freelancer

freelancer

Victoria hosts Klondike

photo - Cooper & Levy store, 104-106 1st Ave. S. near Yesler Way, Seattle, 1897. The store was one of the major outfitters of the Klondike Gold Rush

Cooper & Levy store, 104-106 1st Ave. S. near Yesler Way, Seattle, 1897. The store was one of the major outfitters of the Klondike Gold Rush. (photo from Asahel Curtis Collection, University of Washington UW 4770) The archival images and…

Artistic responses

photo - Gabriolans held a candlelight vigil after antisemitic graffiti was found at Camp Miriam. An arts festival will take place Feb. 7-9

Gabriolans held a candlelight vigil after antisemitic graffiti was found at Camp Miriam. An arts festival will take place Feb. 7-9. (photo from You’ve Got a Friend) Since Camp Miriam on Gabriola Island was defaced with antisemitic graffiti in December,…

Making hydrogen from sunlight

photo - Avigail Landman, right, and Rawan Halabi with an experimental prototype device

Avigail Landman, right, and Rawan Halabi with an experimental prototype device. (photo from Ashernet) Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a prototype system for efficient and safe production of hydrogen using only solar energy. Published in the…

Tips for inclusivity

image - If you’ve got a kid with special needs, it can be hard to find the right learning experiences and it can require extra work to make them accessible

If you’ve got a kid with special needs, it can be hard to find the right learning experiences and it can require extra work to make them accessible. (image from clker-free-vector-images (pixabay.com)) All Jewish kids deserve to have access to…

A time to learn who we are

photo - For many kids, camp is the only time they find themselves in a less structured environment

For many kids, camp is the only time they find themselves in a less structured environment. (photo from pixabay.com) I remember the days when going to camp was the annual ritual, part of the summer holiday agenda. In our Winnipeg…

אזהרת מסע

photo - The warning states that Gaza should be avoided altogether

באזהרה נאמר כי יש להימנע לחלוטין מלהגיע לרצועת עזה. (David Berkowitz)  הממשלה הקנדית פירסמה אזהרת מסע לישראל, עזה והשטחים – לאור הגברת המתיחות במזרח התיכון, והפעילות של האמריקנים מול האיראנים והפוך. אזהרת המסע שפורסמה בראשית החודש עדיין תקפה. לגבי ביקור…

BRCAinBC’s inaugural event

photo - Jane Remocker and her daughter, Catriona, holding a photo of Geoff Remocker, who passed away in 2016 from pancreatic cancer

Jane Remocker and her daughter, Catriona, holding a photo of Geoff Remocker, who passed away in 2016 from pancreatic cancer. (photo from BRCAinBC Committee) Education is a key goal of the upcoming One in 40: From Awareness to Empowerment event…

Funds for Jewish studies

photo - Prof. Gregg Gardner has held the Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics at the University of British Columbia since 2011

Prof. Gregg Gardner has held the Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics at the University of British Columbia since 2011. (photo from UBC Media Relations) Gregg Gardner conveys an infectious exuberance when speaking of the $1 million donation from…

Police incident at shul

No one was injured and police are ruling out antisemitic motivations after an intruder caused a standoff in Victoria’s Emanu-El synagogue. Victoria police were called to the historic Blanshard Street synagogue shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 9 after a…

Extremes and elections

Drawing parallels between political events in disparate countries may be folly, but it’s the season for frivolity, so why not. As British Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson was piling up an historically massive majority government, Canada’s Conservative leader Andrew Scheer…

Jacob Samuel records album

photo - Jacob Samuel is at Yuk Yuk’s Vancouver Dec. 27-28 to record his debut stand-up comedy album

Jacob Samuel is at Yuk Yuk’s Vancouver Dec. 27-28 to record his debut stand-up comedy album. (photo from Jacob Samuel) Jacob Samuel’s headlining performances at Yuk Yuk’s Vancouver Dec. 27 and 28 are special – Samuel is recording his debut…

It’s a Wonderful Life in music

photo - Erin Palm and Nick Fontaine reprise their roles as Mary and George Bailey in Patrick Street Productions’ musical It’s a Wonderful Life

Erin Palm and Nick Fontaine reprise their roles as Mary and George Bailey in Patrick Street Productions’ musical It’s a Wonderful Life. (photo by David Cooper) So ingrained in popular culture is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life that many…

Be in on the joke in AI

Hannah Everett, left, and Drew Carlson co-star in Artisanal Intelligence, at the Havana Theatre Jan. 14-18. (photo from Spec Theatre) Drew Carlson and Jewish community member Hannah Everett are reprising their roles in Artisanal Intelligence, which again plays at the Havana Theatre,…

Alice’s wonder and silliness

photo - Kat Palmer, left, and Kyra Leroux during the final dress rehearsal for Alice in Wonderland – The Panto, which opened at Metro Theatre Dec. 13 and runs to Jan. 4

Kat Palmer, left, and Kyra Leroux during the final dress rehearsal for Alice in Wonderland – The Panto, which opened at Metro Theatre Dec. 13 and runs to Jan. 4. (photo by Tracy-Lynn Chernaske) “In Alice in Wonderland – The…

Classes on being a DJ

photo - Michael Fraser teaches group electronic music and DJ classes at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver

Michael Fraser teaches group electronic music and DJ classes at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (photo from Michael Fraser) As a violinist, music producer and DJ, Michael Fraser’s musical talents traverse many realms. Yet, despite the proficiency and…

Annual civil courage tribute

photo - Chiune Sugihara, 1941. This year’s Raoul Wallenberg Day event includes the screening of Persona Non Grata: The Story of Chiune Sugihara

Chiune Sugihara, 1941. This year’s Raoul Wallenberg Day event includes the screening of Persona Non Grata: The Story of Chiune Sugihara. (photo from Vilnius-Green House exhibit) On Sunday, Jan. 19, the 15th annual Raoul Wallenberg Day event pays tribute to…

O My God at Emanu-El

Bema Productions presents the Canadian première of the comedy O My God at Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue in Victoria, Jan. 16-26. In O My God by Israeli playwright Anat Gov, God walks into a therapist’s office suffering from depression. The therapist…

Inspired through story, song

photo - Musician Myrna Rabinowitz, left, and Jewish Senior Alliance’s Shanie Levin

Musician Myrna Rabinowitz, left, and Jewish Senior Alliance’s Shanie Levin. (photo from JSA) The theme of this year’s Jewish Seniors Alliance-Snider Foundation Empowerment Series is “Be inspired!” and the first of four sessions was called Be Inspired through Story and…

Many milestones for Wosk in 2019

photo - Dr. Yosef Wosk, right, with Max Wyman, 2017

Dr. Yosef Wosk, right, with Max Wyman, 2017. (photo by Fred Cawsey) The Yosef Wosk Poetry Initiative at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, which began in 2009, marked its 10th year with a celebratory gathering of artists and…

Green Thumb milestone

photo - Breanne Harmon at the 41st Annual Business / Arts Awards

Breanne Harmon at the 41st Annual Business / Arts Awards. (photo from Business / Arts) On Nov. 7, Vancouver-based Green Thumb Theatre, in partnership with TELUS, was awarded the Community Impact Award sponsored by KPMG at the 41st Annual Business…

Mystery photos … Dec. 20/19

photo - Photographs from an unidentified event in 1985, possibly a University of British Columbia event, likely in honour of Harry Adaskin, who is pictured centre-right in the above photo

Photographs from an unidentified event in 1985, possibly a University of British Columbia event, likely in honour of Harry Adaskin, who is pictured centre-right in the above photo. (JWB fonds, JMABC L.13769) If you know someone in these photos, please help…

The supporting cast in our lives

Shabbat, Dec. 21 Vayeishev, Genesis 37:1-40:23 I am a rabbi because of a game of catch I played at camp with a rabbi more than three times my age. I found love and happiness and my partner in life because…

A not so diasporic dialogue

Awhile back, friends invited me to a writers group. Although I told them that I wasn’t quite the right fit for the group, they convinced me to go. The meeting was nearby. I enjoyed walking on a cold, dark and…

Providing care and support

photo - Jamie Kinaschuk helps caregivers in various ways

Jamie Kinaschuk helps caregivers in various ways. (photo from Jamie Kinaschuk) “When somebody faces a situation of becoming a caregiver, they can embrace it and see it as a sense of purpose for the person they’re caring for, or they…

Constructing age-tech maps

photo - Keren Etkin

Keren Etkin (photo by Pazit Oz) Keren Etkin, a 32-year-old Israeli master’s student, has been working on what she calls the Age Tech Market Map. This small but full link library is a place for older adults to find the…

Living’s Jewish aspects

photo - A still from the Netflix show Living With Yourself, co-starring Paul Rudd

A still from the Netflix show Living With Yourself, co-starring Paul Rudd. As the secular New Year approaches, many people make resolutions, in an effort to become a better person. What if there were a shortcut? What if, for a…

Camp should be “wow!”

image - Hanging out around a campfire with friends is one of the things many kids love about summer camp

Hanging out around a campfire with friends is one of the things many kids love about summer camp. (image from pxhere.com) Every year when I was a child, the first day back at school after the summer break, we’d be…

Tips for choosing right camp

photo - No matter your observance level, prioritizing a Jewish camp will boost your kids’ enrichment and ownership in the Jewish community

No matter your observance level, prioritizing a Jewish camp will boost your kids’ enrichment and ownership in the Jewish community. (photo by Joe Goldberg / flickr) Day camp or sleepaway camp? Single sex or co-ed? Traditionally Jewish or liberal? Shabbat…

אמזון תתרחב בוונקובר

photo - Amazon in Vancouver

אמזון בוונקובר (amazon.jobs) הנהלת אמזון החליטה לאחרונה לבטל את החלטתה קודמת שהייתה להקים את אחד משני מהמטות המרכזיים שלה בצפון אמריקה – בעיר ניו יורק. במקומו העבודה תפוצל למספר מטות קטנים יותר שפרושים בשבע עשרה ערים שונות ביבשת. ובעיקרם: בוונקובר,…

Letting imagination fly

photo - Janet Strayer at the opening of her solo exhibit, Wings of Imagination, on Nov. 28 at the Zack Gallery

Janet Strayer at the opening of her solo exhibit, Wings of Imagination, on Nov. 28 at the Zack Gallery. (photo by Olga Livshin) Janet Strayer first conceived the idea for her new show at the Zack Gallery, Wings of Imagination,…