Local News – Front Porch Blog
Our Neighbourhood News: From the Front Porch of LynnValleyLife
Hi there neighbours, and a very warm welcome to our blog, From the Front Porch of LynnValleyLife.
Why do we call it ‘From the Front Porch’? Because that’s where the real news of a community is shared – on front porches and sidewalks, and in coffee shops and playgrounds. So sit down and stay awhile…. and check back regularly, so we can keep you in the Lynn Valley loop.
Visit here for musings on local life from our neighbourhood observer, Lynn O’Malley, and stories from our editor Peggy Trendell-Jensen. Publisher Jim Lanctot weighs in with news from the world of Lynn Valley real estate, and we look forward to bringing you a range of guest voices from your valley neighbours.
If you have any tidbits of interest, please send them along to our neighbourhood news-gatherer, Robin, at [email protected]. We can’t guarantee we’ll be able to post them all, but we’ll do our best to spread the word on this blog page or on our Facebook site!
Spring maintenance and heat dome preparation
What a spring - we had snow on the local mountains this past week and temperatures overnight are still hovering around 4° C. It's hard to believe that it was about five weeks from now, last year, we saw backyard temperatures of 43° C. We have put together some tips ...
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Community events return: helicopters, North Shore Rescue & food trucks this weekend
Saturday, May 7, marks the return of community events to Lynn Valley as the Outdoor Safety and Emergency Preparedness Open House comes to Argyle Secondary School and Lynn Valley Park from 11 am-2 pm. From helicopters to search and rescue dogs, from food trucks to instructional workshops, the family event ...
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Easter Creativity
We are back with our annual Easter colouring contest to celebrate spring! Getting creative We were a bunny's whisker away from our Easter Egg Hunt. We love the event - it was a highlight of the year that brought together the community and an occasion to wear a costume is ...
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Check out some community caring
Two organizations have teamed up to make Lynn Valley a little bit stronger. The North Vancouver District Public Library and St. Clement’s Anglican Church have launched Caring Community Kits to help build community. Building on existing resilience The congregation at St. Clement’s has spent much of the last decade reflecting ...
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Music and events returning to the plaza
There is hope that music and events will return to Lynn Valley Plaza this summer and the North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission has opened auditions for a return to its seasonal events. Looking ahead The NVRC is in the thick of planning and preparing for a summer that looks ...
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Spring Break in the Wild
As things slowly return to normal there are a handful of activities to check out during Spring Break and we are pleased to expect more to be offered as we head toward summer. Wildlife Weeks The Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre is offering both mini-camps and its wonderful Wildlife Weeks during ...
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Where local government meets wildlife
There has been a lot of planning and future thought put into the development of Lynn Valley and the District of North Vancouver as a whole. Lynn Valley’s unique mountainside location has more than just human neighbours. We reached out to the DNV to learn more about the policy and ...
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Speculation tax for 2022
We are in year four of the province's Speculation and Vacancy Tax. Has the annual declaration form become routine for you? By now you should have had the form delivered. All homeowners must declare their status by March 31. If you have declared in previous years, you still have to ...
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Great Lynn Valley Neighbourhood Garage Sale
Registration closes Monday, May 16 for the Great Lynn Valley Neighbourhood Garage Sale - returning on May 28 & 29 - and a garage is not necessary to participate! The details We are proud that in 2019 25 families joined us for our first Great Neighbourhood Garage Sale - in ...
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More options to take care of your home
There have been a few changes at LynnValleyLife HQ. We are thrilled to have brought together some industry leaders to co-work with us. We are now your one-stop shop for buying, selling, financing and insuring your home. We have mortgage broker Tim Hill and insurance broker David Fiteni bringing their ...
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Taking care of your two wheels
First there is confusion, then anger and then a deep sense of loss. To bike riders of all kinds, theft is more than losing a possession - it’s like losing your best friend. In this neighbourhood there is sometimes more value in bikes in a garage than cars in the ...
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A day at the museum
With two months of open doors the new MONOVA Museum of North Vancouver is a great place to spend an afternoon learning about Lynn Valley and North Vancouver’s diverse history. More than 20 years in the making the new facility highlights the connection, passion for place, and the industry and ...
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Valentine’s & Family days in LV
There is a whole lot of love to celebrate this month as families and loved ones mark both Valentine’s Day and Family Day. Just seven days apart there is a chance to show those you care in many ways. We have our picks to celebrate this bright spot in the ...
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Healthy goodness Valley to Shore
Inspired by her own adventures in growing food led an Upper Lynn mom to take on the mission of providing local, quality produce to North Vancouver homes. All it took was meeting the right farmer to help launch Valley to Shore Harvest Boxes. Planting seeds Healthy living and eating has ...
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Trail closure approaches second anniversary
As February approaches, a local resident is asking the district of North Vancouver why an important local trail has been closed. Lynn Valley’s Emily Graydon questions the two-year closure of Hastings Creek Trail and why it's hard to get answers from the DNV. Unstable Significant erosion along the eastern bank ...
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Kids community choir launching this spring
There will be a bit more music gracing the hills of Lynn Valley this spring. The Lynn Valley Voices Choir is expanding to include a children and youth choir this April. Banding together The established community choir at the Lynn Valley United Church, Lynn Valley Voices, is growing with the ...
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The triumphs and tragedy of 2021: a year in review
With another year around the sun and the ongoing pandemic, the year in Lynn Valley was marked by tragedy and triumph. Small and mighty Our top-performing website post was also our second-best performing social post. The honour goes out to Beatrix Reilly and her campaign to support BC Children’s Hospital ...
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Parade of Trees
The lights will shine again in Lynn Valley Dec. 5. The Lynn Valley Community Association is returning with its Parade of Trees at Lynn Valley Village and Lynn Valley Centre Plaza. Bright lights The Parade of Trees will be ongoing until Jan. 1. The 11th annual community event brings together ...
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Good Neighbour 2021: Bob McCormack
It is our greatest pleasure each year to recognize a person in our community for the work they quietly do to make Lynn Valley and the North Shore the best place to live. While the world saw him take the Olympic torch over the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge in 2010, ...
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Lighting up Lynn Valley
For eight years the lights have been twinkling behind Ruth Crescent. The almost hidden path behind Froggy Pad Daycare has been bringing neighbourhood smiles, raising money and shedding much-needed attention on underserved community issues. You are invited to visit the magical walk this December. Community built In the cold and ...
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Local love this holiday season
There has never been a better time to support a local business. With flood tragedies, international shipping delays and fuel shortages, it's the perfect time to stay close to home and find unique gifts from service providers and entrepreneurs in our own neighbourhood this holiday season. Art and Fashion Glass ...
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Celebrating the growing season
As the grey and the rain threaten to wash us away, we are so pleased to shine some light on the summer and fall we had by announcing the winners of our Fall Fair contest. It was a challenging year with the heat dome raging on in late June. While ...
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Rocking in a covid world
Artists often say art isn’t what they do, it’s who they are. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020 there were no more gigs for musicians like Paul Gemino. A passion to play began on a rainy front porch one night at 7pm, soon a neighbourhood was coming together ...
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Local student’s art to help LGHF
When he couldn’t quite put his thoughts into words, turning to art helped Bjorn Thor be heard. The Lynn Valley Elementary Grade 7 student is the winner of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation’s annual greeting card contest. Colourful creation A piece from a young local artist is doing double the ...
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Looking for our Good Neighbour 2021
Some would say 2021 was another year of crisis. Lynn Valley has seen some horror, some change, some upheaval, and most definitely some hope. We want to celebrate the community members that share their time and skills to make our neighbourhood better. We are once again looking for nominations for ...
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Managing North Shore emergencies
The North Shore Emergency Management office has just released a plan to get residents thinking about how they will take care of their families if disaster strikes. This is part three in our series about environmental risks, wildfires, and the impacts on the North Shore. Regional approach A new director ...
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Stepping up for sick kids
Just weeks after leaving BC Children’s Hospital Beatrix Reilly spent her summer summiting 10 mountains. The nine-year-old is bagging peaks to bring IV medical treatments to sick kids. A day's play turned life upside down Much of Reilly’s free time is spent outdoors. A typical North Shore tween she spends ...
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Virtual Fall Fair
With torrential rain in September and heat domes in June, Lynn Valley's gardeners needed to adapt and innovate to make a garden worth celebrating! So many of you have. Short walks around the neighbourhood have discovered 10ft tall sunflowers - favourites of ours! - dazzling dahlias and whimsical wildflowers. The ...
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Pick-A-Pumpkin
Without the community pumpkin patches turning up in local schoolyards, we are opening our office doors for you to come Pick-A-Pumpkin for FREE! Happy Halloween With so many closures and loss of community gatherings, we are missing the annual pumpkin patches that take place across the street from our offices ...
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Local writer tackles youth mental health
Suddenly managing schooling and health care during a pandemic, on top of working and parenting, Lynn Valley’s Lisa Bournelis turned to writing for respite. Her first novella hit the shelves at the local library and online stores in July, and she hopes it will help kids with their mental health ...
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