Community Events

Just when you thought one family couldn’t possibly house any more artistic talent, Joel Grinke shows up to prove you wrong.

Joel is older brother to Matt Grinke, the uber-talented pianist whose off-the-cuff accompaniment to Friday Night Live’s hilarious improv has the cast performing their scenes in genres that range from Shakespearean madrigals to Gilbert-and-Sullivan inspired choruses.

Joel is also the actor who will be stepping into the shoes of Alan Marriott, FNL coordinator, when Alan is off in England to teach theatre improv for the month of April. (For a tongue-in-cheek dramatization of Alan’s reluctant handing over of the FNL reins, check out this YouTube video!)

Joel and his varied creative team will bring a new look and feel to the show for the four weeks they have the run of the stage. The Studio 58 grad describes it as “Johnny Carson meets the Muppet Show” (referring to the anticipated on-stage appearance of a giant fish for one of the acts). As is usual for Friday Night Live shows, a different guest artist will be featured each night, but unlike Ad Libretto’s audience-inspired improv antics, the April Creative Team is doing more of its writing in advance, and promises some interesting storylines ahead.

Upcoming guests are Dave Morris on April 4, an “improvising legend” in his own right, musician and actor Jeff Gladstone on the 11th, and Colin Easton – who is spending one year meeting a new random person every day and posting their story on Facebook as part of The Stranger Project 2014 – on April 18.

Another highlight to look forward to in April is a new partnership with the Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub. Starting April 4, each week one FNL audience member will win a $25 gift certificate – so who knows, you might come for the entertainment and walk out with post-show pub fare as well!

Friday Night Live opens its doors at 7 p.m. at Lynn Valley United Church, with the show beginning at 7:30 p.m. Complimentary refreshments come along with your $10 ticket (kids 12 and under are free, family max is $25). For more info, visit www.fnlnorthvan.com, or find them on twitter @fnlnorthvan, or on their Facebook page.

Well, you could live-stream next week’s TED conference from your home computer, but it will cost you $600. (Of course, that beats the $7,500 in-person ticket price.) Fortunately, there’s a third option for those of us who want to take part in the excitement of Vancouver’s first-ever TED talks, but also pay the mortgage – free front-row seats at the local library!

In honour of TED’s 30th anniversary year, organizers are allowing schools, libraries and universities to live-stream the short talks, given by leading-edge thinkers and creators on a wide range of topics. Many people have already viewed at least a few TED talks online, which are archived and freely available on their website, or on Netflix. Some of them, such as Sir Ken Robinson’s talk “How Schools Kill Creativity,” achieve a viral popularity – that presentation in particular has been viewed over 25 million times.

TED will be the “talk” of the town next week, so take advantage of the opportunity to pop into the library and join the buzz. Public sessions at the Lynn Valley library are as follows:

Monday, March 17

6 p.m. – 7:45 p.m., LV Community Room

Session 1: Lift Off

Nicholas Negroponte – Tech visionary
Chris Hadfield – Astronaut
Elizabeth Gilbert – Writer
The Education Reformer – Educator
Mark Ronson – Music Producer and DJ

Tuesday, March 18

9 a.m. – 10:15 a.m., Lynn Valley Program Room

Session 2: Retrospect 

Bran Ferren – Technology designer
Marc Kushner – Architect
Yoruba Richen – Documentary filmmaker

Wednesday, March 19

Lynn Valley Program Room

9 – 10:10 a.m.
Session 5: Us

Nancy Kanwisher – Brain researcher
Rob Knight – Microbial ecologist
Stephen Friend – Open-science advocate
Jon Mooallem – Writer
Geena Rocero – Model and activist
David Chalmers – Philosopher

11 a.m. – 12:45pm
Session 6: Wired

Charlie Rose – Conversationalist
Margaret Gould Stewart – User experience master
Del Harvey – Security maven
Chris Kluwe – Punter and author
Jeremy Kasdin – Planet finder
Avi Reichental – 3D printer
Hugh Herr – Prostheticist

2 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
All-Stars Session 3: Where Are We Now?

Salman Khan – Educator
Tim Berners-Lee – Inventor
Amy Cuddy – Social Psychologist
Allan Savory – Grassland ecosystem pioneer
Bjorn Lomborg – Global prioritizer
Amanda Palmer – Musician, blogger
Clay Shirky – Social Media Theorist
Lawrence Lessig – Legal activist
Bryan Stevenson – Public-interest lawyer
3:45 – 5 p.m.
All-Stars Session 4: I Heart Design

John Maeda – Artist
Stefan Sagmeister – Graphic designer
Moshe Safdie – Architect
Sarah Kay – Poet
Pattie Maes – Researcher
Juan Enriquez – Futurist
Barry Schwartz – Psychologist
JR – Street artist
Aimee Mullins – Athlete and actor

Time: 6 – 7:45 p.m.
Session 7: Why?

Wendy Chung – Geneticist
Helder Guimarães – Magician
Allan Adams – Theoretical physicist
Jason Webley – Musician
Jim Holt – Writer and philosopher

Thursday, March 20

LOCATION: Lynn Valley Program Room

9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Session 8: Hacked

Marco Tempest – Techno-illusionist
Keren Elazari – Cybersecurity expert
David Epstein – Sports science reporter
Ed Yong – Science writer
Ray Kurzweil – Inventor, futurist
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Session 9: Signals

Sara Lewis – Firefly specialist
Deborah Gordon – Ecologist
Randall Munroe – Cartoonist
Andrew Connolly – Astronomer
Will Marshall – Space scientist
Louie Schwartzberg – Filmmaker

2:30 – 4 p.m.
All-Stars Session 5: The Future is Ours

Stanley McChrystal – Military leader
Dan Dennett – Philosopher, cognitive scientist
Susan Cain – Quiet revolutionary
Rodney Brooks – Roboticist
Elizabeth Pisani – Epidemiologist
Michael Shermer – Skeptic
Jimmy Wales – Founder of Wikipedia
John Hunter – Educator
Helen Fisher – Anthropologist; expert on love
Martin Rees – Astrophysicist
Steven Johnson – Writer
Ken Robinson – Author/educator

This wet shoulder season,  existing between winter’s slush and springtime’s sun, can be a damp and forlorn time of year – in other words, one not always ideal for entertaining kids on a two-week break from school. Fortunately, there are a number of local diversions for Lynn Valley families to keep both children and adults busy this month.

Most novel is the appearance of Shawn Farquhar at Friday Night Live on Friday, March 7.  This internationally acclaimed magician has appeared on the Ellen show and even managed to hoodwink magician/comedian duo Penn and Teller on their British television program Fool Us.  This is perhaps not surprising, given that Farquhar has won numerous international awards, including the Grand Prix World Champion of Magic title in the Olympics of Magic in Beijing in 2009.

Farquhar has appeared once before at Friday Night Live, and FNL organizers say he was an incredible hit, staying behind for an added 90 minutes to engage with the audience. They say the Maple Ridge native is delighted to be returning to Lynn Valley this week – warmed, perhaps, by memories of the birthday cake they had waiting for him at his last FNL appearance. As always, the Friday Night Live guest performance will be bookended by hilarious musical theatre improv performed by Add Libretto, working off suggestions provided by the audience.

For more information about Farquhar’s appearance, and upcoming FNL guests, visit www.fnlnorthvan.com. Tickets are $10 each, or $25 per family (and people under 12 are free).

Kids break ground

There’s still time to register for the Real Farming series for six to 12 year olds. On the first Saturday morning of each month from March through to June, participants will roll up their sleeves and learn about urban farming at Loutet Farm, just off Grand Boulevard.

Register for this Edible Garden Project program through Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 604-990-3755.

The ecology centre itself will be hosting by-donation “Wildlife Weeks Family Events” during the school break. From March 16 to 28, a wide range of events will be presented, from black light puppet shows to visits from birds of prey and reptiles, to learning about a day in the life of a wildlife rehabilitation worker. For information on the programs and other spring break opportunities, click here.

Library offers movies, books, crafts

Libraries offer more than just books these days (although the 200,000-plus books circulating in the local library system could keep anyone busy for several lifetimes).

Also on offer, however, are family movie nights (Dallas Buyers Club and Frozen are being screened at the Lynn Valley branch this month), craft workshops and Lego clubs. See our events calendar for a few events happening at the Lynn Valley library this month, or visit the library website for a full listing.