Community Events

Good Neighbour announced at LV Christmas finale

Wow! Lynn Valley, you’ve got what it takes!

Last night’s grand finale of the 12 Days of Christmas in Lynn Valley Village was a labour of love by so many, most particularly the hard-working valley folk in the Lynn Valley Community Association, the Lynn Valley Lions and the fine musicians and actors of Lynn Valley United Church.

The two-hour production featured the young adult and adult community choirs of the church, the church’s Friday Night Live improv team, the singing of valley favourite Bobbi Smith, and a storyline that wove throughout the music to bring the message of Christmas home.

 

One definite highlight of the evening was an unscripted marriage proposal, ring and all, sung on stage with harmonic back-up from the FNL crew! Many congratulations to the happy couple, and thanks for sharing your Big Moment with all of us!

 

That was a tough act to follow, but Bobbi Smith managed it just fine, and after a few songs gave a tribute to Lynn Valley’s community values, giving LynnValleyLife the perfect  opportunity to announce the winner of this year’s Good Neighbour Award.

Lynn Valley United Church parishioners in the crowd went wild when they heard that one of their own had won the honour, which was awarded to the person who won the draw of all our top Good Neighbour nominees.

photo courtesy Linda Mackie

We were delighted to give the Good Neighbour Award 2012 plaque and prize package to Rosemary Postlethwaite, a church elder who has spent a decade collecting bottles and cans to help fund the church’s program that makes sandwiches for the homeless. You can read more about Rosemary here, in the nomination that was submitted by Kelly Jenner (who won a gift certificate to the Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub for having nominated the award winner!)

The Good Neighbour Award, launched this year, gave us a very welcome opportunity to share stories about many of the people here in Lynn Valley who reach out to help others in quiet ways, large ways, public ways and private ways. We know there are a lot more fine folks out there, so we hope you keep our Good Neighbour Award in mind over the year to come, so you’ll have someoneto nominate when we launch the award again in November 2013.

In the meantime, we would like to take this year-end opportunity to thank all those community volunteers, especially those people in the groups mentioned above, for putting so much time and effort into the Christmas Tree Walk, the 12 Days of Christmas entertainment, and the first-ever Christmas tree at the corner of Mountain Highway and Lynn Valley Road.

We know it will be a busy year ahead with Lynn Valley Day and other community celebrations, so please consider becoming an active member of one of these organizations, or looking for different ways to support them. Check out their websites, above, and look here for information about joining the community choir that was featured last night.

Wouldn’t that make a great New Year’s resolution?

Merry Christmas, Lynn Valley!

photo courtesy Linda Mackie

December 24, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Contests, Current News, Notable Neighbours

Black Bear Band hosts Winter Concert

The annual Winter Concert put on by our very own Lynn Valley community band takes place on Monday, Dec. 17, at Kay Meek theatre, and it is always a crowd-pleaser (they have good goodies, too!) Admission is by donation. Details here (and if getting out more will be part of your new year’s resolve, why not consider joining? Check them out on their website.

 

 

December 9, 2012 in Blog, Community Events

First annual Good Neighbour Award announced!

LynnValleyLife is delighted to introduce a new, year-end community tradition – the 1st annual Good Neighbour Award!

Has someone been a “good neighbour” to you this year? Did a person here in Lynn Valley go out of their way to help you, your family, or our community?

Maybe they spent an evening out in the woods looking for your lost dog. Maybe they spent the year collecting bottles for a school fundraiser. Whatever they did that warmed your heart, we’d love to hear about it.

We’ll share some of our favourite stories on this website as a tribute to Lynn Valleyites’ year-round spirit of goodwill. And then we’ll put them into a random draw so that one of these kindhearted citizens can win LynnValleyLife’s Good Neighbour Award for 2012.

 

They will win:

  • a gift certificate to Aristos Greek Restaurant
  • a one-month rec centre pass
  • a personalized tour of the RCMP station (including RCMP mug & umbrella!), and…
  • a membership in the LV Community Association!

And, as a thank you to the person who nominated the winner, a $25 gift certificate to the Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub will go to the person (19+) who submitted their story!

We can’t wait to hear about the random – or highly organized! – acts of kindness we know take place in our community on a daily basis.  Please submit a paragraph or two that tell your story (including your name and contact information) via the form below, or by emailing [email protected], or by mailing The Editor at LynnValleyLife, 1297 Argyle Rd.,  North Vancouver,  V7K 1H5.

We’ll start to publish some of the stories over the following weeks, and we must receive all entries by Wednesday, Dec. 19. The Good Neighbour 2012 prize (and the Black Bear Pub gift certificate!) will be awarded at the Lynn Valley Village Christmas Tree Walk on Sunday, Dec. 23. We hope to see you there, as the Lynn Valley United Church Community Choir and a special guest from the North Pole will also be in attendance that night!

You can help spread the word to others by forwarding this post (or facebooking, or tweeting!) and by downloading this poster to put up around the community. Thanks for helping us find those good neighbours!

By submitting your story, you are agreeing to its possible publication by LynnValleyLife. Should you wish us to use first names only, please let us know – though we reserve the right to publish the first and last name of the Good Neighbour 2012 grand prize winner and his/her nominator.

 

November 20, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Contests, Notable Neighbours

Remembrance Day observances planned

Each year, more and more Canadians are marking Remembrance Day at ceremonies and other events across the country.

North Vancouver hosts the largest cenotaph gathering in Western Canada, an annual tradition at Victoria Park. People should be in place on Sunday before 10:30 a.m. (allow time to walk a few blocks), and thereafter will follow a traditional service, fly-past, parade, music, the presentation of wreaths of remembrance, and of course a moment of silence. For information on the marching parade before and after the ceremony, visit this North Van RCMP press release.

In Lynn Valley, a small ceremony is held at Pioneer Park at the junction of Lynn Valley Road and Mountain Hwy, especially to accommodate seniors and veterans for whom the crowds at Victoria Park are prohibiting. Those who wish to attend are asked to be at the cairn by 10:15 a.m., and to ensure the chairs available go to those who need them the most. Legion president Diana Saboe also notes that everyone is invited to the Lynn Valley Legion Open House following the ceremony; please leave the jeans at home and arrive in proper dress.

Many people also enjoy attending the Remembrance Day assembly at Argyle Secondary, which features thoughtful presentations and musical performances put on by the students. This year’s assembly will take place in the school gym on Friday, Nov. 9 at 10 a.m.

And Lynn Valley United Church will be foregoing its usual Sunday service on Nov. 11 to offer a special performance by Antony Holland, award-winning actor and playwright. Holland will be presenting One Man in His Time, his play that tells of his experiences in Northern Africa during World War II. There, he worked as a code breaker for the British Armed Services and in his spare time mounted theatrical productions wherever he was able.

Admission is by donation at the door, with contributions of $25 or more eligible for a tax receipt. Contact the church office for more information, or look on the church website.

 

November 5, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News

Giants hockey tickets support good cause

Lynn Valley’s Bob Rasmus is known to many of us for his ongoing community work with the Lions Club and for co-organizing the ever bigger-and-better annual Lynn Valley Day events. (Click here for a profile we wrote about Bob this spring!)

Currently Bob is zone chairman for all the North Shore Lions Clubs, so we’re happy to help him promote his causes – especially when it comes to a deal on hockey tickets!

If you order tickets to the Giants’ Jan. 30 game against the Prince Albert Raiders, you will not only save five bucks a ticket, you will be supporting the Lions Society’s Easter Seals House. The Vancouver Easter Seals House, located on Oak Street, provides low-cost accommodation for families who are in town for a child’s medical treatment. The house is professionally staffed, includes play facilities and other child-centred features, and is designed to give parents the support they need in order that they can focus on their children’s wellbeing.

To download a hockey tickets order form, click here. Remember, the tix make great Christmas presents – especially in this lock-out year!

Did you know the Lynn Valley Lions Club helps support about fifty local non-profit organizations through its fundraising? Have a look at their website to see how splendidly your Cook Shack hamburger dollars are put to work in the community!

November 2, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News

Entertainers sought for Lynn Valley Christmas

It may be Halloween outside, but for Lynn Valley Community Association organizers, Christmas is just a hop, skip and jump away.

An enthusiastic working group is behind “A Lynn Valley Christmas,” a greatly expanded version of last year’s Christmas Tree Walk in Lynn Valley Village.

Sixty trees – twice last year’s number – will be adopted and decorated by local organizations and businesses, and festive entertainment will be provided from Dec. 12 to 23.

If you know of musical groups, children’s entertainers, or other performers who would like to be part of the fun, please contact Dave Bruynesteryn at 604-315-3283 or [email protected] as soon as possible – a schedule is being compiled right now.

There are just a few trees left, too, so if you’d like to sponsor one, please give Dave a call before it’s too late. Fifty dollars of the $200 sponsorship fee goes towards the Lions Christmas Hamper program.

 

October 30, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News, Getting Involved

Toy sale supports Lynn Valley community

We’ve all seen posters for Lynn Valley’s Kids’ Toy & Clothing Sale, but did you know that the event is of benefit to everyone in the community, not just families with young children? Read on as organizer Tim Green gives us a behind-the-scenes explanation of this semi-annual event! UPDATE: The 2013 fall sale is on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 2:30-4:30, and Sunday, Nov. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Kids’ Toy & Clothing Sale has been going on since sometime in the 1990s. It was originally started by the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, and the Lynn Valley Community Association (LVCA) took it over about eight years ago.

Currently we run the sales out of the Lynn Valley Recreation Centre (Cardinal Hall) twice a year in May and November. Well, I guess you could say that it is four times a year – there is a Saturday event and a Sunday event in May, and a Saturday event and a Sunday event in November.

It is all possible due to the generosity of the North Vancouver Recreation Commission. We have use of the Cardinal Hall facility at no charge to the LVCA, and the Recreation Commission takes care of the table bookings through their phone registration system. They collect the table fees for us, too.

We are able to fit 20 tables onto the gymnasium floor at Cardinal Hall. (If we had a larger building, we would have no problem selling more tables!)
We never have any problems selling the 40 tables for a weekend – the 20 tables for the Saturday and the 20 tables for the Sunday are always sold out well in advance, and there is always a long waiting list. (A table costs $27 plus tax.) So we have 20 people selling their goods (gently used kids’ toys and clothing) on a Saturday in May or November, and then another 20 sellers on the following day (the Sunday). There are different sellers each day.

The sale runs for two hours each day. The sellers are given an hour or two before the start of the sales to get set up.

When we open the doors to the buying public there is always a long line-up of people waiting to get in right away to find the best items for sale! People are charged a very small fee at the door; we charge $2 per person (or $2 per family). This is how the LVCA raises money so that it can operate its other functions and activities throughout the year.

On any given weekend there are between 300 and 500 people (or families) coming through to buy the used toys and clothing.

Here are some tips for sellers:

  •        Book a table 2 or 3 months in advance through the Recreation Commission
  •        Bring lots of change (quarters, loonies and toonies)
  •        Bring lots of plastic bags to put the sold items into
  •        Don’t mark your items up too high!
  •        Be prepared to bargain

And some for buyers:

  •         Come early to get the best items
  •        But don’t be afraid to come later in the day too – there is always plenty still for sale, and the vendors may be willing to drop the prices more as the end of the sale nears
  •        Bring lots of change (quarters, loonies and toonies)
  •        Be prepared to bargain

Typically we see plenty of children’s clothing for sale, and a fair selection of younger kids’ toys, too. Usually there is a lack of toys and games for older kids for sale, so vendors should perhaps consider that market when deciding to buy a table.

At the end of the day, we accept donations of any unsold clothing which we then arrange to have picked up by Big Brothers.

Hope to see you there this year!

October 30, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News

Live Love Dance gala will support North Van mother

Many of you by now will have heard about the plight of Chelsea Steyns, a North Vancouver mother who grew up in Lynn Valley and has in the last few years borne not one, but two sets of twins.

Having two twin births isn’t the only amazing thing Argyle Secondary grad Chelsea has done – she is also well known as a highly accomplished dancer and, since 2008, the greatly respected creative director of the North Shore Academy of Dance.

But tragedy entered Chelsea’s life just three months after giving birth to her youngest children, Cash and Maxine, early this year. At that point doctors discovered she was suffering from an extremely rare, inoperable brain cancer.

Since then, the North Van dance community, along with Chelsea’s other friends and family, have rallied in force to raise the money needed to fund costly treatment in Texas. The therapy she is undertaking has shown great promise in its ability to battle her particular type of cancer, but as it is still in the trial stages, it is not insured.

The next big fundraising effort will be an incredible, star-studded evening of dance and delicacies at the Kay Meek Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Kay Meek Centre. Along with performances from about ten professional dance companies and individuals, audience members will enjoy valet parking and complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres during a silent auction reception. Tickets are $100; details and more information about Chelsea and the evening’s performers can be found at the Live Love Dance 2012 website.

 

October 19, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News, Notable Neighbours

Lynn Valley Christmas Tree Walk in the works

No, it is NOT too early to start thinking about Christmas – not if you’ve got some tree-trimming talent or carol-singing skills!

Last year’s launch of a Christmas Tree Walk in Lynn Valley Village was so successful, it is returning this year in even more festive form, with sixty trees up for adoption and 12 days of pre-Christmas entertainment on the menu.

There are a number of trees still up for adoption, so if your business or organization would like to take part in the fun, call Dave at the number below soon – over 65 per cent of them have already been spoken for!

And if you’re a part of a group that would like to perform sometime during the Dec. 12 to 23 period, Lynn Valley Village events coordinator Stephanie Perrins would love to hear from you. Interested musicians and performers can email [email protected] for more information.

Help spread the word so that everyone can pull together to make Lynn Valley a Winter Wonderland this Christmas. Here’s a downloadable version of the poster below, so print and post!

October 18, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News, Getting Involved

Argyle Pipers football team re-christens home field

Update, October 13, 2012: Congratulations, Pipers! News just in that this game ended in a  victory for the Pipers, with a score of 36-0 over Eric Hamber. 

For the first time in 31 years, Lynn Valley football fans will have the chance to watch a home game on the Argyle School field, at a 1:30 p.m. kick-off against Eric Hamber School.

The Argyle Pipers football teams – dormant since the early 1980s – made a long sought-after comeback last year, thanks to the persistent efforts of gym teacher Milan Boljuncic (now co-head coach, along with Dave Heskin), private donors, and passionate parents such as Shane Sheehan, a Piper MVP in the ’70s (his son, Grady, is a Grade 12 player on this year’s team).

It’s not easy getting a team rebuilt, virtually from scratch. The boys had to be kitted out, and the helmets alone were $300 each. Necessary items were purchased with the help of generous donors and fundraising efforts by the players and coaches. (LynnValleyLife is proud to join the team as a new sponsor, and is looking forward to cheering on the players this Sunday!)  Another stumbling block was that the grass field needed upgrading to be able to accommodate a football game, which is why no home games were possible last year.

And while the old Piper magic has come back strong, to judge by the enthusiasm of its players and fan base, the scoreboard has yet to reflect the football team’s rebirth. So far, the seniors have yet to score in any of the four games played this season.

But the team’s spirit remains strong and everyone realizes that Rome wasn’t built in a day. This year will provide an extra challenge for the players,  in that the Pipers have now been moved up a division, into AA, after just one year spent at a lower tier. As many players on the team are rookies, there will be a lot of “learning by doing”.

To judge by the eagerness on the faces of both the players and their supporters, though, they are more than equal to the challenge. You can help them make the play by coming out on Saturday to cheer them on – and coming back to the field the next day to test drive a Ford vehicle. For every driver who comes out for a  buzz around the block, they’ll donate $20 to Argyle School! All details are here.

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for some crisp fall weather for Saturday’s game, and come enjoy some good family fun! Kick off is 1:30 p.m., but fans are encouraged to come at 1 to start some spirit-building!

Grade 9 and 10 students are on the Junior Varsity team, and play on Wednesdays. The Grade 11 and 12 Varsity team plays on Fridays and Saturdays. Season schedules for both can be found here (search under AA Varsity).

October 10, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News, School News