Attend the Conference May 28th

Date: Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
Time: 9am – 5pm
Location: The Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews (corner of Pacific and Davie)

Register online with Eventbrite >

Regular Tickets range from $95 to $210 for the all day conference.
If you’re underemployed or would like to volunteer, there’s special ticketing information found under their Blitz Promo.

See scheduled program >

At XYBOOM, you will:

• Have the opportunity to share openly and frankly about what you want and expect from other generations in the workplace
• Share what you can offer as an individual and as a member of your generation at the workplace
• Debunk some of the negative stereotypes about your generation by offering your insights and experiences
• Receive strategies to take back to your workplace so that you can help create and add to a more collaborative environment
• Receive insights to take back to your workplace to make sure all the knowledge and expertise you experienced at the conference is shared, passed on, and utilized to its full potential

Maybe you’re…

A Baby Boomer who needs some extra inspiration on how to make sure that when you retire from your current position – whether its next year or in 5 – all the wisdom and knowledge you have will be passed to the right people in your company so that they can continue your work

OR a Recruiter or Manager in the HR industry, working in a sector that just can’t find people to fill certain gaps in your workforce, or retain longer than a year.

Perhaps you’re a Gen X who is tired of being stuck in the middle, and invisible – you have tons of insights and experience you want to share and provide leadership with.

Or maybe you’re a Gen Y who wants to learn some pro-active strategies on how to work and collaborate better with Gen X and boomers – because it just isn’t gelling 100% at your workplace.

Actually, maybe you’ve worked at a few places and have created a wish list in your mind of what an ideal workplace looks like – we want to know what that is!

Whatever your entry point in this exciting, broad, and sometimes frustrating but universal topic of intergenerational collaboration in the workplace, we want you to show up and share your insights. Take a look at our Panel Sessions and Live Case Studies for more information on the topics we’re covering. We can guarantee you’ll have at least one conversation with someone that you need to meet!

See the blog countdown on the Top 30 Reasons to Attend the XYBOOM Conference at XYBOOM.com, and don’t forget to say hi to the other Yumi and the team at XYBOOM.

Keep updated with XYBOOM

• Website: XYBOOM.com
• Facebook: @XYBOOM
• Twitter: @XYBOOMdotCOM

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Cycle to Work: Good for your health, the city and your wallet!

Bike to Work Week: Friendly competition aimed at encouraging Metro Vancouverites to extend the fun they have bicycling on weekends to their daily commute!

As commuters continue to eye the rising price at the pump, the regional non-profit, HUB: Your Cycling Connection is motivating people across Metro Vancouver to ditch their cars and ride their bikes during this year’s HUB Bike to Work Week, May 27-June 2.

For each commute that week, new and experienced cyclists will be greeted by over 50 commuter stations set up along some of Metro Vancouver’s busiest bike routes, where snacks, maps, information, and free bike repairs will be offered.

Participants can also sign up and register online for the chance to win great prizes at www.btww.ca.

HUB’s Executive Director, Erin O’Melinn says the fun and friendly competition proves the daily commute can be enjoyable, good for your health, good for the city, and good for your pocketbook. A bike takes about $350/year to maintain while a car takes on average $8,000/year to maintain[1]. That extra $7,650 can go a long way in one of the world’s least affordable regions.

“The daily commute is part of life for thousands of people, everyday. We want to show others that it’s easier than ever to ride to work. Leaving the car at home doesn’t just make sense financially, but the health benefits and connection to the community are there too.”

Since the first HUB Bike to Work Week kicked off in 2007, there has been an incredible 200 percent increase in the number of people choosing their bike as a transportation option. With new bike lanes in place around Metro Vancouver and a growing desire by many to improve their quality of life, the ‘two-wheeled’ commute is more popular than ever.

HUB is excited to promote the interactive component to Bike to Work Week. Online, participants can map their routes, see calories burned, and track reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for free.

Last year, participants saved over 72 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by cycling rather than driving and this year they hope to beat that number by 15 per cent.

Over 1,000 people tried a bike commute for the first time in 2012’s event. Surveys show many of the new riders who start cycling during Bike to Work Week will keep riding when the week is over.

To view the commuter station schedule and to register, please visit www.btww.ca.

The post Vancouver Bike to Work Week – May 27 – June 2, 2013 appeared first on Hello Vancity.

The City of Vancouver is stepping up its support for Vancouver’s booming social enterprise sector, providing grant funding totaling $380,000 over two years to two organizations to support the growth of the social enterprise sector and the capacity of businesses to hire and support people with barriers to employment.

Social enterprises are businesses operated by non-profits, with the dual purpose of generating income and achieving positive social/environmental outcomes.

“Vancouver is emerging as a leader in social innovation, with more than 60 social enterprises in our city – the most in Canada,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “The organizations we’re investing in create jobs, tackle some of our toughest social and environmental challenges and address Council’s priorities. This is a sector we want to see grow and thrive in Vancouver.”

The City’s investment, approved today by City Council, will leverage an additional $950,000 from the private and non-profit sectors, including Vancity Community Foundation, Vancity Credit Union, and Potluck Café Society through their long time corporate supporters, Bell Canada (as part of its Let’s Talk initiative) and Price Waterhouse Coopers, along with a grant from Enterprising Non-Profits, and sponsorship from the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association.

The City will contribute $300,000 to the Social Enterprise Portfolio Program administered by the Vancity Community Foundation (VCF). The program provides social enterprises with early stage capital, coupled with experienced mentorship to launch and grow their ventures. With the City of Vancouver funding, the SEPP is expected to create three new social enterprises and support 15 others that have increased capacity and stability within their ranks. The program will create 90 new jobs and assist in retaining 110 positions.

“We’ve worked diligently over the last 15 years to support a broad range of social enterprises as tools for addressing some of our most pressing challenges, and we are excited to see its exponential growth,” said  Derek Gent, Executive Director, VCF. “This contribution affirms our partnership while also providing essential resources to scale successful enterprises.”

Examples of social enterprises funded by SEPP include Embers Green Renovations, which was contracted by the City to renovate four unused spaces into emergency winter shelters last year, and Mission Possible Enterprises, a property maintenance business offering a range of services to residential and commercial property owners and managers. Both find long term employment for approximately 50 per cent of people who enter their programs.

The Potluck Café Society will receive $80,000 from the City. The funding will go to the Potluck’s Recipes for Success program which provides businesses, including social enterprises, with practical proactive strategies to assist their workers facing barriers in improving their stability in life, and in turn their ability to maintain employment over the long term.

“Many businesses are willing to hire people facing barriers and their managers and staff need guidance to better support these employees to help them successfully keep their jobs over the long term, and that’s where we come in,” said Heather O’Hara, Potluck Executive Director. “Without providing accommodations and wrap-around support in the workplace, attrition rates for employees can run as high as 80 per cent, and we have practical strategies to address this challenge”.

Recipes for Success will help nearly 300 businesses, including social enterprises, learn about and gain capacity and understanding of best practices in supporting people facing barriers in their workplaces. At any given time it will provide ongoing mentorship to 10 to 15 social enterprises and businesses to better support their workers.

The $380,000 investment comes from the City of Vancouver’s Innovation Fund, which was created in 2012 to leverage additional monies from external funding sources to advance City policy, while building on the face value of the City’s investment.

Photo: Potluck Café

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This summer, the Chinatown Night Market is bringing a heady mix of time-honoured tradition and new school flavour to the festivities on Keefer Street.

Live music, storytelling, and Mahjong; new vendors, more food, and some other stuff that wasn’t here last year like outdoor classic movie screenings and epic ping pong tournaments. Imported wares, both fanciful and functional, are still standard fare, as are such legendary snacks as the Potato Tornado. But by the magic of the moon (and the odd overhead flood light)–lo and behold!–something new might strike your fancy, something made fresh in Vancouver llike delicious Hainanese chicken, homemade pie and unique, hand-crafted treasures.

Best of all, it’s about spending those long, warm summer nights with your friends and family, shopping, eating, playing and getting nostalgic for the Chinatown of yore while creating new memories in a pretty special place.

Every weekend from May 17th to September 8th from 6pm – 11pm.

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Summer Schedule 2013

June 1st – Tiger Ping Pong presents The Chinatown Ping Pong Club
June 7th – Okinawa Drummers / Seymour Taiko / The Hastings Street Band
June 8th – Rain City Chronicles
June 14th – Tiger Ping Pong presents The Chinatown Ping Pong Club
June 15th – TBA
June 21st – Chinatown Mahjong Social
June 22nd – Chinatown Outdoor Cinema presents Iron Monkey
June 28th – The Kingsgate Chorus
June 29th – Weekend Leisure Karaoke
July 5th – Night Visions: Projection Photo Show
July 6th – Hip Hop Karaoke
July 12th – Tiger Ping Pong presents Chinatown Ping Pong Club
July 13th – Chinatown Outdoor Cinema
July 19th – Project Limelight Variety Show
July 20th – Sonic Boom! Chinatown Street Fighter II Tournament
July 26th – Chinatown Mahjong Social
July 27th – Girls Rock Camp / Green Burrito Records Presents The Courtneys & The Shilohs
Aug. 2nd – TBA
Aug. 3rd – TBA
Aug. 9th – St James Music Academy & City Opera Vancouver
Aug. 10th – Weekend Leisure Karaoke
Aug. 16th – Dumpling Weekend – Dumpling Cook Off
Aug. 17th – Dumpling Weekend – Demonstration / Eating & Making Contest
Aug. 23rd – TBA
Aug. 24th – TBA
Aug. 30th – TBA
Aug. 31st – Green Burrito Records Presents The High Drops & Gal Gracen
Sept. 6th – TBA
Sept. 7th – AM1320 Closing Ceremony

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market
May 17 to September 8, 2013
Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday
6:00pm to 11:00pm
Keefer Street (Between Main & Columbia)

Photo: Vancouverchinatownnightmarket.com

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This May long weekend tradition features a unique blend of rodeo action, free-with-admission entertainment, fierce competition and plenty of fun for the whole family.

The world’s top ranked cowboys and cowgirls are ready to compete for $328,000 in cash prizes in four main events: Saddle Bronc, Bull Riding, Bareback and Ladies Barrel Racing. Additional competitions include Mutton Bustin, the Cloverdale Cowboy Cook Off BBQ Competition and World Freestyle Round-Up Skateboarding Championships.

At the Country Fair, families will love experiencing the Kidz Zone, and visitors of all ages will enjoy BC’s largest travelling midway, the Classic Car Show, ongoing performances on the Mainroad Outdoor Stage and much more.

And to keep the party going well after sundown, the World Famous Longhorn Saloon will provide nightly entertainment with performances by The Ken McCoy Band and Dr. Strangelove. If you love line dancing, country music and an old-fashioned good time, then this is one party that can’t be missed!

2013 Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair

Dates: May 17-20, 2013
Hours: Friday 4pm – Midnight (no entry after 10pm)
Saturday 10am – 1am (no entry after 10pm)
Sunday 10am – 12am (no entry after 10pm)
Monday 10am – 6pm (no entry after 5pm)
Location: Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, BC
Tickets: Grounds Admission $12*
Rodeo Performances $20
Kids 12 & under FREE Rodeo and Ground Admission
(Must be accompanied by an adult)

*Save $2 on Grounds Admission at select London Drugs and Big O Tires stores
*Save $2 on a combination of Rodeo and Country Fair tickets online
*Save $11 on Midway ride wristbands at select Mac’s and IGA stores

The post Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair Opens May Long Weekend – May 17 – 20, 2013 appeared first on Hello Vancity.

Two projects approved by Mayor and Council at last night’s Public Hearing will deliver significant new social housing and affordable rental housing units.

A five-storey mixed-use building at 3302-3036 W Broadway will offer 83 units of affordable rental housing as part of the City of Vancouver’s Rental 100 program, which aims to enable new rental housing construction in Vancouver. In addition, a new 15 storey building in Downtown South (1107 Seymour) will offer 81 units of social housing and four floors of social service space for Positive Living BC and AIDS Vancouver.

“Vancouver has a pressing need for more supportive housing and more affordable rental housing, especially for seniors, students, and young families,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “These projects build upon the City’s consistent work to support Vancouver renters, provide urgently needed housing for our most vulnerable residents, and make Vancouver more affordable for residents of all backgrounds.”

The 83 new rental units follow a record year in 2012 for new Vancouver rental housing, and City Council’s unanimous decision earlier yesterday to move forward with 355 new units of affordable rental and co-op housing on four City-owned sites. The project’s target rent of $1,325 for a one bedroom is considerably cheaper than average rents for similar new apartments in Vancouver ($1,517).

The project on West Broadway aligns with the recommendation of the Mayor’s Housing Affordability Task Force to enable projects with 100% rental housing in neighbourhoods well-served by transit.

50% of the units in the 15-storey Downtown South development will be targeted to those on social assistance, with the other half of units serving the low-end of the market with rents geared to income levels and based on need.

Photo: kennymatic

The post Vancouver City Council approves new social housing in Downtown South & new affordable rental units in Kitsilano appeared first on Hello Vancity.

Levi’s® Made and Crafted’s™ Design Director, Miles Johnson, introduces the Spring Summer 2013 collection and talks about the Brand’s obsession with materials, fabrics, construction, details, fit and this seasons inspiration.

The post Levi’s Made & Crafted Spring Summer 2013 Collection with Miles Johnson appeared first on Hello Vancity.

As we approach Bike to Work Week, happening May 27 to June 2 around Metro Vancouver, we’d like to profile corporate champions who are leading the way in supporting a bike-friendly work environment.

ING Direct has been working hard to provide a bike-friendly workplace culture, and has been awarded “Most Bike Friendly Workplace”. I touched base with Paul Sluimers from their Vancouver Cafe to find out more about why they are working hard to help employees and clients commute via bicycle.

Jessica McIlory: What made ING Direct decide to take on an internal bike program and support employees and customers to cycle?

Paul Sluimers: We’ve had bikes in our office since the Vancouver location opened in 1998 and it’s always been a part of what we do, but we really stepped up our bike initiatives a few years ago. To become bike-friendly is a no-brainer, really: it’s sustainable, it makes your business more accessible, it’s great for employee engagement, in most cases the quickest way to commute in Vancouver, you don’t have to worry about parking, it’s healthy to cycle and be outside and simply put; it’s fun.

JM: Please describe what efforts ING Direct does to encourage cycling.

PS:

• Provide bikes to our employees who want to bike to work
• Pay for bike maintenance/ tune-ups, 100%.
• Provide gym memberships to our employees who bike to work so they can make use of the shower facilities
• Lend out our bikes to business partners (occasionally)
• Bike to meetings when we can (often)
• Have communal bikes for business as well as leisurely purposes for our employees
• Are a part of Bike to Work Week and commuter challenges
• Provide HUB with a place where they can hold Streetwise cycling courses teaching bike safety.
• Allow Clients/people to come in our ING DIRECT Café with their bikes
• Have maps for cycling routes available
• Use social media to support bike-friendly initiatives
• Had a bike rack placed in front of our office
• Are overall bike advocates

JM: Is there anything special you do during or for Bike to Work Week?

PS: Yes. Throughout the week our Café will be a commuter station. People who come in with their bikes and become Clients, will receive a $25 gift certificate for a local bike shop on top of our $25 bonus. Existing Clients who bring in their bike will receive the $25 gift certificate when they open a new product with additional funds. Also, on Friday, we will be a part of the commuter station with HUB at Dunsmuir and Richards from 6.30 am – 9:00 am with food, drinks and a bike mechanic onsite.

JM: How do you feel ING Direct benefits from being a “bike-friendly workplace”?

PS: The feedback online and offline has been tremendous. Everybody loves the idea of bringing their bike into the Café and often tell us they wish their employer would provide bikes if they want to bike to work! Our location is very bike accessible, one block away from Dunsmuir and Hornby which is great for business. Biking is a part of our view on sustainability, but it’s more than reducing our environmental impact. We believe biking is good for business, ours and others and for the city itself.

JM: Any quotes from staff on why they bike to work?

Adrian Susi: It’s great to have an employer that supports employees who want to cycle! In all honesty, I’m a fair weather rider, but it’s great to get free tune ups and it definitely encourages me to cycle.

From May 27th to June 2nd don’t forget to get your butt on a bike and check out all the Bike to Work Week activities happening around town.  Stop by the IND Direct Cafe and other Celebration Stations, and encourage your colleagues to make your workplace more bike-friendly.

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This June, the Vancouver International Song Institute (VISI) presents its anticipated SONGFIRE Festival, a month-long celebration of the wondrous pairing of poetry and song, highlighting the rich and intimate connection shared between storytellers throughout history. The annual festival unites local and international artists and scholars through a series of inspiring concerts, workshops, and masterclasses held at UBC and various Vancouver venues from May 30-June 26, 2013.

“Song brings people together across boundaries of time, place, language, and culture. Singing the world’s great poetry with intense music helps us sense deep commonalities while discovering our unique ways of experiencing our world,” says Rena Sharon, Artistic Director of VISI. “Our annual SONGFIRE Festival brings together Art Song performers, scholars, and enthusiasts from all over the world to unite in a grand celebration of this powerful and timeless art form.”

SONGFIRE festival goers will be treated to a diverse array of stirring concerts, interactive workshops, and inspiring masterclasses featuring internationally acclaimed classical vocalists, pianists, composers, scholars, poets, and actors, including renowned American opera composer Jake Heggie, Vancouver’s own celebrated artists Lloyd Burritt, Marilyn Lerch, and Joy Coghill, and very special guest performer and lecturer, Britain’s revered pianist, Graham Johnson, OBE (Officer of the British Empire).

One of the world’s leading vocal pianists, Johnson is the founder of the Songmakers’ Almanac and has collaborated with such distinguished vocalists as Sir Thomas Allen, Matthias Goerne, Angelika Kirchschlager, Lucia Popp, Peter Schreier, and Sarah Walker, among many others. A multi-award winner, Johnson was created Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government in 2002, was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2010, and in 2013 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Durham University.

“Graham Johnson has been a treasured guest of the SONGFIRE Festival in the past. He is a remarkable performer and he’s also one of the world’s top experts on Art Song as a gateway to history,” notes Sharon. “We’re particularly thrilled to have him with us for our festival’s centennial celebration of legendary composer Benjamin Britten. No one understands his music better, and he brings the songs alive in ways that are unforgettable.”

Author of The Vocal Music of Benjamin Britten, Johnson was mentored by the composer as a young musician. He will share his deep recollection and passion for that era as VISI commemorates the renowned British composer, conductor, and pianist through a special concert, Let the Florid Music Praise!, on June 15. Johnson will also host a series of fascinating Britten masterclasses from June 10-14 at UBC, to which all are welcome.

In addition to VISI’s concert series celebrating Britten (Britten’s Centennial), the SONGFIRE Festival presents two additional thematic concert series hosted at various venues throughout its month of festivities, including an intimate look at North American tales from our times in Living Song, coupled with an immersive celebration of French Art Song in La Musique Poétique, including a tribute concert to the great Francis Poulenc.

Concert series highlights include:

Living Song (June 4-10)

A carefully crafted selection of interactive workshops, concerts, and presentations highlighting the innovative music of our times, including:

• SongSparks! (June 4-6) – Three workshops at the Art Song Lab that engage audience members to provide critical feedback to actively create and transform 12 new songs as they’re performed for the first time.
• An Evening with Jake Heggie (June 6) – A personal discussion of the composer’s contemporary work, At the Statue of Venus.
• Playing with Fire (June 7) – Eighteen international and B.C. artists will present a series of world premiere performances following a week of rehearsals and workshops in the Art Song Lab.
• Living Song (June 8) – A performance of At the Statue of Venus, followed by the world premiere of Quintessence by Lloyd Burritt and Marilyn Lerch, among other works.
• Antiphons (June 9) – Vocal groups Stellaria and EnChor join VISI artists in a celebration of new works and favourites from the Middle Ages and Renaissance vocal cannon, covering nearly a millennium of song

Britten’s Centennial (June 10-24)

A celebration of British composer Benjamin Britten’s 100th birthday through a series of concerts featuring his folk arrangements, cabaret songs, lullabies, and more:

• Britten Masterclasses (June 10-14) – With pianist and special guest Graham Johnson.
• Folk Songs and Romances (June 13) – A selection of folk songs, performed by distinguished Canadian musicians mezzo soprano Susan Platts, baritone Phillip Addis and pianists Erika Switzer and Emily Hamper.
• Let the Florid Music Praise! (June 15) – A much anticipated return of awardwinning pianist Graham Johnson, presenting Goethe’s Mignon and Britten’s On this Island, in tandem with soprano Martha Guth.
• From the Cradle to the Cabaret (June 24) – A collection of performances that span from lullabies to cabaret and from Russia to Spain, in addition to a world premiere work from composer Michael Park and poet Ray Hsu.

La Musique Poétique (June 18, 19 & 21)

Three unique concerts that honour the wonderful poetic-musical fusions of French and French Canadian artists, culminating in a tribute to the great Francis Poulenc, including:

• Occitania (June 18) – In collaboration with Music on Main, an intimate study of a Romance language native to southern France, Italy’s Occitan Valleys, Monaco and Catalonia’s Val d’Aran. Musical selections featuring acclaimed masterpieces by Rudel, Canteloube and Saariaho.
• From Québec with Love! (June 19) – A celebratory performance that spans 150 years of Québec mélodies, from the author of Canada’s national anthem, Calixa Lavallée, to Lionel Daunais.
• For Poulenc (June 21) – A special soiree to commemorate the brilliantly amusing and complex French composer Francis Poulenc. Sip wine, nibble canapés, and revel in great French poetry and song.

SONGFIRE is also proud to present a series of thrilling concerts by our group of top young singers and pianists from B.C. and around the world. Hear tomorrow’s stars, including:

“Once, Babylon” (June 22) is a world premiere work of Art Song Theatre, the groundbreaking song-theatre realm developed by VISI’s Artistic Director Rena Sharon, in collaboration with VISI faculty artists. The 90-minute work is an investigation of the heart of resilience in the human spirit, in a narrative drama fusing script with great songs.

SONGFIRE Festival 2013 tickets are on sale now at www.brownpapertickets.com and www.ticketmaster.ca. Full festival event details can be found at www.songfire.ca.

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This Friday, May 17^th Oakridge Centre is celebrating the One Year Anniversary of BC’s first LEGO® store. Shoppers are invited to join LEGO® Master Builder Dan Steininger and lend a hand in constructing a larger than life 8-foot tall Yoda^™ model, made entirely out of LEGO® bricks.

Plus, enjoy exclusive giveaways and in-store offers all weekend long.

Event: LEGO® Store One Year Anniversary Celebration

Dates & Times:  
Friday, May 17^th:  11am – 7pm
Saturday, May 18^th:  10am – 6pm
Sunday, May 19^th:  11am – 6pm

Location: 
LEGO® Store – Oakridge Centre (West Galleria)
650 West 41^st Street, Vancouver, BC

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