4th Annual Strathcona Harvest Festival

 

About the Harvest Festival Vision [ http://strathconaevents.ca/ ]

The Harvest Festival is a multi cultural, all ages, free community celebration where everyone can join in the festivities, sing and dance to the music of local talent, play some good old fashioned games, enjoy feasting and spend a fun filled afternoon with old acquaintances while having the chance to make some new ones. Having a sense of community in this big city is just as important for those who have lived here for years, as it is for any one who has just arrived in this neighbourhood or this country. The Strathcona Harvest Festival is organized by several families, friends, local businesses & organizations and in this way many people of all ages, backgrounds and interests are contributing to the building and celebration of our diverse community.

This year we would like to focus on Food Security and help feed our community, encourage healthy living and honour the Earth that provides for us. We will be raising funds to support the many food programs at the Strathcona Community Centre where many infants, children, youth, families and seniors are fed everyday.

See more fotos:  www.jonathancruz.com/clients/StratHarvest2011

Thanksgiving 2010

There are so many things that I’m immensely grateful for this Thanksgiving Holiday. Here are just a few reasons.

  

 

 

 

There is so much to be thankful for. I’m also grateful for my camera phone. “The best camera is the one that’s with you” as many folks like Chase Jarvis have proven. Have a terrific holiday and let” gratitude be the attitude”.
😉

Related Articles

• Canadian Thanksgiving (socyberty.com)
• “Happy Thanksgiving!” and related posts (cafecartolina.blogspot.com)

HEROES

As we all know, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympics has begun, and I know we were all still basking in the afterglow of Olympic pandemonium that seemed to have abruptly ended a few weeks ago, but now we have been granted a second chance to reignite the passionate spark that united this country once before and relive the joy and celebration surrounding the momentous achievements of our athletes.

In regards to the upcoming participating athletes, I am simply in awe of them, not only because they overcame tremendous feats of strength and dedication to qualify for such a competitive event, but I respect them even more because they had to overcome more than the average able bodied person in their personal lives, which is inspiring even in itself. Personally speaking, I believe ALL athletes are from a different breed of people; the grace, humility and perseverance they eject is an aura so rarely felt between our everyday interactions. It makes me wonder why isn’t everyone like this?  I believe that that we can not only learn, but grow by watching these athletes compete.

Appropriately, I will be cheering for our Canadian athletes, however in regards to the entire event, in my eyes they are already HEROES.

A bronze medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, Garth Harris was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 9 months of age. Garth received therapy services from the BC Centre for Ability until he was 14 years old. As apart of his therapy Garth was introduced to swimming where he discovered and enjoyed the stabilizing effect the water had on his muscles. Soon Garth aspired to become a competitive swimmer.

International Paralympic Committee president, Sir Phillip Craven,  is a five-time Paralympian. He is s one of the key influences in having the Opening ceremonies broadcasted live by CTV last night.  Tamara Tagart’s facebook profile last night was “Watching the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, bawling my eyes out as the torch comes into the building.” Cheers to Sir Phillip Craven, and let’s give a hand to BCTV for being the first to show Paralympic Opening Ceremonies on TV. I heard it was inspirational/magical/moving. I only got to see the beginning as my daughter and i had to meet up with family at Surrey Memorial Hospital to visit my 74 year old father, Deo Cruz[senior] as he is recovering from a broken right femur and right humerus. A few days ago at the mall he lost his balance while standing on crutches in an escalator. He chose to to fall backward to avoid landing on people in front of him. We’re waiting for one more surgery for his arm. He’s going to be fine. Dad is one of the toughest people i know. He is by far one of my biggest heroes. I’d love to watch last night’s ceromonies with him.

Lauren Barwick is a gifted rider who would have established a future in the sport at a very early age but with two siblings who have disabilities, horseback riding was not an affordable sport in her single-parent family. After many years out of the sport, Lauren eventually found her way back to her passion and obtained a job training horses for the local movie industry.  Lauren was invigorated by her new role but a fall off of a horse would change many things in her life.  The accident left her paralyzed from the hips down. Lauren was hospitalized and underwent therapy for nine months. As her condition stabilized she started to reclaim her life and found a job teaching horseback riding to children. Despite being close to horses on a daily basis, Lauren had almost given up on riding again. Through the encouragement of her coworkers, she gained the courage to get on a horse. This simple act of bravery changed Lauren’s life. She learned how to ride horses again and soon became a competitive rider. After winning many equestrian competitions, she represented Canada in Beijing to bring home a silver and gold medal.

And our Canadian hopeful for Canada’s Downhill Events in Whistler this month….Karolina Wisniewska! Here is her Schedule so I hope everyone has a chance to take some time to watch an amazing woman do what she does best!

2010 Paralympic Winter Games
March 13: Downhill
March 14: Super-G
March 16: Super Combined
March 18: Giant Slalom
March 20: Slalom

follow her story through Karolina’s official website here

Jacqui Cohen Carries the Torch to Gastown Canada 2010

Jacqui Cohen hired Jonathan to capture her jog to Olympic glory, taking her turn in the torch relay through Gastown early this morning.

It was a sight to see, watching Jacqui ignite her torch with our famous steam clock and the north shore mountains as a backdrop.  Ms Cohen embraced the crowd as she made her way along her 300m stint, waving and smiling, stopping along the way for photos with friends and various members of the community.

Her family was in tow to cheer Jacqui on, including her mother who was perhaps one of the most stylish ladies in the crowd. We managed to snap a photo of Jacqui with her mom and daughter – three beautiful generations!

Jacqui then finished her run by celebrating with her family, friends and staff at the Army and Navy store on Cordova Street.

Congrats to Jacqui for representing Gastown and Vancouver so graciously and congrats to all the torch bearers across Canada that have made this journey so special and memorable for all of us.

With just hours to spare until the Opening Ceremonies, we’d like to wish everyone a wonderful Olympic experience.

GO CANADA GO!

Tony goes to Barcelona

 

A good friend of mine, Tony Millares III, owns an exceptional architectural woodworking firm called Urthwurks Furniture Inc.  Starting in Brooklyn, NY, he moved his shop to Vancouver in 2001 and has designed and built for Jasper Johns, Francesco Clemente, Bette Midler, ALIFE NYC and the list goes on and on.  Last year, he worked on the restoration of the Wing Sang building, which is now the home of the Rennie Collection . In the end of 2009, he was busy completing Canadian artist, Rodney Graham’s   new line of work called POSSIBLE ABSTRACTIONS, which is a series of sculptures in the shape of a painting made out of wood and corian.  Tony was hired as the artist’s technical advisor and built the entire collection which is now showing at the Museu Pablo Picasso in Barcelona.  He has written a few words on his blog about the process.

In mid-January, the pieces were shipped to Barcelona along with privately owned Rodney Graham pieces that were lent to the museum for Through the Forest, Rodney’s first solo exhibit. Unexpectedly, Tony was given a well deserved first class ticket to Barcelona to attend the opening and unveiling of POSSIBLE ABSTRACTIONS and as I write this article, he is on his way home.

Over the past year and a half, I have had the opportunity to shoot a lot of his work, and looking through te lens, I have learned that he is an extreme perfectionist when it comes to his own work.   I have never seen so much passion and love put into every detail.  With each job, he hones his skills as a designer and craftsman and he blows my mind every time I shoot his work.   The photos I took are only a fracture of what went on behind the scenes in the last few weeks before the opening in Barcelona.  

 

“Ok, what’s next?”

 Welcome home Tony, and congratulations to you and your team at Urthwurks! 

Kla-how-ya

The phrase Kla-how-ya, which is the Chinook word for “welcome”, was the phrase of the day as visitors were greeted at the Pan Pacific yesterday during a media event which marked the erection of an aboriginal village in the lobby of the hotel. Representing First Nations from around B.C., the village will showcase their culture and remain in the Pan Pacific’s spectacular lobby throughout the Olympic Games.

We were lucky enough to shoot the ceremony side-by-side with the talented Deo Cruz, who was able to help us capture all of the key moments as an event of this scale usually requires more than one shooter. We call him our secret weapon.

16 First Nations members got a hand from the hotel’s kitchen staff to carry the massive 40-foot ceremonial canoe Raven’s Song, which will be the focal point of the village, through the front doors and up two flights of stairs to a stage. The canoe was built by Bill Helin in 1993 for a journey to the Commonwealth Games in Victoria and is said to have been on eight different journeys since then.

 

Helin, along with six apprentice carvers, took more than four months to carve Raven’s Song, representative of a Tsimshian war canoe, out of a 540-year-old red cedar log. The raven is also the most profound character in First Nations mythology.

The Kla-how-ya village officially opens to the public on Feb.12. For 16 days following, it will showcase traditional dancing, cedar-bark weaving, aboriginal fashions, jewelry making, carving and storytelling.

Vancouver Comes Alive

Who’s got the fever? We’ve got the fever…Olympic fever that is. The city is transforming before our eyes, with a new pavilion, party house or building wrap by the day, so it seems. Vancouver is alive with Olympic buzz, so we’ve been buzzing about town shooting and capturing as much of the excitement as possible.

Stop by the GE Ice Plaza at Robson Square for free ice skating in the heart of the city. This is something suitable for the entire family and skate rentals are available onsite. The kiddies will love it!

One block away, standing in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery you’ll find the Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock with a huge Olympic building wrap just across the way. The Hotel Georgia’s Canadian flag wrap is a slight testament to our patriotism (I use the word ‘slight’ in jest ofcourse – the sucker is massive!). The Bay building across from the art gallery is decked out with banners of folks sporting the official Olympic memorabilia. Has everyone snagged some red mittens?

Take a stroll through Yaletown and check out Flagwalk, a series of flags placed along the sidewalk representing all of the competing countries that will be gracing our city streets in just a few weeks.  Meander a bit further along the seawall for views of the Olympic Village on the south end of False Creek. We snagged a few shots here.

As the excitement continues to build, we have to concur with the below vid:

You Gotta Be Here

30 Days, 30 Nights

 

As we continue the countdown to the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, which seems to be coming at us fast and furious with only 30 days to go, the city is preparing with a few final touches. One of which was the resurrection of the famous Birks Clock.

Situated on the corner of Hastings and Granville in front of the Birks store, the clock hasn’t worked for years, confusing many as they hoof it to work in the morning or back to work after a boozy lunch. They actually removed the time piece temporarily for 2 years to make way for Canada Line construction on Granville Street. The clock was first erected in 1909 and was moved to the corner of Georgia and Granville in 1913, where it remained until 1994 when it was moved back to its original home. Back in the day people used the clock as a meeting place before hitting the town – “meet me under the Birks clock”. I wonder if people still say that? Seems like it’s more common to say “meet me at the Starbucks on…”. How boring.

We had the opportunity to shoot the re-installment of the clock, following some much needed repairs by horologist Ray Saunders who gave the clock a complete overhaul and restoration. It was an exciting moment to see a piece of history put back in its place, where it will sit for many years to come. Now visitors to Vancouver during the Games and beyond will always have a point of reference while exploring our beautiful city.

 

 

A Chilly Start to 2010

Some of us were hung over. Others were busy having brunch. Or maybe, some people kept the party going well into the next day (you know who you are). However nearly 2,000 clinically insane people braved the frigid waters of English Bay for the annual Polar Bear Swim.

The New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim originated in Vancouver with the inaugural plunge taking place in 1920, coordinated by Founder and President Peter Pantages. In those days, you had to register to become a member of the Polar Bear Swim Club, which started out with only 10 members. The Sylvia Hotel housed the club’s headquarters until popularity around the event grew, forcing the club to move to the Vancouver Swimming Club just west of the English Bay pier.

Today the event attracts thousands of participants and spectators, spilling onto the beach in complete pandemonium, some decked out in costume, others simply rocking a speedo or a bikini. Youch.

Over the years the Polar Bear Swim has been covered by major media giants like CNN and National Geographic Traveler as well as countless other media outlets around the world. This year, the team at Jonathan Cruz Photography made their way to English Bay armed with a crew of nutball participants that took the plunge while we captured the chaos. Check out our YouTube vid below: