Don’t miss out on the Richmond and Chinatown Night Markets!

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Richmond Night Market 2012
Photo credit: RickChung.com (Flickr)

Opening tonight at 7 pm, the Richmond and Chinatown Night Markets are two of the biggest local summer attractions.

Let us know in the comment section if you attended the opening, and what you thought. Don’t forget to dress warm: it’s not summer YET!

Check out the two videos below from the 2012 markets:

Richmond Night Market – by Vancouver blogger Geoff Peters

Chinatown Night Market – by Vancouver travel blogger WiserTraveler

Fun things to do in B.C. – May 2013

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Photo credit: Samantha DeWitt (public domain)

Summer is not officially here yet, but the warm weather is inviting us to get out of the house and start having fun. Festivals, shows, concerts, fairs, races and rodeos are all waiting for visitors!

Below, you can check out some of the most interesting things to do in British Columbia for the month of May. There are also many farmer’s markets that are open. Many towns have May Days events, for the Victoria Day long week-end.

If you know of any other exciting events in B.C. that are not on this list, please share them with us in the comment section.

Feast Tofino
Where: 660 Ocean Park Drive, Tofino
When: May 1st – May 31st

Okanagan Spring Wine Festival
Where: Kelowna
When: May 3rd – May 12th

Continue reading →

A Romanian Orthodox Easter

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Traditional decorative Easter eggs from Romania
Photo by: KLMircea (Flickr)

Submission by Ana-Maria Gheorghiu

Not everybody celebrates Easter on the same date.
Western Christians and Eastern Christians follow two different religious calendars.
Western Christians (mainly Catholic and Protestant)
follow the Gregorian calendar,
and Eastern Christians (mainly Orthodox)
follow the Julian calendar.
The countries with the most Christian Orthodox believers are:
Russia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Cyprus, Georgia, Macedonia,
Bulgaria, Moldova, Montenegro and Belarus.

I am Romanian, and I live in Vancouver, B.C.
Easter is the biggest religious holiday in my home country.

Continue reading →

And the winner of our Spring haiku contest is….

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Photo credit: blmiers2 (Flickr)

Bahareh Sobhani, with the following haiku:

This new year, I will
paint all the walls in my room
The shade of your eyes.

Bahareh won a $25 gift card to White Spot. Congratulations!

Choosing between so many beautiful haiku was very hard. Check the slideshow below to see the readers who got honorable mentions in our poetry contest.

Reader favourites for the summer!

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Photo by: Petr Kratochvil (public domain)

Summer is just around the corner, and The Westcoast Reader print edition will be taking its usual break in July and August until September. But, don’t worry, the online version is not closing up shop in the summer!

Our editorial team has decided to revive some of the most popular older articles from the print editions and offer them to you in electronic format. Most of the pdf’s will be accompanied by grammar and vocabulary exercises.

Many thanks to The Vancouver Sun and The Province for giving The Westcoast Reader permission to re-use their photos for our “Reader Favourites” summer series.

Every Monday and Wednesday, we will upload a pdf file of one such article; Fridays will be dedicated to summer announcements and reader submissions.

We are also preparing polls and a contest for you, so keep checking our website regularly!

Spring poetry contest – write a haiku and win a $25 gift card! – CLOSED

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Photo: Peter Kratochvil (public domain)

This contest is now closed. The winner will be announced before May 5th, 2013.

Spring is coming, and, to celebrate it, The Westcoast Reader is having another contest. April is the month of poetry, so we are asking our readers to be creative and send us a haiku that they wrote. The winner gets a $25 gift card to White Spot!

Continue reading →

Family Day contest winners – the Mousavi family

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Our winners: Saha Mousavi, Bahareh Teimory and Sam Mousavi

Congratulations to the Mousavi family who sent us their Family Day photo and won a $25 gift card to White Spot!

We would like to thank everybody for their submissions and we invite you to take part in our future contests.

Family Day contest – win a $25 White Spot gift card! – CLOSED

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Photo credit: Arlen Redekop /The Province

British Columbia has added a new public holiday to its calendar. February 11th is Family Day!

Send us a photo and tell us in 50 words or less about how you spent Family Day. You could win a $25 gift card to White Spot to treat your loved ones!

Email your photo and story at wcreader@capilanou.ca and put the words “Family Day” in the email subject.

We hope you have lots of fun on Family Day with your loved ones!

This contest is open until February 28th, 2013.

Family Literacy Day – January 27th, 2013

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

Photo credit: Jonathan Warner (Brimley – Flickr)

Family Literacy Day was created by ABC Life Literacy Canada 14 years ago, to raise awareness about how important it is to read to our children. This special day is on January 27th, but some events and activities take place on January 26th.

If you have the chance, stop by a Family Literacy Day event in your area, and you can learn facts on literacy in Canada and get advice on how to make reading time fun for your family. Check the link below to find out where your nearest event is.

The Westcoast Reader will be at Family Literacy Day at the West Vancouver Memorial Library, on January 26th, between 10:30 am – 11 am. CLICK HERE for event details.

LIST OF EVENTS: Family Literacy Day across Canada

Who am I? – an exhibition not to be missed!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Ana-MariaG

An exhibition of photography that presents the history of Chinese immigrants in Barkerville, B.C., will be taking place between December 11th and January 14th, 2013, at the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden - 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Visit the event page:

Who am I? – Vancouver Chinese Garden

Who am I? – an exhibition of historical photography.

	Phoning my mother
	Giving my mother a card or a gift
	Cooking her a meal
	Taking her out
	Spending time with her
	Honouring her memory (my mother has passed away)

The Official Westcoast Reader

An Online Resource for Adult Learners of English

Author Archives: Ana-MariaG

Don’t miss out on the Richmond and Chinatown Night Markets!

Fun things to do in B.C. – May 2013

A Romanian Orthodox Easter

And the winner of our Spring haiku contest is….

Reader favourites for the summer!

Spring poetry contest – write a haiku and win a $25 gift card! – CLOSED

Family Day contest winners – the Mousavi family

Family Day contest – win a $25 White Spot gift card! – CLOSED

Family Literacy Day – January 27th, 2013

Who am I? – an exhibition not to be missed!