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!

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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].

 

Doctor gives Lynn Valley clean bill of health

BY ANDREA WINTERBOTTOM, Contributing Writer: A recent talk by Dr. O’Connor, Medical Health Officer for the North Shore, helped a group of Lynn Valley residents gauge the health of their neighbourhood.

The talk and slide show (depicting the transformation from Esso Station to Community Square with library, coffee shops and farmers market) centered on building communities that provide healthy choices for all. To achieve that, he said, we need trees, parks, trails, green spaces, libraries, shopping centres, recreation centres, services and jobs nearby. Diversity of housing for all stages of life is another hallmark or a healthy community.

Farmers Market, Lynn Valley

After the talk, participants walked the walk to look at their neighbourhood through a healthy lens. Everybody who joined the social planners and urban planners from the City and the District kept an eye on the key components that Dr. O’Connor had talked about.

After the walk, participants indicated their findings on a ‘rate your community’ thermometer. Categories such as well-lit pedestrian walkways, wheelchair accessible sidewalks, and covered bus stops received high scores; Lynn Valley Square as a safe meeting place for all ages received many accolades.

If you look around Lynn Valley, you will notice that it features most if not all of the components needed to make it a healthy community. Most participants indicated that Lynn Valley is a friendly, bustling community that has climbed high on the ‘rate your community thermometer’ and definitely falls into the category of being a healthy community.

 


Play poker for points, not cash, at LV Legion

Are you interested in playing poker, but not so keen on losing your shirt? The Texas Hold-Em Poker League is a free club that organizes games in which people (age 21 and over) play for points, not money.

They meet in Lynn Valley on Tuesday nights at the Lynn Valley Legion. Registration is from 6:15 to 6:45, and games start at 7 p.m. There is no charge for the games, and players may join in any Tuesday night they wish. For information, please contact [email protected].

 

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.

 

Lynn Valley merchants amongst cream of the crop

The North Shore News recently published the results of its annual Readers’ Choice survey, and once again Lynn Valley merchants were well-represented. It’s been great to see the congratulations showing up on our Facebook wall, as local people give each other a virtual pat on the back.

We’ve been looking forward to publishing the names of the winners and adding our own kudos, but my goodness – there were so many LV winners and honorable mentions it was a bigger job than we thought to compile the complete list!

But now here it is, for your reference –  and if you haven’t tried out some of these local shops and services, they’re well-recommended by your North Shore neighbours!

Winners:
Special congratulations to the Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub and Delany’s Coffee House, awarded ‘platinum’ in their categories for years of uninterrupted wins!

Favourite Garden Centre: Maple Leaf, LV; Optical Store: Lynn Valley Optometry; Florist: Posy; Owner-Operated Produce Store: Kin’s; Seafood: Westlynn Meats and Seafoods; Hair Salon: Zazou; Commercial Fitness Facility: Curves; Place for Cocktails: Browns Socialhouse; New Restaurant: Browns Socialhouse; Neighbourhood Pub: Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub.

Honorable Mentions:

Favourite Car Wash: Esso; Dance Studio: RNB Dance Studio; Bakery: Westlynn Bakery; Breakfast Restaurant: Tommy’s; Meal Under $10: A&W, Lynn Valley; Butcher Shop: Westlynn Meats and Seafoods; Coffee Bar: Delany’s LV; Business Lunch: Browns Socialhouse; Pizza Restaurant: Papa John’s; Community Fitness Facility: Karen Magnussen; Shopping Neighbourhood: Lynn Valley Village; Financial Institution: North Shore Credit Union; Tanning Facility: The Beach Tanning Studio; Seniors Home/Service: Sunrise Seniors Home; Grocery Store: Nourish; Drycleaner: Courtesy Cleaners; North Shore Park/Community Space: Lynn Canyon; Library: Lynn Valley; Caterer: Tommy’s; Best-Dressed Window: Posy.

House sold – and it wasn’t for sale!

It’s always good news when someone buys a home they’ll love. It’s even more exciting when the house wasn’t on the market to start with!

Jim and Kelly had clients who couldn’t find anything in Lynn Valley that seemed just right for their growing family. So these realtors rolled up their sleeves and combed through months of expired home listings to see what they could come up with.

Sure enough, Kelly and Jim found a house on Tourney Road that sounded like it might be just the ticket for their buyers. They contacted the homeowner and managed to strike a deal that left everyone happy and ready to move on to the next stage in their lives.

Here are some comments from the happy buyer as seen on Facebook

“It was if it was written in a story book, the idea of purchasing a house that was not even on the market seemed almost unbelievable to me, how would we even do that? How would we find the owners? How do we even make an offer? “Leave it to me” is all Jim said. When he called back 6 hrs later we had a deal in the works. Believe me that was actually what happened with the purchase of our new home. No stone left unturned, that is the best way to describe how this one went down.”  Dave C.

So if you’re contemplating a residential change and want the advice of committed realtors, consider Kelly Gardiner and Jim Lanctot, sponsors of LynnValleyLife. They can produce results you might not expect!


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.

 

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 alter-ego on stage. But that’s what Jenny will be doing when the show Secrets of a Soccer Mom opens at Presentation House on Friday night.

Jenny plays Lynn, one of three moms taking part in an informal soccer match against their eight-year-old sons. What starts out as a friendly game, though, becomes something else entirely as the afternoon progresses and the moms make surprising discoveries about themselves, their children and each other.

Jenny describes Lynn as “a PAC mom, who takes on lots of volunteer tasks and is always eager to help out for the kids’ sake.   But her enthusiasm is short-lived when she starts to realize that people might be taking her for granted.”

Perhaps there are some moms in Lynn Valley who can relate?! Either way, the play sounds like it’s filled with laughs and good conversation-starters. It runs from March 1 to 10, so get your tix now!

Fortunately for LynnValleyLife readers, we have two to give away. Just tell us one more arts event you’ve enjoyed right here in Lynn Valley – at a school, in the village square, or ?? – and we’ll put your name in a random draw. Winner will be announced Wednesday evening, so get your entry in now, either via our Facebook post or by emailing [email protected]. Deadline: Wednesday, Feb. 29th at 5 p.m.

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 detached homes sold in January with an average sale price of $918,925 (median = $935,000).
  • The average sale price achieved was more than list price by 0.6%.
  • Detached homes that sold in January took an average of 62 days to sell (median = 18 days).

Apartments & Townhouses:

  • There were 4 attached homes sold in January with an average sale price of $432,900 (median = $443,800).
  • The average sale price achieved was less than list price by 2%.
  • Attached homes that sold in January took an average of 95 days to sell (median = 61 days).

We continue actively working with many different people trying to move into or within the neighbourhood.  If you ever hear of anyone looking to sell their home, please let us know.

Have a great week!

Jim Lanctot & The LynnValleyLife Team
[email protected]
www.LynnValleyLife.com
778.724.0112

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, but from Metro Vancouver and beyond.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t improve upon the following account, written by a Lynn Valley Elementary School dad, who relates how the Lees’ donation of hundreds of prime DVDs snowballed into something his family could never have imagined. So I’ll let him tell the tale (he remains anonymous by request), and when he’s finished I’ll let you know how you can play a part in creating this happy ending.

It all started with a group of very passionate nurses who banded together and created a Facebook page “Donate your DVD’s to VGH please!” to help replace the Burn Unit’s DVD collection that was stolen! Yes, that’s right…stolen!

Just think: other than the entertainment value that movies provide for most people, for some of the patients on this unit, it’s ALL the entertainment they get.

 Well, it just so happened that I knew of two boxes of DVDs that were looking for a home.  The two boxes were left over after Lynn Valley Elementary School’s thrift shop fundraiser, whereby all of the families donate “lightly used” goods so that the students can purchase items at thrift shop prices.  

The presents are then wrapped, on site, in order for them to give something to their parents or siblings during the holiday season.

 The Lynn Valley PAC uses the proceeds to help with the ever-increasing amount of wonderful programs and initiatives they undertake throughout the school year. The kids love it, and there are many volunteers and donors that make it a success.

The biggest donor of the DVDs was the Lee family, of the “Mountain Market”, who are parents in the school.  Their thoughtfulness and community spirit led to money being raised, programs being run, gifts being given, items being replaced, smiles on many faces and the realization that it only takes a little selflessness to make a huge difference.”

 We all love good news stories (in movies, yes, but especially in real life!), and we all love the chance to play a role in them. So if you would like to contribute to making life just a little more entertaining in the Burn Unit, please have a look in your collection to see if you have DVDs that could use a new home.

The fine folk at Mollie Nye House (940 Lynn Valley Rd.) have agreed to act as a drop-off point for the DVDs, and will be accepting your donations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays until the end of March. Our anonymous dad, above, will be delighted to take them to VGH for us.

PLEASE make sure that your contribution is in perfect playing condition – nothing worse that having your viewing interrupted by scratches and glitches!

Thanks to everyone at Lynn Valley Elementary who got this ball rolling, and thanks to all you Lynn Valleyites in advance who will keep it going strong!