The trial is over. The verdict is not. 12 Jurors gather in a room to decide on the fate of a young boy. Coercion and animosity ensue. Decisions are made. Opinions are swayed. Will the boy live…or die? The verdict is in their hands.  Standing Room Only Theatre is proud to partner with local charity KidStart Mentoring for the production of 12 Angry Jurors playing at CBC Studios 700 from October 24 - November 4, 2016.  KidStart Mentoring Program is an organization that works with kids aged six and up who face challenges at home, in school or in the community. Carefully screened mentors work closely with the young people they are matched with to try and guide them toward a positive and fulfilling life. This mirrors the theme of 12 Angry Jurors as the defendant in the case is someone who grew up without any positive guidance and is knocked around most...

Summertime and the livin’ is easy, right? During the warm weather, comfort and coolness are key when getting dressed. Chances are, you’ve been finding yourself wearing breezy cotton dresses, rompers, or jean shorts and simple tank tops on a daily basis. While these outfits are certainly practical when considering the elements outside, they can quickly start to feel rather uninspiring and downright blah. Take your look up a notch with the right accessories; jewelry, in particular. Making a true style statement isn't always easy, but statement necklaces from Color By Amber are all you need to stand out. This Soul Necklace - Vibrante, is made by artisans in Mexico, with 10% of net proceeds directly benefitting the Full Circle Program. With the concept of creating gorgeous materials from our natural world and encapsulating them in stunning ecoresin, each piece of Amber is a beautiful expression of style, sustainability, and social responsibility. This jewelry collection, promoted by...

In our busy, time-poor lives, what is nicer than momentarily stopping for a scone and a pot of tea? Afternoon tea gives us a break in the rush of modern life, just like it did back in the nineteenth century, when the custom originated. Afternoon tea has been around for many centuries, but became popular in the 1840s by Queen Victoria’s best friend, Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, who suffered hunger pains during the long afternoons between lunch and the late evening meal. She would have scones and tea in her boudoir to satisfy her cravings, and it soon became the it thing to do, eventually turning into a social affair among the English aristocracy. Recognizing that we all live in a world where it is too busy to make time for one another, a group of women from all over the Fraser Valley got together and planned an afternoon tea...

Steeped in history and lapped by the Mediterranean sea, Greece is home to some of the finest ingredients in the world, some of the most eclectic tastes from the West balance against some of the more raw and upbeat tastes from the East on Greek tables. From flamed cooked souvlaki and succulent lamb, Greek cuisine can delight food enthusiasts from all over the world. Starting June 3, enjoy the food of Greece and experience multi-cultural performances at the 25th annual Surrey Greek Food Festival. Originally started as a celebration of Hellenic cuisine and culture bringing a piece of Greece to the lower mainland, it has now grown to become a celebration of the Greek heritage, extraordinary cuisine and diverse backgrounds of British Columbia. As a large fundraiser that supports Greek language classes to Greek folk dancing, attendees can expect authentic pork, lamb and chicken dishes; Greek pastries – baklava, bougatsa and loukoumades; enjoy live Greek music...

With spring here and summer approaching, you're probably stressing about hair removal. After all, who would want to miss out on a spontaneous beach trip or pool party because they weren't at the top of their “high visibility” hair removal routine game? This is where Sugar'd Cloverdale comes to the rescue, a budget-friendly option that promises to remove the hair quickly without traumatizing the body during the procedure, not to mention something that will keep the hair gone longer. Centuries ago, sugar paste, or ‘Halawa’ as it is known to the Egyptians, was created as a means of hair removal and is a combination of sugar, water and lemon juice. The paste is molded onto your skin against the direction of the hair growth, then quickly flicked off – removing the sugar paste, extracting unwanted hair and collecting dead skin cells. This ancient hand technique that allows for the hair to be extracted in the direction of it’s...

Empowered by globe-trotting and soul-searching, an essay by Delta, BC writer Eran Sudds, is one of four dozen published in Elizabeth Gilbert's new anthology, Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It: Life Journeys Inspired by the Bestselling Memoir,” and the only one of two essays penned by Canadian writers. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Eat, Pray, Love and to answer her own burning question, “why was Eat, Pray, Love such a success?” Gilbert invited her fans to share short essays about the role her story has played in their lives. Sudds, who went through a journey of personal growth and emotional enrichment, acknowledged the best-selling book as her source of inspiration to set out on a path she never thought possible. Her candid story about her struggles to find meaning in her life and to cope with motherhood was chosen from among nearly 2000 submissions. Read on to learn how Eat, Pray, Love inspired Sudds to quit her 9-5 job, to embark on her own “Eat” journey to Bordeaux, France,...

Theatre is a sophisticated expression of a basic human need. It’s an instinct to mimic and to project stories onto ourselves and others, to create meaning through narrative and metaphor. In a Blue Moon — an Arts Club Theatre Company Production produced in Association with Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops) and Thousand Islands Playhouse (Gananoque, ON) — is a love letter expressed on the theatre stage, one that celebrates the way magic is born out of chaos. Photo by Barbara Zimonick This visually beautiful tale that highlights our unique British Columbia region in the photography and stage design, unveils the real-life emotional times about creating new life in a new landscape. When Ava and her daughter, Frankie (uniquely played by real-life mother and daughter Anita Wittenberg and Emma Tow), move to an inherited cottage near Kamloops, they discover that Ava’s late husband’s brother (played by Brett Christopher) is already living there....

Growing up in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, I know first hand of the curative powers of the ocean air with its salt particles. From tuberculosis to depression, inhaling beach breeze has been considered a cure-all for nearly any illness in the 18th and 19th centuries. The same stays true now. Specifically, Himalayan Salt is believed to be the purest salt on Earth. But what if you combined the science behind the healing powers of this deposit together with the go-to stress buster of a massage? It's the winter season, and not only are cold and flu germs swirling around us, but we’re all in major holiday frenzy. Whether you’re frantically getting your Christmas shopping done, heading to parties or events, or even lead a busy lifestyle like myself wanting to get those goals achieved before the New Year starts, it’s essential to take time for self-care. You...

Image: Guilford Town Centre Did you experience the Black Friday frenzy over the weekend? I admit - I was so ready to head across the border only to realize that there are amazing deals here in Surrey to begin with. I had the opportunity to participate in the frenzy at Guildford Town Centre (GTC), a shopping experience like no other in the Fraser Valley. This fully enclosed shopping centre features over 200 stores, services and restaurants to choose from such as Hudson's Bay, Walmart Supercentre, London Drugs, H&M, Forever 21, Old Navy, Sephora and so much more. With Christmas coming sooner than ever, Black Friday was the perfect time to get holiday gifts at sweet discounts! Check out the unbeatable deals I snagged at GTC over the weekend: 1. Bath & Body Works - Buy 3, get 3 free! If you want the perfect mix of ingredients for a sophisticated fragrance, Bath & Body...

An estimated 10-15% of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, something writer, photographer, mother and now postpartum depression survivor, Eran Sudds, is very familiar with. After the birth of her son, Eran Sudds struggled with feelings of inadequacy and anxiety for months. Two events changed that: an encounter with a sympathetic stranger during a frantic commute and a phone call to the Pacific Post Partum Support Society. The PPPSS reaches over 3500 women and familiar a year, offering various programs for women suffering from distress, depression or anxiety after giving birth or adopting a child. Just having someone get it made an immeasurable difference and inspired her to pay it forward with The Good Mother Project, a blog and online community of mothers sharing the realities of motherhood with honesty, bravery and heart. On November 14th, The Good Mother Project is holding a photo event as a way to raise money for the Pacific Post Partum Support Society. The event...

In his new novel, Edwin and the Quest for Drow, Gordon Allan presents a fantasy story in the spirit of Harry Potter that gently assimilates parts of speech, grammar, and word play. Over the weekend, 300 enthusiastic parents, children, and language learning supporters who were all eager to learn more about this innovative language learning tool came to meet the Vancouver-based author at Point Grey Golf Course.  Allan not only shared his inspiration for Edwin and the Quest for Drow and the success of the novel in China, but also signed and sold just under 1,000 copies of his book during the jam-packed North American book launch. Having launched his book in China in June, Allan has already sold over 6,000 copies across the Pacific. Incredibly, his book matched the same day sales total for his China launch of approximately 1,000 copies sold.   Where to buy Edwin and the Quest for Drow: Amazon or Beijing Bookstore...

As students eagerly search out ways to improve their English, too many of them are misdirected by programs that focus only on memorization. As renowned Harvard professor Eric Mazur points out, Education is basically two things. One is transfer of information; the other is assimilating that information. Just one of the two is not good enough—you need both. Queen’s and McGill-trained educational leader Gordon Allan has seen first-hand how many students are not assimilating the information they are learning. In his new novel, Edwin and the Quest for Drow, Allan presents a fantasy story in the spirit of Harry Potter that gently assimilates parts of speech, grammar, and word play. As a former Headmaster of an international school and a current administrator at one of Canada’s leading day and boarding schools for boys — a school that is renowned for sending its students to some of the world’s best universities, Allan...

Dance is what will always be community in action. It sanctifies our space. It could also heighten our sense of being alive by making us one with the very ground we dance on, the air we breathe - and the seen and unseen. It is not only a unique and essential human activity that connects us to the musical rhythms of life, but it brings communities together in a common purpose. Perhaps that is why hundreds came out to the first round of the Summer Knock-Out Dance Competition (SKO) on Sunday, August 23rd, presented by the A3 District at the International Summer Night Market (ISNM). The SKO is an urban dance showdown featuring BC’s top 20 dance groups competing for the grand-prize package valued at $5000. 14 dance teams from across the Lower Mainland competed tournament style in front of a jam-packed live audience at the ISNM. Jam-packed crowd at the ISNM cheering the...

The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) will be hosting the “Red Packet Challenge” at Vancity Theatre. The challenge is an exciting contest where anyone with a video camera or smart phone can get creative and show off their storytelling skills by entering their micro–films to win from a fabulous selection of prizes. Don’t miss the chance to  find out who will receive the top adjudicated prizes, and you can also help select the “Ultimate Fan Favourite Choice Award” at the screening gala. The top 3 contestants in each category will be announced at the screening, along with the winners of the Ultimate Fan Favourite Choice Award in each category.  With a total of 8 prizes to be awarded, the top 16–20 adjudicated videos will have a theatrical premiere at the #VAFFRPC 2015 screening event. Celebrity judges, Real Housewives of Vancouver’s Reiko Mackenzie, Casting Director Judy Lee, Fairchild Host & Vancouver...

For over 10 years, Edyta Alfawicka-Troha and Vesna Troha have built an international reputation for designing spaces that reflect likes within lifestyle and budget. Their talent and passion for interior design and real estate have led them to create EV Design Studio Inc., a renowned Home Staging and Interior Design Company sought by prominent business individuals, national athletes, local celebrities and discerning homeowners. They have gone from staging condominiums to multi-million dollar homes in Mexico, Poland, New York and Calgary to name just a few. EV Design Studio at Luxury Home & Design Show They now have decided to launch LuxeTreasures, a curated online furniture and decor consignment marketplace for buyers to purchase luxury pieces directly from the owner or to shop online from the best local boutiques, all in one place. Vesna Troha, Co-founder of Luxe Treasures says, This idea came from our own experience struggling to find a resale option for upscale,...