Keira-anne.com

Last week I took some time off work and escaped to Vancouver Island for nine days. Much of that time was spent wearing stretchy pants, watching HGTV, sleeping in late, stuffing my face with all kinds of food that’s bad for me (my skin was hating me for doing so), drinking beer, BBQing, baking and catching up with friends. I managed to squeeze in a day of going through old boxes with my mom and aunt, hoping to find a lot that could be given away or recycled.

I discovered far more spiders and mice than this city girl is kosher with, but also learned that apparently I used to be a major pack rat. I saved everything from tees to receipts and even hotel shower caps. However, among the overstuffed boxes laid a few gems and memories that I thought I’d take the time to gratuitously share with you all.

My summer of 15. Taking trips to Vancouver, sans parents, was always a thrill. We never had shops like Underground in Courtenay. Plus, I knew I’d never get to see Trainspotting if my parents had anything to say about it.

When I did find myself in the city with one or both parents, a Vancouver Canucks’ hockey game was almost always on the agenda. Anyone raised in BC will certainly remember the 1994 playoffs and the legendary roster.

Apparently there was also a NBA team that called Vancouver home at one time…

I also found my old diary…

… and somewhere in the boxes was my baby book.

I’ll never forget my first concert. My dad took me to see U2′s Zoo TV World Tour at BC Place when I was 11, and I still remember the butterflies I felt while stepping off the Skytrain. I was crushing on Bono – hard.

There’s no better way to hear Achtung Baby than live and loud.

(Yeah, I don’t get it either.)

These belonged to my mom and aunt when they were little girls and got passed along. Somewhere there’s a hipster dying to own them.

Remember a long, long time ago… about 24 years ago? There was a little exhibition along the waterfront at False Creek in Vancouver and people came from far and wide to share in the cultural experience. Expo ’86 brought the world to our slice of the planet for five months in 1986, bringing with it iconic legacies that are still part of Vancouver in 2010.

I went through a phase in junior high where I collected everything and anything I could get my hands on from the world fair. At one point I even found a stuffed, life-size Expo Ernie (the official mascot), but he sadly succumbed to dirt, dust, mice and water damage. A few items remained in near-mint condition.

“Something’s Happening Here” played during the evening fireworks display. What I wouldn’t give to be able to digitalize the tape and play it here for you all. It’s the epitome of “epic”.

Though I was incredibly young at the time, I still have a few fond memories of the trip I took with my family across the water and into the colourful, musical, creative gates of Expo ’86.

Purple velcro shoes? Check.

Somewhere in the memorabilia boxes from Expo ’86, I also found a ton of buttons. I suspect the aquarium buttons were from way back when it was still okay to keep whales and dolphins in captivity. Oh wait…

Last, though certainly not the least, comes one of my most treasured pictures. For reasons unbeknownst to me, at one time there were lions and tigers (yet not bears) on display at the Driftwood Mall in Courtenay. My dad paid to have a Polaroid snapped of me holding a tiger cub. I’m guessing that he’s not so cuddly and cute anymore (and hopefully not still in captivity either).

While more than half a dozen bags and three or four boxes were bound up for the thrift store and recycling bins, I’m not cutthroat enough to get rid of any of these items. Who knows when my eighth grade medal for basketball sportsmanship will come in handy?

Not joining: it’s what I’m famous for. I’ve always been more content to strut to my own beat rather than go with the flow. I often resist change and will purposely avoid jumping bandwagons simply out of principle.

The same could not be more true of my relationship with social media. I was one of those straggling converts from MySpace to Facebook years ago. For the longest time I held my ground over Twitter, unable to see the point in “micro blogging”. However, as this blog gains the structure and focused content it’s been featuring lately, I find myself with less opportunities to share personal thoughts in more than 140 characters. Isn’t that always the chagrin of Twitter?

Last night I started a Tumblr account-slash-blog in an effort to bring back a personal aspect to my online interactions. From what I can tell so far, I think Tumblr may just suit my needs quite creatively because it’s essentially an online scrapbook. You don’t need to be on Tumblr to check me out – my new postings will automatically be posted to my Twitter account. So simple.

For more than a decade, wine makers and wine lovers have been converging at Mount Washington Alpine Resort for the annual Alpine Wine Festival. The event has become increasingly popular, packing full the elegantly rustic Raven Lodge, and it’s quickly become one of my must-dos over the summer months.

Last weekend I grabbed one of my way-back girlfriends and headed up the mountain in the courtesy shuttle. We were soon greeted by cheery faces, an outdoor BBQ and beautifully etched wine glasses ready for filling.

The tempting cheese and fruit platters didn’t hurt either. Pairing cheese with wine is a fundamental of “Wine Drinking 101″, and it didn’t take either of us very long to dig into the brie and smoked gouda.

99 times out of 100, I’ll pick red wine over white, so I tend to split my preferred wines into two categories: (1) wine I buy when I’m cooking and want to make an impression; and (2) easy-drinking wine that I can uncork to facilitate a relaxing evening on the couch. I found no shortage of either here.

Events like the Alpine Wine Festival provide for an array of tastings and, hopefully, will open up one’s palate to new varietals. While I’ll almost always pick a pinot noir over any other offering, prior to last year’s event, I drew the line at shiraz. I’ve since learned that shiraz and syrah are, in fact, the same kind of wine (dependent on which region around the globe each hails from) and have even found one or two that I really enjoy.

With countless bottles to sip and sample from, I was bound to find some hits and misses. Some wines of note that I particularly fancied included: The Show – an Argentinian malbec; the 2006 pinot noir from Nichol Vineyard – straight from BC’s Naramata Bench; a gamay noir from Hillside Estate – also from Naramata; Ex-Nihilo‘s merlot from the Okanagan Valley; and Strut – a refreshing and summery rosé (with legs!) from the Niagara Peninsula.

The showstopper of the evening for yours truly was undoubtedly Averill Creek‘s Prevost, named for one of the Cowichan Valley’s mountains and ripe with carefully crafted flavour that just about knocked my strappy sandals off.

Perhaps one of the best aspects of the Alpine Wine Festival – apart from the obvious – is the opportunity to interact with the proprietors and learn about where what you’re sipping comes from. Wine making is a thorough and often fascinating practice that dates back thousands of years, and no two vintners’ secrets are alike.

The Alpine Wine Festival is held each summer at Mount Washington Alpine Resort and will be entering its 13th year in 2011. While there’s a 51-week wait until next year’s fest, the mountain’s got a lot of great activities and events to tide you over until then. You can check them out online or follow along on Twitter to stay up-to-date and be the first to know when the snow starts falling.

Disclosure: Though I was not paid or asked to write about the Alpine Wine Festival, I received admission for myself and my friend at no charge.

For 363 days each year, the Village of Cumberland is one of Vancouver Island’s sleepiest towns, its streets dotted with heritage homes, a handful of locally-run shops and a towering brick post office. The other two days of the year, it’s a totally different story…

The Big Time Out has quickly become one of BC’s biggest music festivals that packs a lot of star punch. This year the music festival is returning to its two-day roots, covering the weekend of August 14 and 15, 2010. “We’ve worked hard to create a really special place for artists and music lovers,” enthuses Vig Schulman, the show’s producer. “The word has gotten out among artists, agents and the whole music community that Cumberland is a great place to play, even worth making a big detour from a busy world tour.“

Canada’s beloved indie superheroes Broken Social Scene are headlining this year’s show, bringing their world-class sound to Cumberland on their only Canadian stop this summer before hitting the U.S. tour circuit. Adding some heavyweight star power is Somali-Canadian hip hop artist K’naan, fresh off a World Cup high where his song “Waving Flag” was FIFA’s anthem for the event. Other acts confirmed for The Big Time Out include Winter Gloves, Hannah Georgas, Ohbjou, The Acorn and a ton more!

The Big Time Out will be rockin’ the party at Cumberland Village Park – it’s on one of the Comox Valley’s transit routes, so considering leaving your car at home. Kids 12 and under are free; tickets for us big kids are a steal at $62.50 for each of Saturday and Sunday (or $107.20 for a weekend pass). Tickets can be purchased in a snap online and at various retailers across Vancouver Island. Check the website for more information.