Author Archives: Kieran Phagura

Whitecaps to take on Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham AFC

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Vancouver, get ready! The Whitecaps will be hosting Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds’ soccer (football) team this summer on July 27th at BC Place!

This is an awesome exhibition game for the Whitecaps to host, as it brings together a team Ryan Reynolds knows all too well and the team he has now become the owner of. After purchasing Wrexham AFC back in 2022 with friend and fellow actor Rob McElhenny, the team has soared to new heights of popularity and success in their league. After purchasing the club Reynolds and McElhenny transformed their facilities, and funded the club with money to help strive for greatness. Because of this, Disney+ reached out and offered a docu-series about the pair, the team, and how the influx of money helped increase success. The show has two seasons, thirty-three episodes, and documents the rise of the club that has now been promoted to a higher division two years in a row. Before 2022, fans of Wrexham would have thought that they never have played in the top flight of English football, now they are just two promotions away. Ryan Reynolds has fallen in love with Wrexham, stating in an interview last year that he loves how much stress this team gives him.

“I just lost 9 years of my life. And I’m okay with that. Apologies to my family. Also, bury me in Wales…I love every second of hating it… Wrexham AFC is the greatest drug on earth.” Ryan Reynolds, Co-Chairman, Wrexham AFC.

Vancouver will welcome Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenny and Wrexham AFC with open arms this summer for the game, as it looks to be one of the sporting events of the summer. This will be the first time that the Whitecaps have ever played Wrexham, and it’s not often that they get to play against a team with such great history. Founded in 1864, Wrexham is the oldest club in Wales, and third oldest club in the world. Last year, Philadelphia native, Rob McElhenny brought Wrexham to play against the Philadelphia Union, and this year, Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds gets to bring them to his hometown and play against the team he grew up cheering for.

“Last year Rob got to bring Wrexham to Philly. This year it’s my turn… I am so excited my hometown club the Whitecaps will get to square off against the Red Dragons. My official stance on the match will be a very friendly ‘neutral’ even if I will be screaming for a Paul Mullin hat trick.” Ryan Reynolds, Co-Chairman, Wrexham AFC.

Tickets for this summer’s matchup are available HERE, the game will be held at 4:30pm on July 27th. Get your tickets now and go support your local Whitecaps! And as much as we all love Ryan, we will absolutely be rooting against you! 

Inaugural Coquitlam Community Festival

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If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, I’ve got just the right idea! The Coquitlam Community Festival is taking place Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th. 

The festival looks to bring together many different communities for fun times, great food, and awesome live entertainment. There are many different activities occurring over the two days, and they promise to be fun for all ages. Take part in scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, yard games, and much more to keep your family and friends entertained for hours. The food looks to be delicious, as many different street vendors and food trucks have been booked to keep everyone full and satisfied with what they eat for the day! Some of the food trucks include Baba’s house, Hugs Mini Donuts, and REEL Mac and Cheese. BC shop local, a community driven initiative that supports local businesses, will also have an artisan market set up at the festival, that is perfect for finding a special gift to give to your loved ones.

(Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival / Facebook)

To check out the BC Shop Local Market, and the Food Truck Lineup, click Here. The event is being put together by the Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival and they can guarantee that there will be food there that everyone will love. 

“Satisfy your taste buds with a selection from some of BC’s best food trucks serving up mouth-watering treats…There’s something for every palate.” Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival.

Even with very gloomy weather this weekend, this festival will be sure to bring some excitement to your days off! Join the first-ever Coquitlam Community Festival for an amazing mix of the local culture, cuisine, and entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, there is roaming entertainment and live performances happening all weekend long! The live performers are scheduled from 12pm to 8pm and the roaming performers will be around the festival from 3pm to 4pm on Saturday April 27th. 

The festival is happening this upcoming weekend, and is going to be held at Town Centre Park, located at 1299 Pinetree Way. Saturday’s hours will be from 11am to 8pm, while Sunday’s hours will be 11am to 7pm. This festival is a sure fire way to make the most out of a weekend that isn’t looking to be the best weather wise. Be sure to check out their website to grab a ticket (which is completely free by the way!!) to be kept up to date on performers, food trucks, atrisan market news, and more activities as the information gets released! Hopefully the first ever Coquitlam Community Festival is a hit and can continue for your years to come, go check it out!

The 2024 Flower Festival has started!

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Are you a big fan of beautiful, colourful flowers? What about rows and rows of them? Well if you are, definitely go check out the 2024 Tulip Festival in Abbotsford, BC, at Lakeland Flowers farm!

For the next six months, Lakeland Flowers is welcoming you to come and check out their thirty-five acre land, which is filled with thousands of flowers. The Abbotsford Tulip Festival is the start of their Summer Flower Festival, which lasts from April until September, and starts with tulips and ends with sunflowers. The festival is open rain or shine, so whether you need a pair of shades, or something to protect you from the rain, take the time to book those tickets and experience over one hundred different varieties of tulip.

None of this would be possible without the Warmerdam family. Their family has been in Canada for three generations, since Peter Warmerdam came after the second world war. Coming from the Netherlands, Peter already had excellent knowledge on tulip bulbs and planting. He decided to plant roots in the Sumas Flats area of Abbotsford, because of the ideal sandy soils and windy conditions. Peter shared his love for tulips and planting with his family, who all still plant flowers across BC, and now the name Warmerdam name has become directly correlated to quality BC flowers. There is even a species of tulips named Peter’s legacy, which was named by long time partners Nord Lommerse. The farm is now run by third generation flower farmer Nick Warmerdam, who looks to continue the amazing tradition of flower festivals that his late relatives would be happy to see.

The Tulip Festival has a wide array of ticket prices at Lakeland Flowers for anyone who is looking to go. They range from $8-$25 depending on when you buy them. If you’re not looking to go in the spring, the Summer Flower Festival lasts all summer, with a wide variety of different flowers to go look at! From tulips starting the festival off for two months, to meadows lasting all six months, there is sure to be flowers that will leave you in awe.

If you’re looking for a beautiful bouquet of tulips to give to a loved one, they sell them at the farm, and for $20 you can buy twenty five stems. The festival also has plenty of food trucks to dabble in, and on some days has live music that you can sit and listen to, or listen to as you stroll through the rows of flowers.

Richmond Night Market 2024

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Did you know that Richmond hosts the largest night market in North America? Well, now you do! That’s right the infamous night market is gearing up to open for the year and patrons from all over Vancouver are ready for it.

The Night Market

( es.goh / flickr )

With over 600 different food options to try, you will need to bring your appetite for this nightly outing. There are over 110 Richmond Night Market food booths with unique and flavourful meals from all over the world. The options and combinations are endless here, from sushi tacos to chicken lollipops, you will always be leaving having tried something new. And after all that you can try any one of many different drink options to quench your thirst. 

If you’re not hungry, you better believe that there is much more to offer than just food. The Richmond Night Market is a whole spectacle, from rides and bouncy castles to live music and martial art groups, it always has something going on that everyone will find entertaining. After you’ve eaten and seen a show or two, the night market is known for having a pretty awesome selection of retail booths, where you can find any number of crazy trinkets. If you love anime, there’s plenty of booths that sell anime merchandise, if you love video games, you can buy your favourite character’s model weapon. When I say that the amount of things to do is endless, I mean it. 

The Richmond Night Market has grown exponentially since it was founded back in 2000. The founder, Raymond Cheung, has spent countless hours trying to keep up with the growing crowds of the event, with each year they see over one million guests attend. After not being open for four years, not being able to find a location big enough, he finally settled on the corner of No.3 and Bridgeport Road. This location covering 18 acres, is always filled with booths, festivities, and thousands of patrons every night during its open season. 

The Richmond Night Market is open from April 27th, all the way until October 14th, plenty of time for you to stop by any time during the summer and experience the awesome vendors and festivities the market has to offer! The Richmond Night Market is split into 2 different hours of operations. Regular hours, April 26th – May 31st September 2nd – October 14th, and summer hours, June 1st – September 1st. The pricing for the event has a zoom pass, costing $40, other than that, it’s $8.50 for general admission, and free for children under seven, and seniors over sixty.

Free Vancouver Canuck watch parties

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North Delta is hosting our door viewing parties for everyone who is cheering on the Canucks this postseason. 

Now there isn’t much better than witnessing what Rogers Arena could look and sound like during a playoff game, but part of the enjoyment of being in the arena is being surrounded by the thousands of other Canucks fans.

Thanks to Social Heart Plaza for hosting, Canuck fans all over the Lower Mainland have the opportunity to go out and watch with tons of other fans just like them. And the best part? It’s completely free! Now don’t get me wrong, $15 to go watch the away games in Rogers Arena is a pretty cool time. But, something about bringing entire communities together to watch outside is such an awesome concept. Unfortunately, due to those pesky riots back in 2011, the Canucks were not able to host any outdoor viewing parties around the arena this year. The Mayor of Delta, George V. Harvie stated in a release that the city should at least do something of these sorts, since the last time the Canucks were in the playoffs we weren’t allowed to celebrate together. 

“It’s been nine years since our community has had the opportunity to come together in-person and cheer on the Canucks in the playoffs” George V. Harvie, Mayor, City of Delta.

I think it’s safe to assume that the only events happening around the arena on game days are just the pre-game parties, as the Canucks have yet to release a “playoff plan”. Because of this, Vancouver is the only Canadian city that does not have a viewing party outside the arena, with the likes of Edmonton having the Ice Distract Plaza and Fan park, Winnipeg having Whiteout street parties outside the arena, and Toronto having Maple Leaf Square. 

Just because there isn’t something right outside Rogers Arena doesn’t mean fans shouldn’t get together and watch the game as a group. Social Heart Plaza and the city of Delta invite you, your family, your friends, and anyone who just enjoys a good time. Bring a chair, a blanket, or whatever you need to make yourself comfortable and sit back to enjoy the atmosphere that many dedicated fans will be bringing to these parties.

Be sure to head to Social Heart Plaza, at 11415 84th Ave for the game three puck drop at 4:30 p.m. on Friday April 26th and and the game four puck drop at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday April 28th Get there early to try and grab the best spot possible!

Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery

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The next generation of Indigenous athletes have had new doors opened for them this past weekend, as the world’s first immersive Indigenous sport gallery recently opened its doors on April 19th 2024. The gallery offers a unique virtual reality experience at the BC Sports Hall of Fame. The purpose of the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery (DISG) is to spotlight the accomplishments and contributions of Indigenous athletes and coaches throughout sports history and culture.

The BC Sports Hall of Fame established the DISG to create the most comprehensive digitization project globally. The gallery is fully accessible, allowing visitors to experience stories from across the province and around the world come to life. The gallery has many unique features that make it as amazing as it is. When visiting, you’ll notice the key feature being a 360-degree virtual tour of the gallery, offering exclusive content not available in the physical space that includes video profiles of 14 featured athletes and honoured members, along with 3D interactive artifacts. Along with this, the gallery has won two awards in its time, the 2019 Canadian Museums Association Award of Outstanding Achievement in the Exhibition category, and the 2019 Best New Exhibit in the world by the International Sports Heritage Association. 

The Indigenous Sport Gallery expands on the Hall’s earlier exhibits showcasing Indigenous contributions to BC sport heritage, including the First Peoples Gallery (1992) and Aboriginal Sport Gallery (2008). With support from their founding partners, including the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (I-SPARC), the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, and their donors, the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery has been realized to enhance youth access to the inspiring stories within the Indigenous Sport Gallery. In a release, CEO of the BC Sports Hall of Fame Michelle Kitchen made it known that she could not be more thankful to everyone who helped make this possible. 

“We are tremendously grateful to the Government of Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Province of British Columbia, BC Arts Council and individuals who donated through the 100 Ravens program to bring this remarkable initiative to life,” Michelle Kitchen, CEO, BC Sports Hall of Fame.

The DISG is an amazing piece of technology, and is great for anyone looking to expand their knowledge on Indigenous sports and culture. You can check out this gallery at the BC Sports Hall of Fame, located at BC Place (gate a) 777 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver. The gallery is available to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Tuesday. Tickets are $12-$20, and children under four get in for free with a parents admission.

Punchbowl Festival 2024

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What’s better than cocktails and tacos?? If you ask me, I’d say not much at all. There is a massive festival of delicious drinks and food coming to the PNE this summer and it is going to be awesome. Click PUNCHBOWL Festival to watch the trailer!

The Punchbowl 2024 festival is taking place on July 27th at the PNE fairgrounds and it is already looking like it’s going to be one of the more successful tasting events of the year. Over the course of the day, guests will be welcomed to enjoy over 250 spirits, beers, cider cocktails, wine, and food. The event is being put together by Feaster, a company that strives to make high quality and enjoyable “liquid-to-lips” events. Dax Droski from Feaster says that they are pumped to bring the event back to Vancouver, and he’s confident that people will not be disappointed by this year’s event. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring PunchBowl back to Vancouver and create unforgettable memories for everyone… After multiple years of producing this special event, we’re confident that this year’s festival will be the best one yet, and we can’t wait to share the new features and updates with our loyal fans and newcomers alike.” Dax Droski, Founder, Parade Agency.

The event will be split into two different tastings. There will be a day time tasting going from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. that has price ranges from $30 to $55, the cheapest being presale tickets, and the most expensive being the regular priced tickets. The night time tasting goes from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with the same prices as the day time tasting. Click Sign Up — Punch Bowl Festival to get signed up for presale tickets and get them while they’re at their cheapest!

The festival will have dozens of different vendors and the taco and cocktails creations will be endless. Whether you’re looking for hard shelled and something bitter, or a tortilla with something sweet, this festival will have what you’re looking for. As well as great drinks and food, there will be a variety of different DJ’s, who will be playing a throwback 2000’s setlist all day long. If you’re curious about which taco and drink vendors will be there, or who’s going to be playing music, checkout their website PUNCHBOWL Festival and find out exactly what you’re looking for. If you enjoy what you drink while you’re there, then you’re in luck. Feaster will be having an on-site liquor store, so patrons can take home their favourite beverages from the day and will even have product that is hard to find anywhere else. 

Buy your tickets now! I sure will be!

Vancouver Canadians April 23rd Recap

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The Vancouver Canadians began their six game homestand against the Spokane Indians last night at Nat Bailey Stadium last night, here’s how it went.

Well, to start, Vancouver definitely did not play their best baseball in their four to zero loss. It just didn’t seem to go their way last night, wouldn’t be the only Vancouver team that happened to yesterday… The Canadians couldn’t get much going on the offensive side of the ball, being shut out and only getting six hits on thirty-two at bats, totaling a .188 batting average and striking out eleven times. They also had eight players left on base (LOB) and went zero and five with runners in scoring position (RISP). On the defensive side, there were a few nice plays here and there with one error that occurred, compared to the Spokane’s zero errors.

Spokane scored their first run in the second inning, as a build up from the throwing error from third baseman Ryan McCarty. The Canadians continued going three up three down through the third inning, and the Indians scored two more in the third to make the score three to zero. Vancouver had runners in scoring position in the third, but couldn’t make anything out of it. In the top of the 4th, first baseman Trevor Boone hit a solo home run for Spokane, the only one of the game, and put them up four to zero over Vancouver. That would be the last run of the game. Spokane only had one more hit than the Canadians, and only went one for five in RISP, but the one time was enough to edge past Vancouver. They got another chance to put some runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, however couldn’t get their hits going at the right times. Chris McElvian moves to 0 and 2 on  the season as a starter, with his ERA moving in the wrong direction from 4.50 to 5.25. The Canadians move to 7 and 9 on the season, and look to get back into the win column with a win against the Indians tonight.

The series against Spokane continues on this gloomy Wednesday, tonight at 7:05 p.m. on ‘We Care Wednesday’, click RBC We Care Wednesday | Canadians Baseball for more on that. Check out the Vancouver Canadians social media pages for updates on starter pitchers, starting lineups, and other news regarding the game! Come back to tomorrow for another recap of tonight’s game!

Canucks fall flat in game 2

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Well, last night did not go the way we wanted it to.

To say that many of the fans and probably the players themselves are disappointed after last night’s performance would be an understatement. But is it time to panic? I really don’t think it is. Sure, you can look at the score and say “wow we got smoked yesterday”, however it isn’t that simple. Don’t get me wrong, having 18 shots on goal in 3 periods of hockey, going 0-4 on the power play (0-6 in the series), and having the starting goalie be out with an injury isn’t a great look for the team. When the team you’re playing against blocks THIRTY shots, there really isn’t much more you can do. The Canucks attempted 84 shots compared to the Predators 36… it all came down to individual mistakes, and Nashville throwing their bodies in front of every single shot.

The game started off terribly, with Nashville scoring 1:14 into the first period, and it kind of just went downhill from there. No matter the amount of time the Canucks had the puck, they couldn’t buy a goal if their life depended on it. Everyone looked scared to shoot, or wanted the perfect shot, and the amount of times they straight up missed the net was appalling. 33 times they missed the net completely, and it seemed about half of those were wide open attempts. Petterson was his biggest critic, saying that the simple errors he made throughout the game can’t continue to happen.

“I put us in a bad spot with my mistake on their third goal. That can’t happen…If I score in the first period, it’s a 1-1 game, and maybe it’s a different outlook…I’m always my biggest critic and I take a lot of blame for this one.” Elias Petterson, Forward, Vancouver Canucks

The game continued the same the whole time, except instead of being 1-0 down, the Canucks fell to 3-0 down after 8 minutes in the second period. There was a glimmer of light after Nikita Zadorov blasted a goal into the top left corner just over 15 minutes into the second, but that’s all the ‘Nucks could muster up for the game. The third period came and the Canucks finally started taking more shots, something the fans had wanted them to be doing more of all game, and completely dominated the possession for the rest of the game. However, this is also where a majority of the blocks and misses came, as they ended the game with only 18 shots on goal.

The Canucks are back in action on Friday at 4:30pm PST in Nashville, where they look to take a 2-1 series lead. Be sure to head to Rogers Arena, where you can join the viewing party hosted there for only $15!

Vancouver Canadians second homestand

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The Vancouver Canadians take on the Spokane Indians in a 6 game series starting tonight at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. The series will go until Sunday, with promotions like Friday being the classic “Nooner at the Nat’ and Sunday being “Family Fun Sunday”.

The Canadians are having a rough start to the year, sitting at a 7-8 record in the Northwest League in High-A baseball division. Their last series they played this season was against Eugene Emeralds, where they only won 2 times out of the 6 games. Prior to that they played the Hillsboro Hops, and won 5 of the 6 games. Vancouver played a 3 game series against Spokane to start the season, and were unfortunately swept 3-0. The season has been a roller coaster so far, beating the teams below them in the standings and losing to the ones above them. They currently sit in 3rd in the Northwest League, however there are only 5 other teams to play against and they only play each other throughout the season.

The Canadians find themselves with the 3rd best batting average as a team, 2nd in the league in home runs, while sitting dead last in total hits. This however is due to Vancouver having the least amount of at-bats throughout the season so far. On the pitching end of things, the Canadians seem to be struggling more. Their pitchers have the least amount of total innings pitched, the second lost earned run average (ERA), and last in strikeouts. So it doesn’t seem to be an issue to score the runs, however it’s proving a challenge to stop the other teams from scoring. For Spokane, everything seems to be working for them this season so far, as they sit in 2nd in the league with an 11-4 record, only one game back of the Eugene Emeralds. Spokane has the second best ERA in the league, the most strikeouts, and the second lowest batting average against them. 

The Canadians look to turn the tide on teams above them in the standings tonight. 23-year old Chris McElvain gets the starting pitching job for Vancouver, as he hopes to bring down that 4.50 ERA. Spokane has 25-year old Mason Green starting tonight and he’ll be expected to keep batters off the bases tonight, keeping the batting average against him at a wild .150.

It’s great weather for a Canadians game tonight and it looks to be in store for a great game. Definitely go check out and support the Vancouver Canadians this season, and check back tomorrow for a game recap, as well as a preview for tomorrow night’s game.