St. Paddy's trivia with the 'Caps

http://youtu.be/4cTDI3n4e0U

St. Paddy’s Day a time to mark city’s rich Celtic culture | Opinion | Column | 24 Hours Vancouver

 

If there’s an annual festival that brings everyone together worldwide, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day.

Over 70 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry – five million of them Canadians – which, when you consider Ireland’s six-million population, puts things into perspective about everyone wanting to be Irish on St. Paddy’s Day!

Thankfully, for many it’s more than just a booze fest and an excuse to drink Guinness (although there are, on average, 13 million pints of the “black stuff” consumed worldwide on March 17, almost double the norm.)

It’s a chance to celebrate their heritage and the rich contribution of Celtic traditions and folklore in so many cultures around the world, as well as showcase local and international talent from both Ireland and Scotland.

One of the main events us Irish are “excire agus delire” (excited and delighted in Gaelic) about is a performance by The Vagabonds. The city’s only all-Irish band is gaining huge popularity thanks to the sea of immigrants arriving here, and they are playing at Vancouver FanClub on Granville on both Sunday afternoon and evening to close the ninth annual CelticFest.

One of the artists they’re tipped to cover is the well-known Irish singer Damien Dempsey, whose song Apple Of My Eye – although written about emigrating to New York – reminds me of Vancouver every time I hear the lyrics.

Everybody’s here

From all across the earth

Tongues and tribes galore

There isn't any war

I feel the city’s lure

The apple of my eye

I cherish her

Aside from being a proud Irishwoman, everyone who reads this column will know by now that I’m a huge fan of everything Vancouver. This is the only place I’ve lived outside my birthplace that feels like home, as the song suggests. The melting pot that is the city’s streets, and the calm that comes from looking upon the white-capped mountains, is like no other. And there’s no other city I’d like to be in on this special day.

Because St. Paddy’s Day is not just for the Irish, on this day we’re not standing alone as separate cultural identities. There’s a genuine sense of joy in coming together to celebrate both our diversity, and in overcoming adversity, which has allowed us to reach these shores of plenty.

Plus, the excuse to dress up like a leprechaun for the day is just an added bonus!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone.

@rachheals

@24hoursvan

Will Big Brother Canada follow the pack? | Column | Opinion | Vancouver 24 hrs

Stop the presses! Big Brother is coming to a TV screen near you.

Over 10,000 Canadians auditioned to be a part of the inaugural cast, with 15 contestants chosen to compete against each other for the grand prize … presumably, their privacy back.

A loving “mama bear” with a passion for hip hop and a “cocky-but-loveable” doctoral student who plans to use his PhD in social psychology as the key to winning will be representing Vancouver.

Are you rolling your eyes already?

Coming from Europe where I’ve faced a Big Brother barrage since 2000 (trust me, 13 years is a lifetime in reality TV land), I’m intrigued to see what Canadians make of this spectacle.

Why anyone would willingly offer themselves up to live in a fishbowl for weeks on end — filmed 24/7 during their most intimate and vulnerable moments, with total strangers, most of whom have been carefully selected to either clash with the other or try to hump them — is beyond me.

And it’s all for your viewing pleasure.

Interestingly, the global phenomenon’s European premise differs entirely to the U.S. version.

The European edition is somewhat of a social experiment, with the “rats-in-a-cage-who’ll-do-anything-for-money” concept proving particularly popular in the UK. In fact, there have even been claims that more young people in the UK voted for Big Brother contestants than voted in the general election.

Yes, you read that right.

As opposed to being a popularity contest where the viewer has control, the U.S. version, on the other hand, is more of a spectator sport where the contestants have total control and compete to be the best — a social reflection in itself.

So, technically, no matter how much they are hated by the public, the real game players can still win. Think of it as a modern day gladiators for the masses, except with emotional bloodshed as the object of the game. Are you not entertained?

But which route will the Canadian Big Brother take?

Premiering Feb. 27, it’s already been pegged as pitting houseguests against one another in a series of challenges, with contestants voting each other out each week. The winner will be decided by the last seven evicted houseguests, aka the ‘Big Brother Jury.’

So it appears it will be following in the footsteps of our cousins to the south, which is disappointing, but to be expected.

Stay tuned, or not, as the case may be …

@rachheals

@24hoursvan

'No Fun City' reputation a misnomer | Column | Opinion | Vancouver 24 hrs

As also featured on Vancouver Is Awesome

A bus shelter advert outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for the ongoing Vancouver Comedy & Arts Festival recently caught my eye on my daily commute.

It showed Vancouver’s stunning cityscape with the words “No Fun City” underneath - the “No” scribbled out and “HA HA HA” penciled in on top.

It got me thinking about the city’s unfortunate rep, and how I believe it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Of course, the tourist books don’t mention the ‘NFC’ slander when waxing lyrical about all that beautiful B.C. has to offer, but it’s been scoffed about in many conversations since I arrived here.

Seemingly jaded locals seem to simply shrug their shoulders with a resigned air of: ‘Whatcha gonna do?’ when these three little damaging words slip off the tongue. Bright-eyed newbies like myself are baffled as to how or why this rumour started in the first place?

All you have to do is look around at the huge lineups on every corner on any given night to see how much fun the average Vancouverite is having.

Yes, such iconic hangouts as the Waldorf Hotel and smaller theatres may be sadly closing their doors, but look beyond the neon signs downtown and you’ll find such gems as the Commodore Ballroom, the Vogue and Orpheum theatres, Celebrities and BC Place lit up and buzzing just a few blocks apart.

This month alone we’re spoilt for choice with Dine Out Vancouver, free ice-skating in Robson Square, the Chinese New Year parade, B.C.’s first Family Day, wine and food festivals. There’s even a Hot Chocolate Festival on Valentine’s Day … what more could you ask for.

I’ve been to party cities like London, Amsterdam, Ibiza and of course, whatever-happens-in-Vegas-please-stay-in-Vegas, but in my seasoned opinion Vancouver outshines them all.

Entertainment publications and websites such as XtraWest, Vancouver Is Awesome and Vancity Buzz, to name but a few, are in abundance with all the hard work of where to go and what to do done for you. You don’t even have to get off the couch to see what’s on (although that’s the underlying intention).

Heck, just last week Tourism Vancouver’s free Visit Vancouver app won international acclaim for shining light on the city, and TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is leaving sunny California for the first time in 30 years to come here in 2014 - and the world’s greatest thinkers can’t be wrong about us, right?

@rachheals

@24Hours

Canadian identity about more than accents | Column | Opinion | Vancouver 24 hrs

As a relative newcomer to Canada, the story “Immigrants seek to lose accents in tough job market” that appeared in this newspaper earlier this the week (Jan. 23) jumped out at me for obvious reasons.

Apparently, there are thousands of Vancouverites who speak fluent English, but who are trying to mask their ‘exotic’ inflections by going through accent reduction training.

Although that’s an extreme measure, the accent debate is one many of us will have struggled with at one time or another in a city as diverse as Vancouver.

In my case, since arriving here nearly four years ago, I’ve had similar concerns, and varying degrees of success, with attempting to adopt the Canadian accent to integrate, especially when it comes to ‘fitting in’ in the workplace.

There have been hilarious and embarrassing — in equal measure — breakdowns in communication when pronouncing certain words, phrases and even letters in the Canadian tongue.

Pronouncing the sounds of r, a, and h, for one, are three tiny points of consternation that cause a big issue on a daily basis with my broad-vowelled Irish accent. So when I spell my name phonetically: 'Or' instead of 'ar,' and 'hhhache' with a heavy 'h' instead of the polite, soft Canadian version ... it’s as if I'm speaking another language.

So, it’s easy to see why those who speak one of the plethora of languages in Metro Vancouver as their mother tongue might want to change their way of being in order to get by.

Several friends from all over the world, in fact, have said they dropped their accents altogether to avoid confusion, particularly over the phone, or they ‘play it down’ in jobs interviews, with colleagues, etc., in order to be accepted.

It’s a case of becoming more Canadian than Canadians themselves.

What concerns most of us in this linguistic conundrum, therefore, is the fear of losing our cultural identity. Most immigrants, at one time or other, will have been met with the question, often in incredulous tones; “How long have you been here? Why haven’t you lost your accent?” As if there’s a deadline on getting it just right.

So what's right in a metropolis as wonderfully diverse as Vancouver? The symphony of accents on our streets and in our workplaces, for one, is what makes this city so unique, vibrant and draws immigrants here in droves.

Personally, I find nothing more refreshing than having someone say; “I love your accent, where’s it from?” and striking up a conversation, or making new connections, based on these inherent differences.

And in a city that’s often known as being anti-social, that’s really saying something.

@rachheals

Column | Opinion | Vancouver 24 hrs