According to new liquor laws, theatres with liquor licenses are now able to both screen movies and serve alcohol–just not at the same time. Furthermore, showtimes would have to be scheduled in stone, which is difficult, as live performances at venues are subject to change. Owners are still unsatisfied with the latest concession; however, it doesn’t seem to be any new news. The frustration can be traced back to nearly a century ago.

1920- After aggressive waves of the Temperance Movement, provinces finally repealed prohibition laws and allowed government stores to sell liquor.

1921- Because of the Government Liquor Act, that deemed unlicensed public consumption of alcohol illegal, many Vancouver businesses converted to “private clubs.” Members of these clubs were then allowed to consume liquor.

1971- All liquor advertising (on TV, newsprint, etc.), were banned for a short period of time.

1976- Three types of venues are prohibited from selling alcohol: arcades, businesses which cater to youth, and movie theatres.

1987- Following Expo ’86, the government begins to loosen liquor laws, even moving toward privatizing liquor stores. However, the old “demon rum” attitude is not all gone, as people still did not trust the substance to be regulated by market forces.

A frequent movie-goer, Jacqueline, commented, “The only thing that concerns me about more lenient liquor laws is peoples’ behaviors during movies; however, I would encourage more lenient liquor laws.” It is, after all, an entertainment venue.

Even though liquor laws have been liberalized over the century and progress has been made, traces of an antiquated temperance movement still echo in our contemporary society. It seems like more could be done for progress to be applauded.

Photo from http://www.northhillsoap.com/

Volunteers are required to start at 9am, 1pm or 5pm for an orientation, and are welcome to help for any shifts available. The more the merrier! Dress for the weather in warm, waterproof weather.

However, these letters are undoubtedly from residents who have already, if not fully, integrated themselves into the English-speaking community. In simplest terms, an immigrant  who struggles at English would most likely not be adept at drafting a response in written English to an English article.

In context though, the ones who will be affected  are the immigrants. Richmond’s Asian population sits around 60%. The most concentrated area of Asian signage in Richmond is without question ‘Golden Village,” the well-known commercial district that houses Aberdeen Center, Parker Place, etc. For new immigrants or the Asian-Canadian population in general, it’s a haven that’s better than Chinatown. The signs in Chinese are not put up so that immigrants do not have to learn English; they are put up to make daily life more convenient for the residents, the grocery shoppers. Reading signs in English will not help the average immigrant learn the language.

Then multiculturalism comes into view, as it always does. In its ideal form, it’s about proactively accepting people and their culture into a bigger whole. But it’s certainly not assimilation pretending to be acceptance.

Growing up with immigrant parents, I can say with certainty that they have not neglected the environment that they live in. My father is fairly fluent in English and translates for a monthly community newsletter. My mother regularly attends language classes at a church. However, sometimes what’s most important is still the bits and pieces of what they’d left behind. Even if it’s as small as being able to read a sign in their native language.

Built as a festival that celebrates one of the oldest traditions for many Asian cultures – Lunar New Year. LunarFest aims to collaborate with many Asian communities and outreaches to other Canadians. Since the inception, LunarFest is also built on an important artistic element for many cultures – the lanterns.

Here’s what’s on the schedule for the CIBC LunarFest Vancouver 2012; all events take place at the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza:

• Lantern Aquarium – February 1 – 5, 2012 – FREE
  Walk through an amazing collection of sea-creature-themed lantern works created by both professional artists and by thousands of school children.
• The Boy, the Shark & the Sea Puppet Show – February 1 – 5, 2012 – FREE
  Audiences will love interacting with the puppets in this play from the Taiwanese Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company.
• CIBC Pavilion – February 1 – 5, 2012 – FREE
  Grab a free hot beverage and sea dragon hat, plus a souvenir LunarFest photo, at this exhibition pavilion.
• Lunar Cafe – February 1 – 5, 2012
  Enjoy traditional foods that celebrate the Lunar New Year at this pop-up cafe.
• Lunar Kids Game Station - February 1 – 5, 2012 – FREE
  Kids play free New Year-themed games at the Game Station, including finding out what’s in store for the Year of the Dragon with the “Fortune Teller Game” and testing their ocean knowledge with the “Red Envelope Game.”

The South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink) is one of Canada’s most innovative transportation authorities and our responsibilities continue to grow. It is our unique task to move people and goods in an integrated road and transportation network, while preserving & enhancing Metro Vancouver’s quality of life.

Responsiblities: The Communication Coordinator develops and implements employee communications program, develops and implements communication strategies – and deliverables – for various corporate policies, initiatives and events. This is an excellent opportunity for an energetic communications professional looking to make a difference in employee communication.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Develops and implements TransLink’s employee communications program by researching employee communication needs, and recommending and implementing new employee communications opportunities and programs. Researches material, writes, edits and manages production of employee communication material.
•  Develops and implements communication strategies for various Corporate policies, initiatives and events.
•  Sets communication objectives and makes recommendations for improvements to communications strategies, including the use of online and social media tools to engage employees.
•  Responsible for quarterly enterprise-wide all employee meetings, communicating about TransLink’s Compass card and faregate project to employees, TransLink’s Lunch and Learn program, a weekly information round-up, people news and more.

Qualifications: A Degree in communications, journalism or related discipline. Requires three years of experience in a large public corporation in corporate communications including internal communications or in the public relations field including speech writing, development of communication strategies and the composition of articles for magazines or newspapers.

An equivalent combination of education and experience may also be considered.

Work Schedule: 37.5 hours per week

How to apply: Click the ‘Apply Now‘ button or go to http://www.translink.ca to apply for this position and to view instructions on the process.

Post Date:  January 24, 2012
Close Date:  Open until filled

Please note that only those short listed will be contacted.

Having trouble applying?  Please view the System Requirements & FAQ’s by going to http://www.translink.ca/careershelp.

Photo from blog.placespeak.com

Shortly after exercising their live performance muscles, the band headed into the studio to churn out their self-titled 4-track EP with producer Tom Dobrzansk who had also worked with many other prolific Vancouver acts. The EP aptly showcases the band’s knack for writing some heartfelt and catchy indie-pop numbers inspired by a variety of experiences of life in the West Coast, of childhood memories, of dreams, imaginations, and time.

The band has since solidified their lineup with a group now consisting of Djavin Bowen, Mike Noble, Brock Wiederick, and Devin Miller and continues to bring their high-energy efforts in their live performances as well as their endeavors in making a name for themselves as a distinguished act not only locally but internationally as well.

Young Pacific will be at the Canadian Music Festival in Toronto taking place from March 21-25, 2012, as part of Canadian Music Week. You can hear Young Pacific’s music via their Bandcamp or Myspace and stay connected with them through Facebook.

Photo via Lauren Mulcahy

For those of you who don’t know, recently, the British-owned megastore, HMV, closed it doors at the downtown and the Richmond location. The President of HMV Canada says that they are shutting them down due to a lack of revenue and a high amount of debt. The Robson street location especially became too taxing (no pun intended) on the company’s finances because of the rent required to sustain a store of that size. Although HMV is closing its doors at two locations, there are still nine other HMV’s in British Columbia.

With the growth of online shopping and the increased accessibility to movies and music through legal and illegal downloading and streaming, more consumers are less inclined to go out and purchase the physical product. This begs the question, how many people out there really even care that HMV is closing? Itunes, for instance, has made it so easy for someone to purchase the songs or movies they want in the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, as youth become more tech savvy, I truly believe there will be a time where CDs and DVDs will fall through the way-side like the cassettes and vinyl’s that preceded them. Don’t get me wrong, there will definitely be people out there who will still buy the physical product but they will become harder to find.

Though I haven’t  purchased items from HMV very often over the years, walking by the Robson street location and not seeing the giant HMV sign was kind of depressing because it has been a landmark in the heart of the downtown core. If I ever needed to find a CD or DVD, I knew that the three-story location was bound to have it. However, don’t be sad my fellow consumers, downtown Vancouver is too big of a market for HMV to not have a store and the President of HMV Canada has said they will be opening up a small store soon. In the meantime, you will have to find your CD, DVD and other miscellaneous product fix somewhere else.

Photo from thegamershub.net

It’s so rare to find a youth so passionate about climate change in today’s society that is driven by fast cars, popular electronic devices, and an obscene amount of energy usage. Nonetheless, we have found our diamond in the rough this month, Sophie, a young woman who passionately states and truly believes that “climate change is the greatest challenge of our generation”!

Just an average girl, playing on a Metro soccer team and running cross country as well as partaking in theatre at Prince of Wales Secondary in her spare time, Sophie can also be found volunteering the rest of her time with the environmental organization she started in 2010, Kids for Climate Action.

It all stemmed from a trip to India where Harrison volunteered alongside her mom at the Ashraya Initiative for Children where she spent twelve hour days teaching nursery school classes and immersing herself into the heavily impoverished community. In her words, the conditions were “appalling.” This was when she realized that she didn’t do anything to deserve being born in Canada and that she needed to bring change in order to earn how lucky she is to be born in Canada. This is where her passion for climate change came into play.

She wants the world to realize that it is not okay for rich countries to pollute while poor countries are suffering. The more we pollute, the more the crops in the third world countries (their means of survival) will deplete. With that being said, Sophie created Kids for Climate Action because she realized that although there are a lot of environmental causes in schools focused on individuals making a difference, there needs to be a MOVEMENT, something to get everyone involved instead. “I can’t wait until I graduate from University to make a difference and be an activist. I need to act now, it’s the future world for my children”. Sophie also brings about an interesting notion: if we, the people, don’t make the environment a priority, the government will not feel it is a priority either.

Lastly, this young woman eager to make a change leaves us with some useful tips!
1. Make changes in your own life – little things do make a difference.
2. Do the little things to make a difference, BUT realize that it’s NOT enough.
3. Ride your bike, take transit, and walk wherever you can

Sophie urges us to realize that “NOW is the pivotal time in earth’s history, so get involved in any way that you can”

Click HERE to nominate someone you think deserves to be named Y57′s Youth of the Month!

I asked a couple of current cheerleaders how they became involved in this sport. “It was something new that I’ve never tried before,” said Carlo Villadiego, a cheerleading newcomer. However, what encourages most people to stay in cheerleading is more than just a good workout, it is because of the friendships that developed on and off stage. “I’ve been cheerleading since the eighth grade, when I first started high school,” said Vivien Low. “I can honestly say I only signed up because the rest of my friends did. And thank God I did. I discovered a sport where all girls were supportive of each other, figuratively and literally.”

It was something new that I’ve never tried before

Cheerleading became an official sport in 1948 with the emergence of the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA). However, there are some people out there who still think that cheerleading is ‘girly’ and not a viable sport. The stigma surrounding male cheerleaders is that it isn’t ‘masculine’ enough like football or hockey, for instance. Despite the perception around the sport and male cheerleaders, cheerleading was actually introduced by a male in the late 19^th century. Organized cheerleading even began as an all-male activity. Over the years, more females began cheerleading while male cheerleaders declined, causing the perception that cheerleading is a feminine sport to increase.

Although cheerleading is not the conventional ‘chase-after-the-ball’ sport, many would argue that cheerleading is just as intense and requires just as much training as other sports. Like hockey or football, cheerleaders require a lot of practice as well as off-timetable workouts to perfect the craft. “It demands the same athleticism, strength, stamina, and passion as any other sport,” said Low. “It is the only sport where you can say you lifted an entire girl above your head, and it is currently in the works right now to get into the summer Olympics!”

Even if after reading this article, you still don’t consider cheerleading a sport but rather as a ‘joke’, Villadiego has one message for you: “For those who think it is [a joke], try it out and then you’ll see why [it is a sport].”

Photo from webb.nmu.edu

When: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Where: The Wired Monk Coffee Bistro (Kitsilano – 2610 West 4th ave)

Who: Local artists Gloria Ekkert, Megan Twist and Rags to Radio

Tickets: $5.00 per person – also includes one tall latte or cappuccino! Available at the door and online. Click here to buy!