Enjoy the taste of the Mediterranean right here in Lynn Valley!
Enjoy the taste of the Mediterranean right here in Lynn Valley!
It may be Halloween outside, but for Lynn Valley Community Association organizers, Christmas is just a hop, skip and jump away.
An enthusiastic working group is behind “A Lynn Valley Christmas,” a greatly expanded version of last year’s Christmas Tree Walk in Lynn Valley Village.
Sixty trees – twice last year’s number – will be adopted and decorated by local organizations and businesses, and festive entertainment will be provided from Dec. 12 to 23.
If you know of musical groups, children’s entertainers, or other performers who would like to be part of the fun, please contact Dave Bruynesteryn at 604-315-3283 or [email protected] as soon as possible – a schedule is being compiled right now.
There are just a few trees left, too, so if you’d like to sponsor one, please give Dave a call before it’s too late. Fifty dollars of the $200 sponsorship fee goes towards the Lions Christmas Hamper program.
We’ve all seen posters for Lynn Valley’s Kids’ Toy & Clothing Sale, but did you know that the event is of benefit to everyone in the community, not just families with young children? Read on as organizer Tim Green gives us a behind-the-scenes explanation of this semi-annual event! UPDATE: The 2013 fall sale is on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 2:30-4:30, and Sunday, Nov. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m.
The Kids’ Toy & Clothing Sale has been going on since sometime in the 1990s. It was originally started by the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, and the Lynn Valley Community Association (LVCA) took it over about eight years ago.
Currently we run the sales out of the Lynn Valley Recreation Centre (Cardinal Hall) twice a year in May and November. Well, I guess you could say that it is four times a year – there is a Saturday event and a Sunday event in May, and a Saturday event and a Sunday event in November.
It is all possible due to the generosity of the North Vancouver Recreation Commission. We have use of the Cardinal Hall facility at no charge to the LVCA, and the Recreation Commission takes care of the table bookings through their phone registration system. They collect the table fees for us, too.
We are able to fit 20 tables onto the gymnasium floor at Cardinal Hall. (If we had a larger building, we would have no problem selling more tables!)
We never have any problems selling the 40 tables for a weekend – the 20 tables for the Saturday and the 20 tables for the Sunday are always sold out well in advance, and there is always a long waiting list. (A table costs $27 plus tax.) So we have 20 people selling their goods (gently used kids’ toys and clothing) on a Saturday in May or November, and then another 20 sellers on the following day (the Sunday). There are different sellers each day.
The sale runs for two hours each day. The sellers are given an hour or two before the start of the sales to get set up.
When we open the doors to the buying public there is always a long line-up of people waiting to get in right away to find the best items for sale! People are charged a very small fee at the door; we charge $2 per person (or $2 per family). This is how the LVCA raises money so that it can operate its other functions and activities throughout the year.
On any given weekend there are between 300 and 500 people (or families) coming through to buy the used toys and clothing.
Here are some tips for sellers:
And some for buyers:
Typically we see plenty of children’s clothing for sale, and a fair selection of younger kids’ toys, too. Usually there is a lack of toys and games for older kids for sale, so vendors should perhaps consider that market when deciding to buy a table.
At the end of the day, we accept donations of any unsold clothing which we then arrange to have picked up by Big Brothers.
Hope to see you there this year!
It was slipped into our email inbox like any other press release from the North Van RCMP, but this one – we think – is rather special.
Twenty-two of our local RCMP officers, employees, and volunteers were recently awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for significant contributions to their community. Here at LynnValleyLife HQ, we were especially tickled to see the familiar face of Cpl. Richard De Jong in the back row (that’s him, third from the right – click if you want a larger image!)
Cpl. De Jong is the press officer who is always happy to answer our editor’s questions about things going on in our neighbourhood, whether it is police incidents people are wondering about or the ins and outs of helicopter searches at night. We’d like to give him a medal of our own, for all his prompt and patient replies!
So thanks again, Cpl. De Jong, and congratulations to all the RCMP members for their recently awarded honours and their work to make North Vancouver a good home to us all.
Our editorializing complete, the official press announcement reads as follows…
On October 18, 2012, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Craig Callens, Commanding Officer of E Division BC RCMP, presented the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal to North Vancouver Detachment recipients. The Red Serge ceremony was held at RCMP Headquarters in Vancouver.
A new commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne as Queen of Canada. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, it serves to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians.
C.O. Deputy Commissioner Callens spoke of the selfless dedication and professionalism exemplified by all of the recipients in serving their communities. RCMP officers, civilian employees and volunteers were honoured. A total of 22 medals were awarded to various staff of the North Vancouver Detachment.
Lynn Valley litter will be targeted once again after last year’s successful Neighbourhood Clean-Up around Argyle School.
The theme of the Nov. 3 grassroots gathering is “Our Community, Our Responsibility,” and it encourages families to get out with their children to put garbage in its place.
“When friends and neighbours get together and pick up litter it not only makes the streets cleaner, it demonstrates our commitment and responsibility to the environment,” says organizer Jody Labriola. Gloves, garbage bags and hand sanitizer will be provided, and there will be special rewards for the kids who come out to help.
Participants are invited to meet up at the Les Wilson Memorial Field (Argyle School’s gravel field) on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m.; from there, teams will be dispatched to surrounding streets and green spaces. The event finishes up at 3 p.m.
All details are on this downloadable poster. Hope to see you there!
Lynn Valley Optometry is celebrating its 20th anniversary! And as part of the celebration, the shop is holding a Facebook sweepstakes with some prizes you won’t want to miss.
Available to be won are an iPad and ten Lynn Valley Optometry gift cards. Five of those gift cards are worth $100 and five are worth $50; they can be used towards glasses, contacts, sunglasses and other products sold at Lynn Valley Optometry.
To enter click here, or head to their facebook page and click ‘enter contest’ under the cover image.
Lynn Valley Optometry opened its doors in 1992 on the northwest side of the 1200 block of Lynn Valley Road. At this time Lynn Valley Optometry had three employees in what could definitely be called a ‘cozy’ office. In 2007, the office moved across the street into Lynn Valley Village. Currently, the office has 14 staff members, including two doctors and two vision therapists, and was voted favourite optical store by North Shore News readers for the past two years. During that time it were also voted best optical store by the North Shore Outlook readers.
Lynn Valley Optometry is very excited to be able to share its 20th anniversary celebrations with the community.
For more information about Lynn Valley Optometry, check out its website.
Many of you by now will have heard about the plight of Chelsea Steyns, a North Vancouver mother who grew up in Lynn Valley and has in the last few years borne not one, but two sets of twins.
Having two twin births isn’t the only amazing thing Argyle Secondary grad Chelsea has done – she is also well known as a highly accomplished dancer and, since 2008, the greatly respected creative director of the North Shore Academy of Dance.
But tragedy entered Chelsea’s life just three months after giving birth to her youngest children, Cash and Maxine, early this year. At that point doctors discovered she was suffering from an extremely rare, inoperable brain cancer.
Since then, the North Van dance community, along with Chelsea’s other friends and family, have rallied in force to raise the money needed to fund costly treatment in Texas. The therapy she is undertaking has shown great promise in its ability to battle her particular type of cancer, but as it is still in the trial stages, it is not insured.
The next big fundraising effort will be an incredible, star-studded evening of dance and delicacies at the Kay Meek Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Kay Meek Centre. Along with performances from about ten professional dance companies and individuals, audience members will enjoy valet parking and complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres during a silent auction reception. Tickets are $100; details and more information about Chelsea and the evening’s performers can be found at the Live Love Dance 2012 website.
No, it is NOT too early to start thinking about Christmas – not if you’ve got some tree-trimming talent or carol-singing skills!
Last year’s launch of a Christmas Tree Walk in Lynn Valley Village was so successful, it is returning this year in even more festive form, with sixty trees up for adoption and 12 days of pre-Christmas entertainment on the menu.
There are a number of trees still up for adoption, so if your business or organization would like to take part in the fun, call Dave at the number below soon – over 65 per cent of them have already been spoken for!
And if you’re a part of a group that would like to perform sometime during the Dec. 12 to 23 period, Lynn Valley Village events coordinator Stephanie Perrins would love to hear from you. Interested musicians and performers can email [email protected] for more information.
Help spread the word so that everyone can pull together to make Lynn Valley a Winter Wonderland this Christmas. Here’s a downloadable version of the poster below, so print and post!
Listen up, Lynn Valley! CBC Radio will be broadcasting live from Argyle tomorrow (Wednesday) from noon to 1 p.m. Tune in to AM 690 to hear the Almanac show’s forum on the topic “What don’t adults get about bullying?” Gloria Macarenko from CBC TV will also be there so you’ll potentially see excerpts later on the 6pm news.
People have plenty of questions about the tragic incidents of bullying that hit the headlines. Chief among them is usually “How could anyone be so cruel?” Perhaps this local forum will help adults understand the psychology of bullying from a teen’s perspective.
FM listeners can turn to 88.1 on their dial. For full details, visit CBC Almanac.
Three hundred fans came out on Saturday afternoon to support the Argyle Pipers Senior Football team at their first home game in 31 years. All this Piper pride paid off as the boys in green racked up their first victory in the season, with a score of 36-0 against Eric Hamber Secondary of Vancouver.Here is a post-game wrap-up from co-coach Dave Heskin. Thanks to parent Doug Yip for the photos!
Personally my favourite part of the game was meeting Dave Backie, Argyle’s coach from 1981, who was so happy to be a part of our event. [Ed. note: The Backies are long-time Hoskins Road residents.]
It was also really exciting to see our Grade 12 running back [Stuart Bourne] score our first points of the season in the AA football ranks.
The success of this event was a testament to the hard work by our parent volunteers, staff supporters (teachers and administrators), coaches and especially the players, who really deserved this win. We have been challenging them to get better as players and as a team each week, and the hard work paid off.
The timing is great as the team now heads into the final third of the season, with two big games against cross-town rivals Windsor and Carson Graham (on the next two consecutive Fridays at their fields). Then they round out the season vs. the #1 provincially ranked John Barsby of Nanaimo on their home field.
Thanks again, Lynn Valley, for all your support!
– Coach Dave Heskin