Vancouver's Fair - the 2009 PNE

I grew up in a small town where the "Fall Fair" was a big deal not only to a town kid like me but to all the surrounding farmers - ready for a trip to town to show off their prize-winning Clydesdales, Holsteins and let their 4-H farm kids parade the favourite calf or pony round the ring in front of judges and an appreciative grandstand.

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I thought the 4-Hers were definitely quaint in their pressed white smocks but I was not so hip that I didn't enjoy perusing the quilts, handicrafts, pies, cakes, chickens and rabbits to see if the right one got the blue ribbon. Today, I still enjoy the livestock barns and a peek at the people who work very hard to grow our food and somehow make a living. A trip to the PNE is a reminder of a goggle-eyed youth taking in the sideshows, midway and the carney life. I probably saw my first tattoo on some greasy bad-ass ride-operator.

Photo courtesy of Heritage Vancouver

Times have changed and still they haven't. The PNE offers a whole summer of Playland excitement, rides and amusement. The 1958 wooden roller-coaster is one of the world's remaining classics for coaster afficianados. Only a few years ago, it was a threatened structure but money was found to restore it to its original glory for it's fiftieth anniversary in 2008. Over half a million thrill-seekers take the ride every year.

People go to the fair for the all too cute Superdogs show, for nightly live song and dance performances like Celtic Legends or the pyro-musical spectacular Kaboom. Then there is a roster of scheduled performances from the likes of Al Jarreau, Chris Isaak, En Vogue, Rick Springfield and Canadian rockers, Chilliwack.

Me? I also go to the fair for the mini-donuts, the super-mops and all the latest gadgets. But since it's a rare event, I might once again take in the world-famous equestrian event - the RCMP "Musical Ride".

Vancouver's Fair - 99 years young!

The fair at the Pacific National Exhibition opened under sunny skies on Saturday and runs until Sept. 7th. Vancouver is such a young and forward-looking city that the fair, founded in 1910, forms a major, end-of-summer tradition for generations of British Columbians.

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Year-round, visitors enjoy the site at 114 acre Hastings Park for it's landscaped beauty, first-class horse racing and betting track and a variety of city-owned sports and cultural facilities. One of those facilities, Empire Stadium, now torn down, was the site of sporting history's 1954 "Miracle Mile". At the first sporting event of any type carried Live on North American television, England's Roger Bannister defeated Australia's John Landy but both men broke the 4 minute barrier for running the mile! For running enthusiasts, checkout this archival CBC film coverage and watch for Bannister's final spurt. An exciting race even by Usain Bolt standards!

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And records may soon fall again at the PNE's Pacific Coliseum, the short-track speedskating venue at the 2010 Olympic Games.

What are we doing these days?

August has been flying by. It is traditionally the busiest B & B month of the year. Briana is back from a trip DownUnder and just in time to be thrown back into the hurly-burly. She has been baking up a storm just to keep up with tables of twelve!

Matthew has borne the weight of daily cooking, cleaning and a "million other things" this summer. As someone who only cooks breakfast on weekends and occasionally cleans, I send out a BIG Thank You to him! It takes heart to find the energy for innkeeping. As our guest, it will most likely be Matthew who answers your phone call or greets you at the door. He is the one who will worry over your dietary limits and be sure to present your breakfast beautifully and done just right.

Me? Well, yes, I do some bed & breakfast laundry, emails, shop, book-keep and make sure the bills get paid. That doesn't touch the other batch of bills and maintenance on the homefront. Then there is the care & rental of the Mexican vacation condo.

Lately, O'Neal & I have been focused on finding a brother or sister Cairn for Ozzie. Ozzie turned nine this week - a happy birthday was celebrated in the park. He is a vigourous dog and usually thought to be much younger. We decided that now is the time to adopt. We discovered a North American-wide Cairn Terrier Rescue Society that is doing wonderful work for dogs rescued from puppy-mills or given up by owners. The stories that we have heard are tragedies of greed, ignorance, neglect, cruelty, just bad luck and failing health.

Anyways, we have passed the screening and home visitation reviews and are now in the hands of a Cairn/human matchmaker. Wish us luck!

Happy Pride 2009 !!

Vancouver Pride culminates this weekend with the parade on Sunday, August 2nd. Since changing the parade route last year to include a portion of Vancouver's main shopping street, Robson Street, then along Denman St. to Beach Ave. and along English Bay to the Sunset Beach Festival Site, crowds are approaching half a million people! The weather is perfect. We are in the midst of a long, summer heatwave setting thirty year temperature records.

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The Pride Society has developed a three year theme starting with Educate this year, Liberate next year and Celebrate in 2011. Click on their logo above to be taken to the Pride website and all the details.

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Nelson House B & B is proud to fly it's rainbow from the front gable all year long. We are happy to be hosting the world round our breakfast table and heading towards our twentieth year in business serving the community.

The week that was.

What a week! I started off thinking about the hot summer of '69 - forty years ago. I am someone who lives very much in the present and usually resist a nostalgia trip down memory lane. Still the fates seem to have conspired to remind me just how many years I have been on this planet.

A former colleague from the Foreign Service contacted me and the rest of our peer group to mark the occasion of 35 years passing since we were all hired as "the best and the brightest". This number is pragmatically important as most of these former young bucks are now qualified for retirement and the full, golden pensioning off, reserved only for government workers and politicians. Of course, I wish them all the best of luck. Problem is that the email exchange was accompanied by a group photo of these guys, I mostly remember as twenty-somethings in the summer of '74 - now gone to faded government grey. Well, it was food for thought, but certainly no regrets that I took my career into my own hands over twenty years ago.

This weekend, I relaxed at Jericho Beach Park for the Vancouver Folk Festival. The wooded beachside park glories in a panoramic view of English Bay, the sailboats, the city skyline and the north-shore mountains. Among the myriad of performers, I particularly enjoyed Cheryl Wheeler's wit, Roy Forbes peculiar twangy voice, Lester Quitzau's bluesy guitar, Geoff Berner's caustic ironies, Bellowhead's fine English disco/seashanties and Mavis Staple's touch of history. She told the backstory of one civil rights song, written by her father for, and that became a personal favorite of, Martin Luther King. She began her own singing career in 1969 and is still going strong.

Today, July 20, marks the 40th anniversary of Man on the Moon. - July 20, 1969. I was a child who star-gazed and remember the science fiction spookiness of the Sovet Union's sputnik overhead. I remember the fuzzy black and white images and crackly sound coming LIVE from the moon. I went all nostalgic this week as I recalled Walter Cronkite's sonorous narration of this and other great events. The technical feat was,without a doubt, amazing. However, mostly I remembered Walter's American authenticity. He always seemed to represent the best of the USA.

As Mavis sang into the dusk at Jericho, the International Space Station, came out of the western sky - by far the brightest light among the early stars - and glided as swiftly and silently as time through Vancouver's sky. We danced and some of us waved.

Busy as a B & B

Nelson House is in full summer swing. We celebrated both Canada Day and US Independence Day with great conversations between Canadians, Americans, Brits, French, Germans and Danes. While tourism statistics tell us that BC may be missing some American friends this year, the international assortment around our breakfast table proves that the world is still coming to see Vancouver. Add to the mix that our B & B attracts both gays and straights and I lke to call it our "motley assortment" !

All of us have been enjoying the International Jazz Festival under wonderful sunny skies. Two of my favourite concerts were free and outdoors. Both musicians and audience demonstrated the exuberant, astonishing mix that is Canada's multicultural success story.

Vancouver's Delhi to Dublin is a group of five that mashes up Indian Bhangra, Celtic & Dub. The combined sounds of tabla, fiddle, dhol, Punjabi vocals, electric sitar and electronic beats create pure excitement. The soundtrack on their website gives you a taste of something somehow familiar and exotic.

And then there was the Toronto-based flautist, saxaphonist and bandleader Jane Bunnett and her extraordinary Embracing Voices project. Here she mixes top-notch jazz instrumentals with the soulful choral sounds of Cuba and Haiti. Watch, listen and...soar.



Please let me know if you like. There is more of the same - right here in Vancouver.

Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Calling all jazz lovers! Vancouver's thriving music scene explodes tomorrow and keeps on shining through the holidays until July 5th. The best local and Canadian talent, a sampling of Europe and Latin America's finest musicians and of course, some well known, Big Name headliners.

I love the festival website. If you are thinking of coming to town, you can explore by date or by artist or by music style or by themed music series or even by instrument. Be sure to check out the artists' sampling of audio files. Here is a link to an alphabetical list by venue. It will give you a peek at Vancouver's live club, cool cabaret and concert scene - much of it within walking distance or a short cab from the B & B. As well, it will point out the many, many FREE events!

As for the big tease names - you can't beat two of the world's greatest saxophonists - Sonny Rollins and David Sanborn. Or one of the best trombonists - Ray Anderson. A guitarist like Dick Dale. A vocalist like Kurt Elling. However, I think the whole point of a Festival is to see and hear the next generation of stars and to be here for the unexpected pairings and live collaborations. It's not too late. Don't miss out on all that jazz.

A bed and breakfast garden continued...

The blue ceanosis or wild lilac beside our front steps is buzzing with happy bees. No wonder, the perfume emanating from this hardy shrub is both head-spinning and delightful!

The pink rose is a bonica. I have three and each stands eight to nine feet tall - covered with blooms all summer long. Many, many more blossoms to come!

Last Minute Special

Nelson House B & B is now offering a Last Minute Special - 20 % OFF - if booked within 48 hours of arrival date.

But please be warned:

- you must mention this special when first booking
- we do not answer the phone after 6 PM & we frequently fill up
- no Saturday-only bookings
- once confirmed, there is no cancellation refund!
- you may not get your first choice of room
- if staying more than one night, you may have to change rooms
- to lock in your discount, it's best to 100% complete our secure Reservation Request Form (with your credit card) and we will confirm within 24 hours

Tick Tock

A bed and breakfast garden.

A bed and breakfast garden often shelters some classic specimens of the plant world. Right now, our Alba Rose is in full bloom and scent. Alba is an Old Garden Rose, meaning that it predates the introduction of hybrid varieties in 1867. In fact, the Alba is one of the world's oldest known roses. It is famous as the "white rose", symbol of the House of York, in the 15th century, English "War of the Roses".

In liturgical symbolism, it represents the Virgin Mary. The simple shape and white colour is associated with the light, innocence, purity, joy and glory of the Madonna. Visions of the Virgin are said to be accompanied by the light, sweet scent of this rose.

The Alba's beauty graces our garden by day and it's gentle fragrance is a blessing by night. I don't exactly genuflect but I do stop and smell the roses and recommend it to all my friends.