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

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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Mark Macdonald shows seed packets.
Photo by Ian Smith, The Vancouver Sun

Level one
April 2011

Save money

• Grow your own vegetables.
• It is a great way to save money.

Start your garden

• You don’t need a big space.
• You can grow many things in a pot or a container.

Plant vegetables

• You can plant some herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes and peas this month.

Put in a sunny area

• Vegetables need about six hours of sunlight everyday to grow well.

A container with holes, so water can drain.

Outdoor potting mix. Garden soil is not good for containers.

A packet of seeds.

Easy steps:

1. Fill the container with potting mix.

2. Read the back of the seed packet carefully.

3. Plant the seeds. Follow the seed packet directions.

4. Pour a little water onto the soil.

5. Keep the soil moist, not wet. Seeds can die from too much water.

6. Put your container in a sunny place.

Photos by Nila Gopaul, special thanks to Art Knapp Urban Garden

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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Haida Art, by Thomas Granade

Red, a comic by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Courtesy of Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

Manga, iStockphoto

Story adapted from The Vancouver Sun

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a Haida artist.
He was born in Prince Rupert, B.C. in 1954.
But Michael was raised in Haida Gwaii
The old name for Haida Gwaii is Queen Charlotte Islands.
(Click here for a map of Haida Gwaii.)

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Photo by Glenn Baglo, The Vancouver Sun

Read the PDF. Try the Exercise.

Father of Haida magna-PDF

Visit the links:

See Michael’s work in a gallery in Vancouver.
See Michael’s website.
Watch videos here. Watch Michael do his work.
Manga tutorials
Art lesson plans for teachers

Why did Michael start manga?
One day, some Japanese students visited Haida Gwaii, B.C.
They told Michael that his art looked like
Japanese comic books.
These books are called “manga”.

Soon after, Michael started to retell old stories.
He mixes traditional Haida art and new Japanese animation.
Michael’s books have won many awards.

Michael does other art, too.
He works with metal and wood.
His exhibits are in Canada and all over the world.
Click here to see his work.

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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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

Fossil Tours
Where: Courtenay Museum, Courtenay
When: every Saturday in May

Wings Over the Rockies Bird Festival
Where: Invermere
When: May 6th – May 12th

Sea to Sky Regional Heritage Fair
Where: Lynn Valley Main Library and Village, North Vancouver
When: May 10th

Burnaby Village Museum Heritage Fair
Where: Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby
When: May 10th – May 11th

Great Canadian Craft Proudly Presents Spring Fling
Where: 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
When: May 11th – May 12th

B.C. Open Gold Panning Championships & Family Fun Days
Where: Gold Panner Campground 423, Cherryville
When: May 16th – May 19th

Meadowlark Festival
Where: South Okanagan & Similkameen Valley, Penticton
When: May 16th – May 20th

18th Annual Maple Bay Marina Wooden Boat Festival
Where: 6145 Genoa Bay Rd, Maple Bay
When: May 17th – May 19th

Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair
Where: 6050A 176 St, Surrey
When: May 17th – May 20th

Comox Valley Highland Games
Where: Lewis Park, 489 Old Island Hwy, Courtenay
When: May 18th

150th Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival
Where:Topaz Park, Victoria
When: May 18th – May 19th

26th Annual Denman Island Pottery Studio Tour
Where: 1069 North West Rd, Denman Island
When: May 18th – May 19th

Fort Rodd Hill – Annual Military Historic Encampment
Where: 603 Fort Rodd Hill Rd, Victoria
When: May 18th – May 19th

Art & Bloom Festival
Where: Woodland Gardens, 6183 Whittaker Rd, Courtenay
When: May 18th – May 20th

Falkland Stampede
Where: Falkland Stampede Grounds, Hwy 97, Falkland
When: May 18th – May20th

Barkerville Rush Relay
Where: Quesnel Recreation Centre, 500 Northstar Rd, Quesnel
When: May 19th

Carrie Underwood Concert
Where: Dawson Creek;  Abbotsford
When: May 20th; May 23rd

Uno Fest: Canada’s Singular Live Theatre Event
Where: Metro Studio & Intrepid Theatre Club, Victoria
When: May 22nd – June 1st

10th Annual Rotary Okanagan International Children’s Festival 
Where: Okanagan Lake Park, Penticton
When: May 23rd – May 25th

Surrey Children’s Festival
Where: Surrey Arts Centre & Bear Creek Park, 13750 – 88 Ave, Surrey
When: May 23rd – May 25th

Vancouver International Tequila Expo
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre
When: May 24th

19th Annual Painters at Painter’s
Where: 1625 McDonald Rd, Campbell River
When: May 24th – May 26th

10th Annual Every WOMAN Conference
Where: Whistler
When: May 24th – May 26th

EAT! Vancouver, Food & Cooking Festival
Where: 777 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver
When: May 24th – May 26th

Shuswap Lake International Writers’ Festival
Where: The Prestige Harbourfront Resort & Convention, Salmon Arm
When: May 24th – May 26th

Lund Shellfish Festival
Where: 4760 Joyce Ave, Powell River
When: May 24th – May 26th

Island Children’s Festival
Where: 5575 West Saanich Rd, Victoria
When: May 25th

Annual European Festival (Eurofest)
Where: Swangard Stadium, Burnaby
When: May 25th – May 26th

Richmond Carvers Wood Carving Show
Where: Steveston Community Centre, 4111 Moncton St, Richmond
When: May 25th – May 26th

Quesnel Gold Show
Where: 100 Campus Way, Quesnel
When: May 25th – May 26th

Swiftsure International 2013 Yacht Race
Where: Inner Harbour, Victoria
When: May 25th – May 27th

Maplewood Farm’s Sheep Fair
Where: Maplewood Farm, 405 Seymour River Pl, North Vancouver
When: May 26th

Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Where: Cartwright St., Granville Island, Vancouver
When: May 27th – June 2nd

HSBC City of Bhangra Festival
Where: Vancouver, Surrey
When: May 30th – June 8th

Vancouver Craft Beer Week
Where: 1441 Cartwright St, Vancouver
When: May 31st – June 8th

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Chinatown
Photo courtesy of The Vancouver Sun

Adapted from The Province

Level 2
January 2012

A new National Geographic book names
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden the number one city garden in the world.
National Geographic is a very popular and old magazine.
It is famous for its stories and photographs.
B.C.’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden beat
other famous city gardens in 2012
in Paris, Hawaii, and New York.

B.C.’s 26-year-old garden is in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown,
and it is open all year.
Kathy Gibler, the director of the garden,
says the garden is more famous
around the world than in B.C.

Colour portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
Photo by Militaryace, Public domain

Who was Dr. Sun Yat-Sen?
(November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925)
Many people call him the “Father of Modern China”.
Click here to watch a video on Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.
Click here to read more about the garden.

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

The post BC garden wins appeared first on The Official Westcoast Reader.

Herons in a tree
Photo by Ward Perrin, The Vancouver Sun

A young heron looks for food.
Photo by Lez Bazso, The Province

Adapted from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and The Province

Illustrations by Nola Johnston

Level 2
May 2011

In BC, people can see Great Blue Herons all year.
Herons live on the coast.
They also live in the southern part of B.C.
The heron is a large bird:

• It is taller than many 8-year-old children.
• It weighs about the same as a small newborn baby.

Over 5,000 herons live in B.C.
The B.C. government protects these birds.
It also protects their nests and their eggs.
More than 100 heron nests are in Stanley Park in Vancouver.
There is also a heron park in Chilliwack.

1. In April and May, herons lay eggs.

2. In June, parents take care of the chicks.

3. In July, young herons practice flying.

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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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.

Forty days before Easter, we have a fasting period called Great Lent.
This means we cannot eat any meat, eggs, or milk.
The purpose of Great Lent is to bring a physical and spiritual cleansing.

Many people go to confession and take communion during this period,
and we cannot have weddings or parties until after Easter.
Besides cleansing our body and spirit, many of us clean our homes.
Most people schedule their spring cleaning before Easter.
We have to clean every corner, every drawer and cabinet, wash our windows and rugs, and fix or get rid of broken things.

Resting after spring cleaning.
Photo by: Ana-Mari Gheorghiu

The Sunday before Easter Day is called Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday is the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
In Romania, we celebrate people whose name come from flowers
(like Rose, Violet, Iris or Jasmine would be here) on this day.

Food is an important part of every holiday.
The traditional Easter dishes in Romania include deviled eggs, lamb roast, lamb soup, lamb meatloaf and stuffed cabbage rolls.
My grandmother also makes homemade bread and bagels.
For dessert, we usually have cheesecake with raisins and walnut babka
(a type of sweet bread).
Parents buy chocolate eggs and bunnies for children.

Eggs, walnut babka and cheesecake
Photo credit: Andreea Chelaru (Flickr)

Every Romanian Easter table must have coloured eggs.
Some people use dye from the store, and others make natural dye from boiled red onions, and print the eggs with little plant leaves.
At the table, the custom is to knock the eggs together before eating them,
and praise the Resurrection of Christ.

Ana-Maria’s grandmother, preparing the eggs for colouring.
Photo by: Ana-Maria Gheorghiu

The night before Easter Day, we go to church, with candles in our hands.
At midnight, the priest comes out of the church to announce the Resurrection.
He holds a lit candle and gives light to the person closest to him.
Then they pass the light around until everybody’s candle is lit.

After this ceremony, the people surround the church three times,
singing a special religious hymn (song).
We are supposed to keep the candle lit until we get home.
The light of Easter candle is said to protect us in times of natural disasters.

Resurrection service at midnight
Photo by: ionelpop (Flickr)

On Easter Day, we meet with family and friends and have lunch together.
Easter Monday is a statutory holiday,
to allow people more time for celebration.

I have not been back home in almost 4 years, ever since I came to Canada.
I miss Easter in Romania very much, but I can still spend nice holidays
with my friends in Vancouver.

Check the slideshow below for more Easter photos.

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

The post A Romanian Orthodox Easter appeared first on The Official Westcoast Reader.

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.

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

The post And the winner of our Spring haiku contest is…. appeared first on The Official Westcoast Reader.

An aisle at a store
Photo by Nila Gopaul

Level 2
October 2009

Save time

• Write out a list of food you need.
• Only buy what is on your list.

Save money

• Shop on the outside aisles (parts) of the store.
  There are healthier foods there and foods in season, which are cheaper.
• Eat less meat. Meat is expensive.
  Protein such as tofu, beans, legumes, nuts, and fish are cheaper.
  These foods are healthy, too.
• Check your prices. “On sale” does not mean the best price.
  If it is a good deal, buy more than one.
• Pay attention at the check out!

Most big stores in Canada follow this rule:
If the store charges you more for one of the items you bought, they must:

• give you $10 off the price (if it cost more than $10).
• give it to you for free (if it costs less than $10)!

A woman is buying fruit and vegetables.
Photo by iStockphoto

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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Photo credit: Georgetown Vault (Flickr)

Reading by: Nila Gopaul

CLICK HERE for the text version of this article (print issue only).

www.TheWestcoastReader.com©2012 The Official Westcoast Reader

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