Almost 20 years after Indiana Jones last galloped across the big screen in “The Last Crusade”, the bullwhip-cracking hero is back on Thursday, May 22. As a diehard “Raiders” fan, I plan to be there on the first day and would love to get a group of friends together to share the adventure of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

Naturally, I’ll be in full Indy regalia, and I encourage you to also “dress up” in the spirit of this 1930’s adventure!

The Schedule:

I located an ancient scroll that reveals the top-secret location and showtime for the premiere. Well, OK, I actually just found it on the Internet. Here’s the details:

Day: Thursday, May 22
Location: Scotabank (aka the Paramount) theatre, downtown Vancouver (Burrard @ Smithe)
Time: 7:00 pm.

The movie runs 122 minutes, so we’ll be done by a little after 9.

The Plan, Part 1: Tickets

This showing will sell out - getting tickets at the door is chancy. Please arrange your tickets in advance via the online ticketing service of the Paramount. Visit this URL (and ignore the silly popup message; see below):

Paramount Theatre Online Tickets Page

Once there, choose Thursday, May 22 from the pop-up menu, and take it from there.Note:Mac users may get a messages hinting strongly that you should use Internet Explorer. Don’t believe this Microsoft propaganda. I had perfect success in Firefox and I suspect Safari will also work for you.

The Plan, Part 2: Meeting

The theatre will be a zoo and good seats will go in a flash, so I would aim to get there a full hour before at 6:00. I’ll be stationed in the Paramount lobby at about that time, and watching out for the gang. Hopefully we’ll all have arrived and confirmed/purchased our tickets by the top of the hour, as that’s when I will be heading for the actual theatre lineup. My cell will still stay on as long as possible for last-minute communications.

RSVP’ing

Please confirm via email if you’ll be attending so I know who to watch for… and I will also provide you with my cell number in case you need to reach me at any time up to showtime!

The wait is nearly over - I hope you can join me in this grand big-screen thrill ride!

It was my delight to be in attendance at this remarkable event, where luminaries from Vancouver’s entertainment scene, people from community and arts organizations, members of the Vancouver City Council, and movers and shakers from the business and development sphere all gathered together to officially announce to the world the impending restoration and development of the historic Pantages Theatre.

Hundreds of music fans gathered at the gates of the CBC in Vancouver to protest the recent cutbacks to classical music by the public broadcaster… including the threatened demolition of the 70-year-old CBC Radio Orchestra. I was compelled to join in!

An thunderous rumble signaled the start of a powerful storm… but it was only the beginning. Minutes later, a driving hailstorm roared through the West End, with large hail ricocheting off the windowsills. Here’s a peek!

With Wally’s Burgers due to close at month’s end, I gathered some kindred spirits and we went on a cruise down Kingsway (in my ‘63 Rambler, natch) to Wally’s and also paid a visit to the 2400 Motel, another mid-century relic with an uncertain future. Christine and I were joined by conductor and City Opera co-founder Charles Barber, and arts facilitator and community activist Sharon Kravitz. Fun was had by all.

[ March 24, 2008; 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. ]

Hi all,

I was saddened to read of the imminent closing of Wally’s Burgers on Kingsway at the end of this month, and the resulting disappearance of one last bit of that strip’s historic car culture. Between that and the looming “redevelopment” of the 2400 Motel, the last one standing of many such motels that used [...]