Woo! It's another year and Samsung is again running the Mob!lers program and this time they are promoting their awesome Galaxy Tab 10.1. They announced the 2011 Mob!lers yesterday on their Facebook page here. Keep a close eye on their Facebook and Twitter feed as the Mob!lers return back to their respective home cities tonight and prepare for their first mission! Just look for the hashtag #mobilers2011 or #mobilers on Twitter.

This year Vancouver's team is call Vansanity and consists of 3 guys and 1 girl:

Congrats to all the Mob!lers and good luck Vansanity! Make Vancouver proud!

Also remember to vote for Vancouver in the Samsung's Video Mashup Contest! 

Yesterday after work I went with my friend to A&T Esquestrian for an hour riding lesson. The place is in Surrey and it took about 50 minutes to get there from Vancouver. 

There was a beautiful horse in the front paddock but it was very wild! There were a lot of cats strolling around too.  

This was the track we rode around on. The previous class was for little children. Their parents were leading their horses.

There were 7 people in our class but many have come before. We were split into two groups. W and I were the last two to receive our horses and when the instructor asked who wasn't afraid to ride a big horse, I enthusiastically volunteered. So I got to ride Bubbs. Bubbs walked faster than the other two horses on the track. He was also grumpier. He kicked the other horse when we walked too close! It happened so fast that I didn't even know what he was doing. I thought he was just bending down! I really liked him though.

We learned how to direct the horse, maneuver in and out cones, step over a pole and trot. I bounced everywhere when Bubbs was trotting. I wasn't really sure how to stay still. I guess I have to use more of my legs to stabilize myself.

I had quite a fun time! I love riding horses!

Friday August 26

Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival
10:00am - 5:00pm
Granville Island, Vancouver

Kerrisdale Days
12:00pm - 4:00pm
Kerrisdale, Vancouver

Indigo Kid's Birthday & Loot Bag Section Celebration
4:30pm
Chapters Metrotown, Indigo Kids Section, Burnaby 

Hart & Sole Clothing Anniversary at Joseph Richard
10:00pm - 3:00am
Joseph Richards Nightclub
 

Saturday August 27

Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival
10:00am - 5:00pm
Granville Island, Vancouver

Viva Vancouver In Cambie Village!
10:30am movie, 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Park Theatre then West 18th at Cambie, Vancouver

Tibet Festival Vancouver
11:00am - 7:00pm
VanDusen Botanical Garden Floral Hall, 5251 Oak Street, Vancouver

Kerrisdale Days
12:00pm - 4:00pm
Kerrisdale, Vancouver

CNIS African Market
12:00pm - 6:00pm
1985 West Broadway, Vancouver

Indigo Kid's Birthday & Loot Bag Section Celebration
2:00pm
Chapters Metrotown, Indigo Kids Section, Burnaby 



Sunday August 28

Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival
10:00am - 5:00pm
Granville Island, Vancouver

Pink Salmon Festival
12:00pm - 5:00pm
Vanier/ Hadden Park on Kits Point

Blim Monthly Community Market
12:00pm - 5:00pm
Robson & Granville Street, downtown Vancouver

Indigo Kid's Birthday & Loot Bag Section Celebration
2:00pm
Chapters Metrotown, Indigo Kids Section, Burnaby 

All Over the Map: Flamenco Dance
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Ron Basford Park, Granville Island

It's Kerrisdale Days! Come celebrate the birthday of Kerrisdale with music, face painting, an Kerrisdale Idol competition, balloons, clowns, horse and carridge rides, sidewalk sales, and CAKE! It's going to be an all around family fun event! The majority of the events will be happening on Saturday and are located along West 41st between Larch and Maple Streets & on West Boulevard and Yew Street so don't fret if you can't go today or tomorrow.

When
Thursday August 25 - Saturday August 27
12:00pm - 4:00pm

Where
Kerrisdale, Vancouver
(are located along West 41st between Larch and Maple Streets & on West Boulevard and Yew Street.)

Source: http://www.kerrisdalevillage.com/news/

The Vancouver Wooden Boat Society will host the annual Vancouver Wooden Boat Society at Granville Island again this year. There will be wooden boats, boat building, races, demonstrations and all-around marine fun! Check out the displays and learn all about wooden boats!

When
Thursday August 25 - Sunday August 28
10:00am - 5:00pm daily

Where 
Granville Island, Vancouver
1490 Johnston Street, V6H 3S1
(Market Courtyard and Triangle Square)

Here's the daily schedule: http://www.vancouverwoodenboat.com/PDF Docs/final Program.pdf

Source: http://www.granvilleisland.com/directory/vancouver-wooden-boat-festival

The last of the Dance and Music Series will be Flamenco Rosario featuring Flamenco dancing with live music! It's an outdoor event that will showcase the traditional and contemporary styles of flamenco.

When
Sunday August 28
2:00pm - 4:00pm

Where 
Ron Basford Park, Granville Island

RSVP to the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133595596721315

The Chapters in Metrotown has finished its renovations and now debuting their new Birthday and Loot Bag section! This kid-friendly event will last three days and feature yummy treats, balloons, fun activities, prizes and a birthday story time!


When
Friday, August 26 – 4:30pm
Saturday, August 27 – 2pm
Sunday, August 28 – 2pm

Where
Chapters Metrotown, Indigo Kids Section
Burnaby 

More info on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/notes/chapters-metrotown/indigo-kids-new-birthday-section-and-loot-bag-feature/275902349091493

RSVP to the Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157203414362906

For the clubbers in Vancouver, Hart & Sole Clothing is celebrating their 4 year anniversary at Joseph Richard on Friday! It is also Joseph Richard's last Viva La Revolucion Fridays of the summer so don't want to miss it. There will be cash giveaways from the Hart & Sole team all night long.

To get free cover visit the Hart & Sole Clothing store at 843 Granville Street, Vancouver BC.

When
Friday August 26
10:00pm - 3:00am

Where


RSVP to the event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137587592998720

I love everything Portal. So when I stumbled upon Portal: No Escape on YouTube I was so excited! Dan Trachtenberg directed a masterpiece. Danielle Rayne stars as the silent heroine, Chelle. This short film is so cool! I can't believe it's fan-made; it looks so professional. The music, the effects, the acting were all brilliant. If you haven't watched it yet WATCH IT NOW.

Salmon season is starting and to celebrate the return of the Pink Salmon, a festival is being held! Pink Salmon Festival will serve up delicious complimentary pink salmon to the public and promote pink salmon as a sustainable seafood choice. The BBQ salmon samples will be prepared by premier Vancouver chefs including C Restaurant executive chef Robert Clark. The event will also have live music by Vancouver bluegrass band "Redgrass", informative demonstrations and activities for kids.
 
When
Sunday, August 28
12:00pm - 5:00pm

Where
RSVP to the event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256030427756348

Source: http://www.psf.ca/

This is an annual event put on by the Canadian Network for International Surgery. Enjoy African performances, fabulous food, fashion, art and craft.


When
Saturday August 27
12:00pm - 6:00pm

Where
1985 West Broadway, Vancouver
(The courtyard outside CNIS office)



Source: http://www.cnis.ca/what-we-do/public-engagement-in-canada/african-market/

Do you love chocolate? Know someone who does? Then you would be interested in knowing that Purdy's Chocolates is re-opening their store at Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver next Monday!

There will be chocolate tasting with a sneak peak of Purdy’s new decadent chocolate piece, Turona which won't be in stores until September! Purdy's head chocolatier, Gary Mitchell, will also be hosting The Art of Tasting Chocolate and sharing his expertise in chocolate knowledge.

Be one of the first 100 people to purchase something and also receive a Purdy’s Chocolates Re-useable shopping bag!


When
Monday August 29
11:00am - 3:00pm

Where
Bentall Centre
595 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C.

Source: http://blog.purdys.com/?p=1460

RSVP to the event on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=238692999508999

After an entire day of walking around downtown to all the various events on Saturday, I was famished. Last week we had Korea food so M and I decided we should try Ramen this time round. We walked down Robson to Benkei Ramen Noodle Shop...we didn't know there was a closer one on Thurlow otherwise we would have gone to that one instead!
 

They offer a couple of different soup bases and you can order some additional ingredients if you want. You can also "Sumo Size" your order for 50 cents more where you get an extra 50% more noodle. We both did so.


I ordered the Shio Ramen - which is basically the same thing except different soup base. I think mine is a seaweed or kelp based soup. It tastes really good! The menu says that they don't use MSG and I think it is true because I wasn't thirsty after I drank the soup. So yummy!

Eeeee! Zombies everywhere! Hundreds of people showed up at the Vancouver Art Gallery for this year's Zombie Walk. There were plenty of awesome costumes and cool looking zombies! There were some non-zombie characters that turned up too such as the Grim Reaper, Jack Sparrow and the Ghost Busters. Tourists and unaware locals are always surprised when they see zombies turning up everywhere - on the bus, in coffee shows, gelato stores, restaurants, etc. It's such fun to see their reactions: "There must be some kind of zombie convention somewhere". Haha!