Location: At St. Paul's hospital on Burrard north of Nelson…read more Parking: There are a bunch of Parking lots bit you could probably just jump on a street parking spot, jump out and admire the lights a jump back in and drive away before anyone realized what you did! The goods: The lights. They are beautiful and change over time. I was sitting i the burgoo across the street and watched the light show cycle through. The lights represent donations and im glad there are so many lights!!!

The Lights of Hope is an annual celebration featuring fireworks and the turning on the enormous…read morelight display on the exterior of St. Paul's Hospital, located at 1081 Burrard Street. We attendants gather across the street from the hospital, on Burrard by Helmcken Streets, where there are fenced-off areas and multitudes of patrolling police officers directing traffic and reminding people where to stand. There's also a stage where there are speeches and choirs singing, and there also are tents with Santa (great place to get your Santa photos! Mrs. Claus is always there too!), and tents from radio stations, and a Starbucks tent giving out free coffee and hot chocolate, and a few food trucks, too. All in all, it's a great way to kick off the holiday season, as this event always takes place mid-November, and once the lights are on, they're up until Boxing Day. The hospital façade is so beautifully illuminated, it's a fabulous backdrop for photos (there's also a multi-colored light tunnel!), and a super place to take out-of-towners for a few awesome photos. Also makes a great backdrop for your Christmas cards! This annual event is free, but donations are VERY welcome, all monies going to the St. Paul's Foundation, for the hospital. So.... awesome cause here. They've made donating super convenient this year, too; along with being able to donate online, at the site there is a "Living Light" - a large star over a freestanding red metal box, right by the light tunnel. Here you can tap your credit card and choose the amount you wish to donate and that action lights up the large star. And the kick-off show is pretty spectacular. I've gone to this event every year since I moved here nearly three years ago, and it's always fun. The highlight, of course, is the turning on of the lights and the fireworks (which occurs simultaneously). The fireworks go off for a sustained 5 minutes and they always are spectacular. It's hard critiquing a worthwhile charitable event, but it's important to keep it real so readers who plan on attending this event in the future can plan accordingly. Some years this event is more organized then others. It's always crowded so plan on going early to get a decent vantage point across from the hospital, against the fence. But if you're not into crowds and getting jostled a lot, think twice about coming to this event. This year there were a few minor issues that impacted some of us, so I feel compelled to mention them: -in advance of this event, the media stressed that the "Celebration" begins at 6pm. All the people around me (and I) arrived early to get a good spot. One lady was wheeling her very elderly mom in a wheelchair. There were other seniors around me. Keep in mind that it's not easy for geriatric folks to stand for extended periods outside, in jostling crowds, in the elements, with screaming kids and all. It's not easy for the young kids, too, to be still for so long. We all expected the fireworks to start at 6pm or soon after. Well, this year, they did not. At about 6:15 a Childrens choir came on. They were very adorable but very discordant and the novelty and cuteness of the juvenile renderings of familiar songs wore off around song #3. They sang for a good 15 minutes. The lady beside me whispered her mom in the wheelchair would need her oxygen canister soon. Another lady beside me asked a nearby cop when the light show would start; the cop just shrugged and said it's anyone's guess. Then a guy came on stage and spoke of the charitable foundation, and some folks came up to present him with some incredibly generous checks, then more speeches, then the Mens Choir came on stage to sing. (They were phenomenal, BTW). The wheelchair mom was getting chilled so I offered her my scarf, and a lovely Japanese lady offered her mittens. At this time it was 6:30. FINALLY the fireworks went off at 6:40. They were wonderful as usual. But my point of all this is, you might be standing outside for a long time waiting for the main attraction here. We all commented that it really would do us all a favor if they published in advance a schedule of events, so we could arrive on time for the attractions we wished to see or hear. Standing in place outside for nearly an hour (for most of us, as we were early), was really tough - especially for seniors and very young toddlers. -another issue this year had to do with the Santa pictures. They ask for a $10 donation. I wanted to take a picture with the Big Guy (and I think it's a worthwhile donation, too), but I had a $20 and they couldn't break it. So ... no photo, no donation. Seems they should be able to make change. I encourage anyone in the downtown area to detour down Burrard a few blocks to check out the gorgeous lights on St. Paul's. And try to come to the fireworks show next year, too (hopefully they'll publish a schedule of events!). And if possible, check out the Living Star by the tunnel and consider making a donation!

I appreciate the cause and what it stands for. I have had friends and family that have gone through…read morethis, however, I've always questioned how much and who the money actually goes to. I stopped supporting this foundation when it refused to take the donation of strippers who raised $$$ for breast cancer.

For many years The Weekend to End Breast Cancer has been a huge success in the fundraising drive…read morefor BC Breast Cancer research. Then a few years ago they changed the name of it to "The Weekend To End Women's Cancers" which incorporated a lot of other cancers. In total I've participated in this fundraiser a for 3 years (2008, 2010, and 2011) and was sad to find out that 2011 was the final year that Vancouver will have one of these Walks. It was held on August 13th and 14th, 2011. It is a monstrous endeavour by all, from walkers, to volunteers, friends, families, and the neighbours who come out to cheer us on along the route. This year the weather was also a friend. :D In the years they have had 'The Weekend' (since 2004), there has been fundraising in excess of $20-million dollars that directly benefited cancer research and care in British Columbia. Proceeds continue to fund innovative research, treatment, and prevention programs for breast and gynecologic cancers at BC Cancer Foundation. I will forever remember my time training for walks, and fundraising, and ultimately challenging myself on 'The Weekends' to complete a 60-km trek in two days. I will endeavour to find some way to continue using my efforts to help out my community, and encourage everyone else to do the same. Fundraising has been difficult for many organisations due to the declining economy for the past few years. People need help now as much as they ever did. Consider how you can help out somehow and make 2012 the year to volunteer !!!!

I'm a runner who will run into injuries. I been going to trifecta rehab in surrey since 2018. I…read morealso check out the new location in coquitlam. I found it very easy to get to by transit. Thank you for the amazing work you guys do.

Experienced , caring and knowledgeable staff. Two convenient locations in Coquitlam and Port…read moreMoody Recreaction Centres. Definitely recommend this Physio clinic.

I've been learning how to run for the past 6 months or so and during that time I've injured myself…read more- a lot! Mark Hampton at Excel has been a life saver! I've come in with my injuries and always left with a clear plan for recovery and always some great advice on how to remain injury free. Until I inevitably injure a completely different part of my body! At one point I was training for the Portland Triathlon and 2 weeks before my race I was injured thinking I would have to withdraw. After a couple of sessions with Mark he got me running again and my race went off without a hitch. So if you have some sort of nagging pain or injury I highly suggest paying Mark a visit. It's not very expensive and if it means you can walk/run/swim better then it's money well spent.

I have a lot of friends in the community and once a year it is everyone's time to throw a party. I…read moreappreciate the parties that they throw in the city, the help for the cause and the fight for equality. I've been a proud volunteer, a consumer and participant and they put a lot of hard work and love into the work they do. My favorite time of year is Pride.....where all the best parties happen.

This was my first Pride event in Vancouver. The block party and the parade were nice. The Boathouse…read morePride Parade viewing was horrible. A lot of people were disappointed with the event. I definitely won't be buying tickets for anything like that again. $45 per person for a buffet. I wish they had disclosed that information before. The description said "enjoy a meal from the special menu to be provided." If we knew it was a buffet, we definitely would have thought about skipping. The food was not good, and the event wasn't handled well. I think 3 stars is being generous, but the party and parade were nice.

BC Centre for Ability This Non-profit organization provides…read morecommunity based to enhance the quality of life for children, youth with special needs and adults with disabilities program. Registered Charity # 132004169 RR 0001 Main Office : 2805 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5R 5H9 Tel: (604) 451-5511 Fax: (604) 451-5651 Burnaby Office : 301 - 4460 Beresford Street, Burnaby, BC V5H 0B7 Tel: (778) 328-1625 Fax: (778) 328-1630 Richmond Office: 3368 Carscallen Road, Richmond, BC V6X 2H6 North Shore Office: 304 - 267 Esplanade West North Vancouver, BC V7M 1A5 This Non-profit organization needs our support regularly to continue their program for youth and adults with disabilities throughout British Columbia. Please also help the disabled people family to take care of their family member after work.

I have without exception been blessed with having the benefit of stellar medical practitioners…read moreattend to me in the course of life. Indeed, my former cardiologist, Dr. Andrew Jakubowski, at Richmond Cardiology Clinic who attended to me for several years after my extensive open-chest surgery could not have served me better. Tragically Dr. Jakubowski recently and unexpectedly passed away and I was assigned to another an other newly-arrived cardiologist working within the clinic. While Richmond Cardiology has a deservedly-excellent reputation, this recently-acquired doctor had what can only be characterized as an aggressively-toxic manner. Hence I requested my family doctor to refer me to a specialist who treats his patients with at least a bare modicum of respect. Fortunately, for me, that doctor was Dr.Rabinowitz. My initial experience with Dr. Rabinowitz and his personally-engaging and highly-accommodating receptionist has been everything that my recent experience with Richmond Cardiology was not. Not only was Dr.Rabinowitz professionally and personally engaging, he was inspirationally-thorough. During my clinical interaction with Dr. Rabinowitz I was also impressed as to his holistic approach to my well-being. He appears to possess has keen professional curiosity that goes well beyond the patient's cardiology, given that all other aspects of the patient's physiology will ultimate affect the heart . I was also impressed that he provided me actionable health-related behavioural advice as to how I can maximize my quality of life. If you are in need of a cardiologist who is not just a highly-competent practitioner, but an insightful and decent human being, you could do a lot worse than Dr Jakubowski. As a postscript, Google the guy.....he has a very impressive CV.

I tore my ACL playing rugby and was referred to the guys at Scienced Athletics ACL Lab. They done…read morean amazing biomechanics assessment on my first session, I got a really detailed report and then they built my rehab program from this. Some of the things I needed to work on were done with physio and then most of my rehab especially as I got later on was done with Sean, Jermaine and Tony. We retested every 3 months and my program always changed based on how my progress went. I played my first rugby game back last Saturday and everything went amazing. I'm so glad I found Scienced Athletics. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for high end physio and strength and conditioning.

I was looking for a personal trainer in Burnaby and found SCIENCED Athletics by chance. I have to…read moresay the place is great and they take a different approach to health and fitness using modern technology and research to build my program and give me feedback. I've worked with Sean and Jermaine and they are the best coaches I've ever worked with. 100% recommend!!!