About Au Petit Chavignol - Opening February 2009

About Au Petit Chavignol - Opening February 2009

Alice and Allison Spurrell, owners of les amis du FROMAGE, along with Joe Chaput, are almost ready to open the doors to Au Petit Chavignol, a 40 seat cheese and wine bar located at 845 East Hastings Street in Vancouver's Strathcona neighbourhood, next to the newest location of les amis du FROMAGE.

The food menu consists primarily of cheese, house made terrines, freshly sliced Iberico Ham, Prosciutto San Danielle and cheese accoutrements. Unlike most wine bars, Au petit also has a full kitchen where we prepare salads, soups, fondue, raclette, tartiflette, croque monsieur and other cheese based specialties. We make everything fresh daily and in-house.

We offer several wines by the glass, ½ litre and bottle, along with bottled and draught beer. Our reserve wine list is made up of wines that vary from familiar to the obscure; to cheese friendly favourites and our favourite varietal...Riesling. Any of the reserve wines can be ordered by the glass if you commit to ordering at least two glasses.

About the Building

The heritage assessment of 845 East Hastings was put together by Donald Luxton & Associates. Along with a rich history, we learned how the front of the building would have likely looked.

We discovered that the building was originally used by the Royal Canadian Naval Reserves. There had been rumours that it had been used by the military, but up until the assessment, they were unconfirmed. It has since been the home to several companies including The Dustbane Company and most recently a restaurant named Korean Garden. The original date of construction was around 1922-23, and the original architect was Maurice Helyer.

The building is also home to the newest and largest outpost of les amis du FROMAGE, where you can expect the same selection and quality service as you would at any of our other locations.

About the Architect

Maurice was in partnership with his father J.S. Helyer, and together they ran a successful firm responsible for numerous small buildings and large commercial structures. The most famous of their designs is the Beaux-Arts skyscraper on Victory Square known as the Dominion Trust Building, 1908-10, at the time of its completion the tallest building in the British Empire. The firm also erected the Renaissance style, ten-storey Metropolitan Building on Hastings Street, 1911-12, and the poured-in-place concrete Board of Trade building at Homer and Cordova, 1909, arguable one of the earliest local uses of concrete as both a structural and finishing material. One building where he was responsible for the design was the sophisticated Medial Arts Building on Granville Street, 1922-23.

About the Designer

With the help of John Shields of Sculpinfish Design, we've taken a wonderful old building and given it a breath of fresh air and a new lease on life. The transition from old to new would not have been possible without his help.

Visit the Official Site

"A Foot In Strathcona"

Here's an interesting Blog I found during I travels on the internet...
It has beautiful pictures of Chinatown's Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Gardens.
Check out A Foot In Strathcona.

Commercial Drive banners gain second life as bags

In an age when showing up at the grocery store without a reusable bag is akin to showing up at a dinner party without your pants, the type of bag you carry can say a lot about you.

One bag -- it's been so popular the first two runs are almost sold out -- is allowing people to make a statement about shopping locally, shopping green, and community pride with an easy swing of two straps over the shoulder.

The highly coveted Commercial Drive banner bag is made with the bright, bold nylon of retired street banners that once decorated the shopping and dining strip in East Vancouver.

"They tend to sell out within four or five days of us receiving them," said Jen Wittich, manager of Dream Designs, one of 15 retailers selling the bags.

"People tend to really appreciate the story. They like the fact it's keeping waste out of landfills. And I find people in the Commercial Drive area tend to shop very locally. They love to shop within their own neighbourhood."

A local designer who sits on the Commercial Drive Business Improvement Association came up with the idea of turning the banners into bags, and a limited number of umbrellas, out of a frustration that the banners had nowhere to go but the landfill.

To further sweeten the concept, it was decided that all profits from the sale of the items would go to creating new green spaces in the Commercial Drive area.

It proved to be a popular idea.

The story of the banner bag was picked up by dozens of websites and translated into at least six languages. Ian McSorely, the banner designer who came up with the concept, said the City of Vancouver is planning to make bags from its Olympic banners, and there have been inquiries about the program from municipalities all over North America.

"It's had a great response," he said. To show buyers the extent of the environmental impact of the bag, McSorely also conducted an "eco-audit" on the bag. The audit showed that by using recycled fabric to make the bags, 5.3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions were kept from the skies, 192 kilograms of nylon were kept from the landfill, and enough energy was saved to provide electricity to an average Vancouver home for more than 15 months.

Nearly 500 bags were made and, so far, the profits from the project have earned more than $4,000, said Michelle Barile, executive director of the business improvement association. (Twenty-five umbrellas were made and are being sold exclusively through the association.)

Only a handful of bags are left among five of the 15 retailers who have been selling them. But a new line of small makeup bags -- made with the scraps left over from the banner bags -- will be hitting stores soon, Barile said. The makeup bags have been made by members of the SEED Employment Program at the Kettle Friendship Centre.

North Vancouver has also jumped on the bandwagon, hiring Dream Designs to manufacture bags from its banners, which Wittich said the store will be selling soon.

Barile says she has no problem with other municipalities and neighbourhoods imitating the concept.

"If what we started here is now going to cause other banners to be recycled, that would be awesome."

Source: The Vancouver Sun, aobrian@vancouversun.com

Nortel: Still On Board for 2010

Nortel Networks Corp., the telephone equipment maker that filed for bankruptcy protection today, reaffirmed its sponsorship for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Nortel’s pledge to supply communications equipment for the February games is worth between C$3 million ($2.4 million) and C$15 million, according to the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

“Much of Nortel’s commitments to the games have been delivered and will be in place by May,” Ward Chapin, chief information officer for the committee, said in an e-mailed statement.

Nortel is among sponsors including General Motors Corp. and Air Canada that have been hurt by the global financial crisis, spurring concern about the Olympic budget. Vancouver organizers are expected to release a revised budget on Jan. 21.

Organizers declined to comment on the value of Nortel’s sponsorship. The range of C$3 million to C$15 million is typical for official suppliers, they said in a separate e-mail.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Donville in Vancouver at cjdonville@bloomberg.net.

Mark Your Calendars - Second Annual Poverty Olympics (Feb 8)

This family-friendly event will include a Torch Parade (starts at 380 E. Hastings at 12:30–come and join!), mascots Creepy the Cockroach, Itchy the Bedbug, and Chewy the Rat, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, events like Skating around Poverty and the Housing Hurdles, a special appearance by Mr. Con Dough. Cockroach Cake will be served. Free. Sponsored by Raise the Rates, Carnegie Community Action Project, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Power to Women, Streams of Justice, BC PWA, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House. For info or to get involved call 604 729-2380.

Please feel free to distribute information about this event far and wide, and check out the Poverty Olympics website at http://povertyolympics.ca. Hope to see you there!

SUNDAY FEB. 8

12:30 Torch Parade

starts at VANDU 380 East Hastings

1pm Opening Ceremonies

at the Japanese Language School

487 Alexander Street

Family Friendly / Free Admission

Everyone Welcome!

Out Of Space - What's It All About?

Putting a face to the space where art is made, the Out of Space series of events opens up opportunities for artists, stake-holders and the public to join together, bring awareness to, and offer solutions towards the shrinking number of artist studio spaces in Vancouver.


Exhibition

January 9th-25th

Opening night, January 9th, from 7pm-10pm


Out of Space is a multi-disciplinary exhibition featuring the work of 6 photographers and 30 artists. The show pairs photographs documenting artists in their studio space along with artwork created by them. The exhibition opens up the discussions around the need to secure permanent, safe and lasting solutions for studio space for the creative workers of Vancouver.


Sunday Coffee

January 11th, 18th, 25th, from 1-4pm


For 3 Sundays during the exhibition, the Chapel Arts will be open to the public extending the conversation and providing more opportunities to experience the photos and artwork. We invite you to come by and join in the discussion about the space challenges unique to artists working in Vancouver and help find positive workable solutions. In addition, some of the ECCS board members and artists will be in attendance to discuss the exhibition.

Tonight: Out Of Space

Eastside Culture Crawl presents

'Out of Space...'
6- Photographers, 30- Artists

Chapel Arts
Jan 9-25 - Opening Celebration Jan 9 @ 7 (cash bar)

A multi-disciplinary exhibition which pairs photographs of artists working in their studios and the artwork created by those artists. Putting a face to the space where art is made. This event opens opportunities for discussions around the need to secure permanent, safe and lasting solutions for the creative workers of Vancouver.

Also join us at the Chapel on Sundays Jan 11, 18, and 25 between 1-4 to discuss the space challenges unique to artists working in Vancouver and help find positive workable solutions.

Artists participating in 'Out of Space': Arleigh Wood, Arnt Arntzen, Bernadine Fox, Carylann Leoppky, Christopher Paul, Danaca Ackerson, Donna Cowan, Goby Catt, Heather Craig, Jessica Bell, Jessie Turner, John Steil, Jusdon Beaumont, Kalsang Dawa, Kathleen Murphy, Kathryn Youngs, Lilias Ann, Neal Nolan, Niina Chebry, Noah G, Noel Hodnett, pamela Cambaizo, patty Ampleford, Pilar Mehlis, Ralph Moscovitch, Robi Smith, Sarah Knoebber, Tony Chu, William Stock, Richard Tetrault.

Photographs of artists by Kiku Hawkes, Jeremy van Niewkerk, Ester Rausenberg, Clayton Cooper, Valerie Arntzen, Wendy D

Event Sponsors:
Malinka Financial, BOB, Vancouver Economic Development, Vancity, Franco Ferrari, Wendy D Photography, Smith Sound, Fidelis Printmaking, Grolsch Beer and Chapel Arts

Chapel Arts website

Strathcona Residents Meeting Tomorrow!

The first meeting in 2009 of the Strathcona Residents Association will be held on Wednesday, January 7, at 7:15 p.m. at the Strathcona Community Centre.

If you're interested in becoming more involved in your community this is a good starting point . . . remember :

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

Agenda items will include:

-- SBIA "Green Zone" proposal to partner with the Cooperative Auto Network: The Strathcona Business Improvement Association is working towards developing Strathcona as a model community of mixed used and sustainability. How can we limit the number of cars on our roads and still get where we need to go? Can the SRA and the SBIA work together to make it happen?

-- Carnegie Community Action Project and condo owners: This newly forming group plans to include condo owners from CityGate, Gastown, Victory Square, and other "sub-areas of the Downtown Eastside." Its purpose is to advocate for social housing in the DTES for low income families, singles, seniors. Two DTES residents – Elvin Wyly, chair of the Urban Studies program at UBC, and Sandy Hirschen, ex-Dean of Architecture - are helping CCAP coordinator, Wendy Pedersen, to get the group started.

-- Princess Avenue Interpretative Walk project: You may recall that a motion regarding this item was tabled at our December meeting. I hope we will have more information on Wednesday.

TripWolf - Take a Historic Tour of Chinatown!

Here's something kind of cool. It's a site called TripWolf.com

Basically it's user controlled content that allows you to virtually tour a map and look around a neighbourhood, city, even country!

With weather like this, you can travel without leaving your home!

Click to check out Vancouver's Chinatown!

JIM BYRNES AT ST. JAMES CHURCH

(From Sharon Kravitz)

Friday January 16, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

St. James Anglican Church, 303 East Cordova

Benefit Concert for the Saint James Music Academy

Featuring Jim Byrnes

Jim Byrnes is an internationally recognized blues guitarist who has also had acting roles in movies and television. Jim continues to give generously of his time, in appreciation for the training and support he received as a child.

The proceeds of the concert will go to the Saint James Music Academy, an independent, non-profit organization, now in its second year of classical music training for children growing up in the Downtown Eastside. Patterned on the Royal Conservatory of Music program, the 50 students are trained in piano, cello, choir, violin, guitar, and bass with not only practical training, but theory as well. Instructors (who for the most part donate their time) are classically trained. Students come from Strathcona and Seymour elementary schools. They range in age from six to 12 and come from very diverse cultural backgrounds. Music lessons are free to families with limited resources. At a time when the DTES is undergoing rapid change, we have established a music education program which will remain accessible to children from low-income families.

We can only remain accessible with the support of our community, and the communities that surround us. Local businesses such as Fluevog Shoes donated generously towards the purchase of instruments for the school. Sunrise Market and Eclipse Awards have also given generously to the Music Academy by providing support with snacks, and making awards for the children at the end of the school year.

Please join us on the January 16th to support Saint James Music Academy, it will be a well spent 20 dollars and a good time, too! For tickets, please call Sharon at 604-251-5001.

Strathcona Residents Association - SRA (first meeting for 2009)

The first meeting in 2009 of the Strathcona Residents Association will be held on Wednesday, January 7, at 7:15 p.m. at the Strathcona Community Centre.

If you're interested in becoming more involved in your community this is a good starting point . . . remember :

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

Agenda items will include:

-- SBIA "Green Zone" proposal to partner with the Cooperative Auto Network: The Strathcona Business Improvement Association is working towards developing Strathcona as a model community of mixed used and sustainability. How can we limit the number of cars on our roads and still get where we need to go? Can the SRA and the SBIA work together to make it happen?

-- Carnegie Community Action Project and condo owners: This newly forming group plans to include condo owners from CityGate, Gastown, Victory Square, and other "sub-areas of the Downtown Eastside." Its purpose is to advocate for social housing in the DTES for low income families, singles, seniors. Two DTES residents – Elvin Wyly, chair of the Urban Studies program at UBC, and Sandy Hirschen, ex-Dean of Architecture - are helping CCAP coordinator, Wendy Pedersen, to get the group started.

-- Princess Avenue Interpretative Walk project: You may recall that a motion regarding this item was tabled at our December meeting. I hope we will have more information on Wednesday.