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The man dressed in 18th century American costume is standing in historic North Square, an integral part of the North End district in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s the city’s oldest residential community having been settled in the 1630s. The North End, and North Square in particular, was home to crucial events and influential people in early…
I’ve chosen to spend my Canadian working holiday in Vancouver for one simple reason: the climate. I come from the south of France. I’m one of those people who occasionally appreciate (and I do mean occasionally) spending a few days in the snow. Otherwise I take refuge at home under the covers with a cup…
Shore to Shore is an amazing sculpture with an equally amazing history. The official unveiling was in Brockton Point, Stanley Park on April 25, 2015. The artist is Ts’uts’umutl Luke Marston, an accomplished young Coast Salish artist who lives in Ladysmith, B.C. The history of Shore to Shore begins with Luke’s great great grandfather Joe…
Last week, I gathered with some friends in East Vancouver to watch the Alberta election results come in. The surprising surge in the polls by the NDP had raised expectations for progressives. Still, few people really believed that an NDP government could get elected in what is commonly referred to as the most conservative province…
Lately I’ve returned to studying French in my spare time. One of my workbooks contains a chapter entitled “French Culture,” which outlines such topics as French history, literature, art, music and food. “What is Canadian cuisine?” I remember asking myself, stomach growling, as I lingered over a picture of a mouthwatering chocolate croissant. Maple syrup…
On Saturday night, the Calgary Flames eliminated the Vancouver Canucks from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Nobody expected much out of the Canucks this year, but the Flames’ ascendance is even more surprising. Their line-up is young and largely unknown. But hockey success is not the biggest surprise of this Spring in Alberta. Provincial politics is…
Vibrant, colourful, filled with restaurants, fishing boats, pleasure boats and floating homes. Rent kayaks, go whale watching, feed harbour seals. All this and more is Victoria’s Fisherman’s Wharf. And it’s just a 10 minute walk from Victoria’s Inner Habour or can be accessed by a Harbour Ferry from in front of the Empress Hotel. You…
I had only lived in Vancouver for three months and yet, when I returned to Paris, I required a certain amount of time to readapt. I had hardly set foot outside, but quickly found myself immersed in the hustle and bustle of Parisian life and the bad humoured spirit that accompanies it. At first I…
Statutory holidays require banal social media posts from politicians. But I was startled by the tweet sent out by B.C. Premier Christy Clark on Friday, April 3: “Good Friday reminds us that hard work and sacrifice are rewarded. I hope you have a restful and meaningful long weekend.” Now I know it’s easy to be…
Trans Am Totem is the latest installation of the Vancouver Biennale, part of the 2014–2016 Vancouver Biennale Open Air Museum supporting public art. It consists of five partially restored car wrecks atop the base of an old growth cedar tree. It’s 10 metres high and weighs 11,340 kilograms. The cars and the tree base were…
Over the short six months I’ve been living in Vancouver, the thoughts, feelings and experiences I have had have led me to see the subtle but powerful social paradox that Vancouver holds. Having lived in the now blooming city of Calgary, talk of Vancouver existing as a hub of cultural diversity had always been loud.…
This column could have been about the B.C. government’s feeble 20 cent raise to the minimum wage, or it could have been another lament about the state of the debate around the ongoing transit referendum. But instead I thought I’d focus, for a change, on something good that’s come out of Victoria. Steve Nash retired…
“We are here to awaken from the illusion of separateness.” Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk Gently lit with neon, let’s heal the divide is a recent installation on the wall of the Vancouver Community College (VCC) Downtown Campus at Hamilton and Pender, part of the 2014-2016 Vancouver Biennale Open Air Museum supporting public art. It’s…
