Note to Self

Dear Self,

The next time you have an opportunity to work 2 different events, at 2 different times, on the same day, I want you to remember exactly how exhausted you feel at this very moment and say NO!  Trust me, it's for your own good.

Love,
Self

It's Friday!

Another busy multiple work day today plus a birthday, a phone date, and some quality fam jam time at the movies.  It's a weekend so you know it means I'm working until next weekend.  At least I have a present to look forward to on Sunday plus a chance to get out of town next weekend!  I love it when a week long wait gets shortened into a couple of days =) It's just enough time to get you pumped for whatever great thing is coming. 

Clearly I'm someone working for the weekend...they just happened to be spread out further than I'd like them to be.  Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with something more interesting than this quickie =)

A Letter to the Canucks

So here it is...a letter to the Canucks.  I tried to write my own, but last night's devastation is still too fresh for me to say what I actually wanted to.  A simple "thanks for an amazing season" just doesn't seem enough for a team that gave as much of itself as it possibly could to this city.  

This was written by a fan at the end of the Western Conference Finals and brought actual tears to my eyes.  With everything that happened yesterday, I want to take this chance to remember the hope and elation that gripped the city a mere 11 days ago. Hopefully TJ's eloquently written wishes will come true next year...

Courtesy of Fort Nucks: Fan Roundup - Volume 6 (Sunday, June 5th, 2011)

The story of a lifelong Canucks fan

When I was 11 years old I watched my idol Trevor Linden take my team on the emotional roller coaster of the 94 playoffs. I remember everything. Every call. Every goal. Every emotion. I remember the way you could walk down the street and get a high five from someone you didn’t know just because you were wearing a jersey. I remember sitting with my Mom, Dad and brother in our living room, watching Pavel Bure blow by the Calgary defense and score the goal that I would later emulate on the driveway of our townhouse with a worn down hockey stick and a tennis ball. I remember the call.



“ This is the greatest moment in Vancouver Canucks History”



17 years. 17 years since Pavel scored that goal. 17 years since Kirk Mclean made “the save.”17 years since Greg Adams scored the OT goal to propel us into the Stanley cup final. 17 years since the jubilation of game 6, and 17 years since the dejected emotional pain of game 7. We were so close.



The pain of coming that close and not winning stays with you. For 17 years.



Last night Kevin Bieksa scored a goal that set off a trifecta of emotions. The first was the shock of seeing a game winning goal in double overtime, in a western conference final. The second was complete joy and excitement. We did it!! We are going to the Stanley cup final! High fives all around people yelling so loud that it hurts, explosions of confetti, and 18 thousand fans screaming in the harmonic unison of an orchestra, “WE WANT THE CUP.”



And finally the realization that we did it. And I was there to see it. To experience it.



Years from now people will tell many stories of the Stanley cup run of 2011. They will talk about Alex Burrows game 7 winner against Chicago. They will talk about the hilarity of the green men. They will talk about Ryan Kesler carrying the team on his back right through to the conference final. They will talk about the Sedins utter dominance against the sharks. They will talk of Bobby Lu’s 54 save performance in game 5. They will talk about Kesler scoring the tying goal with 13 seconds left to send the Canucks to overtime. And of course they will talk about the bounce off the glass that ended up on the stick of boom boom Bieksa.



Years from now I will be telling my son that the year he was born, I bought a Canucks playoff ticket for three times face value and didn’t even think twice about it. I will tell him about the thousands of fans who gathered outside the rink hours before game time to celebrate their team and all its accomplishments. I will tell him about “towel power.” I will tell him about the shinny games outside the arena and that no matter how old you get you are never too old for a game of street hockey.



I will tell him about the atmosphere inside the arena when they brought out the western conference championship trophy, and I will tell him that I was in attendance to watch the single greatest team in the history of the Vancouver Canucks win passage to the Stanley cup finals.



If any Vancouver Canuck reads this somewhere please do me a favor. Go out there next week and win that cup. Win it for every member of the 82 and 94 teams that came within inches and went home empty handed. Win it for Luc Bourdon. Win it for every single fan that has ever bought a ticket, a jersey, a car flag and for every fan that has stood on the corner of the road with a flag in hand just to hear the honking cars go by.



But most of all win it so when my son is born I will have a bedtime story to tell him.



 -TJ Chase

Stand Up Vancouver

As I watched thousands of Canuck fans inside Rogers Arena cheer on Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and Milan Lucic each hoist the Stanley Cup last night, I started writing a letter to the Vancouver Canucks to thank them for an amazing season.

From The Vancouver Sun

It's a letter that was never finished as news coverage shifted to the madness unfolding mere blocks away - Georgia Street set ablaze, smoke and tear gas clogging the air, police in riot gear being attacked with whatever people could get their hands on.

It was disgusting and shameful for the city to have all the positives that came from hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and two months of play off celebrations seemingly wiped out in hours.  We are no longer the home of the current President's Trophy winning team, we are the city that imploded over a lost hockey game.

From The Vancouver Sun

I sat, glued to my TV for hours watching in disbelief as crowds refused to leave and had the audacity to attack the police officers trying to clear the streets.  I waited impatiently to hear that people I knew got home safe.  I went to bed in the early hours of this morning wondering how things managed to spiral out of control so quickly.

Last night was an ugly scene that won't be forgotten easily.  The world spotlight is on Vancouver as people question the why's and how's.  Hopefully they'll also take the time to recognize how the city has responded.

Last night, there were ordinary people who tried to stand up to the crowds.  The Vancouver Police Department, along with officers from other municipalities, firefighters, and EMT's did what they could to contain and disperse the crowds while protecting the rest of the city.

From Facebook

Today, instead of hiding in shame, Vancouver came out to take back the city.  From the hundreds (if not thousands) of volunteers cleaning up the streets to the "Wall of Love" along the Bay's boarded up windows, we are trying to change the story.  Hundreds of people witnessed the theft, violence, and destruction and are in a position to do something about it.  People are flocking to identify rioters via Facebook and Tumblr.  Sure #CanucksRiot is still trending on Twitter, but so is #ThisIsMyVancouver.

June 15th, 2011 is a black mark on the city that will take time to erase.  If today is any indication, Vancouver is up for the challenge.

*There's so much to reference here it's incredible.  Shout outs to Mashable, Vancity Buzz, Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, and everyone on Facebook and Twitter trying to hold people accountable for their actions!

Stunned

Apparently when the Canucks were done shaking the hands of the officials and the Boston Bruins on the ice, some people in Vancouver decided that was all the class we were going to see tonight.  I'm posting on the fly again because I've been glued to my television and phone, unable to stop watching the chaos unfolding in the city and waiting to hear that people are getting home safe.  I'll be back tomorrow once I've managed to wrap my head around what's going on tonight...

Event Star Spotlight - Diana Newson

What started as a quick post to help some friends gain a bit of exposure has snowballed into a feature.  The Event Star Spotlight is meant to bring some attention to some of our rising stars in the Event Industry.  while I don't have a set timeline for how often these posts will roll out, I am open to suggestions/nominations.  This feature is not limited to graduates of The Art Institute of Vancouver (AI) or people just starting out in the industry - if you know someone that deserves to be recognized, please let me know!  Now, without further ado, let's take a look at our next star...

Diana Newson

It's not enough to tell people you're excited for an event - you need to prove it.  In my short time in this industry, I doubt I've ever met anyone as high-energy as Diana.  From sitting through four hour classes, to working through the demanding rigors of an event day, she's always got a genuine smile on her face, one that you can't help but return.  In fact, I'm smiling right now just thinking about Diana and she's not even in town anymore.

Originally hailing from the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, Diana has returned to her roots to start up Original Newson Events (ONE) with her mother Kella.  ONE manages the Newton Estate, formerly the family beachfront summer home, and offers event coordination for events hosted at the estate.

Getting started in the event industry means facing a multitude of challenges, especially when you're doing it on your own.  It's easy to get overwhelmed and question every move with, "is this ever going to happen," or "what the H--- am I doing?"  While Diana is to busy to ask that first question (if she ever did, none of us would ever have guessed!), the second pops up daily.

"There are so many tasks and random things that pop up that you have to do that you never would have thought of.  Also, there is always the question of if you're doing enough!  Are you doing the right thing and doing a good job?  There is no one there to tell you otherwise.  Being your own boss is fabulous.  However, it can be a little nerve wracking!"

As a freelance event coordinator with a passion for weddings, Diana still has time to work with Compass Adventures, a water sports centre that runs summer camps and programs for kids.  Diana has taken on the challenge of increasing their Internet presence as well as coordinating events including the paddle board race series and a three-day waterman festival in August, during which, Diana will act as the event on site coordinator.

Between her work at ONE and Compass, Diana plans to keep on the path she is carving out for herself, content to see what opportunities pop up along the way.  While I can't predict the future, I can tell you that Diana will not get there by following a well-worn path - she'll blaze a trail and inspire a new generation of planners to do the same.

Here We Go Again...

A loss tonight means one last chance to win it all.  Get ready Vancouver - Game 7 goes down on Wednesday!

Drained

It's been a long and busy couple of weeks and I seem to be running on empty.  After 2 full days working in the sunshine I am physically and mentally drained which explains why I don't have very much to say at this point.  I'm actually surprised I'm functional enough to even type this bit out.  Back tomorrow post game 6...we'll see if I'll have a bit more energy by then =s