Now you may wonder why I’m getting nervous after all I’ve planned over 100+ events since starting Amuse Consulting in 2005 and 6 years of events I planned at all Vancouver Capers Community Market stores. Well the answer is simple, this is a huge milestone both for me personally and for my company and so I’ve really put it all out there.

I’ve lined up a fantastic array of suppliers doing their best work and some neat and nifty surprises that are sure to please and get people talking. It’s an event with a Marc/Amuse twist. To find out some of the special treats in store for you check out an earlier blog from last week.

Something I have not shared yet with  most folks is how truly thankful I am for the amazing support I have received from clients, friends, colleagues, and the fantastic social media world that I dipped my toes into last year. So here is my public thank you in the largest voice I can muster THANK YOU for an amazing 5 years. I really look forward to the next 5 years and beyond.

For those sitting on the fence yes there are a few tickets left. $20 gets you a great evening of fun, of course my thanks, and the knowledge that the money is going to charity. Two in fact Kids Up Front Vancouver & A Loving Spoonful. Buy your ticket here http://amuse5year.eventbrite.com/

So here’s to seeing you on Wednesday May 19th at the Harrison Galleries, at 6pm. I’ll be the one smiling from ear to ear.

I’m super stoked about the event and want to share with you some of the cool sponsors and services that will be on display for your enjoyment. Oh there are still a few tickets left so click on the poster and register yourself.

1. To start with I’m showcasing some cool neat technology courtesy of Mobiry. I’m not going give too much of that away as it’s kind of cool and I like the surprise factor.
2. For food well have we a treat for you. To start with we have the award winning House of Q serving up real southern BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Southern coleslaw! Then we have the unique and super tasty Michi Sushi serving up their innovative and easy to eat sushi rolls. To further delight your taste buds and to be honest a meal isn’t over till you’ve had dessert we have… Mozart Bakery & Cafe doing up Sweet Potato Pie & Lemon Tartlets. Yummy Yummy Yummy!
3. Now that we’ve taken care of your taste buds how about your other senses? Spinning some tunes that will have all our toes tapping will be DJ’s courtesy of Hot Wax Mobile Music.
4. For you sight we’ve even got that covered! Tattoos For Now will be creating a special piece of body art that will be on display plus they will be offering airbrush tattoos for all in attendance. Maybe you’ve been wanting one on a certain spot bust just didn’t know how it would look well now you’ve no excuse Ted Couling will also be on had as a crowd favourite to create some lasting memories with his caricatures.
5. Did you think I’d forgotten about what you are drinking? Not to worry this is going to blow you away. Irene will be sampling some beautifully aged rum and Lambic beers that I’m sure you’ll enjoy + the surprise guest is Michael Bartier the winemaker of Road 13 will be pouring wines all night and will be hosting a very special and exclusive mini event in our party at approx 7:30ish.
6. Think I’m done? nope but you’ll just have to be there to find out what else I have in store for you. Plus you have to be there to win 1of the 8 door prizes valued at over $3500!

So I really hope to see you on the 19th. It’ll be a great event and the crowd is looking fabulous. Don’t leave your ticket purchase till the end they are selling fast and I have put a cap on number of tickets available.

Thanks again to sponsors that have come on board at the last minute and didn’t make the poster designed by Isabelle and the team at Seven25 Design & Typography.

To celebrate our “birthday” we are throwing an exclusive event and you are invited. Please see below for more details and click on the poster to be taken to the registration page. Proceeds from the event are being donated to A Loving Spoonful and Kids Up Front. Both are new Amuse Clients.

Thanks to the fantastic sponsors I’ve got quite the line up of events happening + over $3500.00 in door prizes. Thanks to Road 13, House of Q, Michi Sushi, Mobiry, Seven25 Design & Typography & Mozart Bakery & Cafe

Only 125 tickets are available and they are selling fast so please make sure to get yours right away   Click on the poster below to be directed to the registration page with all the details.

click here for party registration

A once in a lifetime experience occurred today. I held in my hands all 6 of the Olympic and Paralympic medals! A first in modern Olympic history the IOC allowed the host nation to exhibit and make available to the general public actual Olympic medals. Here’s the story of my Gold Medal experience.

7am I arrived at the SFU Segal Graduate School for Business at Granville & Pender. Actually during Feb 12th to 28th it’s been transformed into the Canadian Mint Pavilion. In front of me were about 100 dedicated people mostly local Vancouverites.

In front and behind me were 2 people soon to become my Canadian Mint tour buddies Arjuna and Vena. We spent the next two hours sharing our Olympic experiences, passing on tips of what to see and what wasn’t worth the wait.

Click here to read and see more.

Home On Howe Window Display

When I walked in I discovered the store had been converted to a “Right at Home on Howe“  a 3,600 sq ft retail space transformed into a 17 day temporary home for Urban Barn employee Robbie Romu. Robbie was handpicked by Urban Barn President Rick Bohonis to live in the store 24/7 for the during of the 2010 Olympic Games. Knowing that the store would not be a destination during the Games they decided instead to create a respite from the chaos for both locals and visitors alike to enjoy.

Urban Barn invites the public to stop by anytime during the extended Olympic hours to hang with Robbie. You can watch TV with friends, sit and relax, play Wii, check email, you name it! In keeping with the spirit of the Games Urban Barn has used this opportunity to raise funds in support of the Canadian Paralympic Foundation (CPF), a registered Canadian charity dedicated to raising funds to support the development of sport for the benefit of Canadians with physical disabilities. The Goal is to raise $20,010.00 by March 21st. Please click here to donate or to learn more.

Here’s my exclusive chat with Robbie Romu himself. Hear in his words what the experience has been like.

Here are just some of the fun events planned to keep Robbie and his guests occupied for the rest of the Games.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. “Are You Smarter than Robbie?” Game Show

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Rock Band Challenge Night

Friday, February 26, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Comedy Night: Christopher Molineux hosts a night of laughs with
some of Vancouver’s top comedy acts. (Limited space; visit
www.homeonhowe.com to RSVP.)

Saturday, February 27, 2010 Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wii Winter Games Daily Challenge
8:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Closed Event (Urban Barn Staff Slumber Party)

Sunday, February 28, 2010 Store Hours: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wii 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Winter Games Daily Challenge
Right at Home on Howe Wrap/Closing Party

Taking a walk with a friend enjoying the beautiful Vancouver sunshine we stopped at the local UPS Store on Nelson & Cambie to mail off a package. We walked in to a sea of video cameras from two local TV stations and a large group of regular folk with cameras. What did we walk into? A scandal maybe at the UPS Store?

Even better, we walked into what turned out to be an impromptu media scrum for star Indian Olympic Athlete Shiva Keshavan. Upon asking and following up with further research when I got home it turns out that  Mr. Keshavan was the worlds youngest Luge entrant ever to participate in a Winter Olympics (Nagano 1998).

Click here to read more, see the pictures and watch the video.

I live in Yaletown and I have to say living in one of the Olympic hot spots has been so exciting. It’s electric every waking moment of the day.

The excitement for me really started on Thursday when with friends I watched the Olympic flame being carried right in front of the building I live in on Mainland St. Here’s a brief clip of the torch passing in front of my friends condo. What you didn’t see was the mimosas and the fantastic buffet of food our hostess had arranged. We celebrated in true Yaletown fashion!

Friday a bunch of us tried to get into to see the opening ceremony at Live City Yaletown but as we feared the crowd was overwhelming and we were sure we wouldn’t get in. So instead we headed to the Mill Bistro as guests of the owner Daniel Frankel. An outdoor beer garden covered by tents plus large plasma screens meant the usually intimate bistro handled over 200+ people that night. Check out some of the photos from our time there courtesy of Daniel Frankel.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Frankel

Photo courtesy of Daniel Frankel

photo coutrtesy of Daniel Frankel

Saturday & Sunday had me out in the streets both in the DT core as well as in my own hood of Yaletown. Buskers, street vendors and all the bars and restaurants were absolutely hopping! I was curious about how the crowds were effecting businesses other than those that in the F&B category so I asked a few local business owners about how it’s effected their business.

Val Litwin, a partner in Blo, said that business is as they expected. Right on schedule with their regular clients not scared away by the crowds. While Chris Breikss owner of 6S Marketing expected a slow down and adjusted his staffing accordingly. Here’s what he had to say:

So all in all I think Yaletown has benefitted from the past couple of days and as more people flock to this local hub the businesses can only prosper.

Marc Smith is Vancouver based event planner and will be reporting daily on various events happening around Vancouver. http://twitter.com/amuseconsulting

By Marc Smith

Yesterday, Feb 11th, saw yet another first in Olympic history occur in Vancouver. The first ever Pride House was opened in the heart of Downtown Vancouver at Qmunity, BC’s Queer Resource Centre. While to those of you who are not a member of the LGBT community this may seem small and insignificant it is in fact a major accomplishment and milestone. One I felt proud to be apart of and thrilled to be able to show the world that Canada is truly a country where diversity is celebrated.

Professional and Olympic caliber sports are one of the last remaining hold outs where people in the LGBT community feel they need to hide their authentic selves for fear of rejection from their peers and of course the almighty $$$ support from business and associations.

Politics aside Pride House Vancouver means that LGBT friends and family in Vancouver + all those visitors from around the world have a safe space to come hang out and celebrate the Olympic Spirit with others from their community.

I attended the official opening ceremonies and here is a video of the brief opening remarks from Qmunity Executive Director Jennifer Breakspear.

Right after the official ceremonies were over I was lucky enough to get an on camera chat with inspirational Marian Lay a 2 time Olympian (1964 & 1968), bronze medalist in 1968 and an openly gay woman. Hear what she had to say about Pride House and what it means to her.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about Pride House Vancouver. Please feel free to comment here, or send me a tweet.

Marc Smith is Vancouver based event planner and will be reporting daily on various events happening around Vancouver. http://twitter.com/amuseconsulting

Vancouver Cultural Olympiad 2010

Posted: January 14th, 2010 @ 10:30 am
Posted by: Miss604
5 Comments

Vancouver’s Cultural Olympiad has been taking place over the last two years, gearing up for the main event in February 2010, it features performances, art installations, concerts and more.

From January 22nd until March 21st sub-festivals such as CODE and Juste pour rire, will make sure the Cultural Olympiad is jammed-packed with action.

They have hundreds of events taking place in dozens of venues around Vancouver, including outdoor expositions. If you’re not sure what to search for yet in the event listings, here are just a few highlights.

The contemporary concert series in Vancouver:

January 22nd Phoenix with You Say Party! We Say Die! at the Orpheum. Tickets start at $32.50.

February 15th City and Colour & The Rural Alberta Advantage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets start st $32.50.

February 16th New Songs, New Voices with Jason Plumb, Meaghan Blanchard, Romi Mayes, Dan Mangan at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre. Tickets $12.

February 17th Feist & Gonzales “Piano Talk Show” at the Orpheum. Tickets start at $37.50.

February 19th Stars with Hey Rosetta! at the Orpheum. Tickets start at $37.50.

March 12th Gomez & Chad Van Gaalen at the Orpheum. Tickets start at $32.50.

March 18th Martha Wainwright & Jorane: Chanteuses modernes at the Commodore Ballroom. Tickets $32.50.

March 20th Raphael Saadiq & India.Arie at the Orpheum. Tickets start at $42.5

For the complete blog post by Miss604 please click here.

These are the 8 Tips and Tricks I recommend.

1. Check out the http://travelsmart2010.ca/ website for all the up to date Transit information, maps, trip planners, travel alerts, & business preparedness tips + road closures.

2. Did you know that if you have an Olympic event ticket this is also good as your transit pass for the day! That’s free unlimited transit for the entire day of the event you are going to! Includes everything but the West Coast Express.

3. For non Olympic related activities/errands/work consider travelling into the downtown core before noon. Most Olympic events taking place in Vancouver and Richmond are scheduled to start after 12 noon.

4. Translink is also offering 6 week Limited Edition transit passes. These are available now and are valid from Feb 8, 2010 to March 21, 2010.

5. If you have a smart phone and are on Twitter follow them. Translink will be real time monitoring these sites and information gathered will be fed to the dispatch center. Jhenifer Pabillano, Online Communications Advisor for Translink is also a great resource and is responsible for the http://buzzer.translink.ca/ Blog.

6. If you have an IPHONE download the free Translink APP. It is a bit clumsy but all the schedules are updated and it utilizes the GPS in the phone to help you find stops near you. You can find the APP by entering TRANSLINK in the APP Store search. Best of all it’s FREE!

7. Depending on your departure to final destination points give yourself some extra time. This way you are not adding any additional stress on yourself and it will ensure less “transit” rage.

8. Smile and be helpful to locals and tourists alike. A smile is infectious and will help in lowering transit tension.

What are your thoughts and ideas about getting around Vancouver during the Olympics? Please let me know what you think. Look forward to your comments.