Vancouver Folk Music Festival

This weekend is the Vancouver Folk Fest, down at Jericho Beach!

PNE Summer Concert Series 2012

Woot Woot!! The PNE Summer Concert series has been announced!!

We've got a little HEART coming our way:



We have some Backstreet Boy realness with Nick Carter on the roster:



Do you wanna play with the Queen of Hearts? Cause Juice Newton is gonna be there!



Maybe you wanna MmmmmBop with the brothers HANSON!



Rock out with Our Lady Peace!



And last but certainly not least, Holy Xanadu, it's OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN!!



Check out the PNE Website for the COMPLETE LIST of performers this summer!!

Free Summertime Movies in Stanley Park

Now that the weather is cooperating, why not head down to Stanley Park for some free outdoor movie nights?



Here's the upcoming schedule of films:

July 10: Zoolander

July 17 Spaceballs

July 24: The Lion King

July 31: Grease

August 7: The Blues Brothers

August 14: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

August 21: Labrinth

August 28: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Just head on down to Second Beach to enjoy a free summer movie night every Tuesday. The movie starts at dusk and people are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and food!!

Postcards: English Bay

Finally, summer has arrived in Vancouver!

How have you been spending the past few days of sunshine?

The other night, I went down to English Bay with some friends and caught the sunset. It was glorious. Looking forward to more summer nights ahead!! Here are some photos I took on my iPhone:











(Last photo by J. McKenny)

Nelly Furtrado is Still Trying to Make Her Comeback

Check out the second single from BC's Nelly Furtado's new album. The title track, Spirit Indestructible, is an alright song, but she's done better in the past. I'm surprised the lead-off single from this CD, Big Hoops, did not do better than it did.

This lyric video features Spencer West, who shows us the true meaning of a spirit indestructible. Find out why:

Holding Out for a Heron

(photo from Flickr)

Last night Jill and I walked around downtown and found ourselves at the Stanley Park tennis courts gawking upwards at the multitude of Heron nests up in the trees. They nest here every year, and right now, it's the PERFECT time to go check them out. The baby herons have hatched and it's officially "Fledgling time" as the newborns are learning how to fly! We managed to watch one grip onto a branch and flap its wings for a good minute. It was a beautiful sight, and these birds are just majestic.


(photo from Flickr)

I couldn't leave without trying to capture one of them in flight, so here's what I managed to get with my little iPhone camera:



Of course it's nothing compared to the real thing, so make sure you get down to Stanley Park this month to check out this wonderful treat from nature! You can read more about the Great Blue Herons of Stanley Park here.

XANADU!!!

Being a Broadway snob, I wasn't sure what to expect with Arts Club Theatre's mounting of the musical comedy Xanadu, but let me tell you, I was IMPRESSED!! Thank you Arts Club for bringing it to the table! I saw the Broadway version and this was very comparable!
(Of course, there's no matching the luscious thighs of Cheyenne Jackson, mind you.

But anyone who can strap on roller skates AND belt out an Olivia Newton-John ballad has me giving a standing ovation! Everybody in this cast did a solid job, singing, dancing, and hamming up the 80s film that this is based on. It may have flopped at the cinemas, but it is finding new hilarious life on the musical stage, with a tongue-in-cheek irony that lets all of us in on the fun.

Light and breezy, this is the perfect summertime musical for everyone to catch! Even though one of the characters proclaims it to be like "children's theatre for gay 40 year olds" that doesn't mean you have to be a gay 40 year old to enjoy this!



It's got Greek demigods, leg warmers, short shorts, a Pegasus, fake Australian accents, and so much more! Gaelan Beatty as Sonny Malone, seems to be a pro in his roller skates and knee high socks! And you KNOW I wanted to be Marlie Collins' Kira every time she glided onto the stage, wind blowing through her hair and rippling her dress in all the right places! However, this was the closest thing to me becoming Kira:



Seriously, you HAVE TO GO SEE XANADU!!!

Xanadu plays at the Granville Island Stage now until August 4th! What are you waiting for? You have to believe it's magic!!