On Wednesday May 9, the Calgary Stampede, Tourism Calgary, and Travel Alberta will host a public White Hat Drop in three Canadian cities sequentially with a chance for one lucky person to win a once-in-a-century prize! Hidden inside one of 150 white hats on the stairs of the Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson x Hornby Street), one red envelope will contain a once-in-a-century prize package to experience the Calgary Stampede during its Centennial Anniversary.

Here is the schedule and timing for the White Hat Drop:

• 11:30 a.m. PDT – 150 wristbands to be distributed to the first 150 people. Participants will line up behind one of two designated corners of entry
• 12:30 p.m. PDT – 10 participants at a time will get access to the designated area and will have 30 seconds to choose one white hat to stand beside.
• 12:35 p.m. PDT – All participants simultaneously uncover chosen hat to discover if they have won the red envelope

The VIP prize package for two people includes the following:

• Round-trip airfare to Calgary and two nights accommodation at Hotel Arts
• Two tickets to the sold out Garth Brooks concert on July 12
• Two Day Thrill package for the Calgary Stampede, includes Rodeo tickets, a VIP behind the scenes chuckwagon experience, evening show and more
• A $250 gift card to get officially outfitted at Lammle’s Western Wear & Tack
• A Stampede dining experience featuring chef Paul Rogalski at Rouge Restaurant, one of only 2 restaurants in Canada to receive the top 100 restaurant rating in the world by San Pellegrino
• Cocktails and tapas at one of Calgary’s newest and most coveted restaurants, Ox &Angela
• A look into Calgary outside of the Stampede gates, with passes to: Glenbow Museum, Calgary Tower, and the Calgary Zoo

If you happen to be in the Vancouver Art Gallery area during the hat drop, feel free to Tweet with the national event hashtag: #HatsOffYYC.

To celebrate the launch of The New Granville Island Market Cookbook, join authors Judie Glick and Carol Jensson for an “Eat and Greet” at The Blue Parrot in the Market on Granville Island. This free and casual event takes place on Thursday May 10th from 7pm to 9pm.  Food and refreshments will be provided and books will be for sale for $25.

EAT! Vancouver is Canada’s largest consumer food, beverage and cooking festival taking place at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC on June 1 – 3, 2012. The food show features hundreds of food, beverage and kitchen goods exhibitors along with wineries, breweries, restaurants, cooking demonstrations, wine and cheese seminars, cookbook authors, and chef competitions.  For its tenth anniversary, EAT! Vancouver will be returning to its former home at the newly renovated BC Place Stadium on June 1-3, 2012.

While at EAT! Vancouver, you will enjoy shopping in the marketplace of over 250 exhibit booths. Producers, manufacturers, retailers and food artisans will showcase a wide assortment of unique products for eating, drinking, cooking, entertaining, and outfitting a kitchen. Exhibits will include everything from gourmet foods to kitchen accessories.

Come for lunch and stay for dinner at EAT! Vancouver’s Bite of Vancouver restaurant pavilion. The chefs of favourite Lower Mainland restaurants will serve up appetizer portions of their signature recipes. For a nominal charge of $1 to $4 per item you will be able to savour the flavours of numerous eateries.

Also, new for this year is the Pop-Up Culinary Centre, where guests can sign up for one-hour cooking classes taught by instructors from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts.

For you Food Network buffs out there, appearances on the Food Network Celebrity Stage include:

• Chef Rob Feenie - Vancouver’s own Iron Chef America winner and Cactus Club Restaurants Food Concept Architect
• Chef Bob Blumer - Host of World’s Weirdest Restaurants and Glutton for Punishment
• David Rocco – Host of David Rocco’s Dolce Vita
• Annabelle Waugh – Food director for Canadian Living Magazine and winner of Season One of Food Network Canada’s Top Chef Canada
• Chef Dale MacKay – from Ensemble Restaurant & Bar and eTap

Admission prices are as follows: $9 for Students (13 to 16) and $14 for adults (after the $2 discount for purchasing your ticket online here). Hope to see you there!

MMV Giveaway: Modern Mix Vancouver is giving away a pair of tickets to EAT! Vancouver.  To enter, leave a comment below telling us your favourite thing to EAT!  A random winner will be chosen from the comments below. Be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you’re a winner. Contest ends Sunday, May 20th (11:59pm PST).  

For additional entries, you can do the following things;

• For a second entry: Follow @ModernMixVan on Twitter and tweet “I want to win a pair of tickets to @Eat_Vancouver from @ModernMixVan. http://bit.ly/Ic7VUu. RT to enter!”
• For a third entry: Like” the Modern Mix Vancouver Page on Facebook and write on the wall: “I want to win a pair of tickets to EAT! Vancouver from Modern Mix Vancouver: http://bit.ly/Ic7VUu”

As spring and summer approach and we begin to peel back our layers, it’s very important to prepare your skin for the warmer months. Vancouverites will be happy to know that our city is the exclusive Canadian launch location for Curel moisturizers and cleansers (Japan’s number one dry and sensitive skincare brand).

On Saturday April 28th from noon to 4pm, Modern Mix Vancouver readers can speak personally to beauty advisors in store, and obtain free samples of the new line, while supplies last. Vancouver Dermatologist Dr. Shannon Humphrey will be on-site as well and one lucky attendee has the chance to win a Curel prize pack.  This free event is open to the public and will be held at the London Drugs at 525 West Broadway.

Modern Mix Vancouver was invited to a preview of the new IKEA (located right beside the old IKEA it is replacing) in Richmond.  Catered bite-sized nibbles and drinks were served in the massive IKEA Restaurant, which is able to seat 600+ people.  There was a definite, noticeable difference in size compared to the old IKEA – 334,004 square feet of space (compared to 201,285 at the old IKEA), 51 room settings (compared to 31) and nearly 2,000 parking spots, 500 of which are located under the store.

To check this out for yourself, IKEA Canada is extending an invitation for everyone to come celebrate the launch of its newest store in Richmond (3320 Jacombs Road) on April 25th.  Beginning at 8:20am, take part in opening ceremony celebrations and be one of the first to experience the 1.5 km walk through the new 334,000 sq ft store. IKEA will be rewarding the first 1,000 fans in line with mystery envelopes that will offer anything from an IKEA hot dog to a $250 IKEA gift card.

The opening ceremonies will feature a flag raising ceremony with anthems and remarks from Linda Reid, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Richmond East. Magicians, face painters and jugglers will be entertaining the crowd and a traditional Lion Dotting Ceremony with Chang Performance will honour Richmond’s cultural community.

By Manveet Virk, Modern Mix Vancouver writer

If you’re looking for a really fun and original date night idea, there’s a hot new parody in town that will have you laughing the night away. Vancouver TheatreSports® League on Granville Island has added Dragons’ Improve Tank to its list of regular events. This hilarious parody features a fire-and-brimstone panel of Improv Dragons, who are veterans of the improv world.

There is plenty of audience participation so choose to get involved or just sit back and enjoy some amusing and clever humour. Schedule and ticket info available here.

Join the Women in Leadership Foundation for the 7th annual BC Women in Business Luncheon and listen to inspirational women from different industries share their journeys of leadership, how they overcame obstacles along the way, and the best tips for success they have ever received. Ultimately, their stories of success and wisdom become ours to share.

This year’s theme will be Mentorship – Best Advice I Ever Got, featuring keynote speaker Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, Chair, Vancouver Board of Trade; CEO, Century Plaza Hotel and Absolute Spa Group.

In addition, the event includes a panel of three inspirational women from various industries sharing their journeys of leadership, overcoming obstacles, and the best tips for success they have ever received. Ultimately, their stories of success and wisdom become ours to share. This year’s speakers include Jill Earthy, CEO, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, Rebecca Bollwitt, Miss604 and Jane Russell, Senior Vice President, Pacific Region, TD Canada Trust.

Regular tickets are $55 and student discounted tickets are $45. Proceeds from the Women in Business Luncheon will support the WIL Mentorship Program; a program that helps to increase women’s participation in management or leadership positions in Canada through mentorship and leadership skills development.

For more information and to register online, click here.

By Manveet Virk, Modern Mix Vancouver writer

If you’ve had a hectic past month like some of us, you may have let this event almost pass by without even catching a glimpse of the pink flash mobs of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival! But luckily, the not-for-profit Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Society went to great lengths this year to have enough opportunities for practically anyone to accommodate! From now until April 28th, there are three more events to look forward to commemorate the 37,000 ornamental cherry trees generously gifted from Japan in the 1930’s to the City of Vancouver. Check out the three finale events here.

On Friday April 27th, the Shops at Morgan Crossing (15765 Croydon Drive, Surrey) will be hosting A Night of Fashion, in support of Arts Umbrella. Activities run all afternoon and evening, from 1 p.m. onwards.  The event starts with glamorous pre-evening activities including consultations with Canadian stylist Claudia Da Ponte at Winners; makeovers courtesy of London Drugs; and exclusive deals from Blo Dry Bar, Pure Nail Bar and Noir Lash Lounge starting at 1 p.m. (Appointments must be made directly with retailers.)

The evening festivities begin at 6 p.m. with exclusive fashion shows hosted by retailers Banana Republic and Hudson Madison. Calvin Klein will be hosting an in-store event with DJs, cocktails and live models! Dunn’s Tailors will be hosting a Men’s Lounge throughout the evening, complete with Whiskey tastings and hot shaves, by donation. Outside, Langley BMW and Langley Mini will showcase the latest and greatest in German-engineered automotive technology under the concierge tent.

There is no cost to attend the event, but donations are encouraged for some activities with all proceeds to support Arts Umbrella.