British Columbia Magazine

Each year, the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) hosts its own version of the Academy Awards. This year, we were called to the podium nine times at the association’s 30th annual awards ceremony, held September 26 in Branson, Missouri.

Our awards for excellence in magazine publishing included Finalist of the Year, Gold for Nature Feature, and Gold for Special Focus for our Summer 2009 issue (our big 50th anniversary issue that featured the full-length special feature “50 Things to Do in B.C. Before You Die”).

With a mere month under my belt as editor here at the magazine, all I could say was, “Wow!”
Thanks and heartfelt congratulations to our talented staff and our fabulous contributors who worked so hard on these issues!

The awards are selected by a panel of independent writing and design judges across more than 20 magazine categories.  Our nine awards included:

• Finalist, Magazine of the Year
• Gold, for Nature Feature (GSI: Grizzly Site Investigators, Fall 2009, by Dave Quinn)
• Gold, for Special Focus (50 Things to Do Before You Die, Summer 2009)
• Silver, for Illustration (50 Things to Do Before You Die, Summer 2009)
• Bronze, for Profile (Annie Oakley of the Chilcotin, Fall 2009, by Danielle Egan)
• Bronze, for overall art direction of a magazine over 40,000 circulation (our own art director, Ken Seabrook)
• Award of Merit, for Art Direction of a Single Story (Nick Bantock’s Saltspring, Spring 2009 (again, our art director,  Ken Seabrook)
• Award of Merit, for Travel Feature (Itcha Ilgachuz, Spring 2009, by Larry Pynn)
• Award of Merit, for Culture Feature (Secrets of Klemtu, Fall 2009, by David Leach)

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.

The fall months are a wonderful time to travel in British Columbia. With summer holidays over and children back in school, traffic is lighter on the highways, and many accommodation properties are offering enticing shoulder-season rates.

Need some travel ideas? British Columbia Magazine’s Share Your B.C. adventure database is a great online resource. Hundreds of travellers just like you have entered their favourite experiences around the province.

You can search the database in several ways. Choose a region, such  as the Okanagan, to review all activities entered for that area, or focus in on activities closest to a particular town. Or, you can search by activity—say, paddling—and see recommended canoeing and kayaking destinations all over B.C.

We launched our B.C. adventure database to mark the 50th anniversary of British Columbia Magazine in June 2009, in conjunction with an exciting Share Your B.C. Contest. We’ve now drawn four names from all entries submitted and will announce the lucky winners of our travel-adventure prizes as soon as their eligibility (and all that legal-schmegal) has been confirmed. Stay tuned!

Editorial staff never know what they’ll be asked to do—it’s part of the fun of working on a magazine. For our two new billboards in downtown Vancouver and a video spot now running on BC Ferries’ customer-information monitors, Associate Editor Jenny Manzer contributed . . . her legs.

Art Director Ken Seabrook designed the delightful ad, and Assistant Editor Shanna Baker photographed Manzer’s gams.

Manzer, better known for her editing and writing skills than her work as a leg model, notes wryly, “When Shanna pulled me into Ken’s office, where the rest of the staff had gathered, I knew something ominous was about to happen.”

Manzer may have been a tad reluctant to pose for the ad, but as rockers ZZ Top famously crooned, “She’s got legs . . . she knows how to use them.”

Thanks for being such a good sport, Jenny!

Click here to learn more about that exciting contest.

I had a chance to chat recently with the always-entertaining Nick Bantock at his Saltspring studio/gallery, The Forgetting Room. The creator of the best-selling Griffin & Sabine series of books, whom I profiled in our Spring 2009 “Nick Bantock’s Saltspring” article, was hosting an opening reception for an exhibition of his drawings for a new Penguin edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. 

While talking to Bantock about our Summer 2009 50th-anniversary editorial, “50 things to do before you die,” I couldn’t resist asking him to share one of his own top B.C. experiences. Here’s his colourful reply:

“I love the island I live on, so it’s hard to choose a favourite B.C. place outside of Saltspring, but I’m going to try. A few years ago, I had my birthday dinner on the restaurant balcony overlooking the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery in Oliver, B.C. At sunset, the shadows chased across the landscape like blue-clad Cossack horsemen. The sky glowed orange and the honeysuckle released its evening scent. With a belly full of fine food, a glass of great wine in hand, and kind love by my side, I knew I had been made Tsar.”

Click here to view the 10 drawings and cover artwork Bantock created for the re-release of The Canterbury Tales.

Visit ShareYourBC.com and tell us your favourite thing to do in B.C. for a chance to win–more than $23,000 in travel adventure prizes! Entry deadline: Sept. 8, 2009.

I had an amusing thought this morning. British Columbia Magazine has been in publication longer than I’ve been alive. ☺

It is an honour to be the editor in 2009, the magazine’s 50th year of publication. And I have never been more excited about an upcoming issue than I am about the Summer 2009 edition.

Our editorial team has put together a true collector’s issue for this landmark occasion. I believe that our “50 Things to Do in B.C. Before You Die” editorial package will surprise and delight even those most dedicated subscribers who have been with us since the first issue in Summer 1959. Look for it on newsstands in mid-June.

This 50th anniversary isn’t just about the magazine; it’s also about you, our loyal and enthusiastic readers—the people who know this province, love it, and take every opportunity to explore it. And we want to hear from YOU in our anniversary year, about the places you’ve been and amazing things you’ve done.

That’s why we’ve created our new Share Your B.C. adventure database, a place for readers and travellers to post their favourite B.C. experiences. Visit www.ShareYourBC.com to search the many entries by specific activity or location. Enter your own “Top Thing to Do in B.C.” and you could be eligible to win one of four incredible B.C. travel packages, each ranging in value from $2,300 to $9,500. Don’t miss out!

See the full prize list and complete contest details at www.ShareYourBC.com/contest

In tough economic times, “cheap” is a word we all want to hear. Cheap travel. Cheap gas. Cheap eats.

Tomorrow on CBC Radio One, our own Jane Nahirny will share tips for cheap B.C. getaways with B.C. Almanac host Mark Forsythe. Jane is promotions co-ordinator for British Columbia Magazine, and is working to develop all kinds of fun activities around our magazine’s 50th anniversary year (1959-2009).

Jane will bring her bubbling enthusiasm for all things B.C. to the radio show this Friday, March 13, between 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. B.C. Almanac listeneres are encouraged to call in after 1:00 p.m. with their own recommendations for cheap B.C. getaways.

Tune in tomorrow for some terrific ideas for spring break!

As we approach the end of 2008, we would like to thank our loyal readers and magazine contributors for their support of British Columbia Magazine this year. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and look forward to welcoming you back in 2009.

It’s going to be an exciting year, with our Summer 2009 issue marking the magazine’s 50th year of publication. That’s right: we’re turning 50! We have all kinds of exciting editorial content planned, so stay tuned: you won’t want to miss a thing!