British Columbia Magazine

Like most Canadians, my family planned to watch the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games from the comfort of our home. But when some friends offered us their condo in downtown Vancouver, we jumped at the offer, booking tickets to the closing ceremonies as fast as our fingers could fly across the computer keyboard.

Getting there couldn’t have been easier. We flew by floatplane from our home on Saltspring Island right into downtown Vancouver.  After we touched down in Coal Harbour, my son noticed that we were floating right past the Olympic rings. They were larger than we’d imagined and glowing a brilliant blue in the late afternoon light.

As we walked up to street level from the floatplane dock, we spotted another key attraction: the Olympic Cauldron.  Bright orange flames danced from its four arms as we angled in between tourists from around the world for a few photos — then we joined the red and white sea of people on the streets of Vancouver.

And it’s the street scene that I remember most about our Olympic weekend. While the closing ceremonies were spectacular, even from our perch high above the floor of the stadium, it gives me shivers to remember the elation of the crowd on Georgia Street after Canada beat the U.S. in men’s hockey to take the gold medal.

I can still feel the pulse of the music at the nightly celebrations at Robson Square; still see the smiles on the faces of hundreds and hundreds of overjoyed fans; still feel the sting in my palm from the countless high-fives.  What a feeling! What a rush!

Robson Square is set to relive some the same excitement this Saturday, February 12. For a list of the activities planned for the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Vancouver 2010 Games, click here.

Vancouver is the place to lighten up this February, as Yaletown hosts its annual neighbourhood party to show off some spectacular light installations. Illuminate Yaletown features live entertainment and light-based creations from the city’s top designers and artists.

The first party, held in 2009, drew 20,000 people to view 27 installations. This year’s event stretches over two nights and is intended to commemorate the anniversary of  the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Yaletown Business Improvement Association, area businesses, design companies, and artists host the free event, which takes place in the Yaletown Heritage District, along Mainland and Hamilton streets, between Davie and Nelson. It runs February 11 and February 12, from 5:59 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

With the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games in full swing, Ken Seabrook is off to Vancouver to oversee the printing of our Spring 2010 issue. (And if our Art Director should manage to catch a sporting event between press runs, or pose for a photo with a fuzzy Olympic mascot, who are we to judge?)

Here’s what you can look forward to in our latest edition.

“Kootenays: 4 hikes, 4 seasons” provides the answers to your most pressing Kootenay-adventure questions:

* Where can I hike a grand river canyon during the roaring spring run-off?

* Which trail will take me into eye-popping wildflower meadows this summer?

* Which fall month is best to hike among the fiery yellow alpine larch?

* Where can I find a string of cozy warming huts for a backcountry snowshoe trek?

“Slocan coffeehouses” takes you on a short trip up the scenic Slocan Valley, not far from Nelson, with java stops at hip shops including “Pony Espresso” and “Sleep is for Sissies.”

“Desolation Sound” will show you—with gorgeous photography by Saltspring Island photographer Ron Watts—why sailors, boaters, and paddlers sing the praises of this West Coast provincial marine park.

“It’s not easy, being green” explores the environmental issues threatening frogs around the world and examines what B.C. biologists are doing to help amphibians right now.

You’ll also find our regular departments:

Destination: Hippie Kitsilano–Vancouver in the groovy 1960s.

Echoes: Children on the Chilkoot Trail.

Outdoor Advisor: How to protect yourself from lightning in the backcountry.

Due West: Everything from Emily Carr murals and eco-cutlery to a Stonehenge-like site proposed for Barriere, B.C.

Visitors to the Vancouver Aquarium over the coming weeks will see a tower of canned salmon and tuna to rival any grocery-aisle display. The massive Ocean Wise Canstruction Inukshuk, on display through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, was devised to show Olympic spirit while highlighting Canada’s Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program.

[photo: Meighan Makarchuk/Vancouver Aquarium]

Twenty aquarium staff members and 25 volunteers put in more than 400 person hours to construct the sculpture. It’s roughly three metres tall and about half that wide, made entirely of Ocean Wise-recommended tinned fish donated by Vancouver-based Raincoast Trading. The inukshuk symbol, a traditional marker for the Inuit people of Canada’s Arctic, inspired the official logo of the 2010 Winter Games.

How many cans did it take to make the inukshuk? Stay tuned. The Vancouver Aquarium’s CAN You Guess Contest runs until February 13. Guess the correct number of cans and you could win two tickets to an Olympic speed-skating event at the Richmond Olympic Oval, courtesy of BC Hydro. Enter in person at the Vancouver Aquarium, or online at www.visitvanaqua.org.

When the installation is dismantled, the cans of fish will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society for distribution in the community. The sculpture was created in cooperation with Canstruction Vancouver, the local chapter of a design/build competition that encourages creation of giant canned-food sculptures to help fight world hunger.

As the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games edge ever closer (Opening Ceremonies on February 12!), we have a special souvenir item designed to remind visitors of the best of British Columbia. Our new Souvenir Pack bundles together *four* exciting issues from 2009, British Columbia Magazine’s 50th-anniversary year.

Take it home for just $19.95! It’s like cramming your suitcase full of B.C.’s most spectacular landscapes, wilderness, wildlife, people, and history. Plus, you get a BONUS coupon inside, good for $5 off a one-year subscription to British Columbia Magazine.

The Souvenir Pack includes the current Winter 2009 “Do-it-yourself winter games” issue, in which our daring writers demonstrate snowy sports of the 2010 Winter Games. There is an insider’s guide for Whistler visitors, and some fantastic ideas for what to do in B.C. after the Games: from dogsledding to backcountry ski touring.

For this one-time Souvenir Pack, we’ve bundled up the last-remaining copies of British Columbia Magazine’s Summer 2009 “50 things to do before you die” special 50th-anniversary issue. This issue has a unique gatefold cover that opens up to show off every single cover of the magazine since the first issue was published in 1959! If you, or a friend or family member, missed this bestselling issue, this may be your last chance ever to get this keepsake magazine.

All four issues in the Souvenir Pack are chock-full of the spectacular photography, high-quality writing, and valuable travel secrets that have made British Columbia Magazine the most trusted travel companion in B.C. for more than 50 years.

The Souvenir Pack is available exclusively* on newsstands for a limited time, beginning February 1, 2010. Look for it on magazine racks throughout B.C., and at Chapters bookstores and selected pharmacy and grocery check-outs in larger cities in Alberta.

* Sorry, due to limited quantities, we are unable to ship the Souvenir Pack directly to customers.

Souvenir seekers won’t want to miss an exciting freebie now being offered on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games website. The 160-page Vancouver 2010 Journal, valued at $17.99 and available in English or French, is available for FREE: yes, FREE!

The booklet includes blank writing pages, questions designed “to prompt Games memories,” special pockets for storing tickets and other Games-related memorabilia, as well as photography ideas. Reserve yours at www.vancouver2010.com/memories. (Peculiarly, residents of Australia and Palestine aren’t eligible to receive a copy.)

As the Games draw near, enthusiasts are snapping up Olympic keepsakes ranging from salt grinders to lapel pins to fancy sweaters and gold coins. As Jenny Manzer reported in “Capturing Quatchi” in our Winter 2009 issue, souvenir sales are expected to rack up $54-million in revenue by the time the last medal has been won.

In exactly one month, on February 12, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games will commence. Thousands will ascend on Vancouver, Whistler, and Richmond and an estimated three billion more around the world will tune in from home to cheer on competitors and get caught up in the global spirit.

If you’re one of the lucky travellers who will be attending the Games in person, be sure to check out the Winter 2009 issue of British Columbia Magazine for great tips on what to do in B.C. during and after the Games.

Reader Eric Rossicci took advantage of a relatively quiet night in Vancouver recently to capture this dramatic shot of the Olympic rings illuminating Burrard Inlet. For more of Eric’s photos, click here.

It’s that time again. Art Director Ken Seabrook is ferrying over to Vancouver tomorrow to oversee the press run of our Winter 2009 issue. Here is your SNEAK PREVIEW of the new cover:

What’s inside? Here are just a few teasers:

* For our special, 14-page “Do-it-yourself winter games” editorial package, we challenged our writers to try snowboarding, biathlon, alpine skiing, luge, hockey, and speed skating in wintery sites around British Columbia. Their enthusiastic adventures—and misadventures, including inglorious face plants and downhill tumbles—prove that B.C.’s snowscapes, mountains, and frozen ponds are not just for elite athletes, but for every outdoors-loving British Columbia with a spirit of adventure.

* Meet British Columbia’s first Olympic hero, sprinter Percy Williams, who astonished the running world by taking not ONE but TWO gold medals in 1928.

* Sprinting cougars, wrestling bears, salmon swimming marathons! Our photo essay of outstanding wildlife “action photos” showcases athletic feats of strength, speed, and endurance from the animal kingdom.

PLUS

* Dogsledding in the Cariboo. Love those Huskies!

* Backcountry skiing in the Purcells.

* The 2010 Cultural Olympiad. *  A thrill ride on Whistler-Blackcomb’s Peak2Peak Gondola. * Environmental initiatives for a “greener Games.” * The Four Host Nations. * Legacies of 2010. * And more!

Let the countdown begin.

In just three days, Lotusland will start the clock for the one-year countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Vancouverites are marking this milestone with the 2009 Cultural Olympiad, running from February 1 to March 21. The celebration will feature 400 performances, both free and ticketed, including dance, visual arts, music, and film.

Famed singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan will headline a One-Year Countdown Celebration concert on February 12, 7:30 p.m., at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Alt-rocker Joel Plaskett, violinist Adrian Anantawan, and the Alberta Ballet will also take the stage at this ticketed event.

Up the Sea to Sky Highway, Whistler Village will host the Whistler Winter Arts Festival through February and March 2009. Enjoy outdoor concerts, photography exhibits, literary soirees, snow sculpting, and more. Many events are free.

Whether you plan to attend, volunteer, or just watch the events unfold from the comfort of your armchair, here is a novel way you can participate in the two-year countdown to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games. Take a digital photo of yourself and your friends, in any Canadian outdoors or sports-focused setting, and send it to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.

VANOC will choose a picture for every day until the opening ceremonies at Vancouver’s 60,000-seat B.C. Place stadium on February 12, 2010. If your photo is selected, it will be posted on the Countdown to the Games web page of the VANOC website.

Not an athlete? No problem! There’s no special training required for this Olympic event. Just grab your camera—and get involved.