TOP TEN HAUNTED PLACES IN VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

British Columbia's Parliament Buildings
©SueFrausePhoto

Just in time for the spooky season (aka Halloween), Tourism Victoria has put together a TOP TEN HAUNTED PLACES IN VICTORIA list. I've been to eight of them; here are a few photos from my travels. For the complete list and descriptions, click on here. 

Craigdarroch Castle
©SueFrausePhoto

Rogers Chocolates
©SueFrausePhoto

Fairmont Empress
©SueFrausePhoto

Gate of Harmonious Interest, Chinatown
©SueFrausePhoto

And if you're ready to do a cool walking tour this Halloween season, John Adams' Discover the Past Walking Tours "weaves together Victoria’s ghosts and the stories behind them, bringing the dark history of our city to life." 
Book online at https://discoverthepast.com/.

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria: Gallery Associates' 65th annual House Tour

One of the six homes on the 2018 House Tour. 

Now in its 65th year, the Gallery Associates House Tour in Victoria, BC is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, from 10AM - 4PM. Hosted by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) and the Gallery Associates, the six featured homes are diverse in their architecture and interior design and located in unique locations throughout Greater Victoria -- from Oak Bay to Saanich to West Saanich and North Saanich.

In addition to touring the residences, which all feature impressive art collections, visitors will be able to chat with local artists working at each location. This year's artists in action include:

Andy Wooldridge, painter

Ken Faulks, plein air artist/illustrator

Monica Reekle, photojournalist

Katherine Farris, painter

Irene Khurana, painter

Sherry Tompalski, painter 

Tickets for the self-guided tour are $35 and on sale at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1040 Moss Street or online at aggv.ca/house-tour. They are also available at GardenEorks in Oak Bay, Saanich and Colwood; Dig This in Sidney; Munro's Books, Victoria; and Ivy's Bookshop in Oak Bay. Funds raised support programs and operational expenses of the AGGV.

For more things to do in Victoria, visit Tourism Victoria's website. 

Interior Design Show West in Vancouver: Western Canada's Premiere Residential Design Show

Exhibition area of the 2012 show

The 2013 edition of the Interior Design Show West, which opens in Vancouver on September 19, is Western Canada's premiere residential design show, The four-day event at the Vancouver Convention Centre West runs through September 22 and features 300 exhibits of the latest home and lifestyle products and services. The show typically draws more than 30,000 design enthusiasts, architects and designers. This year's speakers include Brian Gluckstein, The Design Agency, Kelly Deck, Tommy Smythe, and Anna Abbruzzo and Alain Courchesne of Igloodgn.

The H&L Laneway Feature Home, built by Alair Homes, focuses on small-space living. The unique concept home by interior designer (and Pinterest celeb) Gaile Guevara and her team at Modern 604 "promises to upend preconceived notions of laneway living" (I'm not sure what laneway living is!). In addition to touring the H&L Laneway Feature Home, attendees may bid to own. A live auction will be held at the show on Saturday, September 21, with net proceeds going to the Alzheimer Society of B.C. in honor of World Alzheimer's Day. 

Speakers Anna Abbruzzo and Aain Courchesne will address the topic of Maximal Minimalism: The New Canadian Design Aesthetic on Sunday, September 22 at 3PM. The award winning interior design duo behind Igloodgn, established in 2005 in Montreal, has a growing international clientele and opened a second office in Shanghai in 2012. They bring a passion and fresh approach to design, focusing on building a detailed brand identity from inception to completion. 

What's Your Design Dilemma?

Design queries will be answered during free 10-minute consultations with Interior Designers of Canada Registered Interior Designers. Bring photos, samples or floor plans and discuss your design dilemma with a qualified professional.

Interior Design Show 
Vancouver Convention Centre West 
1055 Canada Place
September 19-22, 2013
778.331.7720

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's House Tour 2012 features six unique homes

I'm headed for Victoria via Black Ball Ferry's MV Coho this month, but unfortunately won't be there the weekend of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) House Tour 2012. What a fun way to tour some of Victoria's unique addresses, along with watching top local artists at work.

House Tour 2012 is Sunday, September 9 from 11-5. The six featured residences range from elegant and historical to eclectic and contemporary. They include two classics; an 1896 Samuel Maclure Swiss Chalet design; and a remodeled 1950s home that now takes advantage of views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The other two houses date from 2000, both featuring modern design, from a movable glass wall to a home designed to take advantage of the sun's positions.

Six of Victoria's finest artists will be creating art in each of the homes. They include Robert Amos, Dorset Norwich-Young, Linny D. Vine, Jeffrey J. Boron, Elka Nowicka and Iris Nardini. The homes will also feature flower arrangements created by the Victoria Flower Arrangers Guild.

The annual tour and fundraiser sells out quickly, so people are urged to purchase their tickets early for House Tour 2012. Tickets are $35 each, on sale at the AGGV at 1040 Moss Street; Peninsula Gallery in Sidney; and the three Garden Works locations. Each ticket purchase may be used for two-for-one admission to the AGGV at a later date.

Media Sponsor: Homes and Living Magazine

House Sponsors: HKL Design and Development, Jason Good Custom Cabinets, Maximillian Huxley Construction, Urbana Kitchens, Vicky Turner: Realtor

Calgary celebrates opening of Santiago Calatrava's Peace Bridge

Santiago Calatrava's Peace Bridge

Drawing courtesy Santiago Calatrava 

The last time I was in Alberta was July 2010, making my debut at the Calgary Stampede. At the time, I hadn't heard about the Peace Bridge that would be built across the Bow River. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the red twisting helix-shaped pedestrian bridge is scheduled to open on Saturday, March 24, 2012

Calatrava is a Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer known for his soaring, vertical icons. Highlights include the Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin, Athens Olympic Sports Complex and the Quarto Ponte sul Canal Grande in Venice.

The Peace Bridge is a low, single-span bridge designed to meet geometrical constraints. Due to a no-fly zone above the bridge (there's a heliport nearby), plus the high water and ice levels of the river below, there was a space of only seven meters to create the span. The Peace Bridge was also designed without any supporting piers in the riverbed, in order to minimize environmental impact. All of these parameters influenced Calatrava's decision to concoct a tubular steel truss bridge.

Calatrava took other elements into consideration when designing the bridge commissioned by the City of Calgary. They include harsh winters, bicyclists, joggers and walkers who would use the river's pathways and bridges during extreme weather. 

The result is a permeable, enclosed bridge that functions during winter as well as summer. As with any major public project, there has been no lack of controversy over the cost and delays of the bridge (Calgarians making peace with Peace Bridge as opening day nears). A celebration is planned for Saturday, March 24, that will include city officials, dignitaries and members of Bike Calgary. The general public is invited.

City of Calgary-Peace Bridge Celebration - 3/24/2012

The celebration begins at 2 PM at the open area at the south end of the bridge with music, food trucks, information displays and local celebrities. On stage with be a Blackfoot Nation elder blessing and poetry reading. The first crossing of the bridge will be led by members of the Scottish Tradition School of Piping, who will lead war veterans across the span, while the Green Fools stilt walkers will accompany the public. Entertainment begins at 2:15 PM with performances both both the stage and bridge. The live music includes: Robot Workers, The Original Rudes and Grim Reminder, Spencer Jo & the Mandrills, Nix Dicksons, Locomotive Ghost and the Calgary Chinese Cultural Society performers. 

Vancouver turns 125: What are your favorite 'Places that Matter'?

To celebrate Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary this year, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation is asking Vancouverites to nominate 125 sites that commemorate the people, places and events that helped shape the city.

The sites will be selected through a combination of nominations and a public vote. Nominations can be made online until March 15; after that, the public may vote for the sites through April 6, 2011. During the summer, the text will be written for the 125 plaques, which will be manufactured and installed in the fall. There will also be a website that will identify the location and text of each plaque.

Although I can't vote, The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is a place that matters to me. I've often called it my living room, as it's where I head to first when I visit the city.

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver reflected in glass
Photo by Sue Frause

Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal celebrates Christmas and light

While going through my iPhoto albums, I spent time re-visiting Montreal. What a beautiful, vibrant place to be. One of these Decembers, I'd love to spend Christmas in the largest city in Quebec.

Of course I'd go to the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal. Located in Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal), it was the site for Celine Dion's wedding to Rene Angelil on Dec. 17, 1994 and where Justin Trudeau gave his eulogy during his father Pierre Trudeau's state funeral on Oct. 3, 2000.

I've always loved cathedrals. The closest to me are the ones located in Seattle: St. James, St. Mark's and Saint Spiridon. Although they're not included in the top cathedrals of the world, they're still lovely.

But Montreal is so much more chic that Seattle when it comes to its sacred spaces and places. While St. James has a bookstore, and St. Mark's a cathedral shop, the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal has not one, but two boutiques! They sell Basilica souvenirs, religious articles and sacramental items such as rosaries, medals and books.

Notre-Dame also has a wonderful year-round show, And Then There Was Light.

Christmas at Notre-Dame Basilica is celebrated with three masses on Dec. 24: 7 PM (family mass), 9:30 PM and 12 o'clock midnight. Tickets are required ($5/$2) and went on sale in September. As of Dec. 1, there were some limited tickets available.

Christmas Day masses are at 9:30 AM, 11 AM and 5 PM. No tickets are required.

Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal
Photo by Sue Frause

Inuit prints on display at Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC

The Embassy of Canada in Washington, DC is located on one of the prime pieces of real estate in the nation's capital. Situated at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, it's adjacent to the Newseum and north of the National Gallery of Art.

Canada's embassy, designed by BC architect Arthur Erickson, opened in 1989. According to Wikipedia, "Canada is the first, and so far only nation, to build an embassy so close to the Capitol."

A gallery is open to the public. Currently on exhibit is Nipirasait: Many Voices. The collection of 36 Inuit prints celebrates the 50th anniversary of Kinngait Studios of Cape Dorset in Nunavut. It's being presented in partnership with St. Lawrence University, and showcases a portrait of Inuit life and culture in the Canadian Arctic.

The exhibition runs through Dec. 30, 2010. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 9-5.

Embassy of Canada in Washington, DC
Photo by Sue Frause

Toronto: Does it still have the world's highest glass elevator?

Photo by Sue Frause.

Several years ago I went up the CN Tower in Toronto and was pretty impressed by portions of the floor that were in glass. It was a bit eerie seeing all the way down to the ground.

Now the CN Tower has a glass floor elevator and they're trying to set a new world record as the world's highest glass floor elevator.

It lost its 32-year-old world record to the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for being the tallest freestanding structure on the planet.

If you to see where you've been, take a ride. If not, just read this story about it on CBCNEWS.CA.

Photo of the CN Tower in Toronto by Sue Frause

Window on Canada: Calgary Tower celebrates 40 years

The Calgary Tower turns 40 this year

Photo by Sue Frause

Postcard from British Columbia : Parliament Buildings

A view from the Royal BC Museum to the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. Photo by Sue Frause.