Richmond
Once a year sick and socially disadvantaged children from Vancouver and across the province have an opportunity to just be kids for a day Mickey Mouse ears and all.
For the past 21 years, Dreams Take Flight has whisked 125 kids each year to Disneyland for one day, which I can attest is jam-packed. I was lucky enough to take part one year and have never forgotten the little guy I hung out with that day. As we were running to yet another ride, I saw a bandage fall to the ground from under his shirt. When I asked if it was important, the boy told me, No, it just holds my pain tube in place. And without so much as a pause, we were off again.
To date, Dreams Take Flight has sent more than 2,000 children to the Magic Kingdom, so its a big deal. Last year the kids from Vancouver came from the B.C. Childrens Hospital Oncology and Richer Initiative Departments Starlight Foundation, the Learning Disabilities Association of Vancouver and from several East Side schools.
But of course, such a program takes money so thats where the Dreams Take Flight fundraising gala Havana Nights comes in. The evening of music and dancing takes place April 20, at the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel, 3500 Cessna Dr. in Richmond. Silent and live auctions top off the evening. Doors open at 6 p.m. for dinner and 8:30 p.m. for dance ticket holders with music provided by SIDEone Band. For ticket information visit gala4dreams.com.
Downtown
In March, a large work by artist Paul de Guzman entitled the people are the city was unveiled at The WALL at the CBC Plaza on Hamilton Street.
And now de Guzman will explain the significance of the piece he describes as one that speaks to the peoples influence on Vancouvers architecture. The image is from a collection of photographs by Franz Linder and shows an instructor with his students at Vancouver Vocational Institute in 1963. The text included in the piece the people are the city was taken from a headline from the CBC Times, a weekly programming guide published during the 1960s.
On April 17, de Guzman will speak about the piece and the challenges of working on a 30-by-40-foot installation, from noon to 1 p.m. at the CBC Outdoor Stage, 700 Hamilton St. The WALL, made possible through a partnership between the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, JJ Bean Coffee Roasters and CBC Radio-Canada, features a new artist every year.
Mount Pleasant
Ceroc Vancouver dance school is putting together a 12-hour dance-a-thon called Ceroc Around the Clock in support of Kits Showboat, which recently suffered damage and flooding from a storm that included high winds and whats known as a king tide.
The tide was so high the water breached the pool wall, surrounded the stage and covered the dressing rooms, storage rooms, bathrooms and sound room with debris and seaweed. The non-profit Kitsilano Showboat Society now faces the costly job of making the repairs necessary to get the waterfront theatre back in action.
The marathon will see dance instructors and groups that typically perform at Showboat join members of the public in dancing for money raised through pledges. The group is looking for prize sponsors.
Ceroc Around the Clock takes place Saturday, April 27 at the Cambrian Hall, 215 East 17th Ave. with doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the dancing continuing until midnight. For more information visit ceroc.ca.
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