Candy Town in Yaletown 2013

Once again, Candy Town came upon Yaletown in mid November.  If you remember from last year, I volunteered for this event with the Yaletown BIA in it's inaugural season.  I had so much fun last year, I decided to do it again this year.  Besides, my friends co-ordinate the event.  Always fun to work with friends.  

My duties this year was to work the Info Booth on the corner of Mainland and Hamilton.  Right next to the horse carriage rides.  I got my friend, Nadine to volunteer with me since she also really enjoyed it last year too.  It was a very cold day but it was fun.  I, unfortunately, was feeling under the weather but put on some hand and toes warmers in my mitts and shoes and stayed warm.  It also helped that we had a heat lamp in our tent to aid in the warmth.

So I had received this name tag at our orientation session held at a pub called Killjoy.  It was dark inside and it was hard to see but I was given this badge to wear and so I wrote my name on it. I was the Candy Town Naughty/Nice List Keeper.

 This was where I worked.  The lollipop decorations were a hit with the crowds.  They kept taking one out and posing with them for the camera.  It was a really creative idea to use swim noodles to create the lollipops.  Just wish the bucket they in, would have been weighted as it kept falling over when someone walked by and bumped it.  Btw, these lollipops were not made by us or the BIA.  They were made by a group of individuals of special needs who work on creative designs in arts and crafts.  I can't remember which institute they were with but they did a great job on them!

 

This year, the BIA decided against the reindeer and skating rink.  Instead, we had Santa, sleigh rides, a Christmas tree lot and many new and different vendors from last year.  My friend, Carmen, who coordinated the event, sewed all the costumes herself.  They looked amazing.

 

This was Gabriella, Carmen's sister, visiting from the States.  She really got into it.

In this pic, you can see a Reindeer in the back.  People were taking pics with him all the time.  He was really popular, as was our dancing gingerbread men.  Yes, they actually break danced.
 

There were also stilts people, cause who doesn't like really tall people?  Am I right?

From the time I started my shift, til the end of it, I could tell that people were really enjoying themselves.  We even had several bands playing throughout.  They were amazing.  I saw the guy dressed like a peppermint candy jamming to the steel drums and having a great time. This band here was part of the festivities from last year and they are really great people and an awesome band. 

We had about 15.000 people come through our event last year but this year it looked substantially more. I would say double that.  It started at 12pm and went on until 9pm.  The cocktail drinks at selected bars were serving specialty drinks for the night.  Most people took advantage of it and it was appreciated by those bars that took part.  On my break, I had walked around a bit and was drawn to a bag of White Truffle Chips.  After sampling some, my friend Nadine, was nice enough to get me a pack since I had no cash on me.  But they were wonderful.

We had our volunteer party at the same place again this year.  Nadine and I went together on the Canada Line and walked to our destination.  It was cold and dark but it was still beautiful out. We had wine, appies, lasagna, salad and some wonderful dessert.  The YaleTown BIA (Annette, Gary, Jill and Bert)  always know how to treat their volunteers right.  After all the fun of sitting around talking and enjoying the food and company, it was almost time to go.  We were told to pick up a little tree ornament from the table.  They were all numbered on the tags.  Once the called out your number, you would come up and receive a gift in appreciation.

My number was #11.  It was a small white polar bear with a hat on and holding a present.  This little bear got me a $20 gift certificate for Honjin Sushi in Yaletown and a $10 gift certificate for DD Mau, a Vietnamese Sandwich shop also located in Yaletown.  We were also given a gift from our sponsors, Urban Thai.  They had so generously donated Urban Thai sauce mixes to everyone. Yellow, Green and Red Curry sauce mixes.  Just add the meat or fish.  So thank you, Yaletown BIA for another wonderful event and for your generosity.  Its always fun volunteering with friends and I'll be back again next year!

BC Lions Clearance Sale 2013

The BC Lions Locker Room Sale was held on November 20 at BC Place.  If you weren't there, you missed out on some great chances to score some great gear for next season!

I went out there with my friend, Leslie-Anne and Nadine.  We met up at Gate H inside around 1pm and looked around.  By then, the season's ticket holders had already picked through most of the stuff.  I went there in mind to buy a scarf, toddler jersey and whatever else might catch my eye.  Turned out, the only scarf they had was the pink one and although it went to the BC Children's charity fund, I still wanted the orange one.  So no scarf for me.  The toddler jersey's weren't on sale either.  Nor were the baby/toddler hat and mitts set. It would have been great for my little nephew.

There wasn't much in the women's selection that I really wanted and the prices I found were still kinda high.  I was hoping for more of a discount on these items.  The t-shirts and hats went for $10.  I saw two guys standing by the end table where the helmets were on and went over to have a chat.  It was JR LaRose and Keron Williams.  I asked them how much the lids were going for.  They said around $400!!  I told them that they looked sic out there with them on.  They agreed and said that they were heavy to wear though.  So, I picked one up and it was indeed heavy. Good on them for being able to wear them on their heads. I think I would have a headache after wearing one of those after a game.

Since I looked around and couldn't find anything I liked, I decided to get the stuff my friend work and from my hometown had asked me to get.  I wasn't able to find what my work friend had asked for so I looked for the stuff my other friend wanted. He was supposed to be there but came down with the flu and wasn't able to make it.  So, he arranged for me to do some shopping for him.  So, I took some pics of the items around the store and we did some virtual shopping together.

I was able to get a few items for my friend.  Other than that, I left empty handed and so did my friends.  I wish their clearance sale would be a little bit cheaper.  It's not much of a sale if stuff is still on regular price. Anyways, it's always good to go and see what they have cause you just never know.  

There must have been a lot of stuff left from this sale because two weeks later, they had a Last Chance Holiday Sale held at the BC Lions Surrey Facilities on Dec 12th.  Some of my friends went and it was basically the same thing.  Oh well, there's always next year's sale.  Go BC Lions!

Heritage Winter Classic 2014 - Canucks vs Senators

I can't tell you how excited I am about this.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the fans of Vancouver to experience an "outdoor" game.  I have "outdoors" in quotations because this will be the first time that it will be held under a pro-tractable roof...not including Pittsburgh many years ago.

On Dec 5th, 2013, the Vancouver Canucks were inside BC Place and finally got to see what it will look like inside the bowl come March 2nd against the Ottawa Senators.  The rink was outlined with banners in the middle of the field and the roof was open.The sun was shinning strong, not that it mattered.  It was still chilly inside.

Now, I work at BC Place and I know what it feels like when they don't turn on the heat and the roof is closed.  I've done many events in the building for other organizations and have froze many parts of my body off.  So, I know just how cold those boys were with no heat in the building and the roof wide open.  Thankfully the sun was out but the bite of the cold in the building will certainly make people happy in March that it's not completely open like the other rinks for this tournament.

Vancouver Canucks, Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa along with Fin were there for interviews and to take part in the festivities.  They looked great in their Vancouver Millionaires gear and thought it was great that Sedin was called out for drinking Bailey's on set during an interview by Bieksa.  Mind you, I can't blame Sedin.  Baileys would have been the perfect choice of drink to keep warm in there.

Bieksa was also interviewed earlier about his thoughts on the Heritage Classic in 2014.

There was a surprise for the players and the fans as a snippet of the upcoming "NHL Revealed" documentary following the Canucks and Senators teams leading up the big game was shown.  The boys watched from the sidelines here.  I can't wait for the episodes to come out.

If you missed it cause you've been living under a rock, here it is for your viewing.  A practical joke is done on Dale Weise who loses his helmet and goes searching for it.

The guys did some fancy shooting after the interviews as well.  Apparently, they were trying to beat Sydney Crosby's record.

Tickets went on sale that morning starting from $62 going upwards to $324.  If you want a ticket, you better get it fast.  BC Lions season ticket holders were able to buy up to eight tickets each before they were made public to the fans.  I will hopefully be working the game for BC Place as a Host in a tunnel.  That way I can watch the game as well.  However, if I can volunteer for it somehow, I might do that too.

This is an artist's rendition of what the day will look like inside BC Place with the roof open on a bright sunny chilly day on March 2, 2014.  Well, this is Vancouver.  It's either going to rain or it will be a very sunny and chilly day.  Either way, bundle up!!

Vancouver Whitecaps Clearance Sale 2013

I went to this sale on Dec 14th, 2014.  All volunteers were invited to come at 11:30am.  The 'Caps card holders got in earlier if they chose to use their points to get in at 11pm.  The rest of the season ticket holders were in line with us volunteers.  I got there at 11:20am thinking I could just walk in, just like last year.  No dice this year.  The Whitecaps have a huge fan base now and Dario, another volunteer, and I waited til 11:45am to get in.  Thank god it wasn't raining badly out.

As I came inside Gate H, I noticed two things.  There were lots of people and there was a very long lineup for the cashiers.  It was so hard to decide where to start as there were people EVERYWHERE!  I looked around for the cheaper bargains and looked for things that I would wear.  I looked through racks, boxes and tables to find my bargains.  My friend Nadine had texted me and told me she was going to meet me there at 12 earlier.  I was looking for her outside the window but couldn't see her.  Then one of the Whitecaps staff came up to me and told me she was in line.  So I tried to shop around until she got in.  I ended up with some great deals.

 

The Bell Sweater worn by Brad Rusin - $10, Toddler Jersey - $10, Two pairs of Socks - $5 each, Bell Shirt worn by Bilal Duckett - $10, Shorts worn by Camillo - $10.  I also got another pair of shorts worn by Kenny Miller - $10.  

I really just wanted to get a nice hoodie for my young niece but I didn't see any on the tables.  Oh well.  I'm still happy with my purchases.  I gave the shirt to my oldest nephew, the toddler jersey to my littlest nephew and I'm keeping the shorts and sweater.  I love the Whitecaps merchandise sale.  I always find something!! 

Scotiabank Hockey for Alzheimers 2013

I volunteered for another cause this past weekend.  It was the Scotiabank Hockey for Alzheimers at the Canlan Ice Sports Centre in North Vancouver.  I volunteered for this event last year when the Pro-Am Baycrest company was leading the way.  This time, it was under the BC Alzheimers's charge and it was just as smooth as before.

This cause has Gordie Howe behind it.  Diagnosed himself with Alzheimers in 2007, he's been the face of this cause for many years.  This was the second year of this tournament in BC.   The Pro-Am was held in Toronto this year, however, Mr. Hockey was here all weekend long.  Its a tournament where hockey teams register and the team that fund raises the most, gets to play the All-Star team of NHL Alumni's.

It kicked off on Friday, November 15, 2013.  A luncheon was held where Mr. Hockey was in attendance and the teams were drafted.  Each team had an NHL alumni playing with them throughout the tournament. Accreditations were handed out to each attendee and they were to wear these the whole weekend.  This was a challenge as most teams hit The Roxy the night before.  They usually ended up on the floor of the Roxy.  The tournament started on Saturday, bright and early.  This is when I started my shift.

I was given a red toque and a Canucks scarf and was positioned as a greeter!  I welcomed the players and sent them to the registration desk, Massage therapists to their area to set up and just helped out in general with locker room duties, setting up and unlocking doors and locking up afterwards.  It was freezing at the Canlan.  My fingers and toes were frozen to the bone.  I had to go to the bathroom a few times during my shift just so I could run them under hot water to get some feeling back.  My toes unfortunately, didn't get the same treatment, although, they probably would of loved the same.  All volunteers were given a red toque to identify them and a Canucks scarf after their first shift.

I already know most of the Alumni's from previous signings and events that I've worked.  They're getting to know me quite well now too.  I met a Vancouver Giants photographer, Jock McGrandle, and he took some great pics of myself and of the tournament.  He contacted me today with these great photos of the event. These are his pictures below.  All pics are copyrighted:

Gary Valk was there for most of the day.  He had to leave around 1pm to get ready for his show with Don Taylor on Sportsnet as the Canucks were about to play that evening. He signed some autographs for the professional hockey card autograph seekers who came to the event just for that.  I spoke to one of them and he told me that he has over 50,000 hockey cards and programs.  He's been following the Canucks since 1978 and its become an addiction for him.  He left happy.  Gary Valk is a really nice guy, by the way, and he is really, really tall.

Most of the '94 Vancouver Canucks were there along with the Canucks equipment manager, Jamie Hendricks.  Other NHL Alumni's like Theo Fleury and older Canucks alumni's such as Gary Nyland, Garth Butcher, Jack McIlhargy and Dennis Kearns were also there.  My favourite player of the day was Theo Fleury.  He was here last year too and he was such a nice guy and really funny.  No different this year.  Myself and a few other volunteers wanted to take a picture with him.  The NHL Alumni handler, Carolyn, was amazing.  She arranged for Fleury to sign some pucks, his book and take a few pics with us.  So, here is my pic with him. I'm bundled up to the nines and had just taken off my toque so my hair was still out of place. But it was my only chance to get a picture taken with him.  Such a nice guy! 

This was taken the last day of the tournament.  After my shift ended, I went upstairs to warm up and eat my lunch which they provided.  I had the same as the day before.  Grilled cheese sandwich with minestrone soup with a hot chocolate.  The teams, NHL alumnis and volunteers all ate together.  This area over looked the three ice rinks so you could watch the games in warmth from there.  While I was up there, the All-Star game started.  So, I watched a bit of it with Gary Nyland sitting in front of me in the chairs.

I left shortly after taking this picture as I wanted to get home and take a nap before the Canucks played the Dallas Starts at 5pm.  A game which they ended up losing.  Oh well.  Overall, I had a great time volunteering with this organization.  Anytime I can support a cause while being involved in sports is always ideal for me.

Just like the yellow flowers that you see in support of cancer month, the blue flowers represent Alzheimers.  I wore mine on my tag.  The ladies I volunteered with, all seemed to have some story to share as to how it has affected them personally and as sad as I was to learn about Gordie Howe's disease, I'm glad that he hasn't given up on finding a cure and is involved with great events like this, lending his name whenever he can.  He's one of my favourite alumni along with Stan Smyl that I've ever met during my 10 yrs of volunteering.  I hope to be back again next year.

Canucks at the BC Lions game Nov 1st, 2011

Yes, they were there again at BC Place watching on the sidelines.  BC Lions were playing Calgary Stampeders.

This is the only picture of them there that night.  They stayed until halftime.  Kevin told the Lions that they had an early game against Toronto the next day at 4pm so they couldn't stay out too long.  They needed to be up early. 

Vancouver Whitecaps Volunteer Appreciation Wrap Up Party 2013

This year, our end of season volunteer party was held at the most interactive place I could think of.  BC Sports Hall of Fame, located inside Gate A at BC Place.  It was my first time in this venue so I was really excited to see all the really interesting stuff in there.  There was tons for the volunteers to do.

We started off with a word from our Chief Operating Officer, Rachel Lewis, welcoming the army of volunteers that came out tonight.  Followed by an awards ceremony.  This is the inaugural year for awards to be presented to four deserving volunteers.  The Bob Lenarduzzi Leadership Award, The Carl Valentine Spirit Award, The Rookie Award and the one most dearest to my heart, The Hazel Boettcher Rising Star Award.  All of the recipients received a plaque and Whitecaps FC merchandise.

This was the picture of Hazel that I had propped up on a table while I read out the speech I prepared for the volunteers so they knew who she was and why she was being honoured this way.

This was also the first time recognizing our long-time service volunteers.  Most of them have been with the club anywhere from 5 - 20yrs.  Their service and dedication was finally recognized tonight.  I, myself having eight years of service with the Whitecaps.  We all received a certificate of recognition, which I will be adding to the certificates of events I've received for volunteering for in the past, on my wall. :)

Next on the agenda were the door prizes.  Gershon and David  were asked to come up and help distribute the prizes to the winners.  They were naturals at at this.

Once the awards and speeches were done, it was off to mingling with the crew!  I was asked to show Gershon Koffee around and introduce him to some of the volunteers, since he was by himself.  He was soon joined by David Ousted.  I ended up taking them both to the Snap Tap picture booth where they were acosted by volunteers wanting them in their pics.  They were great fun, putting on costumes and enjoyed meeting the volunteers.  While waiting in line with my friend, Alana, we decided to take some pics with them.

Then we did the Snap Tap picture.  If you look over Koffie's shoulder, you'll see Kenny Miller photo bombing our pic!

Gershon and David were great sports and they obviously had fun with it.  It's always fun when players show up and become part of our volunteer family.

The staff, volunteers and players all mingled and ate some really nice appys til it was time to leave.  Each volunteer was given a thank you gift for the their hard work and dedication throughout the season.  It included refurbished Whitecaps Flags string bags.  Here's a little background video about these bags and why they are so special.

From Banners to Bags - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

I also received a Tim Hortons Tumbler with a coupon for a free coffee, a thank you card that had a $50 Sport Chek gift certificate inside.  This was an extra bonus for me as I was the Volunteer Development and Recognition Coordinator.  Everyone got the same thing except for the gift card.  Can't wait to spend that.

I stayed behind til the last volunteer left and made sure each one received a gift as they walked out the door.  It was a great event and everyone had a good time in this fun and unique venue.  I'm so glad we had our party here.  If you haven't been here yet, I totally recommend it.    My volunteers were spread out everywhere being interactive with the sports activities in the venue.  So, comes the end of another Vancouver Whitecaps FC season.  We didn't make the playoffs this year, but we had so many other things to celebrate like Camillo winning the Golden Boot and the emergence of Kekuteh Mannneh.  Once they have a new coach in place, it will be all systems go again in three months.  Til then, we'll all just enjoy the break.

Womens World Cup FIFA 2015 Vancouver Volunteers

Love soccer?  Love women's soccer?  Well, here's your chance to get involved up close and personal.  FIFA is looking for volunteers to work the U-20 Womens Cup 2014 in other provinces as well as the Womens World Cup 2015 at BC Place.  If you are interested, please take a look at this link and join.  Looking for some great people to get involved.

I recruited a few people from my team last time I worked the CONCACAF in January of 2012 for my Whitecaps FC Club.  The dates are from June 6th - July 5th, 2015.

FIFA Womens World Cup Volunteer 2015

Good Luck!  Maybe I'll see you there!

John Tortarella Hates Twitter

Its no secret that John Tortorella hates twitter.  He made that apparent with the media yesterday and had a talk with his team about it this morning.  He says he won't ban the team from using it as long as information isn't coming out from the locker room.  I think Torts can rest easy on this.  The guys who do use twitter on a regular basis have used it responsibly and have controlled it without any problem.

David Booth, an avid hunter, was receiving some comments about his pictures of his hunts. So he did a wise thing. He realized that the hunter side of him doesn't really appeal to most of his fans but it is a part of him.  So he created a separate account that deals with his hunting passion and people like myself, don't have to cringe and feel sorry for the poor innocent animal he just killed.  I can concentrate on David Booth the hockey player, not the hunter.

Dale Weise had explored Twitter last year and found it wasn't for him.  He very quickly got into trouble with fans after going crazy and adding every hot girl he could find the avatars that followed him.  We haven't seen or heard from Dale Weise on Twitter since the incident happened.  In fact, he ended up deleting his account.  Some things just aren't worth it.

Ryan Kesler, who was the among the first Canuck to have twitter, used it largely to advertise his clothing line.  But something changed the year he got hurt.  He seemed to have a lot more time on his hands and started to explore twitter for himself and used it to connect with his fans,  We see a lot more of the gruff centre displayed in his personal life and his professional one. It also helps that his best friend on the team, Kevin Bieksa, is also on Twitter.  So is Alex Burrows, but Burr has mentioned that he's staying away from those two.  It can only mean trouble for him.

Kevin Bieksa, the most media rallied player to be on Twitter.  The "twitter needs juice" campaign was strong and Bieksa finally gave in on summer.  Mainly thanks to Kesler who outed him and forced a tweet out of him after receiving over 10,000 followers within a couple hours.  Bieksa uses his tweets to bring Mindcheck to the forefront and the keep Rick Rypien's memory alive thru events set up to raise money for treating depression.  He's also become a leader in the community and was shining like a star throughout the past lockout with initiatives like the "Bieksa's Buddies" hockey tournament to raise money for the charities the Canucks would have normally been supporting.  He also took the team who were still in Vancouver to Children's Hospital, also another initiative they would have done had they not been locked out.  Bieksa uses twitter to get the word out about causes, his own initiatives as a leader in the community and to throw some digs at Kesler and Burr when he can. Nothing but professional.

Last but not least, Twitter has been essential to the rise and fame of Roberto Luongo.  He's been our goalie in Vancity since 2006 but no one really knew him except for his team mates.  Its thru twitter that Luongo emerged as the witty and charming personality he is to his fans.  It made him more real to his fans.  By using twitter to vent his frustrations through some of the most ingenious tweets ever, he has endeared himself to the fans of not only Vancouver, but to everyone and hockey as a whole.  Here is an example of his witty mind tweeting on the first day of training camp, just eight hours ago.

Here's what Luongo said when asked about Torts and his hate for twitter.

“You have to respect everyone’s opinion,” said Luongo. “But at the same time, (Tortorella) didn’t say we weren’t allowed. We just have to be careful.”

And with that said, Luongo sent out a tweet of being muzzled.

I don't think Torts need to worry about this team at all.

Canucks Training Camp 2013-2014 Day 1

Here we are again.  Another year back at Rogers Arena to watch our hockey team vye for the Stanley Cup once more.  But first we have to get through Training Camp or should it have been called Boot Camp?

This year brought alot of changes.  Cory Schnieder was traded for #9 Draft Pick, Bo Hovart,  leaving Roberto Luongo at the helm of this team once again.  There were new staffing changes as well.  The biggest one is the landing of this man.

Former Coach of the New York Rangers who has also won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, John Tortarella.  Or "Torts" if you will.  I wanted to come to camp mostly to see this man in action and compare him to AV in past training camps.  So far, I'm impressed.

With a small crowd of about 200 fans on a Friday morning, the Vancouver Canucks came onto the ice mixed with the heavy ladden prospect pool we have.  The ones to watch were current draft picks, Bo Hovart, Hunter Shinkaruk, along with Brendan Gaunce and Eddie Lack.

Eddie Lack is favoured to be the back-up to Luongo.  He's still recovering from an injury that occurred with the Chicago Wolves. They already have chemistry as a duo which shows in their tweets to one another. Mostly digs but done in good old natured fun.  When we first walked into the arena, we noticed him out there with his goalie trainers.  Dan Cloutier was one of them. Dan is not in the pic below but Eddie Lack is.

As I was saying before, this camp could of been described as a boot camp compared to AV's past camps.  I had never seen our boys move so fast and everything was so intense.

It started out with a scrimmage game for an hour.  Team White vs Team Blue. Roberto Luongo, Alex Edler, Chris Higgins and David Booth were missing from camp today. Torts watched this from his seat in the middle of a section at centre ice alone.  As soon as the scrimmage was done, they all went inside to change their sweaters and drink some water. 

Once the ice was cleared, Team 2 came out first and so did Torts.  This second half of camp day was all about his drills.  As he had them play 3 on 1's, 2 on 1's and other drills, it all seemed pretty intense.  Once in a while, Kevin Bieksa would lift a puck onto his stick and hit it up and over the ice into the crowds siting higher up on the second level.  This interaction with him and the crowds happen every game no matter how crazy things are on the ice.  Its this type of interaction with his fans that make him a favourite.

 Here are some pics from the scrimmage and the drills.

Ryan Kesler looked great and was having some fun talking with Zack Kassian before drills.

Hunter Shinkaruk.

 Then there was stretching.  That's Bieksa stretching below in blue.

Once the stretching was over with, they ended with lap relays.  You could see how physically painful it was for them to keep going for as long as they did.  I had Bieksa on my side of the rink so I could see his sweater which he changed into for the second half, completley drenched in sweat after skating those laps.  Towards the end you could see Dan Hamhuis and others just fold over, breathing heavily trying to get ready for the next lap.

When they were done with the laps and another bout of stretching was done, the small crowd of 200 cheered loudly for that show of sheer willpower it must have taken just get through all that.  The boys in turn, held their sticks up in the air and thanked the fans.  At least Team 2 did.  Team 1 who came on after them, couldn't get off the ice fast enough. lol

In summary, I liked what I saw today.  It was sheer intensity and willpower in this training camp. Its obvious that Torts is not going to be soft on any of these guys.  Having been at AV's past camps, I can tell you that it was nothing like what I saw today.  It was just go, go go!  I hope this is the spark the guys need to get a great season together.  I'm going back tomorrow with my two nieces, so hopefully will have more to report then.

I'll leave you with the Roster Sheets we were handed as we walked in.