ARTS CELEBRATION: The Mayor’s Arts Awards celebrate excellence in the city’s vibrant and diverse arts and culture community. From music and dance to literary arts and new media, creative talents were honoured at the annual affair, staged at the Roundhouse Community Centre. Convened by the Alliance for Arts and Culture, 21 recipients were cited at a celebratory bash emceed by media personality Bill Richardson. Actor, teacher, director and former Vancouver Playhouse artistic director Joy Coghill received the lifetime achievement award. Chosen through peer review, Coghill and fellow recipients received a $3,000 cash prize. The award for music went to Veda Hille, a singer and songwriter whose talents have contributed greatly to the local music and theatre scene. Leonard Schein, founder of the Vancouver International Film Festival and Festival Cinemas, was bestowed philanthropist of the year. Other artists feted included Renae Morriseau, Margo Kane, Debra Sloan, Alice Spurrell, Cindy Mochizuki, Kate Braid, Liz Magor and Brian Jungen.
JOE TURNS 30: A venerable institution on the culinary scene for the past three decades, Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House toasted their 30th anniversary by throwing open their Thurlow Street doors for a gala-do of epic proportions. The San Francisco-style seafood grill, which has been pleasing patrons and Hollywood A-listers with unparalleled cuisine, wine and service, hosted a capacity crowd who filed into the iconic room and rooftop for an evening of reminiscing and fundraising, fronted by current owner David Aisenstat. The restaurateur welcomed long-time supporters, including past owners Bud and Dotty Kanke to the festivities. The event cooked up an impressive $100,000 for the Vancouver Firefighters’ charitable society’s snacks for kids program helping those children who are not having their nutritional needs met at home or by other support services.
ICONIC BAR REOPENS: The Yale, the iconic blues bar at Granville and Drake for some 30 years, reopened this past week after being shuttered for renovations in 2011. The historic venue on the South Granville strip, now under new ownership by the MRG Group — operators of the Biltmore Cabaret and Vogue Theatre — has been reimagined. Operating under the new moniker of the Yale Saloon, blues will still remain, along with jazz, country and other live music to be featured throughout the week. A beefed up food program will also offer authentic barbecue flavours. With one of the largest in-house industrial smokers in the city, the venue will specialize in slow smoked meats with homemade rubs and vinegar-based sauces.
