(These are FREE listings. Email: EditorVoice@gmail.com)
Metropolis at Metrotown: Interactive “Lightroom”
Now until September 7: 12-7 p.m. at Metropolis at Metrotown – Grand Court, Lower Level. Cost: Free. Celebrating the International Year of Light with an exciting digital and visual experiential event. Inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama’s mirrored infinity room and the Social Soul experience at the 2014 TED Conference, the “Lightroom” is a unique and artistic installation comprised of a 60-second walk-through experience tied to social media. The Lightroom measures 20 feet by 35 feet and will immerse the customer in an illusion of thousands of twinkling lights. Customers who upload a photo of their #METlightroom experience to Twitter or Instagram will be entered for a chance to win weekly gift card prizes, VIP tickets to the Celebration of Light fireworks show, and a $1,000 grand prize shopping spree. A stunning 70-foot interactive light curtain will also be on display over the Grand Court elevator. Website:
Surrey Libraries: Summer Reading Club
This year’s theme is Build it! Kids of all ages can build an amazing summer with great books, special programs, contests, and more free family fun. Sign up at any of Surrey Libraries’ 9 branches and get a reading record to keep track of summer reading, collect stickers, participate in games and contests, and earn a reading medal. Free. http://www.surreylibraries.ca/5370.aspx
Surrey: Movies Under the Stars
Grab some chairs or a blanket and bring the family to Holland Park in Surrey every Saturday in August and watch some of your favourite family-friendly movies. Wreck-It Ralph starts off the summer movie series at Surrey’s Holland Park at 13428 Old Yale Road on Saturday, August 1, followed by Home on August 8, How to Train Your Dragon 2 on August 15, Cinderella on August 22 and Big Hero 6 wraps up the summer on August 29. The event is free. Activities and entertainment start at 5 p.m., movie starts at dusk. But everyone is invited to arrive early to participate in fun activities and watch great performances by local entertainers. Staff from local branches of Prospera Credit Union will be handing out free popcorn (by donation to the Surrey Christmas Bureau) as attendees settle in to enjoy the movie. If you come early, bring a picnic dinner or support the North Surrey Lions Club, who will once again be barbecuing hamburgers and hot dogs, with proceeds donated to local charities.
South Asian Seniors: Meditation for Anxieties
Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian adults / senior members and also non-members to come and attend Meditation for Anxieties (Worries) to retrieve your “inner child” so that you can become whole as a person and learn better self care by Dr. Jaswant S. Bhopal, a psychiatrist, physician & spiritual preceptor on Sunday, August 2, 2-3:30 p.m., at Shanti Niketan Hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple, 8321 – 140th Street, Surrey. Bring a yoga mat with you. Dr. Bhopal will answer all your questions. Tea and light snacks will be served. Call Surendra Handa at 604-507-9945 for further information.
Third Eye Awakening Demo
The Vedic Cultural Centre, 8200 No. 5 Road, Richmond, will host nine-year-old Ma Yogamaatha who, with initiation by Paramahamsa Nithyanandar from India, can read blindfolded. When: Sunday, August 2 at 11 a.m. For more information, call Ma Ananda Atma Sarayu at 604-512-9619.
Surrey Libraries: Young Adult Writing Contest
This summer, be creative, have some fun and win cash prizes. Enter a short story, poem, or comic in Surrey Libraries’ Young Adult Writing Contest. Cash prizes will be awarded per category and age group. The contest is open to ages 12 to 18 years. Entries must be in by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4. It’s free to enter. Entry rules and forms are available at www.surreylibraries.ca/teens. If you want to improve your writing or share your creativity, sign up for any of these free teen programs. Details in the Libraries or online at
Shree Mata Bhameshwari Durga Devi Society Mahayagya
12th Annual Bhameshwari Jhanda Mela on August 4 at Royal King Banquet Hall, Payal Business Centre, Surrey. Renowned singers are coming to sing Maa Durga Bhents: Surinder Laadi, Jot Virk, Pushpinder Kaur and Dalwinder Dyalpuri. Ved Path – 5 p.m. 2100 Path – 5:30 p.m. Dandiya Nritya – 6 p.m. Jhanda Mela Shobha Yatra – 6:30 p.m. Kanya Poojan – 7 p.m. Mahan Arti – 7:30 p.m. Bhagwati Chowki – 9 p.m. Variety of food stalls and rides for kids. For any information, call Dr. Dutta at 604-722-4958.
MOSAIC
* Canadian Citizenship Application Process: August 5, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at MOSAIC Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway. Contact Solmaz at 604-438-8214, ext. 120. * Canadian Citizenship Preparation: August 5 & 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at New Westminster Public Library, Main Branch, 716–6th Avenue. Call Faustin at 604-438-8214, ext. 112. * Basic Job Search Skills for Newcomers: Networking Skills on August 6, 1:30–3:30 p.m. at Bob Prittie Metrotown Burnaby Public Library, 6100 Willingdon Avenue. Call Faustin at 604-438-8214, ext. 112.
Richmond Multicultural Community Services
Are you looking for a job? Do you need free help to settle in Canada? Contact Karamjit at 604-279-7160 or email: karamjit@rmcs.bc.ca. Karamjit Jagdeo, South Asian Settlement Worker.
Miss Fiji Canada Beauty Pageant
The first ever Miss Fiji Canada competition will be held during the 2015 Fiji Day Celebration at the Royal King Palace, #366-8158-128th Street (Payal Business Centre), Surrey. The show will include competitions & awards for Miss Fiji Canada, entertainment and dinner. For the very first time in Canada, Prime Minister of Fiji, Rear Admiral Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, and wife Maria Bainimarama will join Miss Fiji Canada Beauty Pageant & Red Carpet Charity Gala as guests of honor on August 7. Tickets: $50; $25 for children ages 7 to 15. No tickets will be available at the door. For ticket information, contact Shobna Prasad at 778-918-1496 or Arvind Prasad at 778-918-4188; also Kamal’s Video Palace in Surrey. Email: missfijicanada@gmail.com. Website: http://www.missfijicanada.com
Pre-Parliament of World’s Religions
“Reclaiming the Heart of our Humanity” on Saturday, August 8, 10 .am. to 4:30 p.m. at Richmond Cultural Center, 7700 Minoru Gate Road. In association with the Council of Parliament of the World’s Religions, the Multifaith Action Society joins with Global Clergy Association, City of Richmond, and a host of community sponsors to host a Pre-Parliament of the World’s Religions Conference that is free and open to all. All those who are interested in religion, social justice, human rights, peace, secularism and the environment are invited to participate. The day will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions, focusing on “Climate Change and Protection of the Environment” and “Violence and Efforts for Reconciliation and Peace,” respectively. A free vegetarian lunch will be provided by the Vedic Cultural and Community Center of Richmond, and light refreshments will be available throughout. Main speakers: Acharya S.P. Dwivedi, interfaith activist, journalist, and Hindi scholar; Maureen Jack-LaCroix, Creative Director, Be The Change Earth Alliance; Mary Polak, Minister of Environment; Dr. Frank James, Associate Professor, University of Washington; Chief Reuben George, Tsleil Waututh Nation; Fin Donnelly, NDP MP, New Westminster-Coquitlam-Port Moody; Dr. Jagessar Das, interspiritual activist and author; Dr. Balbir Gurm, Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships; Jim Cessford, former Delta Chief of Police. Register online at www.multifaithaction.org or by contacting organizer Acharya Dwivedi by phone at 604-507-3099 or by email at shrinath3099@gmail.com.
Vancouver’s 42nd Annual Chariot Fest of India
Sunday, August 9 at Beach Avenue & Stanley Park at 2nd Beach. The parade features people-powered chariot, kiddies train ride, cultural floats, marching bands and more. Starts at 11:30 a.m. at Beach Avenue at Howe Street and proceeds to 2nd Beach in Stanley Park. The Festival of India: After the parade from 1 p.m. until dusk in Stanley Park at 2nd Beach by the pool. Features performing artists on two stages, live theatre, music, cultural dances & other performances. 20 large tent exhibits, yoga and veggie cooking demos, Mendi tattoos, market bazaar, children’s fun tents, face painting, clowns, puppets, balloon artists, games, prizes & more. Free feast. Free admission.
PICS Self-Employment Program
Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society will deliver the next PICS Self-Employment Program in September. Through this initiative, PICS would be supporting potential entrepreneurs in Delta and Surrey. Self-Employment Services are available through WorkBC Program to British Columbian job seekers who are unemployed and who are legally eligible to work in British Columbia. These individuals may have: * An EI unemployment benefit period that has been established or has ended within the last 36 months (3 years) prior to the date of requesting assistance; or * An EI benefit period that included a maternity or parental claim has been established within the 60 months (5 years) prior to the date of requesting assistance, after which the individual remained out of the labour market in order to care for a newborn or newly adopted child and are now seeking to re-enter the labour force. * A Persons with Disability designation or Person with Persistent Multiple Barrier status; or, * A Persons with Disability designation who are neither EI nor BCEA clients. Selected clients may be eligible to receive up to $300 per week for 48 weeks. For more information as to how individuals may access PICS Self-Employment Program, attend an information session at PICS Head Office, Unit 205, 12725 80th Avenue, Surrey, on Wednesday, August 12 at 2:30 p.m. When you attend the PICS Self-Employment Program you will develop self-employment skills, including developing a business plan, a marketing plan, arrange start-up funding and managing your cash. Seating is limited. To attend the session you must pre-register at deshpal.grewal@pics.bc.ca or sunil.rawat@pics.bc.ca. For further information, contact Deshpal Grewal at 604-596-7722, ext. 126, or Sunil Rawat at 604-596-7722, ext. 128.
SANSAD and CPPC Joint Public Forum
On the 68th anniversary of the end of British colonialism in the subcontinent: “Race, Class, and Empire” on August 15, 2-5 p.m., at Room 120, Surrey Centre Library, 10350 University Drive, Surrey. Speaker: Arun Kundnani. Panelists: Harsha Walia, Indira Prahst, Itrath Syed. Moderator: Zahid Makhdoom. Arun Kundnani teaches at New York University and is the author of “The End of Tolerance: Racism in the Twenty-First Century” (2007) and “Muslims are Coming: Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror” (2014). Harsha Walia is the author of “Undoing Border Imperialism” (2013). Indira Prahst teaches in the Department of Sociology, Langara College. Her book, “Media, Bridging the Gaps in Perception,” is forthcoming. Ithrath Syed is doing her PhD at Simon Fraser University. Zahid Makhdoom is a defender of human rights. Organized by South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD, www.sansad.org) and Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians (CPPC). Co-sponsored by No One Is Illegal (NOII). Contact: Chin: 604-421-6752; Shahzad: 604-613-0735.
Pakistan Festival
The Pakistan Festival Organizing Committee (Pakistan-Canada Association, Pakistani Canadian Women’s Society, Pakistani Youth Council and Consulate General of Pakistan) bring you Pakistan Festival featuring Shehzad Roy on August 16 from noon to 8 p.m. at Surrey’s Holland Park: music, fashion, food, games, activities, cultural artifacts and much more await you. A free event for the entire family.
Richmond Police and Fire Team: “Camp Courage” for Youth
The Richmond RCMP, Richmond Fire-Rescue, and the City of Richmond are teaming up to deliver one-day camps this summer that will afford children the opportunity to find out what it’s like to be a police officer and firefighter. Children will learn about the training, responsibilities, skills, and equipment involved in policing and firefighting through demonstrations and hands on activities. Camp Courage is a great opportunity for police and fire personnel to communicate with youth and their parents, acting as positive role models, and mentoring youth towards goals of social responsibility and civic mindedness. The camps take place from: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following dates and locations: * August 19 at South Arm Community Centre * August 26 at Cambie Community Centre. The camps are open to children aged 9 to 12. A small fee of $10 per child covers a T-shirt, supplies, and pizza lunch. Space is limited. Register your child through: * Online anytime at http://www.richmond.ca/parksrec/about/registration.htm * Call the Richmond Community Services Registration Call Centre at 604-276-4300, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. * In-person at Richmond’s recreation and cultural facilities
Langley’s International Festival
On August 22 & 23, the Langley’s International Festival Society is celebrating its 15th annual festival at the ‘Willoughby Community Park’ just outside the Langley Events Centre, located at 7888 – 200 Street. Both days will be full of entertainments as numerous dancers and musicians from different cultures have been confirmed to perform on the main stage. There will be a number of fun filled performances and other activities in the Children Chalet including Kids Have Talent contest, dances, singings, and music, face painting, balloons, and the Fraser Valley Regional Library’s booth for the multicultural crafts, surprising gifts, giveaways, draws, etc. At the Food Pavilion, you will find 15 food vendors having different cultural foods, over 60 vendors from around the world selling items like handmade jewellery, clothing, and gifts, and many other activities such as International Pavilions, Art Gallery, rides, Parade of Nations, and so on. Everyone is invited. The entry will be by a donation of $2 per person or $5 per family. This event provides a great advertising opportunity to local businesses by having their participation in international marketplace and food pavilions. For details, visit www.internationalfestival.ca or email at marketplace@nternationalfestival.ca or call 778-298-7703. For volunteering, email:
volunteers@internationalfestival.ca
Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association: Home Reno Show
Home Reno Show on September 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, 2080 United Boulevard, Coquitlam. Cost: Free. This is your one stop shop to bring your renovation plans and Ask-A-Pro in a free one-on-one consultation. Visit 50 booths of industry experts between attending the ongoing complimentary educational seminars. The more seminars you attend the more chances to win a Dream Renovator’s Prize Package.
