Community Events

Seniors to munch and mingle at Mollie Nye

BY ANDREA WINTERBOTTOM, Vancouver Coastal Health: For over 20 years the Congregate Meals Program, or “The Diners’ Club,” has been serving nutritious, affordable evening meals to seniors at four North Vancouver locations.

Starting on Wednesday, April 11, this Vancouver Coastal Health program is expanding by offering lunches at Mollie Nye House. To celebrate the launch, North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton will be taking part in the inaugural lunch, which begins at noon.

As Mollie Nye House is a hub for Lynn Valley seniors, it felt natural to approach that facility for space to serve lunches. Gillian Konst, Mollie Nye House program coordinator, views this lunch program as a welcome addition to services for seniors in Lynn Valley.

The food (soup and sandwiches) is prepared by the North Shore Culinary School, which operates under Chef Don Guthro on the North Shore. The program offers youth and transitional adults the opportunity to learn skills that will pave the way for them to be meaningfully employed and re-engaged in their community.

The cost of the lunch, including tea or coffee, is $4.00. To reserve your space, please call Andrea at 604-904-6483.
The Congregate Meals Program is looking forward to welcoming you to munch and mingle at Mollie Nye House, which is located at 940 Lynn Valley Rd.

When you munch and mingle
your taste buds tingle
and your brain cells can bloom
when you’re in the room
with many like-minded folk
taking part in conversations that evoke
a pleasant feeling, a community connection that contributes to your overall health and satisfaction.
Your belly is pleased, your mind’s stimulated and eased;
you mingle and munch and you care a whole bunch for all those around you including yourself.
You pay attention to your good health and realize how good you feel when you share a splendid meal.

– Andrea Winterbottom is the Congregate Meals Program Coordinator for Vancouver Coastal Health.

March 17, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News, Guest Voices

LV-TV brings tea to our desktops!

You’ve probably seen the sign up every year – “Heritage Tea at Mollie Nye House this weekend, 2 pm”. How many of you have gone and checked it out?

We know, life is busy; kids need driving and groceries need buying. But events like the tea are respite from the hustle and should be considered  necessary for the sake of your mental health.

Besides, they’re fun! Check out this video of this year’s event, taken for us by John Durrant of Backlot Media. Don’tcha wish you’d been there?

Be sure to read our LynnValleyLife Events Calendar regularly, so you don’t miss out on the good times happening right in your own backyard!

 

March 16, 2012 in Blog, Community Events

Argyle Cabaret Night turns 30

April 19 UPDATE from the organizers:

Don’t delay in getting your tickets for the 30th Annual Argyle Cabaret, 30 and Counting!  This exciting event, happening on Friday, May 11th from 7 pm to midnight, is a major fundraiser for the Argyle Music Association.   

Tickets are available this Saturday, April 21st in the Lynn Valley Village where the Senior Vocal Ensemble will be performing from 1 to 3 p.m.  

Early Bird tickets are still available at $50.00 – going up to $55.00 next week! (Cash, or cheque made payable to Argyle Music Association.)

Tix are also available during school hours in the office at Argyle Secondary. Outside of these hours, please contact Jane Robertson at 604-985-6673 or email Patty Blackman at  [email protected]. 

Read our original post, below, to find out why you don’t want to miss this anniversary event!

***

FROM LYNN O’MALLEY: There will be LOTS of booty-shaking taking place in Lynn Valley this year, and now’s the time to pull out your calendar and take note.

You’ll be hearing much about the Gala Dinner Dance taking place on the Eve of Lynn Valley Day, but two weeks before that another great event will give you the chance to warm up your cha-cha.

The Argyle Music Association is proudly presenting its 30th Cabaret Night, featuring musical numbers that have been performed by the school’s jazz artists over the past three decades. If you’re a lover of jazz, or food, or dancing, or kids, or auctions, Argyle is THE place to be on Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m.

People who have attended Cabaret nights in the past have raved about the high-quality entertainment and how nice it is to party with their pals in such a friendly (19+!) atmosphere. To complete the feel-good charm of this dinner club event, it’s great to know that all profits are directed toward scholarships for graduating Argyle Music students.

Cabaret is also a great chance for elementary parents to see what amazing things can result when children make music education part of their lives. So anyone wanting to hear some of the great music that will be played at the evening event is invited to come to a sneak preview concert that same day at 3:30 in the Argyle gym.

Cabaret is a little ways down the road yet, and ticket prices are still to be announced. BUT there are lots of ways to jump in now to help support this worthy event. Please consider:

– donating to the Silent Auction. Gift cards, auction items, or anything that could be added to a gift basket are very welcome.

– making a cash donation to help with expenses.

– helping out the stretched-thin parents who are organizing this multi-layered event. There are lots of tasks to be done, and many hands make light work.

– becoming a corporate sponsor.

For more information or to donate your time, talent or treasure, please contact Lisa Ayton at [email protected].

 

March 12, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News

LV church hosts World Day of Prayer event

For 125 years, people from all faith backgrounds have gathered on the first Saturday in March to pray together in unity for the world and its people.

This year, Lynn Valley United Church will play host to members from any of 60 faith communities from across the North Shore. They will gather at the church to take part in prayers and a service prepared by women in Malaysia.

According to organizers at the church, “People of all faith, little faith, retired faith, emerging faith and no faith are all welcome to attend this ecumenical event.  There is nothing you need to know or do to be a part of this day, except take that first step through the door.”

The event begins at 10 a.m.; more details are here.

 

March 1, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News

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 sentimental – or a story to tell of their own!

On Saturday, March 31, six appraisers will be on hand in the Community Room of North Shore Museum and Archives (in the old Lynn Valley School building) to evaluate your articles.

This “Treasures from the Attic” Event is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Museum Society. For all the details, click here.

 

February 28, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News

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 at once).

So, like the rest of you Lynn Valleyites who drop everything on the last Saturday in May in order to celebrate your community, I’m thrilled that 2012 marks the 100th – yes, 100th! – anniversary of Lynn Valley Day. And I’m even more excited to let you know that its organizers – the hard-working Lynn Valley Lions and Lynn Valley Community Association – have asked our team here at LynnValleyLife to host the online website for this historic centennial event, taking place Saturday, May 26th.

We’ve already been having a great time getting to know more of you through our busy Facebook page and the thoughtful feedback we’ve been getting to our LynnValleyLife website. Now we’re really going to ramp up our local coverage to make sure each and every one of you knows all there is to know about Lynn Valley Days 2012!

Pretty soon, you’ll notice some changes to our ‘landing page’  – that’s the introductory page you see when you type in our web address, www.LynnValleyLife.com.  While you’ll still be able to use the landing page as a launch pad to our Life, Business and Real Estate sections, you’ll also be able to click on a special “Lynn Valley Days 100” icon that will take you to a dedicated section of our site.

There you will find everything from parade application forms to event schedules to news updates and information on volunteering, the car show, and the proud history of Lynn Valley Days.

You’ll also be able to buy your tickets to the Friday night gala dinner (May 25th), which will be even bigger and better than last year’s sold-out extravaganza.

In all my years, I’ve found there’s only one thing better than going to Lynn Valley Day – helping out with Lynn Valley Day! As with anything, the more you put into something, the more you get back. Whether it’s helping with set-up, taking a shift on the concession or stacking up chairs in the afternoon, there’s room for lots of helping hands, especially with this year’s added festivities. Please consider stepping up now so the Volunteer Coordinator doesn’t have to worry about filling her quota! Contact Shirin from the Lynn Valley Community Association at [email protected].

Should you have any questions about the Lynn Valley Days centennial, please email us here at LynnValleyLife and we’ll post the information for everyone to share, or put you on to the right contact person.

We look forward to providing you with lots of great Lynn Valley Days coverage and contests. Stay tuned! We’ll keep you posted.

February 6, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Getting Involved, Lynn Valley Day, O'Malley's Musings

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 21st and Lonsdale, the gallery will be the only one in the country dedicated solely to young people. It will house the Artists for Kids programs and the acclaimed Artists for Kids Collection of Canadian Art, now located at the Lucas Centre.

Lynn Valley has been a critical part of Artists for Kids (AFK) since its inception more than 20 years ago. Long-time Lynn Valley resident and artist Molly Lamb Boback is one of our esteemed patrons, and Lynn Valley Elementary students have long had the privilege of participating in our gallery program.

In addition, one of their treasured teachers and an Artists for Kids team member, Catherine Schechter, has brought Order of the Owl projects (highlighting the work of an AFK artist), enrichment opportunities, and her vast knowledge of our collection to the Lynn Valley community.

If you have a little bit of time, or a lot, and value art education and the importance of Canadian culture in our community, we want to welcome you to our team.

We are actively seeking volunteers with art education experience, and those who simply love art or contributing to their community. We need support for positions as varied as Mail-out Support and Docents, Clerical Support and Event Planners, Writers and Photographers, and Sponsor Support.

To learn more about our new community asset and the ways Lynn Valley citizens can continue to support this wonderful program, please attend our volunteer information evening.

Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Place: Artists for Kids Gallery
Address: 810 West 21st Street, North Vancouver

We look forward to seeing you there.

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, but cannot join us at the information evening, please contact Brenda Irving at [email protected] or call us at (604) 903-3797. Please visit our website to learn more about our programs.

 

February 1, 2012 in Blog, Community Events, Current News, Guest Voices

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 weekend is that it has caught our attention and reminded us that Christmas is, indeed, on the way. And just in time, too, because in Lynn Valley the festivities really start up in the week ahead (which is currently forecast to be sunny, by the way!)

I won’t list all the details here, because you can find the ins and outs on our LynnValleyLife events calendar. But be sure to take in some of the highlights of the week ahead!

You can get in the mood on Monday with a by-donation concert offered up by your very own community concert band, the Lynn Valley Black Bear Band (they even supply free eats, but you do have to go to Kay Meek Theatre to get them!).

On Tuesday, the junior band and choir at Argyle will raise the roof with some seasonal tunes in the big gym, starting at 7:30.

Wednesday the 30th is the next holiday shopping night at the End of the Line Store at the top of Lynn Valley Road. Right on the edge of the forest, the general store/gallery is just the place to enjoy a hot drink and ponder which of the café’s crafts and curiosities would suit the people on your gift list. (Wednesday is also the day to pick up your poinsettia if you’ve ordered one from Mollie Nye House, by the way.)

It’s always fun to be in the thick of things when Santa – that’s right, Santa himself – flips the switch to light up Mollie Nye House in all its gingerbread glory. That will happen on Thursday, and there will be lots of other festive stuff going on at the house that night, too. (That would be the perfect time to bring along a pair of new socks, or men’s toiletries, or warm gloves for the St. Agnes’ Scouts Christmas hampers for the Lookout Emergency Shelter – Mollie Nye House has offered to be the drop-off spot for scout leader Ken Gregson.)

Christmas jollity continues on the weekend, as merchants and organizations decorate their adopted tree in Lynn Valley Village. The official lighting ceremony will take place on Sunday at 5 p.m., and we hope you visit our LynnValleyLife tree. The team decorating elves have been busy indeed!

All this frolic will no doubt put you in the mood for the decking of your personal halls, and we hope you support the Lynn Valley Lions tree lot. Look for it in the parking lot of Karen Magnussen Rec Centre, starting this weekend!

November 27, 2011 in Blog, Community Events

LV Legion invites public to Pioneer Park

A change has happened since my childhood. Back then, Remembrance Day was usually marked by parents – the fathers, usually – taking their fathers to a cenotaph to honour fallen comrades while the rest of us stayed home. But today, parents are instead bringing their children to the November 11 ceremonies.

Across the country, attendance at cenotaph events has been increasingly steadily. TV news show crowds filled with young people – not just the Scouts and air cadets who have to be there, but those who are either there of their own volition, or brought along by parents who think it’s important their kids show their support.

Here in North Van, we’ve got a range of events to choose from, from the Maritime Memorial service in Cates Park organized by the Burrard Yacht Club, to the ceremony at Victoria Park, said to be the second largest event of its kind in Canada. (We’re proud to say our own Lynn Valley Black Bear Band will be performing there for the first time this year.)

Here in Lynn Valley, we’ve started our own Remembrance Day event in the latter few years. I recently ran into a past-president of the Lynn Valley Legion selling poppies in Delany’s, and he told me about the ceremony happening tomorrow at Pioneer Park at the corner of Lynn Valley and Mountain Hwy.

The Lynn Valley cenotaph event isn’t meant to compete with what’s going on at Victoria Park, he said. But what it does do is help those who find the crowds and parking at the larger event daunting – seniors, perhaps, or families with young children. It gives them a more accessible, shorter ceremony that offers them the chance to remember in their own neighbourhood.

There will be a small colour parade, a piper, some short addresses, words from a minister, and the moment of silence. People are asked to assemble at 10:45, and after the ceremony the public is warmly invited to an open house at Lynn Valley Legion on Lynn Valley Road.

I hope to see you at Pioneer Park tomorrow – with your kids!

November 10, 2011 in Blog, Community Events

Full house at Browns for opening night

I was fortunate enough to be one of those at the Browns’ “Thirsty Rehearsal” on Sunday night, happily acting as a guinea pig for the kitchen and serving staff.

You’d think that would have satisfied my pent-up curiosity enough that I could have stayed home tonight and thrown a log on the fire. But when push came to shove, I just couldn’t stay away.

It’s a bit of a thing of mine – inherited from my mother – to be first in the door on opening days. Not that I’m (too) pushy; I just like an occasion. First sailing on the Seabus? Check. First person to check out a book in the new LV Library? Moi. You get the idea.

So did I feel lucky when I managed to be first in line this afternoon, waiting on the patio for the door to open at 5. Just a few minutes after the hour, the door swung open and the other guests and I were welcomed in by the owner, Derek Archer.

By the time I left almost two hours later, the place was full, people were outside waiting to get in, and I’d put away a whisky sour and some pad thai – not a natural pairing, to be sure, but in the spirit of new beginnings I thought I’d try two things I’d never ever had before. Successes, both of them. I managed to say no to the chocolate cake, but likely won’t be so strong next time because I know it is very very good.

Both times I was at Browns, I’ve noticed how pleasant the staff are, and I probably slowed down the restaurant’s overall productivity by keeping my servers chatting so long at the table. But what else is a Social House for?

October 18, 2011 in Blog, Community Events