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 Robin Thorneycroft. Our realtors Jim Lanctot, Kelly Gardiner & Melanie Butchart bring news from the world of Lynn Valley real estate, and we have a range of guest voices from your local 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 or on our Facebook site!
Bring your treasures for appraisal
Here's a heads-up for those of you starting to do your spring-cleaning: take a closer look at some of those family hand-me-downs that belonged to your mother or grandfather. Later this spring you'll have the chance to see if those items you've taken for granted might have value beyond the ...
Win tickets to see LV actress in soccer mom saga
Jenny Mitchell is a Lynn Valley mom like many others – she loves heading out on the trails, hitting the library, and socializing at Browns. Her kids, Dylan and Evan, go to Lynn Valley Elementary and play baseball and soccer. Not many local moms, however, get to play a maternal ...
Thirteen Lynn Valley home sales in January
These are the latest figures on the Lynn Valley housing market. If you’d like monthly market updates and neighbourhood highlights sent directly to your inbox, please sign up to become a member of the LynnValleyLife Network to enjoy these and other benefits. Single Family Homes: There were 9 detached homes sold in January ...
LV locals make recovery in VGH Burn Unit a little easier
COMING TO YOU FROM LYNN O’MALLEY: Greetings, neighbours! I was really looking forward to telling you the story of how a generous donation from the Lee family (owners of the Mountain Market corner store at Mountain Highway and Frederick) resulted in a domino effect that benefitted people not just in Lynn Valley, ...
Bob McCormack spends his life making shade for others
FROM THE EDITOR: The Greeks said it best: "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." They must have been thinking ahead to people like Bob McCormack, who – now 70 years old – has spent most of his life ...
You love Lynn Valley! (And so do we.)
FROM LYNN O’MALLEY: “'Home' is a name, a word - it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.” So spake Charles Dickens about the power of home, and we do not disagree with him (especially since we do not ...
February contests on now
We currently have two contests running here at LynnValleyLife, so in case you missed hearing about them, here's what you need to know. In honour of Valentine's Day, we're asking people to share the love this week. Find our contest post on our Facebook wall, or email us at [email protected], ...
Recycling depots close at hand
Lynn Valley is an excellent place to live if you’re an environmentalist. Sure, we have lots of trees. But did you know we’re also particularly well-situated when it comes to recycling drop-off depots? We’re a hop, skip and a jump from North Van District’s recycling depot located across from the ...
LynnValleyLife: your resource for 100th Lynn Valley Day!
LIFE WITH LYNN O'MALLEY: Have I ever missed a Lynn Valley Day? Well, perhaps for a year or two in my turbulent twenties. Otherwise, I’ve been there every year – dancing the may pole, playing in the band, marching in the parade, or staffing an info booth (not usually all ...
New minister seeks to engage the neighbourhood
LIFE WITH LYNN O'MALLEY: If it seems like our website has been publishing a lot of news coming out of Lynn Valley United Church lately, there’s a good reason for it – there IS a lot of news coming out of Lynn Valley United Church lately! That’s thanks in large ...
Ground-breaking art gallery seeks LV volunteers
BY YOLANDE MARTINELLO, Principal of Fine Arts, School District 44: Many people in Lynn Valley will be celebrating the opening of the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art this fall, and we are hoping many of them will also volunteer to be part of its success. Currently under construction at ...
District workers are up the creek
FROM THE EDITOR: It’s always been easy to be impressed by Lynn Valley’s trees; after all, the world’s tallest fir – measuring 417 feet high and 77 feet around – was documented here in 1875. But for the next few months at least, it’s Lynn Valley’s streams that will be ...
Here’s what sold in LV in December, and for how much
These are the latest figures on the Lynn Valley housing market. If you'd like monthly market updates and neighbourhood highlights sent directly to your inbox, please sign up to become a member of the LynnValleyLife Network to enjoy these and other benefits. December Sales Update Here is your monthly snapshot ...
Theatre lives on in local memories
Musings from Lynn O’Malley: It’s always seemed to me that a little movie house would do well in Lynn Valley; something that would bring in the kind of interesting flicks you usually have to travel over to the 5th Avenue or Park Theatre to see. (OK, I can’t guarantee it ...
Thank you, Lynn Valley, for 500 new friends
Glad tidings from Lynn O'Malley: When Jim Lanctot first assembled some like-minded souls to talk about creating this community website, our goals were both grand and humble. Yes, we hoped to reach a lot of people and be of great help to local organizations, businesses and individuals wanting to spread ...
Lynn Valley ’70s counterculture recalled in colourful autobiography
From Lynn O'Malley: Inspired by our Christmas post in which we published a list of Lynn Valley residents' wishes, publisher Jim Lanctot and I got talking about what we’d ask for if we could wave a wand and make something good come true for our community. He thought that more programs ...
Church adds to yoga roster for new year
As reported earlier by LynnValleyLife, drop-in yoga is now being offered at Lynn Valley United Church, and 2012 brings with it yet another bendy option. Children, Youth and Families Minister Christina Kinch - who trained in India as a Hatha yoga instructor - has added an intermediate class to the ...
Our List of One-Mile Resolutions
Coming to You From Lynn O'Malley: Even those people who staunchly refuse to make New Year’s Resolutions must, like the rest of us, look forward to the new year and see all the potential it offers. Whether it is waistlines that need contracting or minds that need expanding, all seems ...
Hastings Manor restoration unveiled
From the desk of Jim Lanctot: I was out walking my kids to school one morning in mid-December when I stopped to look at the renovations just finishing up at Hastings Manor, across the street from Lynn Valley Elementary. Like many people in the neighbourhood, I had wondered what had ...
A Christmas wish list for our community
CHRISTMAS TIDINGS FROM VALLEY FOLK: If you’re like many of us heading towards, or comfortably settled into, middle age, Christmas has ceased being a time at which we wonder anxiously what Santa will bring us. When it comes to more ‘stuff,’ most of us need nothing. Instead one’s thoughts turn ...
LVL thanks conscientious carriers
It takes a village to raise a child, they say, and we’ve found the very same philosophy applies to a new business. So we wanted to thank some of the young people in our village who have helped us spread the word about the launch of LynnValleyLife, our community website ...
After-school art starts again in January
After-school art programs are once again coming to Lynn Valley schools in the new year! Have a look-see at this schedule and you’ll find everything from watercolours to digital storytelling. Then in January watch for our story about the new Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian art, and how some Lynn ...
Girls offered free yoga
Who wants to get stretchy? Christina Kinch, the new youth ministry leader at Lynn Valley United, is also a certified Hatha yoga teacher. She's leading free, drop-in yoga classes for girls in Grades 5 through 12 on Tuesdays from 5 to 6:15pm. Last one before the Christmas break is Tuesday ...
Buskers add a new element to village life
FROM THE DESK OF LYNN O'MALLEY: We've been treated to all sorts of musical offerings in our village square, from the summertime concert series to occasional performances by community groups such as the Lynn Valley Black Bear Band and the North Shore Celtic Ensemble. Now even more lovely, lilting, lyrical life ...
Christmas Crawl happens on Dec. 18!
Members of The North Shore Celtic Ensemble and guest musicians will perform in 3 different locations on the afternoon of Sunday Dec. 18th. The group will be raising money for North Shore Harvest, so it is hoped that the audience will enjoy the toe-tapping tunes and donate accordingly. The Christmas Crawl ...
Moms get a boost from Spectrum founder
FROM THE DESK OF LYNN O'MALLEY: Here at LynnValleyLife, we are grateful to the North Shore News for running our editor's story about the amazing mission of Lynn Valley resident Sally Livingstone. When you meet someone like Sally, you tend to want to do everything you can to spread the ...
Local author to speak Dec. 14
We're delighted to hear that Lynn Valley author Andrea Winterbottom will be speaking Wednesday night at North Vancouver CITY Library (that's the one at 14th and Lonsdale) at 7 p.m. Andrea will be there with Ed Griffin; together they have led inmate writing groups at Matsqui prison. Learn more about ...
Putting a stop to seasonal stress
Update, Winter 2012: This will be a grand holiday season here in Lynn Valley, starting with the Mollie Nye light-up and continuing over at the Christmas Tree Walk in the Village. That said, it’s not always easy to enjoy all the fun (and tasks!) of the season without becoming a ...
Christmas kicks in this week in Lynn Valley
By the end of November, we’ve usually endured weeks of cold, grey drizzle. I don’t know about you, but the wonderfully sunny fall we’ve had this year has meant that the impending Christmas season has sort of snuck up on me. So perhaps the upside to this rainy Grey Cup ...
Gilmour new to campaigning, but not to community
So what’s it like running for municipal council for the very first time? To find out, I cornered Lynn Valley’s John Gilmour in Delany’s and convinced him to take a break from pressing the flesh and handing out election brochures. We found a corner table and he told me what ...
Q