Vancouver @ MindSay

I live near the ocean in West Vancouver, British Columbia and last night was the first night of the Harmony Arts Festival which runs from July 31 - August 9th..

It takes place in a park right on the ocean only two blocks from home.

It all takes place in the most beautiful setting in John Lawson Park on the West Vancouver Community Foundation Stage...

Last night I walked the two blocks and sat in front of the stage to listen to a band called "The Paper Boys" who are described as a Celtic/Canadian/Folk/Alt/Country/Pop Band.

 

Sarah McLaughlan, Sheryl Crow and Neil Young will all be performing on Ambleside Beach in September....but tickets are gone....sold out...Still...I shall be able to walk down and listen to the Summer Sessions..This is a first for the little sleepy village of West Vancouver but there couldn't be a more idylic setting....quiet beauty...ocean...sky..

As I walked home last night along the seawall walk, it was very dark and the sound of the waves hitting the shore and the moon high in the sky against the black backdrop of sky was truly magnificent...

I am grateful.

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Recently while riding my bike i was thinking how it's nice how other cyclists smile and/or say hello when passing me.  Like we're members of a secret society or something-- and we are-- the society for environmentally friendliness, getting exercise and anti-oil industry-ists!  Of course pedestrians usually greet each other in small towns like Olympia too.  My point though, is that car drivers don't because, what with windshields, windows and stereos car drivers are naturally more insulated... but it leads to more of a feeling of estrangement, therefore, which is unfortunate...

So, anyway, personal news... went on a trip to Vancouver a couple weeks ago which was fun.  It's a beautiful city... more than Seattle... although i didn't see much of Seattle, but i love how in Vancouver there's mountains right up close to the city!   And it confirmed the fact that i'm a Canadaphile.  I visited a friend and we visited the downtown Baha'i Center, did some window shopping in a hip district and watched the movie Wall-e which is great!  Also i stayed at an Egyptian Baha'i's home.  He's a lovely man.  it was nice to meet him and they have en interesting blog: http://egyptianbahaifamily.blogspot.com/

Also i learned that Amtrak is often beset by delays for various reasons... not like German punctuality at all!

This weekend i'm greatly looking forward to visiting a new friend in Victoria, BC (Canada).  It's supposed to be a beautiful town too (and the capitol of BC).    There's no train connection that way and not so many buses either, i think... so i'm going to drive to Port Angeles and then take the ferry, leaving my car there but taking my bicycle.
It should be a lovely weekend, i'm really looking forward to it. :^D

Back before the Culture Crawl really got underway, I met Valerie Arntzen, the Executive Director for many years. I was supposed to be getting information to write a story. Instead, I got side-tracked in her wonderful world at her studio, in her home, and in her past. It took a while, and another visit back to Valerie for me to finish the original assignment. Once it was completed, I was inspired to profile Valerie.

You see, I searched on the Internet and I didn't really see much of anything that shows us who she is. She's always mentioned as a part of something else, or supporting something else, and what not. But nothing to really know who she is, what she did to get to where she is now, and holy crap - I love the concept of Assemblage Art and the impact this inside glimpse into another world has given me. The world of creative beauty if much more vast than the mainstream realizes.

I'm pleased to share with you the new piece featuring Valerie Arntzen. I hope to have many more such pages added soon featuring other local Artists, Galleries, and Studios. I'm not paid for this extra side-job I've taken on, so your traffic and readership will be greatly appreciated.

Important Notes or Links:
Valerie Arntzen's Feature Profile
Valerie Arntzen Fights for Local Artists
Vandalism Misses Target
Arntzen Cause to Save 901 Studios

... Vancouver,BC, that is. For a "gig" -- to be guest cantor at a synagogue for Rosh Hashanah-- the Jewish New Year.

Now -- I just have to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. And then get there and rehearse with the choir.

The money wasn't the ideal amount for which I had hoped, but it's still generous.

the biggest thing is that it will be quite far away from my family -- and for a week.  And with the time difference, I'll be calling Av at around 4:30 - 5:00 to say good night.

Great White North -- here I come!  See you in 5768!

In addition to our water problem (which continues... yet coffee is apparently now "safe") it has now snowed for two days, which is an epidemic here. There is less than a foot of snow on the ground yet all hell is breaking loose. UBC is closed due to campus wide power outage etc. etc. etc. Now as I've heard from my family living elsewhere, the television reports are making this storm seem like it's the same magnitude of Hurricane Katrina. When really, its just a little bit of snow in a place where people don't know how to deal with snow. No one has shovels, no one has good tires, no one is prepared. And thus, this horrible -2 degrees celcius weather is being played up as the appocalypse. As for me, I'm sitting back, enjoying my day off and having a good chuckle over this city. What next?

ps: I crashed my car. I'm okay yet it isn't... More updates on that later.