West End
The annual Shito-Ryu Seiko Kai Karate-Do 44th Beach Practice takes place Jan. 11 at English Bay.
For anyone not familiar with the event it includes a run along the beach to warm up, followed by a karate workout and finishes up with a “refreshing” dip in the frigid waters of English Bay.
According to a news release, the event is an annual tradition started in 1971 by Shihan (Master) Akira Sato and takes place the third Saturday of January each year. Due to a scheduling conflict it’s taking place Jan. 11 this year. The event is free and everyone is invited.
For more information visit shitoryu.net.
Downtown
I could fill this column with details about the interesting programs being offered by the Vancouver Public Library, but since that’s not an option here’s a sample. The Book Lovers Reading Circle runs from 10:30 a.m. to noon Jan. 16, at the Central Library, 350 Georgia St.
The event is described as a fun and interactive way to share favourite books with other enthusiastic readers. Participants are asked to bring a few must-read titles, authors or themes they’d like to share, be prepared to explain why they enjoyed them and, if so inclined, read a short passage.
Also scheduled is Buying and Selling on Craigslist, part of the VPL’s Wired for Learning Series. On the hunt for a new home or a lamp? Need a job? Craigslist is the place to look and VPL staff can help get you started with this free hands-on workshop.
There are several sessions available beginning Jan. 25 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the computer training room at the Central Library. Basic computer, Internet, keyboard skills and an email account are required.
The VPL is also offering Afternoon at the Movies: Hitchcock, a movie that offers a sneak peek behind the closed set of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller Psycho. Hitchcock, an adaptation of the Stephen Rebello novel, stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren. The event takes place Jan. 22 from 1:30 to 3:30.
Admission is free, but registration is required by calling 604-331-3603. For a complete list of events and tips on how to register visit vpl.ca/calendar/index.php.
University of B.C.
Women Transforming Cities and the Alma Mater Society’s Sexual Assault Support Centre are hosting an evening of discussion and planning about sexual assault on public transit.
Dialogue Café: Sexual Assault, Safety and Public Transit is Jan. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. in room 205 at the UBC Student Union Building, 6138 Student Union Building Boulevard. The goal is to discuss ideas for improving public transit safety for women and girls.
Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director at Battered Women’s Support Services, Anisa Mottahed, manager of the Sexual Assault Support Centre, and Wendy Hawthorne, senior sergeant with the B.C. Transit Police, will speak briefly and a roundtable discussion will follow. Participants can join in discussions in English and Farsi.
Admission is free. Visit ubc.ca and search for “Dialogue Café: Sexual Assault, Safety and Public Transit.”
Kits Point
As part of the Vancouver Historical Society Speaker Series, author Jordan Stanger-Ross explores why in the spring of 1943 the government hastily sold all Japanese-Canadian property in Vancouver.
Residents of Japanese origin had initially been told their homes and farms would be protected and preserved for the duration of the war, so what changed? Stanger-Ross suggests this Vancouver story demonstrates the complicated ways in which race influenced policy in mid-20th century Canada.
Suspect Properties: the Vancouver Origins of the Liquidation of Japanese Canadian Property in WWII takes place Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut St. The talk is free.
