once again Robson will be the first store in Canada to presenting a night for vincarry American Girl, an almost cult-like tage lovers everywhere favourite for young girls who want to with the always-popular customize their dolls to look just like them.

Thrift Chic Challenge, There are even accessories, including hair featuring stylists Lauren Clark extensions and a spa chair — yes, a spa chair and Lyndsey Chow of Hey — to help you keep your doll “looking and Jude, Jerome Insorio, and feeling her best.” The Canadian price has yet to Ghazal Elhaei. be announced, but the popular doll sells across The evening also the line for US$110. includes Tammy Joe of Young Oak, an up-and-coming Vancouver designer, taking on Value Village’s 68lb Challenge, which involves expertly transforming 68 pounds of gently-used clothes from Value Village – the amount of clothing and textiles the average North American throws away each year – into a brand new, reworked collection.

Eco Fashion Week, one of the top recurring fashion shows in the city, runs April 27-29. The Your downtown Vancouver Thrift Chic Challenge kicks off Meeting Solution!

April 28 at 7pm at the Fairmont Waterfront (900 Canada Pl.) folA proud member of LOUD lowed immediately by the 68lb Challenge.

1-800-663-0575 Tickets to the evening are www.chateaugranville.com $60.75, available through EcoFashion-Week.com.

Each Best Western® branded hotel is independently owned and operated. ©2014 Best Western International, Inc. All rights reserved.

April 24-May 31, 2014 LOUD Business (formerly the GLBA) is a not-for-profit association founded on our three pillars: Networking, Community and Philanthropy.

AFTER WORK @ AFTERGLOW LOUD Business Networking Cocktail Party

Thirty years ago the GLBA printed its first directory. Over time, we’ve grown into a more diverse organization, creating opportunities for professionals and entrepreneurs within the LGBTQ community to network, learn and grow – both professionally and personally.

YOGA WITH HIM Health Initiative for Men

In 2009 we created the LOUD Foundation, to provide financial assistance in the form of scholarships to budding community leaders.

On 23 May join us for lunch to celebrate our common achievements and express our appreciation and support for the next generations of leaders by awarding scholarships. Come out and be LOUD!

Friday, April 25, 5:00pm-8:00 pm Afterglow Lounge 1082 Hamilton St. https://loudlounge.eventbrite.ca

Fridays, 7:00pm-8:15pm Scotiabank Dance Centre 677 Davie St. 604.488.1001 BINGO FOR LIFE Vancouver Friends For Life Society

Wednesdays, 8:00pm-11:00pm Celebrities Nightclub 1022 Davie St. www.celebritiesnightclub.com THE LITTLE MERMAID SINGALONG FUNDRAISER BC Superfriends

Tuesday, May 13, 7:00pm11:00pm The Junction 1138 Davie St. bcsuperfriends@gmail.com

GAY-FRIENDLY BREAKFAST LOUD Business Networking Event

Wednesdays, May 14 & 28 The Edge Social Grille & Lounge 1100 Granville St. www.meetup.com/ LOUDbusiness INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA QMUNITY & VANCITY Breakfast Fundraiser

Friday, May 16, 7:00am10:00am The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver 900 West Georgia St. http://bit.ly/1eRzaov

THE END OF AIDS: REALITY OR HYPERBOLE The Peter Wall Institute Public Lecture

Wednesday, May 21, 7:30pm9:00pm Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville St. Free tickets at 604.569.1144 FIFTH ANNUAL LOUD SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS LOUD Business

Friday, May 23, 12:00pm Listel Hotel 1300 Robson St. http://bit.ly/1nuTWdi

BOOK YOUR AD NOW IN THE ANNUAL DIRECTORY Deadline May 7 • Call 604 742-8678

Find out more about LOUD at loudbusiness.com

Blair values his clients, colleagues and community, and it shows.

“I found Blair to be an excellent agent. Personable, organized and knowledgeable, he made the selling process as easy as possible. The best thing about him was his accessibility. Every email, text or phone call to him was answered within hours, if not minutes. He gave me immediate updates as needed (good and bad), which I really appreciated, as well as many helpful suggestions and reminders. His dedication is impressive. I highly recommend Blair as a very professional and conscientious agent.

Thanks, Blair!” —Sheena “Blair has excellent real estate knowledge and is a top professional at our office. I have worked with him on several assignments for mutual client. He deserves my best referral.” —Eugen Klein, Commercial REALTOR®, Principal, Klein Group Royal LePage

www.blairsmith.ca

604-313-8732

Royal LePage City Centre

JOE RAMIREZ MCP, CAC, CCC Adlerian Psychotherapist Canadian Certified Counsellor

Individual & Couples Counselling "For what matters to you" CONCERNS MAY INCLUDE:

SPECIALIZED IN:

• Anxiety/Anger

• Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse

• Burnout/Discouragement

• Latin-Canadian Cross-Cultural Relationships (Se Habla Español)

• Meaning/Life Stages • Sex Addiction • Separation/Communication

• LGBTQ: Sexual Identity, Relationships, Parenting & Family Support

#415 - 470 Granville St., Vancouver, BC V6C 1V5 • 778-227-9423 www.joe-ramirez.com • joe@joe-ramirez.com

WEVancouver.com

Powerful Solutions for Your Life Life Coach Doug Anderson Personal & Business Coaching doug@21cd.ca | 778.877.6276

www.21stcenturydynamics.com | www.povcanada.com Transforming relationships, health, finances, and careers.

April 24 – 30, 2014

13

MARTHA STURDY

Annual Factory Sale!

VASES BOWLS PLATTERS LAMPS LEATHER PIECES FABRIC TABLES CHAIRS

UP TO 70% OFF!

APRIL 30th & MAY 1st WEDNESDAY 8AM - 6PM & THURSDAY 8AM - 5PM

12W 5th Ave. (@ Ontario St.) www.marthasturdy.com

GENUINE IS

style

12345 Five finds A Good Chick To Know

by Jennifer Scott Clockwise from top left: Neon high-gloss City Slicker cube side table.

High shine pink adds a bold pop to any space, whether the room is super girly, whitewash neutral or industrial chic. My placement pick for this piece is as an oversized statement bedside table; pair it with a graphic tray and vintage lamp, and you have a bedroom with some boomboom-pow. CB2; $229.

Dinnerware by Nick Walker for Royal Doulton.

Eastside meets Westside with a street-art take on formal dishware. My personal fave? The Pure Evil Beautiful Things plate. Mixed with bold gold cutlery and rose coloured glassware, this could T:10.25” be my dream placesetting.

The Cross; $65.

Pappelina Vera One rug. These super fun underfoot statement pieces look stellar indoors, but are designed with the durability to style your outdoors, too.

Orling & Wu; $125 for 70cm x 90cm size.

Vintage upholstered armchair. Every room needs as story, and every piece should contribute at least a sentence; fab vintage finds add at least a chapter, visually representing the life they’ve seen before

you, which beautifully contradicts the streamlined chic of modern decor. Duchesse Vintage and Such; price available upon request.

Dana Mooney fine art.

Abstract, emotional and glamorous. The work of local fave Dana Mooney lends itself to glimmers of her successful makeup artistry career; strategic yet seemingly effortless strokes turn a blank canvas into a work of art. The Cross; price available upon request.

C A R I N G A S M U C H A B O U T L I S A’ S E Y E S AS SHE CARES ABOUT HER STUDENTS.

BUY ONE GET ONE

FREE On a complete pair of eyeglasses or Rx sunglasses

VISIT PEARLEVISION.CA TO ARRANGE YOUR EYE EXAM*

THIS IS GENUINE EYE CARE ™

Buy a complete pair (frame and lenses) (minimum purchase may apply) and receive a second complete pair up to a maximum value (maximum may vary) – same prescription. First pair must be equal to or greater than maximum value of second pair. Taxes extra. Valid prescription required. Cannot be combined with any store offer or discount. Second complete pair excludes certain brands including Maui Jim and Oakley. Not valid on previous purchases, contact lenses, accessories, readers, or non-prescription sunglasses. Discount off tag price. Savings applied to lenses. Valid at participating Canadian locations. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply. See store for details. Offer ends 6/28/2014. *Eye exams arranged. ©2014 Pearle Vision. All Rights Reserved

14

April 24 – 30, 2014

Most major vision plans accepted

WEVancouver.com

real estate AnnLok

urban residences _ modern living I seller’s _ buyer’s agent specialist urban residences_modern living | seller’s & buyer’s agent specialist urban residences _ modern

AnnLok

living I seller’s _ buye

AnnLok

cell 604.767.0959 | office 604.714.1700 www.annlok.com | ann@annlok.com604.767.0959 ann@annlok.com Medallion Club Award Member www.annlok.com

604.767.0959 ann@annlok.com www.annlok.com Medallion Club Award Member Medallion Club Award Member p |rresales e s a |l investments e s I a s sspecialist ignments I resales I investm presales | assignments Sutton West Coast Realty | 301-1508 West Broadway

Over 10 years experience working for You.

901-1501 presales I assignments I resales I investm e n HOWE t s sST.p– eOCEAN c i aTOWER l i s@t 888 BEACH: $4,568,000

Unrivaled splendor. Vancouver’s premiere waterfront residences combining two suites and conceived over 2 years of design & construction • 270 degree views flr-ceiling views of marinas, False Crk, Granville Island & cityscapes • House size 3255 sqft complimented by a 360 degree elliptical flrplan centered around a glass wine room, 4 bdrms, 4 bathrms, 5 parking & 2 storage lckrs • Featuring: 12 piece Miele & Thermador S/S appliances, Capolavaro granite, Zebrano bookmatched cabinetry, 2 home theatre systems, surround audio thruout, marble & onyx flooring thruout, T5 wired, video security system, Lutron one touch light & shades control, all rooms are a unique design & statement, Swarovski chandeliers, 6 piece master bath with 273 spray & steam shower, air jet tub, his/hers sinks; W/I closet, a ‘pink mosaic Bisazza’ bathroom, family room, great room, formal & informal dining areas, formal living room, dual entry, two balconies, two gas f/p, nanny quarters & much more • Simply spectacular!

A recent Re/Max report shows that foreign buyers are attracted to Vancouver’s scenery and lifestyle. File photo

Scenery, climate driving foreign investment in Vancouver real estate

By Emma Crawford Hampel

H

1102-638 BEACH CRESCENT ICON I: $1,015,000

W NE TING LIS

GROUP WEST COAST REALTY

Younger buyers – mostly first-time buyers and those upgrading to larger spaces – are driving increased sales, and this is leading to new types of requirements for the homes they are looking for.

“Hardwood floors and tiles are common expectations, and there is now a whole generation of buyers who have to look up “linoleum” on the Internet,” said the report.

The report also found that more women than men have made up the majority of first-time home buyers so far this year.

2807-198 AQUARIUS MEWS

AQUARIUS II: $1,189,000 false creek north I yaletown I coal harbour

STUNNING UNOBSTRUCTED VIEWS OF GEORGE WAINBORN PARK & FALSE CREEK – upfront and personal! • Boasting OPEN SAT. & SUN. APRIL 26 & 27, 2-4PM 9’4” ceilings (only on this floor), 1098sf 2bdrm + 2bath + den, sleek & sexy European finishings, air conditioning, hardwood flrs, oversized bedrooms, master w/ walk-in closet & 5 piece ensuite, closet organizers thruout, pantry off kitchen, Silver LEED certified, gorgeous floorplan with open kitchen, views from every room & opposite bedrooms for max privacy • BBQ on covered 89sf balcony w/gas line! • 1 prkg & huge storage locker • 24/7 concierge, I/D pool, hot tub, theatre, club house & more • Like Central Park location in NYC – right at the park, seawall, aquabus & miles of recreation.

RARELY ON THE IN MARKET – High L D U R S! O S O above the horizon, SW 8H corner with gorgeous unobstructed False Creek & Marina views as far as you can see • Views from every room with westerly David Lam & False Creek views too • Sprawling 1264 sqft, 2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, large den for an office, breakfast nook, S/S appliances with gas stove, luxury hardwood floors throughout, floor to ceiling windows to maximize views, sleek rollerblinds, generous bedrooms, master fits king size bed, 5 piece master ensuite bathroom with separate shower, gas fireplace, beautiful open modern floorplan, covered balcony for bbq’ing all year round.

false creek north I yaletown I coal harbour I downtown 2868 SPRUCE ST – CRAFTSMAN STYLE 2103-1438 RICHARDS STREET

ome sales in the Greater Vancouver area have been healthy thus far this year, due in no small part to the city’s attractiveness to foreign investors and newcomers.

Re/Max’s Spring Market Trends Report 2014 shows that the lifestyle the city offers have contributed to a 5.4 per cent increase in home sales pricing to $804,742 in March 2014 when compared with one year ago, when the average price was $763,319.

“Vancouver’s temperate climate, its social, cultural and economic links to mainland China and stunning scenery have driven a market that is considerable healthier compared with the same time last year,” the report said.

The market is now balanced between inventory and demand, and has been since the beginning of the year, according to the report.

“Modest growth in sales is projected, with prices anticipated to rise by two per cent this year,” it stated.

Inventory levels will drop, Re/Max predicts, even in spite of stricter lending criteria.

RECORD PRICE FOR KITS APARTMENT The sale of an older eight-unit Kitsilano rental apartment building has set a record price of more than $628,000 per suite.

NAI Commercial sold the apartment building on Cornwall Avenue in Kitsilano this month for $5,025,000. That works out to $628,125 per apartment.

NAI recently sold an even older 20-unit rental building on Cornwall Avenue for $425,000 per door and a nine-unit rental building on Point Grey Road, “that needed a complete renovation” for $588,000 per door.

–Courtesy of Business in Vancouver

MAUREEN YOUNG

5 Year Fixed 5 Year Variable

(Prime less 0.65%)

Rates subject to change without notice. O.A.C.

Contact me for all your purchase, refinance and renewal options.

Other rates and terms available.

CALL 604-805-5888

maureen@maureenyoung.ca | maureenyoung.ca Dominion Lending – Downtown Financial An Independently Owned & Operated Corporation

WEVancouver.com

LTI

UPCOMING:

Stunning completely renovated & restored 2 storey w/ basement character home & 1 bdrm mortgage helper – EAST SIDE. Investors & End Users: 2 bdrm + 2 bath across from David Lam Park $609,000 Call for more information.

GROUP WEST COAST REALTY

MU

T J U S L D! SO

LTI

A collection of 5 gorgeous boutique townhomes in the heart of Fairview – 3 storey 1574 sqft modern luxury complete with 3 supersize bdrms, 2.5 baths, 2 outdoor decks, 2 parking & storage • Eric Hamber Secondary, Carr Elementary & L’Ecole Bilingue Catchment • Steps to VGH/UBC Medical district, Granville/Cambie Village, mins. to Downtown & Canada Line • 9’ ceilings, oak hardwood flrs, open gourmet kitchen, S/S appls., granite counters, gas f/p, separate dining • Quiet SE corner – plenty of natural light, huge main flr deck for bbqs • Exclusive master suite on 2nd level w/ walk-in closet, office nook, private deck & ensuite bath w/ Nuheat flrs • Top floor has two supersized bdrms & 4pc. bath • Perfect for families of all sizes/ages! • Show suite quality.

Brand new stunning contemporary architecture in Mackenzie Heights • The future of design and quality construction by Estata Homes • Two storey with soaring ceilings in basement • 3028 sqft 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom, double car garage, 33x130 lot.

ATTENTION AZURA II 1495 RICHARDS:

1203-918 COOPERAGE WAY

RECENT SALES MARINER: $1,150,000

9E-139 DRAKE STREET CONCORDIA II: $659,000

I have buyers for ‘05’ units.

Please contact me if you are looking to sell an ‘05’ unit in this building.

1603-189 DAVIE STREET AQUARIUS III: $608,000

503-1018 CAMBIE STREET

YALETOWN LTD EDITION: $419,000

1209-1783 MANITOBA STREET RESIDENCES AT WEST: $490,900

202-1190 WEST 6TH AVENUE ALDER CROSSING: $759,900

3103-1438 RICHARDS STREET AZURA I: $999,000

Not intended to solicit for properties currently listed for sale or individuals currently under contract with a brokerage.

124 E. CORDOVA STREET LEASED

false creek north | yaletown | coal harbour | vancouver

A Sophisticated Approach to Lifestyle Attainment.

Professional Advisement and Marketing of Fine Vancouver Properties.

CURRENT RATES

2.49% 2.99% 2.35%

MU

T JUS D – FERS! L SO PLE OF

Certified Senior Agent & Luxury Marketing Specialist

Senior Mortgage Advisor

3 Year Fixed

Spectacular 180 degree views of unobstructed water, park & as far as you can see in a luxury waterfront Masterplanned community • Steps to the seawall, million $ parks, Granville Island aquabus, seaside restaurants & marinas • SW Corner 1138 sqft 2bdrm+2bath+real den • Features hardwood flrs throughout, S/S appliances, gas stove, granite countertops, flrceiling windows, lots of natural light and views from every room!

• TWO PARKING STALLS & storage locker • Mint condition and show suite quality • Resort amenities: Club Viva pool, hottub, concierge, squash courts, theatre, gym, guest suite & more.

T JUS D – FERS! L SO PLE OF

3081 WEST 28TH AVENUE $2,698,000

MODERN TOWNHOME: $949,000

AZURA I: $969,000

Number One Realtor in Office 2012 & 2013 WEST END

CURRENT LISTINGS:

NEW LISTING! WEST END

OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM

JUST LISTED & SOLD

704-1250 Burnaby Street, $238,000, “The Horizon” • Sub Penthouse 839sq.ft. 1 Bed • High-End Principal Residence (Could be 2 Bed) Designer Reno!

• Concrete 6-Storey Boutique Strata • NW Facing with Huge 138sf Deck • 430sq.ft. Studio Leasehold • Best Leasehold Bldg in • Quiet,Tree-Lined Street in Davie Village West End • Pets and Rentals Allowed • Investor Alert! Short-Term • Exercise Room, Saunas, Large Rentals Allowed!

Storage Locker • Sold With or Without • In-Suite Laundry Hookups, Best Furniture Parking Stall • Clean, Move-in Ready or Reno.

• Call For More Details 504-1133 Harwood Street, $448,000, “Harwood Manor”

Welcome Home!

Crest Westside Ltd.

Prepare to be MOVED™.

MOUNT PLEASANT

NEW LISTING!

OPEN SUN 2-4PM

703-288 East 8th Avenue, $348,800, “Metrovista”

• Upper S/W View 1 Bed & Den • Landmark Boutique Concrete in Heart of SOMA! • Great Floorplan and Fresh Enviro Paint!

• Doggies, Pets & Rentals OK! • Right Across From Mount Pleasant Community CEntre • Solid Building, 1 Parking, 1 Storage, Gym & Workshop!

• Welcome Home

YALETOWN

More on My Website at: www.MichaelDowling.ca OFFER PENDING!

OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM 802-1238 Seymour Street, $458,000 “The Space Lofts” • Large 1 Bdrm & Den Loft (856sq.ft.) in Sought After “Space Tower” • 16th Floor Equivalent - 2 levels each floor • Designer Kitchen - Sleek White Lacquer Cabinets & S/S Appliances • 16’ High Ceilings, Master Bedroom Upstairs • Inspiring City Views • One Parking, Insuite Storage & Laundry • Pets (Dogs) & Rentals Welcome!

• Full Size Gym, Party Room & Building Manager • Fantastic Location Near Skytrain, Restaurants, Parks

WEST END

NEW PRICE! WEST RICHMOND

OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM

NEW LISTING!

OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM

301-1250 Burnaby Street, 5460 Granville Ave, Richmond, $1,498,000 $228,000, Furniture • 92’ by 160’ (14,707sq.ft.) Sunny Lot West Included, “ The Horizon” of No. 2 in “West Richmond!”

• Gorgeous Reno’d Jr. 1 Bdrm • Fantastic Solid 3,026sq.ft. 6 Bedroom, 3 Bath, 2 Kitchen Home Exists • Best Leasehold Building in • Build Over 5,600sq.ft. New Home West End • Two Car Garage, One Car Attached • Designer Finishings Carport & 8 More Parking!

• 1 Block to Thompson Community Centre, • Investor Alert! Short-Term Burnett and Mackay Schools Rentals Allowed!

Transit Route to Skytain - 5 Minutes • Sold Fully Furnished or Empty • On to YVR • Vacant - Immediate Possession • Huge Flat Sunny Fenced-In Grass Yard Great for Families Available!

• Large Sundeck and Veggie Garden • Call For More Details

Call Us Today for a Confidential Needs Assessment and Market Analysis

604-787-5568

www.MichaelDowling.ca April 24 – 30, 2014

15

real estate

DEXTER ASSOCIATES REALTY 604-689-8226 604-263-1144

Kevin Skipworth Managing Broker

Layla Bamford

Nicole Cannon

Erik Carlson

Christopher Dohm

www.dexterrealty.com

Sandi Fratino

Gaetan Kill

Megan King

Travis Mako

Bob Moore

Kris Pope

Mike Rooney

Michael Shaw

Sheila Sontz

Gurdeep Stephens

Candice Elliott 604-263-1144 info@candiceelliott.com www.candiceelliott.com

Su-Marie Baird 604-263-1144

104 – 1010 CHILCO ST OPEN SAT/SUN 2 - 4PM

Esther Twerdochlib

Barb Vogel

NEW PRICE

Bob Moore 604-506-8965 www.robertmoore.ca

2910 – 928 BEATTY ST.

211– 22 E. CORDOVA ST.

$485,000

loftsvancouver.com

RENOVATED STUDIO LOFT. VAN HORNE. Renovated studio loft with hardwood floors, granite countertops and new fridge & stove.

BEACH TOWNHOUSE W.E. TOWNHOUSE

SUTTON GROUP - WEST COAST REALTY

W NE

604-714-1700

www.stephenburke.com

EN OP

N SU

2-4

W NE

A LVA R

$269,900

commercial team will answer all of your questions and will help with all your commercial needs. Whether you need office space, somewhere to set up your business or retail store, or are looking to buy an investment property we can help you. Call us at 604-689-8226 today.

Ed Gramauskas & Reid Dewson Cell: 604-618-9727

GREAT 2 BUY!

NEW PRICE

Commercial Real Estate Needs? Dexter Associates Realty’s

Details & Photos of all lofts for sale in Vancouver

604-551-4190

$534,900

OPEN SAT 2 - 4PM

STEPHEN BURKE VGH PENTHOUSE

Magaret Zheng

LIBERTE P/H APARTMENT. Fully renovated Penthouse apartment 1 Bed and den, great city views. F/P, 2 parking and storage.

PERFECT PACKAGE! I’ve got it all. Choice views, excellent floor plan, like new or better condition.

660 sq.ft., one bedroom & den. Just looking for the perfect owner!

LOCATION, LOCATION!! West of Denman garden level suite with a private entrance, your pooch will love it. Well laid out 1,048 sq.ft. 2 bdrm, 2 bath with some updating, waiting for your personal touch. Includes gas f/p, laundry, parking & storage in this well-managed bldg. Pets & rentals welcome. 1 blk to Stanley Park & 2 blks to English Bay.

Laurel Wood

$308,000 309 – 680 W.7TH AVE.

Fantastic opportunity to live or invest in a spacious 1 bedroom city home.

Quiet southfacing garden suite with many upgrades. Situated in a well-maintained building w/ a proactive strata. Recent building upgrades include a new roof (2013), piping (2008), hot water tanks, elevator, common area upgrades & money for a new boiler. 1 parking and 1 storage locker included. Rentals and pets allowed! All this in the heart of the West End, just steps to the seawall, English Bay, shopping and all the great amenities downtown has to offer. www.candiceelliott.com

301-1508 W BROADWAY

Michael Webster

Reid Dewson Ed Gramauskas 604-618-9727 604-263-1144 www.loftsvancouver.com

$595,000 102 – 1655 NELSON ST

Check out our website, www.dexterrealty.com for current market condition updates.

Larry Traverence

BACHELOR SWEET! • • • • • • • • • • • • •

G TIN LIS

23

0

Q 0S

.F

T.

Like a private home on Beach Crescent Concrete construction, 1 common wall 2300 sq.ft. indoor space +800 sq.ft. outdoor Private front courtyard, balconies off BR’s Huge terrace off Den or Master Bedroom 3 bedroom (or 2+den plan) 3 1/2 bathrooms X hall plan main, traditional house-style Entertainers’ DR for 8+ people, windows to crtyrd Granite & stainless steel gas kitchen w/bar Custom designed Butler’s pantry off kitchen King MBR 3 ensuite baths+main powder room SW exp. at entrance to Beach Cres neighbourhood Concierge, health club, pool, 2 SxS parking, Pet ok

595 BEACH

G TIN LIS

• • • • • •

2-4 AT S EN OP

1-3 UN S &

Sturdy concrete 1140 sq. ft. 2 level 2 BR Maple, granite & stainless steel kitchen DR with maple floors open to sunny patio 21x14 LR w/wet bar & real woodburning FP Second Bedroom with Built-in wall bed Reno’d main bath. Pet ok. Great community

$1,998,000 1279 NICOLA

$589,000

DESIGNER SUITE-3 VIEWS • • • • •

750 sq.ft. 1 + office area + 2 balcs Soaring 14’ ceilings in LR/DR & BR Oak, granite & stainless st open kitch Oak floors throughout, cozy gas FP 1 parking, pet friendly. Gorgeous!

876 W 14TH 16

• • • • •

Reno’d 2 BR central West End strata Huge private concrete patio for BBQ Quartz & stainless steel custom kitchen Updated bath w/deep dish soaker tub 1 parking 1 storage. Pet & rental ok

• • • • •

Pristine 1 bedroom + den 721 sq ft Teak floors, stainless steel gas kitch Bright with windows in 3 directions 9’ ceilings, Air-con, 1 park, 1 storage Across fromAquatic Cntre, Sunset Beach

$498,000 1234 PENDRELL $434,900 1005 BEACH

April 24 – 30, 2014

• • • • •

Close to Beach & Park-Parkwood Manor Completely Reno’d S. steel Kitchen Bath upgrade, HW floors, Wall bed Plantation style shutters, huge walk-in No pets/rentals 1 INDOOR PARKING

$518,800 1975 PENDRELL $259,900

• • • • •

Oversize 1 or 1 +open den approx 800 sq. ft.

Adjacent to Stanley Park’s 1000 acres Snow capped mtns, City lights & Bay view Created by renowned Vancouver designer High-style modern living on the Park

COMING SOON..................................

WEVancouver.com

real estate

Rob Joyce & Sales Associate Roger Ross West End Specialists Nobody knows knows the the West West End End better! better!

Nobody

Sales Associate Associate Roger Roger Ross Ross Sales

West End End Specialist Specialist Rob Rob Joyce Joyce West

MLS Diamond Diamond Master Master Medallion Medallion Award Award 2013 2013 MLS

Coming next next week week ..... ..... 1236 1236 Bidwell Bidwell #802 #802 Rarely Rarely available available SW SW corner corner Spectacular Spectacular views views to to English English Bay Bay at at Alexander Alexander Park, Park, aa prestigious prestigious pet pet friendly friendly Coming strata just just steps steps to to the the beach. beach. Breathtaking Breathtaking views views as as photographed photographed above, above, two two levels, levels, two two parking parking and and 1430 1430 sf sf of of living living space. space. Call Call Rob Rob today! today! $998,000. $998,000. strata

SO 1330Harwood Harwood#1206 #1206Sunset SunsetBeach BeachViews!

Views!Rarely Rarely 1330 available studio studio with with probably probably the the best best English English Bay Bay available views you you could could hope hope for. for. Stunning Stunning unobstructed unobstructed views waterviews views++secured securedparking. parking.Hurry!

Hurry!$258,000. $258,000. water

WESTCOAST COAST WEST

NewListing Listing1879 1879Barclay Barclay#201 #201West Westof ofDenman Denman New Stanley Park Park sunny sunny South South West West corner corner with with Stanley magnificentheritage heritagedetail detail&&refinished refinishedred redoak oakfloors floors magnificent at Ralston Ralston Court.

Court. 665 665 sf. sf. Won’t Won’t last! last! $298,000. $298,000. at

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1102-638 Beach Crescent, 2 bdrm, $1,015,000, Sat/Sun 2-4 504-1133 Harwood, 1 bdrm, $448,000, Sat/Sun 2-4 301-1250 Burnaby St, Jr. 1 bdrm, $228,000, Sat/Sun 2-4 1279 Nicola, 2 bdrm, $589,000, Sat 2-4, Sun 1-3 104-1010 Chilco St, 2 bdrm, $595,000, Sat/Sun 2-4

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211-22 E. Cordova St, Studio loft, $269,900, Sat 2-4

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MOUNT PLEASANT

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DOWNTOWN 1605-1155 Seymour St, 1 bdrm, $438,000, Sun 2-4

YALETOWN

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703-288 E. 8th Ave,1 bdrm+den, $348,800, Sun 2-4

802-1238 Seymour St, 1 bdrm + den WEST RICHMOND 15 loft, $458,000, Sat/Sun 2-4 5460 Granville Ave, 6 bdrm, $1,498,000, Sat/Sun 2-4 WEVancouver.com

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APRIL SHOWERS bring May flowers on your 170 sf south facing deck overlooking walled garden, pond & waterfall. Spacious strata home features gas fireplace, insuite laundry, h/w floors, bay window, oversize kitchen & king size bedroom. Pet & rental friendly steps to Denman, Robson & Stanley Park!

SOLD $385,000

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AMAZING VIEWS from NW corner suite on upper floor of concrete highrise steps to English Bay beach & seawall. Open plan one bedroom offers stunning views to North Shore mountains, city lights & English Bay. If you’re familiar with the annual fireworks competition the barge is framed in your living room & bdrm windows! $287,000

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NORTH VANCOUVER 2030 Mackay,2-3 bdrm, $1,549,000, Sun 2-4 402-935 West 16th St,2 bdrm, $489,000, Sat 2-4

1665Nelson Nelson#210 #210OFFER OFFERPENDING PENDINGPost Post&&beam beam 1665 construction, gorgeous gorgeous renovations, renovations, 687 687 sf, sf, 99 ft. ft. construction, ceilings, new new kitchen kitchen and and bath bath and and much much more more at at ceilings, HempsteadManor Manoroff offDenman DenmanSt. St.$318,000. $318,000.

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Views!Sunny Sunny 1330 NE corner corner with with magnificent magnificent high high end end renovations, renovations, NE anopen openconcept concept&&forever foreverviews viewsto tocity, city,mountain mountain&& an water. 620 620 sf. sf. Building Building has has roof roof deck. deck. $335,000. $335,000. water.

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Real Estate Opens

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West End Neighbours

Important updates, please see website. If you are not receiving your newsletter please email or check in to website: www.westendneighbours.ca

TALK TO LIZ CARNEY 604 685-5951/603-3095

liz.carney@century21.ca • www.vancouvercondo.com Century 21 In Town Realty • 421 Pacific • 1030 Denman

In Town Realty

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April 24 – 30, 2014

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604-925-2911 • CELL 604-619-1281 www.carl-parker.com

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Certified Seniors Specialist cell 604-512-5544 paulbale@adventvancouver.ca www.paulbale.com www.adventvancouver.ca

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SHORELINE: $859,900 403-1625 Manitoba Street

DOWNSIZING DELIGHT Designers own brand new one-level home in Pemberton Heights.

2-3 bedrooms and a flex room, 2 ½ Baths with radiant heat, 3 Fire Places, open plan, light and brightwithmanywindowsanddoorstakinginthesurroundingnature.Separateofficeorguest room with en-suite. All custom finishes with hardwood flooring, and wool carpets. Gourmet kitchen with the very best high end appliances. Special lighting & speakers throughout.

Outside, seating areas, fire pit and gas lines for BBQ and heaters.Total privacy looking out over Mackay Creek and the many walking trails below. In-ground sprinklers, water features, hot tub and covered patios all create a perfect ambience for entertaining. Great little corner store which is a 2 minute walk, were neighbours enjoy the convenience store & restaurant with daily fresh baking soups & salads etc. For a fun Sunday brunch, Egg Benny is their specialty. Easy access to the highway, Marine Drive, Buses and the Sea Bus for trips to downtown.

2030 Mackay, North Vancouver

Price $1,549,000

Certified Zoomer Real Estate Specialist Visit: www.seniorsrealestate.com An independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates, Inc. Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are trademarks of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used herein under license with no other affiliation with Prudential.

SHORELINE: $498,900 306-1625 Manitoba Street

990 sq.ft. 2 bedroom, 2 725 sq.ft. 1 bdrm, 1 bath, solarium 710 sq.ft. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 2 balconies with million and 300 sq.ft. patio & garden. bathroom, 13 foot ceilings, bright dollar views. MLS #V1037708 West-facing. MLS #V1037695 open concept. MLS #V1037684

North Van Downtown Chinatown

GATEWAY: $489,000 402-935 West 16th Street

BRAVA: $438,000 1605-1155 Seymour Street

895 sq.ft. 2 bed, 2 bath, solarium, 601 sq.ft., 1 bedroom, 1 15’ ceilings. MLS #V1044797 bathroom, den/office, large view balcony. MLS #V1054194

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This beautiful 2 bedroom + den condo has views of ocean, marina, Stanley Park and Northshore mountains. Excellent layout with open kitchen plan featuring granite countertops, Sub Zero and Bosch appliances. Gas fireplace, air-con, large open view balcony, 2 u/g parking stalls, 24 hour concierge service.

One bedroom and den in the heart of the Westend! This suite has had a complete renovation with new kitchen, bathroom, den and hardwood floors. South facing suite with in-suite laundry, gas fireplace, large sunny balcony, king size bedroom and courtyard entrance. Pets allowed!

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KAYAK: $512,500 18 Athlete’s Way

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TAYLOR: $398,000 2403-550 Taylor 567 sq.ft. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, den/office, balcony with incredible views forever. MLS #V1054205

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LAGUNA PARKSIDE 1801-1925 Alberni Street Floor Plan 1,582 sq ft Offered at $2,498,000 Spectacular unobstructed 180° wraparound VIEWS from English Bay, North Shore Mountains to Stanley Park, Yacht Club and Marina. Gourmet island kitchen, granite counters and built-in Thermador stainless appliance package.

Open plan living/dining area features gas fireplace & 2 large balconies. Ocean and mountain view master with spa-like 5pc ensuite featuring steam shower & soaker tub.

Quality concrete building, 24hr concierge, hot tub, indoor pool & billiard lounge.

Walk out the front door to Stanley Park trails, West End Shops & Public Transit. 2 secure underground parking stalls. Enjoy Coal Harbour prestige with the serenity of a West End location.

1807-1088 Richards Street • SOLD

1602-1225 Richards Street • SOLD

2 bedroom and den corner suite. Big open views from living/dining rooms and both bedrooms.

Beautiful hardwood floors, granite countertops, soaker tub. 2 dogs and rentals allowed.

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WEVancouver.com

#myGGL

Living the dream: Mike Graziano

By Kelsey Klassen

T

o get your degree from Mike Graziano’s school of thought, you don’t have to go to all the courses, you have to go to all the countries.

Embarking on a documentary journey to earn what he calls The Global Degree, Graziano, 24, intends to travel to every country in the world before he is 30. Which would make him the youngest Canadian ever to do so.

The Texas-born, Vancouver-raised entrepreneur discovered his love of travel three years ago while studying business in Copenhagen. Having never left North America before, it was on this trip that he had his first epiphany.

“I learned that you didn’t really need a business degree to get ahead,” says Graziano. “You could just kind of go out there with your own ambition and drive and common sense and do your own thing.”

While overseas, Graziano founded a business that made electronic T-shirts – the sound activated that move to music – customizable. He also travelled to 17 countries.

“When you’re travelling to so many countries so quickly, it’s culture shock. You’re not sleeping much, you’re meeting so many people, engaging with different languages, cultures, personalities. I compare it to really being alive.

“It’s more rewarding than a business deal, it’s more reward than, you know, sex or a relationship,” he continues emphatically. “To me it’s the highest reward to be doing

Scan with

for bonus content

Mike Graziano (right) watches as Jacob Sweetapple pours the finishing touchs on The Burlesque Beauty Queen, a cocktail Sweetapple invented to celebrate the start of Graziano’s record-setting quest to travel to every country in the world before the age of 30. Rob Newell something like that. There’s nothing better than that type of trip.”

But he came home to focus on his business, and it paid off. Graziano made it onto Dragon’s Den, and GlowLife was asked to make shirts for Coldplay and MGM Grand in Las Vegas to name a few.

But then travel again began blipping on his radar.

When a planned group trip to Thailand in December fell through, Graziano went for three weeks by himself.

My Guide to the Good Life Mike’s story is part of a five-part Living The Dream series that will run every week until the launch of our special May 22 edition, of which Prevail is guest editor. It also marks the launch of our month-long contest, My Guide to the Good Life (#myGGL). Travelling is Mike’s idea of the Good Life; what’s yours?

Tell us, and you could win: • a trip to Portland • a shopping spree • a Squamish Valley Music Festival package and more

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He saw it as an opportunity.

“When you’re in that uncomfortable space, that’s when you have to do it because it’s going to take you to the next level.”

While travelling solo, he set challenges for himself: Go sit next to that stranger at the coffee shop. Say yes to travelling with the friend you just made. Go visit people in their home cities.

He refused in social situations to go “zombie” and retreat into the digital safety of his phone.

On his last day in Thailand, Graziano made a promise to himself: To reach all 195 countries before the calendar strikes 2019. When he got back to Vancouver, there was nothing here to talk him out of it.

“I looked at my bills, and I figured out that I’d spent more money as a ghost in Vancouver with car payments, subscriptions, etc., than I had living like a king in Thailand.

That’s when something opened up.”

In addition to being helped along by sponsors like Hostelworld and Flight Centre, Graziano will be travelling with videographer Alex Hennessy and putting together a film series for other wanderlusters his age, meant to show this kind of travel blitz is doable, desirable and can be done on less than $100 a day.

“I’m trying to do it as cheaply as possible, so that any person who watches our show can take a good, hard look at their situation and realize there is another lifestyle available to them. The reason people don’t do it is, No. 1, they think it’s too expensive. No. 2, they think it will be lonely to go on their own.

And No. 3, they don’t think it’s safe.

Which is all far from the truth.”

They raised more than $10,000 on Kickstarter towards fulfilling that dream. Most of that money went towards camera equipment, but some will also being helping others.

“We’re pooling money towards the good deeds fund. This is not an organization. It’s us, and, as we go, we’re going to find people in need. On an individual-to-individual connection. We’ll already be passing though these areas and it’s an opportunity to be helping.”

Graziano left April 7 for Belize and will return in August, having gone to 21 countries in Central and South America. Then its saving for the next leg: Asia.

He also plans to loan himself out over

GRAND OPENING

the course of his quest as a brand “errand boy.” Instead of a travelling salesman, he’s a travelling marketer.

On this junket, he’s taking music from electronic label Monster Cat to remote areas and filming people’s reactions to hearing it for the first time. He’s also playing Hodor to the Monster Cat mascot, and carrying it around for photo opps.

As plans for the trip started coming together, Graziano happened to meet Prevail, and the Swollen Members frontman liked what he heard.

Prevail linked him up with internationally acclaimed mixologist and Absolut ambassador Jacob Sweetapple, and all three were sitting around a table a few weeks ago, discussing the trip and staring lustily at Sweetapple’s celebratory custom creation.

It was inspired by the Monster Cat song “Savage” using Absolut’s newest flavour. The fact that it was created in a 24-hour window is but a testament to Sweetapple’s talent.

The drink tastes like if Jessica Rabbit walked into a rave.

The anise notes and strength of the absinthe are smoothed out dangerously by citric acid, and the drink itself, ‘The Burlesque Beauty Queen’, transitions seductively from pink to blue with a stir of the sugared violet flower that sits demurely like a geisha on the bottom.

And while this mind-bending drink won’t be appearing on any menus (you can replicate it yourself with the recipe below), it represents something that Graziano craves – the thrill of taking what you think you know, and allowing the entire world to question it.

Recipe

The Burlesque Beauty Queen 1 ½ oz Absolut Hibiskus ½ oz Lillet Rose ½ oz honey syrup ¼ oz Pernod 1/8 g citric acid 2 dash Bittermen’s Burlesque bitters 1 dash pure lemon extract Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass and add ice, Stir well and until chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with a candied violet flower.

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April 24 – 30, 2014

19

fim & tv

Nimisha Mukerji : A storyteller’s story

Female comedy lacks empowerment THE OTHER WOMAN Starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann Directed by Nick Cassavetes

65_RedRoses director Nimisha Mukerji on crowdfunding, women in film, and Oprah

Reel People

by Sabrina Furminger

W

hen Eva Markvoort decided to share her organ transplant journey with the world, she trusted Vancouver filmmaker Nimisha Mukerji to tell her story.

Mukerji (together with fellow recent UBC film grad Philip Lyall) only had a handful of documentary shorts to her name when she dove headfirst into the feature that would launch her career: an uncensored look into Markvoort’s life as she awaited a double lung transplant.

The result – 2009’s 65_RedRoses, so named for Markvoort’s web moniker – was a hit on the festival circuit, and thrust its subject and filmmakers into the global spotlight. The film received a game-changing stamp of approval from none other than Oprah Winfrey, who selected it to launch her documentary series Doc Club in 2011.

Sadly, Markvoort lost her battle with cystic fibrosis in 2010, but her brave story lives on in no small part thanks to Mukerji, who has since dedicated her life to sharing stories that move, challenge and inspire. “[Documentary filmmaking] is almost like having a relationship with someone,” says Mukerji on the phone from Las Vegas where she’s filming Tempest Storm. “When you decide to make a film, you’re committed. You fall in love with your subjects and the story, despite all of their flaws, despite your own flaws, [and] you decide that there is a story to be told. You don’t know how it’s going to end, but you definitely want to be there for the journey.”

Mukerji’s current cinematic relationship – a feature about an 85-year-old burlesque star who once dated Elvis and JFK and is still living it up in the desert city – was one of the first to be successfully “Kickstarted” when the crowdfunding giant launched in Canada last year.

Crowdfunding is a model that suits Mukerji just fine,

in the

art city

Vancouver filmaker Nimisha Mukerji will be honoured at Women in Film & Television Vancouver’s 25th Anniversary Spotlight Awards. especially when compared with a documentarian’s usual funding M.O.: Jump into a project with no financing, and then hope the footage snags the interest of a funder or two. “[Kickstarter] was about taking the power back,” she says. “Rather than going about it through the grant system, we’re like, ‘Let’s show there’s an audience for this film right off the bat.’”

The support of the Mighty O continues to impact Mukerji’s career. “Meeting [Winfrey] and being a part of that documentary club, it gave me the confidence to continue making movies that I believe in and that I’m passionate about, despite the broadcasters or the audience or the distributors,” she says. “I need to have an identity as a filmmaker and I need to make strong decisions, and I felt empowered to do that.”

Her work is not going unnoticed here at home. On April 30, Mukerji will be honoured at Women in Film & Television Vancouver’s 25th Anniversary Spotlight Awards for artistic achievement.

“Getting the award is honouring all of the extraordinary women in my life who have helped me get here, from my mother to my mentors to the subjects themselves, like Eva and Tempest,” she says. “I share this with all of them because they’re the reason that I’m making films and they’re the reason I’m getting this award.”

The Women in Spotlight awards will be handed out at Performance Works. Horror directors Jenn and Sylvia Soska (American Mary) and Whistler Film Festival founder Shauna Hardy Mishaw are among the other honorees. Tickets and information at WomenInFilm.ca/Spotlight.html.

If you work in our film and TV industry, Sabrina Furminger wants to hear your stories. Follow Sabrina on Twitter @sabrinarmf or send your news to info@sabrinafurminger.com.

Thor

Diakow The three female leads in The Other Woman tease a bounty of potential comic gold but end up delivering a shallow and often vacuous experience, due mostly to a painfully mediocre script that confines a cast to mundane jokes and recycled gags. After discovering her boyfriend (Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in a thankless role) is married, Carly (Diaz) winds up accidentally meeting his wife (Mann) and the two of them strike up a reluctant friendship.

Apparently, the screenwriters didn’t find this plot zany enough because the ladies soon discover the SOB is actually THREE-timing with a buxom blonde played by the ridiculously miscast supermodel Kate Upton. The trio decide to team up and the movie quickly becomes a revenge comedy. It all goes downhill and pretty damn fast. Upton’s acting is so dreadful it’s painfully clear she was literally hired for one scene in which she runs slo-mo down the beach in a white bikini. Diaz continues to stumble in throwaway roles and Mann, who was so effective and pathos-laden in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40, basically plays a loopier version of that character. Even Coster-Waldau, who is TV’s ultimate medieval villain, is reduced to enduring the exhausted ‘laxative in the drink’ gag.

Granted, The Other Woman contains a handful of clever bits and witty banter that are all the more disappointing because one can see the overall potential; sadly this one is a dreadful misfire that insults the talents of its stars and the brains of audience.

Leo awards set for biggest night ever For the first time in its history, the Leo Awards will expand to three dates on the film scene calendar. The Leos – which celebrate achievements in British Columbia film and television – received a record 1,052 eligible entries this year, giving them the opportunity to sustain more categories. A record 102 Leo Awards will be handed out at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver over three nights: May 30, May 31, and June 1 (if you’re unable to attend, fear not; Reel People will be live-tweeting the whole thing). Watch this space for the nominations announcement.

-Sabrina Furminger

friday, may 2, 2014 (opening gala) 7-9pm saturday, may 3, 2014 10am-5pm sunday, may 4, 2014 11am-4pm

9th annual visual art show & sale

free admission

Art in the City gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our sponsor:

WEST END COMMUNITY CENTRE

870 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC 604.257.8333 www.westendcc.ca

Operated by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in partnership with the West End Community Centre Association

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April 24 – 30, 2014

WEVancouver.com

movies

A-list cast brings their B-game TRANSCENDENCE

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While you can now buy a laptop computer for little more than pocket change, $100-million no longer goes very far in the blockbuster movie department. For nine figures, it seems a studio can only manage to set audiences up with a prototype outfitted with an A-list cast (bringing their B-game), some underdeveloped big ideas and the potential for bold set pieces. The key issue with this would-be techno-thriller from director Wally Pfister (Christopher Nolan’s long-time cinematographer) is that it’s plagued by wonky artificial intelligence that leaves it as glitchy as the latest Microsoft product.

Admittedly, Transcendence comes out of the gates with enough swagger that we don’t initially notice that this presumptive box office emperor is a little light in the clothing department. An assassination attempt on visionary researcher Will Caster (Johnny Depp) during a public speaking appearance enticingly Johnny Depp recalls the opening of David Cronenberg’s underrated stars as eXistenZ. And the subsequent decision of Will’s wife megalomanic Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) to allow his consciousness to live scientist Dr. Will on as an Oz-like digital overlord pulling puppet strings Caster in through the internet suggests that considerable Transcendence. mayhem is about to ensue. Regrettably, the boundless possibilities run afoul of screenwriter Jack Paglen’s limited imagination. Never once is there any strangeness, dread or human behaviour that’s the least bit relatable. And with the action (or what passes for it) largely relegated to an anonymous ghost town where Will and Evelyn are headquartered, Pfister’s first feature only becomes noteworthy for its remarkably high quotient of thankless roles, its over-reliance on a single special effect and the most underwhelming apocalypse to disgrace a big screen this year.

–Curtis Woloschuk

JU N 201 E 5, 6 4 A , 7, T 8 12, :00 13 PM & 1 4

Starring Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall Directed by Wally Pfister

Underdog has his day in revenge flick BLUE RUIN

Starring Macon Blair, Devin Ratray Directed by Jeremy Saulnier The mark of a superior revenge film is when it manages to make the unconscionable actions of its anti-hero completely understandable. As quite possibly the most accomplished American indie concerning contemporary family blood feuds since Jeff Nichols’ 2007 debut Shotgun Stories, Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin openly acknowledges the ultimate futility of gruesome vengeance while illustrating the reasons why its perpetrators are incapable of curbing the body count.

As we’re introduced to Dwight (Macon Blair), the beardo with “anticipation” tellingly tattooed on his chest seems locked in stasis, living in a dilapidated car along a desolate stretch of beach. But when word comes down that a certain convicted killer has been released from prison, we come to understand that the vehicle has served as a veritable rust-encrusted cocoon within which an essential metamorphosis has occurred. Trading in tin cans for gas money (just one of the fantastic details that punctuate Saulnier’s taught script), he sets out to claim his pound of flesh, unaware of the chain of events he’s putting in motion.

Doughy and doe-eyed, Dwight not only seems overmatched by his opponents but by ordinary life itself. There’s undeniably a visceral thrill in watching this underdog have his grisly day, overcoming odds in a manner reminiscent to Dustin Hoffman’s nebbish in Straw Dogs. But Saulnier is sure to temper the grim fatalism with empathy and joins his protagonist in seeing the absurd humour in his brutal downward spiral. In the closing minutes, it isn’t Dwight’s gunshots that resonate so much as his simple, sorrowful assessment of the collective folly he and his adversaries have fallen prey to.

–Curtis Woloschuk Plays the Vancity Theatre on April 25, 26, 30 and May 2.

WEVancouver.com

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out after dark

rants

rant/rave

OUT AFTER DARK is a weekly feature highlighting social and cultural events around Vancouver. Got an upcoming event? Email us at outafterdark@wevancouver.com.

email: rantrave@wevancouver.com All rants are the opinion of the individual and do not reflect the opinions of WE. The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity and brevity, so please keep it short and (bitter)sweet.

Where’s the enforcement, officer?

I was stunned to witness a City of Vancouver parking enforcement officer throw his cigarette butt onto the ground just before boarding the Number 10 – Granville. I didn’t bother to say anything to the officer, but I do wonder how he justifies writing parking enforcement tickets while breaking a bylaw himself.

Then I remembered a conversation I had with two sitting Vision Vancouver councillors; I was told that bylaws are written simply to let people know what is the right thing to do. Basically, the city doesn’t really bother enforcing bylaws (aside from the very lucrative vehicle-related bylaws). This is why people litter with abandon throughout the West End and, no doubt, the rest of Vancouver – there’s no fear of getting caught, let alone fined for this action.

John Merzetti, West End Cleanup organizer

2 3 1 4

More than 25,000 fanboys and fangirls (many in wild, wacky and wonderful costumes) filled the Vancouver Convention Centre from April 18 to 20 to meet genre stars, attend panels, buy memorabilia from their favourite sci-fi, fantasy, anime, comic book23302 and video game franchises, and people-watch at Docket: 115 Thorncliffe Park Drive Toronto Ontariois Awesome” about this Fan Expo. 1 “Everything Lego 247cosplay.

- JWT 2 That time our Reel People columnist Client: M4H 1M1 Participation Job Name: Sabrina Furminger was strangled by Freddy Krueger (Robert Ads Englund). 3 Ursula’s demeanour is Tel 416•696•2853 Lara Vanderheide Production Contact:days. decidedly more friendly than in her Little Mermaid 1,3 Reiko Shimizu Anderson photos 4 Canadian Olympians gathered at OMEGA’s Vancouver boutique April 10. From left to right, men’s speed skating gold medallist Charles Hamelin, women’s bobsleigh gold medallist Heather Moyse, B:5.8125” OMEGA brand manager and country manager, Canada, Hazem Sbayteh; women’s curling gold T:5.8125” medallist Jennifer Jones and women’s bobsleigh gold medallist Kaillie Humphries.

Your mind online Comment on wevancouver.com “Mia Kohout: Cycling for better cities”, April 3 thespokesman: Yes, ICBC does provide data that shows some effectiveness of cycle helmets, but recent research shows the effectiveness of bicycle helmet laws are unclear.

Perhaps a good question is does a person on a bicycle run a greater risk of death than person on foot?

No, they don’t, according to local research out of SFU. But the biggest question of all may be why does BC forbid people from riding bicycles without helmets if doing so improves their health and increases their lifespan? And perhaps the larger point is practices, policies, or laws that discourage or restrict a person from riding a bicycle are bad and should be changed.

S:5.8125”

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April 24 – 30, 2014

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14-03-20 6:58 AM

T:6”

Line (PAL) and speak with qualified exercise professionals* who will provide you with custom physical

B:6”

S:6”

FREE professional solutions are just a phone call away. Connect with BC’s FREE Physical Activity

tedly3000: I bet the cyclists who have maimed people (pedestrians, motorists and themselves) is actually quite minimal compared to how much motor vehicles kill, maim, and cause heart disease, stroke and other problems. So, give yourself a reality pill and take it with a glass of water, daily. Maybe getting on a bike won’t kill you once in a while, even without a helmet on.

“Vision commissioners: Vancouver Aquarium should remove cetaceans”, April 10 gm0n3y: The problem with getting rid of the whales is that this will dramatically lower the number of visitors to the aquarium, lowering income, reducing conservation ability, and likely endangering the aquarium’s viability as a public expense.

The aquarium is an important tool to educate the public about our local wildlife and to inspire them to treat nature with respect. As there is no zoo in Vancouver, this is the only

major public institution that allows people to view and learn about local animals. As a conservationist myself, helping other people to care about nature is very important to me and the aquarium is essential to this. If we have to keep a few whales in captivity to save potentially thousands of whales (and other animals) in the wild, then so be it.

Shaylen: Money isn’t the object when it comes to oppression and slavery just like it wasn’t an object when we abolished human slavery during the civil war. No one has a right to infringe upon another’s right and profit off of their oppression and abuse. So cry me a river about your money... Disgusting.

“Follow Me Foodie: The downside to farming downtown”, April 10 Shiney: FMF, I like your blog. Your restaurant reviews are fabulous, but this...this is sad. Instead of researching a subject, you wrote blindly because you knew people would get upset, respond, and thereby maximize traffic to your blog. Flaws in your argument are as plentiful and ripe as tomatoes, potentially diminishing your credibility as a well-informed food blogger.

For example, you insinuate that people would need to drive around to artisan producers but not to a farmer’s market or a grocery store.

That part doesn’t even make sense.

Likewise, what’s this about impacting tax revenues? Just silliness. One cannot rely fully on a community garden for sustenance. Good for business and revenues if anything, as they drive consumers to purchase ancillary goods for cooking and kitchen management.

You don’t think gardens are maximizing urban space? What is urban space for if not art, community, and quality of life?

And why pick on mushrooms of all things? They aren’t being cultivated outside to begin with, as they need darkness. Likewise, roof gardens are not hydroponic systems unless specific produce is needed, and nor are they expensive in the least. Annual maintenance costs are pennies – less than $20 per person per year in some cases. Polluted water is not an issue here.

Anyway, I’m a blogger too, and understand the need for attention but you don’t need to stoop to this level. You as FMF could write a lovely post about the flourishing of cooking creativity that gardens can inspire, as residents are turned onto items they might have never before used but do so because they encountered it in their community plot. Or maybe you are being comical and this is your attempt at Onion-style blogging?

“Earth Day: Bringing clean water to the one billion in need,” April 17 cyberclark: Harper and his Conservatives have refused not once but three times not to acknowledge water as a human right. This, at the UN! That’s what you got when you put in a Conservative majority!

WEVancouver.com

today’sdrive 20 14 Audi SQ5

Your journey starts here.

There’s oodles of passing power for getting past a spray-flinging semi-trailer on the highway Environment:

BY BRENDAN McALEER

brendanmcaleer@gmail.com

•

Tweet: @brendan_mcaleer

If travelling through Europe, keep your eyes peeled and you just might see two of the most desirable station wagons on the planet: the gorgeous Audi RS4 Avant and the ballistic RS6 Avant. Both are flared-out, incredibly powerful, shod with steamroller-sized rubber and, most importantly, not available here.

No sir, there hasn’t been a fast wagon in Audi’s North American fleet since the departure of the muchmissed S4 Avant in 2008 - shame.

The small Euro-wagon has been mostly supplanted by the compact crossover, with many buyers preferring the higher seating position and accepting the compromised handling that comes with it. The public has voted with their wallets, and Audi’s Q5 has just passed even perennial favourites like the 3-series and C-Class in total sales this year.

But what if you want both the friendly aspects of Audi’s crossover with some of that hot-wagon driving fun? Here’s the latest car to join the S-stable, and the quad-tailpipes out back suggest this is more than just your average luxo-pod.

Design:

One of the nicer things about Ingolstadt’s hotter versions is that they’re rarely overwrought. As mentioned, the SQ5 gets the same quad-tailpipe treatment out back as does the strong-selling S4 sedan, and it also gets those tell-tale angled red-rectangles. Standard wheel-size is a biggish 20”, with optional 21” as an upgrade, but note that a 19” alloy will clear brakes for winter use. There’s a space-saver spare tire out back so no need to run expensive run-flats.

Other than a few minor clues such as big, S-rated brake calipers peeking out from behind the upgraded alloys, the SQ5 would be hard to pick out from a crowd of frontdriver 2.0L models. Like all Q5s, it has that signature Audi grille up front, large enough to make you wonder if the car runs on plankton, but the side profile is actually quite reserved.

In fact, the only real critique here are the badges that give the game away somewhat. The fender-mounted “V6T” in chrome is particularly egregious, although it’d be quick work to get rid of it.

As it’s an S4 on stilts, you won’t be surprised to hear that the SQ5’s insides are practically copy-andpasted from the sport sedan. Optional carbon-fibre trim sets off a cabin furnished with embossed leather sport seats up front, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, plenty of brushed-chrome accents, and at least half-a-dozen S-badges.

It looks great, and the seats are quite comfortable without being so heavily bolstered that it’s hard to climb in. The trunk is a useful size for a vehicle that doesn’t seem all that large parked curb side, and the rear seats appear to have enough leg room for adults.

Any drawbacks are down to the crossover upon which the SQ5 is based. Thus, the rear seats might look adult-friendly, but the seat bottoms are too low for long-legged comfort, and they aren’t as cushy as the accommodations up front.

There’s also a huge transmission tunnel bisecting the back row, which makes this five-seater really more of a fourseater.

Performance:

Tucked in behind that gargantuan grille is an engine worthy of the S-badging: a 354hp supercharged 3.0L V6. It makes peak power at 6000rpm, but peak torque comes in a little later – 347lb/ft at 4000rpm.

Found elsewhere in the Audi range, this is a great engine, one of their best. It’s powerful enough to make a behemoth like the seven-seater Q7 feel spry, so when shoe-horned into something lighter, it’s just plain great.

Er, that’s only a tad lighter. The SQ5 is actually a bit heavy, what with all the luxury goodies, strong chassis, and allwheel-drive differentials. It’s not a big vehicle, but it does tip the scales at over 2000kg.

Even so, the eight-speed transmission and supercharged-V6 do a great job of getting this sporty crossover up and off the line. Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive means every last horsepower gets to the ground with suction-cup grip, and the supercharged engine is extremely responsive.

Start hammering the SQ5 through the curves, and it’s not quite as sharp as you could hope for. Like other Audi S-cars, the SQ5 has their Drive Select system, which allows the driver to change the dynamics of chassis,

transmission, and engine note between three settings. Even in the mostaggressive Dynamic mode, the feel and feedback coming through that flat-bottomed steering wheel isn’t quite enough. There’s also a bit more bodyroll than expected.

Overall, the SQ5 isn’t a hard-core performance machine, but merely a sportier version of the Q5 – and that’s pretty much what you’d expect. It’s not a track car, it’s a road car, but it’s very good at its job.

Fighting traffic, the higher seating position makes it really easy to see flow patterns up ahead and dodge left lanes clogged by someone turning. The transmission quickly kicks down and the all-wheel-drive grips when you’re making a quick turn onto a busy road, and there’s oodles of passing power for getting past a spray-flinging semi-trailer on the highway.

It’s an all-rounder, and as that’s what a crossover is supposed to be, the SQ5 gets top marks. Gearheads might fondly dream of that unobtainable uber-fast Audi Avant instead, but in the real world, the SQ5 gets pretty much everything right.

Features:

Despite a price tag starting off at $57K and moving rapidly North from there, many options have to be selected to get the SQ5 you actually want. That great-looking carbon-fibre trim mentioned early on? That’ll be $500, thanks.

Satellite Navigation is also an option, and an expensive one at that: $3200, though it does come bundled with front and rear parking assist. Blind spot monitoring is also available.

Despite the power bump, the SQ5 is fairly reasonable in terms of fuel economy. Official ratings are 13.2L/100kms in city and 8.5L/100kms on the highway – while premium fuel is required, these are pretty accurate numbers.

Green Light:

Strong acceleration; plenty of grip; stylish interior

Stop Sign:

Sedate exterior; not enough steering feedback; heavy curbweight

The Checkered Flag:

The all-rounder: a crossover for the crossfit crowd.

INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW 2014 NISSAN

ROGUE

®

AT THE INTERSECTION OF STYLE AND VERSATILITY. • All-New Design • Available 3rd Row Seating • Intuitive All Wheel Drive

WEVancouver.com

216 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC Sales: 604.257.8900 www.downtownnissan.ca April 24 – 30, 2014

23

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24

April 24 – 30, 2014

WEVancouver.com

WE DON’T PLAY IT SAFE WHEN IT COMES TO INNOVATION IN SAFETY. 2014 FORESTER STANDARD FEATURES: Symmetrical full-time all-wheel drive • 170 HP 4-cylinder BOXER engine • 6-speed Manual Transmission with Hill Holder System • Raised-profile roof rack Bluetooth® mobile phone connectivity (voice-activated) • Air Conditioning • Power door locks, windows, and rear liftgate • Heated front seats • And more

2014 FORESTER 2.0XT LIMITED SHOWN

STARTING FROM

▼

28,165

$

CASH INCENTIVE

LEASE/FINANCE 24 MOS., AS LOW AS

0.9

%**

*

OR

1,000

$

2014 ◆

STARTING FROM

30,665

$

*

†

2014

LEASE/FINANCE 24 MOS., AS LOW AS %**

0.5

OR

CASH INCENTIVE

2,500†

$

DOCKSTEADER SUBARU 8530 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC V6P 6N6 Tel: 604.325.1000 | docksteadersubaruvancouver.ca * Pricing applies to a 2014 Forester 2.5i 6MT (EJ1 X0) / 2014 Outback Convenience 2.5i (ED1 CP) with MSRP of $28,165 / $30,665 including freight & PDI ($1,650), documentation fees ($395) and battery and tire tax ($25) and air-conditioning levy ($100). License, taxes, insurance and registration extra. Model shown is a 2014 Forester 2.0XT Limited Package CVT (EJ2 XTL) with MSRP of $37,665 including freight & PDI ($1,650), documentation fees ($395) and battery and tire taxes ($25) and air-conditioning levy ($100). Taxes, license, registration and insurance are extra. Vehicle shown solely for purposes of illustration, and may not be equipped exactly as shown. Dealers may sell for less or may have to order or trade. **0.9% / 0.5% finance and lease rates available on all new 2014 Forester models / 2014 Outback models for a 24-month term. Financing and leasing programs available through Toyota Credit Canada Inc. on approved credit. †$1,000 / $2,500 cash incentive is for cash customers only and is available on all new 2014 Forester / 2014 Outback models. Cannot be combined with Subaru Canada supported lease/finance rates or lease payment offers. **/†Offers valid until April 30, 2014. Visit Docksteader Subaru or www. docksteadersubaruvancouver.ca for complete program details. ◆ Ratings are awarded for five crashworthiness tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) (www.iihs.org) – moderate frontal, side impact, rear impact, roof strength, and the new small overlap frontal crash test. ▼To earn a 2014 TOP SAFETY PICK+, vehicles must earn good ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests; a good or acceptable rating in the small overlap front test; and a basic, advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.

WEVancouver.com WE_Subaru_Forester_0414.indd

1

April 24 – 30,2014-04-17 2014

25

11:59 AM

26

April 24 – 30, 2014

WEVancouver.com

WEVancouver.com

April 24 – 30, 2014

27

SUSTAINABLE LIVING Prices Effective April 24 to April 30, 2014.

While quantities last. Not all items available at all stores. We reserve the right to correct printing errors.

100% BC Owned and Operated PRODUCE

MEAT Organic Black Kale from San Miguel

Organic Strawberries from J.W. Produce, California

2/4.00

product of USA

2.98

Bison Sirloin Tip Steaks

Wild Coho Salmon Fillets

9.99lb/ 22.02kg

value pack

12.99lb/ 28.64kg

8oz package product of USA

B.C. Grown Hot House Red Tomatoes On the Vine

.98lb/ 2.16kg

B.C. Grown Hot House Mini Cucumbers

Extra Lean Ground Turkey

2.98

5.99lb/ 13.21kg

Choices’ Own Pork Sausages

value pack

bag of 5

product of Canada

assorted varieties

5.99lb/ 13.21kg

product of Canada

GROCERY

HEALTHCARE Avalon Organic Milk

Stash Organic Tea

SAVE 3/6.99

40%

19%

product of USA

41%

assorted varieties

SAVE 2/4.00

9.99 2.95L

FROM

41%

product of Canada

assorted varieties

mild or fruity

33

150g product of UK

SAVE FROM

44%

FROM

26%

31%

product of Canada

Island Farms Ice Cream

3.49-4.49

assorted varieties

5.99

260g product of Canada

3.99-7.99

Sukin provides vegan and carbon neutral products that are safe & effective for your whole body and the environment.

59-118ml product of USA

20% off

FROM

33%

product of England

Rising Sun Gluten Free Dressing

.89-2.19 SAVE 175-350g

SAVE

4L • product of Canada

assorted varieties

25%

354ml product of USA

6.99

348-350ml

Cascades Premium Bathroom Tissue

Organic Red Split Lentils

4.99 8 pack

20% off regular retail price

product of Canada

GLUTEN FREE Blueberry or Date and Walnut Muffins

Muffins

Collier’s Welsh Cheddar Cheese

7.99

Take a vacation from harsh icky chemicals found in ordinary shampoos and conditioners.

Say aloha to beautiful hair with the hawaiian hair care collection from alba botanica.

BULK

xxx • product of xxx

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New

Alba Hair Care

SAVE 4.49

xxx BAKERY

DELI

3.496.99 Sukin Facial Care

assorted varieties

4.99-5.99 SAVE 80 sachets

assorted varieties

assorted varieties

product of USA

Yorkshire Pekoe Tea Red Orange or Gold Orange

500ml product of Australia

Sunrise Soyganic Tofu

Udi’s Gluten Free Cookies

78g

assorted sizes Natracare is high quality, organic and natural feminine hygiene products with certified organic 100% cotton, chlorine-free, plastic free and biodegradable materials.

Simply Organic Extracts

SAVE 7.99 %

SAVE 2/4.98

38%

6 pack

Ollo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Tyrrells Potato Chips

31%

product of Canada

assorted varieties

2/4.00

SAVE

1L • + deposit

Harvest Sun Organic Bouillon Cubes

Natracare Organic Tampons

assorted varieties

SAVE 3/7.98

18 sachets

Echoclean 2X HE Liquid Laundry Detergent

SAVE

Surf Sweets Gummies skim, 1, 2 or 3.25%

assorted varieties

regular or mini, assorted varieties

2.49-3.99

200g

5.49

package of 4

package of 4

Habibi’s Hummus

3.49-6.49

Choices’ Own Tomato Arugula Bocconcini Salad

200-450g

or Habibi’s Pita Chips

1.49/100g

2.99 180g

www.choicesmarkets.com

Brown Rice Bread

Hearty Scandinavian Bread

regular or sandwich size

3.99

5.49

530g

/ChoicesMarkets

Kitsilano

Cambie

Kerrisdale

Yaletown

Gluten Free Bakery

South Surrey

2627 W. 16th Ave. Vancouver

3493 Cambie St. Vancouver

1888 W. 57th Ave. Vancouver

1202 Richards St. Vancouver

2595 W. 16th Ave. Vancouver

3248 King George Blvd.

South Surrey

@ChoicesMarkets

Burnaby Crest

Kelowna

Floral Shop

8683 10th Ave. Burnaby

1937 Harvey Ave. Kelowna

2615 W. 16th Vancouver

Best Organic Produce