It’s not every day that you find a huge sale before the holidays. Then again, Everything but the Kitchen Sink Emporium is no ordinary store.

If you have not been to the Emporium yet, now would be an excellent time to visit.There are many great deals to be had. See their flyer for more details.

As well, there is currently a promotion for those who spend $25.00 or more on items at the store before December 23rd: your name will be entered into the draw to win a Panasonic 26” LCD television!

How good would this face look on a new television?!

Still creeps me out to this day.

As always, proceeds from sales at the Emporium go toward funding the work of the Network of Inner City Community Services Society (NICCSS), which provides many programs for youth and families in the Downtown Eastside, Grandview-Woodlands, and Strathcona areas.

If you stop by, make sure to let us know what kind of deals you snagged! Happy shopping!

875 E. Hastings Street – Open Monday to Friday 11am to 5pm and Saturday from 11am to 4pm.

Stadium Chinatown Skytrain Station

The station isn’t actually in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, it is actually West of the Millennium Gate which marks the entrance pretty graphically to Chinatown. The Tinseltown complex and the condos around the Skytrain station are in an area of town the marketer’s have dubbed “Crosstown”. Crosstown has no historical significance. No local, no Vancouverite, says “Come on lets go to Crosstown!”

Chinatown with the exception of during the Chinese New Year’s parade is a lot less crowded than the area around False Creek. It is great for a stroll, or getting a bite of Dim Sum, or during the Olympics to take in one of many Art Installations and cultural expos going on.

Spirit of Place is now open in the Chinese Cultural Centre and the square at the entrance to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park. I wrote earlier how visiting the park or the garden might make nice break from the crowds. I also created a Do-It-Yourself Art Walk which starts in Chinatown at basically the bus stop at Main & Pender. It could easily includ Spirit of Place which is just across from Pender from the Bright Light installation.

If art and culture is not your thing and you really just want to watch hockey, Fortune Sound Club has set up a big 14ft screen and is showing the Canada VS Russia game free tonight. After that you could go for Dim Sum at Bao Bei, than maybe drinks at the Keefer Lounge before returning back to Fortune Sound Club to check out the Traveling Disco Party.

Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain Station has it’s own Wikipedia page and Translink has blogged about the changes to expect during the Olympics.

Thanks to Mike Chu for the first photo used in this posting.

The park is free and open to the public in daylight hours. The garden requires admission and during this festive season is open from 9:30 until 5pm.

Vancouver’s Chinese Garden was built in 1985-1986 using the time honored principles and techniques of the original Ming dynasty garden. Fifty-two master craftsmen from Suzhou China, working with Canadian counterparts, completed this landscape masterpiece within a year. The intricate halls and walkways are constructed with precise joinery and without the use of nails, screws or glue. The Garden opened on April 24, 1986.

Try the virtual tour, or just have a gander had some of the photos below of one of Vancouver’s hidden jewels.

Last weekend was the Chinatown New Year’s Parade and the first Vancouver Artwalk, both were big successes. Chinatown led by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. are inviting tourists daily learn more about Chinese culture.

Located at the Choi Hall at S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Social Service Centre (28 West Pender Street) will be open to the public as an exhibition site of Vancouver Chinatown’s services and upcoming events. We envision that through this partnership, we will create a positive image of Chinatown in the minds of the Vancouver 2010 visitors. Between February 15 (Monday) to February 20, 2010 (Saturday), six days in total, table space has been courteously reserved, free of charge, for your organization to promote your programs and services. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. will be staffing the site, 9am-5pm, during this period of time. Among the tables and booths, a variety of demonstrations are planned: performances by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. membership groups, Wii Olympic games and
fun facts of Chinatown, and more…

Vancouver’s DTES is home to more artists and galleries than anywhere else in Canada. From Jeffery Boone to W2′s Perel Gallery there is always exhibits of up-and-coming local artists and even the odd world renown figure such as Herzog.

Walking tours are very popular in the historic inner-city. A Wok Around Chinatown, Sins of the City, there is a variety to suit various interests. The Police Museum is running the Sins of the City walking tour twice daily during the Olympics at 11AM and 2PM. The museum itself is open everyday and located at 240 East Cordova.

Another option would be to take a guided tour by Pedicab, Dragon Rickshaw Adventures is operating daily during the Olympics.

Vancouver is home to some of the world’s best Chinese food, staff favourites in Chinatown include Bao Bei, Foo’s Ho Ho’s, and the Jade Dynasty. The rest of the inner-city contains some great eateries as well as night time destinations. The Irish Heather was recently featured on NBC and right next door the Blarney Stone is having live music every night and giving away official Team Canada hockey jerseys every time the Canadian Men’s team plays.

If Irish or Chinese food is not what your looking for their is Mexican, French, Japanese… just stroll up or down Water Street or check Gastown.org for more information.

The pedicab service is run by the Chinatown BIA, but if you want to more information or would like to book a pedicab tour or have one pick you up, call Thomas at 604-780-9107. Remember our other tips for visitors to Chinatown during the Olympics.

To learn more about the Olympic Torch route, visit the official website.

Trimpin at BOB

• Where can I access the internet?
• The nearest cafe with free wireless is Waves on Main & Pender.  Several other cafes have free wireless.  BOB is making available bandwidth to guests so they can update Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, just ask the gallery sitter for the password.
• Where can I buy coffee?
• Again Waves is the closest specialty coffee shop.  There are many more in the neighborhood, with Smart Mouth on Water Street being a staff favourite.
• Where can I buy batteries?
• Dollar Giant right next door has cheap batteries of many sizes.
• Where can I buy memory cards and other electronic paraphernalia?
• London Drugs has an excellent audio visual department including a wide assortment of memory cards for your electronic devices.  They are located a few blocks away in Woodward’s.  They also have a one hour photo lab.
• Where should I go for Chinese food?
• Jade Dynasty is a staff favourite and almost next door to BOB.  In the evening staff also recommend Bao Bei and Foo’s Ho Ho’s.
• Where can I get Western food?
• Mitzi’s right next door above Dollar Giant serves Western food.  Gastown has many bars and restaurants and a staff favourite for lunch and breakfast is Deacon’s on Main and Alexander.  There is also a food court and several restaurants in the International Village shopping centre offering Western and Eastern food including fast food such as McDonald’s and Quizno’s.
• How do I get out of Chinatown?
• There is a bus stop right in front of BOB.  The following buses stop there: 4, 7, 19, and 22.  All of those head West back towards the business district and the shopping and entertainment district on Granville Street.  There are bus stops all around the intersection of Main & Hastings.  Useful buses include the 3, 8, and 10.  Cordova Street has a number of buses running East but you’re probably better off taking a Hastings bus or going up the hill to Broadway and catching the Express.  163 East Pender is within walking and biking distance of the Stadium/Chinatown Skytrain station.  It is approximately six blocks South West from here.  The Skytrain goes downtown and out to Burnaby.  You can transfer to the Canada line at Granville or Waterfront and head to Richmond that way.  Translink has a website you can use to plan trips.

Chinatown Gate

Remember Trimpin: Sheng High will be open free to the public until the end of February as part of the Cultural Olympiad here in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown.

Trimpin (born Gerhard Trimpin 1951 in Istein, Germany, now part of Efringen-Kirchen) is a Seattle, Washington-based kinetic sculptor, sound artist, musician, and composer, most of whose pieces integrate both sculpture and music in some way, and many of which make use of computers to play these instruments.

The piece being display in our coworking/event space at 163 East Pender is called Sheng High.  Our space was chosen by the Cultural Olympiad staff and the artist himself due to being situatied in historic Chinatown and having the necessary high ceilings to allow the piece to be displayed and function.

The artist himself has journeyed North form his home in Seattle to personally install the work in our space.  He will be finished shortly with the exhibit open free to the general public from January 29 to February 28.  As part of the installation BOB negotiated the employment of six residents in a part time capacity as greeters and caretakers of the space.  Rumors of a private reception attended by the artist himself to take place this week are probably true.