The Dewdney Trunk Road Pleasure Faire was held over three days in September 1971, on land that was designated to become a federal penitentiary in Mission, BC. All photos by Bruce Stewart The Deluxe group—Alan Clapp, Dan Clemens, Ian Ridgway and Ray Clark—applied for the permit, and Clemens and Ridgway spent the summer deconstructing barns… Continue reading The Mission Pleasure Faire of 1971

I went to the PNE last week, the first time in more than 15 years. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty underwhelming. For this post, I thought I’d draw from comments left on my August 17 blog and on my Facebook page Every Place has a Story. The general consensus from fairgoers seems… Continue reading The PNE: Then and Now

The Dollarton Pleasure Faire was held in the summer of ’72 at the Maplewood Mudflats in North Vancouver. It was a celebration of alternative living, an acknowledgement that its days were numbered, and it was timed to clash with the annual PNE.

The PNE kicks off today (Saturday August 17) and runs until September 2. In 1992, I worked at the Vancouver Sun and that year I spent most of my August shifts at the PNE. One day I’d write about the rodeo clown who had broken every bone in his body at least once. The next… Continue reading The PNE in the ’70s: A photo essay by Bruce Stewart

Every other week I receive a heartbreaking message from someone asking about a missing friend, or a missing or murdered relative that no one has heard from or about in decades. Mostly, they want to know if that person was ever found or if their murder was eventually solved. I start by looking up the… Continue reading The Disappearance of 20-Year-Old Melody Dobson

Last week’s blog on Kitsilano featuring Bruce Stewart’s photos, brought back memories and a healthy does of nostalgia from those of you who were lucky to have known Kits in the ‘70s. In this week’s blog I’m delighted to bring you photos from Angus McIntyre, Gord McCaw, Peter Dobo and a couple more from Bruce,… Continue reading More Photos of Kitsilano in the 1970s and ’80s

I lived at three different addresses along West 3rd in Kitsilano between 1984 and 1995. And, while I loved the beach, the restaurants, West 4th Avenue, and Granville Island, I would have liked to have known Kits in the 1970s. An essay in photos by Bruce Stewart Kits Pool: Fortunately, Bruce Stewart spent half of… Continue reading Kitsilano in the ’70s: a photo essay

Emily Carr’s 100-year-old Oak Bay cabin could be yours for $5.5 million dollars! The good news is that it comes with a 10-bedroom heritage house designed by Samuel Maclure. In 1913, Emily Carr paid $900 for a plot of land on Victoria Avenue in Oak Bay. According to a story,* she built a 12 by… Continue reading Emily Carr’s $5.5 Million Cabin

The Nanaimo to Vancouver bathtub race ran from 1967 to 1996  When I moved to Vancouver in the mid 1980s, I lived in an apartment at Third and Cypress in Kitsilano. Over the next 12 years, I moved two more times up Third Avenue, and one of my summer highlights was heading down to the… Continue reading The Nanaimo to Vancouver Bathtub Race

June is Italian heritage month, and this year Italian Days was held on Sunday June 9, 2024 I hate crowds, so I can’t give you a first-hand account of Italian Days this year. Having watched a couple of YouTube videos though, I can tell you that it was a gorgeous day that drew thousands of… Continue reading Italian Days 1977: a photo essay by Bruce Stewart

I dropped by the West Vancouver Art Museum Wednesday and joined a tour led by curator, Hilary Letwin. If you haven’t been there before, the Museum is by the Municipal Hall on 17th Street, just off Marine Drive, and housed in a funky stone house built by Gertrude Lawson in 1939. The Art Museum currently… Continue reading Arthur Erickson’s Pad  

Thirty years ago today, I was the lucky Vancouver Sun reporter sent out to Surrey to ride the Skytrain downtown at the end of the Stanley Cup final. It didn’t matter who won (we lost 3-2 to the New York Rangers) everyone it seems except police, knew that there was going to be a riot.… Continue reading The Stanley Cup Riot (1994)

Former Vancouver Sun crime reporter, Neal Hall, guest blogs about one of Vancouver’s most controversial cases. Thirty five years after 44-year-old Cindy James was found dead, people still wonder – was it suicide or murder?  By Neal Hall The most bizarre case I ever encountered in my 30-plus years as a reporter, was the case… Continue reading The Bizarre Case of Cindy James

Sharon McKenzie-Cramond, 38 was last seen in 1981. She had recently separated from her husband and lived in Vancouver. There are no newspaper reports of Sharon’s disappearance, no missing posters and no evidence that the police investigated her disappearance at the time.  The only photo that I could find of her was taken in the… Continue reading MISSING: Sharon McKenzie-Cramond

I found this charming little postcard dated August 7, 1904 while trolling Vancouver Archive’s website. It’s written to a Miss L.M. Woodrow “With every good wish for your birthday, from Emily.” Second CPR station: I loved the picture of the second CPR station that briefly sat at the foot of Granville Street, and I wanted… Continue reading A Charming 1904 Postcard

1967: It’s been 57 years since the first Stanley Park Easter Be-In. A local take on the be-in that had taken place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park two months before and set the tone for the Summer of Love. Vancouver’s event was much smaller, but about a thousand hippies, and three times as many… Continue reading The Stanley Park Be-Ins

False Creek: False Creek is a realtor’s dream. It’s a model of sustainability, with housing options—that include the condos and townhouses in the Olympic Village—a school, a seawall for walking and running and biking, and a waterway filled on any given day with kayaks and canoes and dragon boats. The neighbourhood has fitness facilities, outdoor… Continue reading Main Street Farmers Market

I am thrilled to tell you that Cold Case Canada is up for a Webby Award – the only Canadian nominee in the Crime and Justice podcast category. This is a really big deal. The New York Times called the Webby’s “the Internet’s highest honor.” There are two parts to the award. The Webby Award… Continue reading Cold Case Canada is a Webby Award Nominee!

In 1976, when Heather Ede was 14 years old and living in Powell River, BC, the body of her friend Elizabeth (Lizzie) Gardner was found under the Lois River Bridge. For over 45 years Heather wondered what had happened to her friend and if the police were still investigating her death. In January 2022 she… Continue reading The 1976 Murder of Elizabeth Gardner

I first met Brian Walters a little over two years ago. He invited me to his North Vancouver house to watch an early version of his virtual reality film Granville and Georgia Streets: 150 years. It was the first time I’d put on a Virtual Reality headset, and instead of just looking at old pictures… Continue reading Granville and Georgia Streets: 150 Years in Virtual Reality