Thanks for voting us the "Best of the North Shore 2010" North Shore Outlook. Click on the image below to see the winners.

Lonsdale Quay Market will extend hours to 9pm on Saturday, July 17, for Party at the Pier celebration. Enjoy this sights and sounds of Sinfonia Orchestra Brass Spectacular on July 17, at 7:30pm at the Burrard Dry Dock, and stop by the Market for some dinner and shopping.

Collective Stone has opened a new retail location. This second store focuses on unique fashions and accessories.

Congratulations Minaela on winning the Father's Day Colouring Contest! Minaela has won a boat ride with Dad, courtesy of Lonsdale Boat Rentals. Minaela's dad is special because: "He loves me no matter what I do." There were 162 entries into this year's Father's Day Colouring Contest, which benefited the BC Cancer Foundation.

Visit Lonsdale Quay Markets Twitter page (LonsdaleQuay) for your change to win passes to the Premier of Despicable Me (new 3D kids movie)

Catch all the World Cup action at Bean Around the World. Bean has installed two big screens, so relax over a cup of free trade coffee and don't miss a second of the action.

Lonsdale Quay Market’s East Plaza is the site of a recently completed sculpture garden, called "Viewfinder". This project the result of a partnership between Lonsdale Quay Market Corp. and the City of North Vancouver, and involves seven talented youth artists from the North Shore.

See the "Community Involvement" page for the full story.

Lonsdale Quay Market goes green! As part of ongoing efforts towards sustainability, reusable Market Bags are now for sale at Customer Service for $1.00 each.

Lonsdale Quay Market's latest community art project, "Viewfinder" was recently profiled in the City of North Vancouver's newsletter. Click on the image to read the full report.

The North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Centre will open again for the season on Saturday, May 22.

Kosta the Fishmonger, owner of Screaming Mimi's and the Salmon Shop, will demonstrate some of his favourite summer BBQ recipes on the South Plaza, from 10am to 4pm, on Sunday, May 14. Visit the Waterfront Plaza to watch Kosta's BBQ demonstration, and taste some of this best creations.

Congratulations to Wendy from the North Shore, on being drawn as the lucky winner of the Mariachi Festival Enter to Win a Pinata contest! Authentic Mexican candy supplied by Cilantro & Jalapeno Gourmet Mexican Foods.

Congratulations to Mariana who won a spa package for her mom, courtesy of Lavish Day Spa. Mariana's mom is special because: "She is my best friend". This event raised $112.04 for the Heart & Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon, and there were almost 200 entries.

Lonsdale Quay Market had a booth at a recent tourism industry trade show, and offered giveaways, coupons, free reflexology, and enter to win contests.

The three North Shore municipalities and the North and West Vancouver Chambers of Commerce have partnered with Climate Smart to offer a select group of North Shore businesses the chance to take part in an education series, and perform an inventory of our emissions, and calculate our carbon footprint. In ongoing efforts to gain information and resources to help us implement a Sustainability Plan for the Market, this will provide valuable insight.

Saje Natural Wellness and Favourite Gifts & Accessories displayed their eco friendly products on Earth Day, April 22, 2010.

Favourite Gifts & Accessories will celebrate its opening in its new location at the top of the North staircase with an Open House on Mother's Day weekend, May 8 & 9. Stop by this weekend to see Carol's new space and enjoy a refreshment.

Every Saturday from May to October, the Artisan Farmer's Market comes to Lonsdale Quay Market's East Plaza. Discover conventional and organic produce, jam, jelly, vinegar, salsa, sauces, baking, honey, maple syrup, tea, eggs, local artisans with pottery, wood work, jewellery, soap and live music. The Farmers Market also features a book swap, kids play area and featured entertainment.

Meet the newest addition to the Market family at East Side Mario's Open House Thursday, March 25, at 6pm and enjoy complimentary food & drinks, prizes, gifts, & entertainment. The Open House will benefit the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation.

WinterFest was a celebration of community, culture, and the Olympic Games. Below is a review posted on Flickr by a local after visiting the Market during the festival.

Source: Flickr.com

On a trip to North Vancouver, I couldn’t resist lingering at Lonsdale Quay. At any time of the year its market is fantastic, selling all kinds of farm-fresh goods and gourmet fare from exotic spices, to Italian sausage and artisan wines. I love Crepe Escape’s chocolate pancakes and browsing the hand-crafted jewelry stalls.
During the 2010 Olympics, Lonsdale Quay has been celebrating WinterFest. Along with live Games viewing, I caught a great First Nations drumming group and event and joined in a big group salsa class. Around me kids were having their faces painted and as it got dark, fire performer Miss Molotov threw some daring pyrotechnic shapes – juggling and flame swallowing included. 

Lonsdale Quay Market raised $226.27 with the Children's Run Bike Giveaway during WinterFest. Visitors to the Market entered to win a Children's Run Bike by donation, courtesy of Obsession Bikes in North Vancouver. The fundraiser supports the Quay Riders, the Market's team of cyclists who participate annually in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, benefitting the BC Cancer Foundation.

Olympic Bouquets, Green with Piety

Source: www.thehumanflowerproject.com

After much deliberation, the Vancouver olympic committee has settled on a monochromatic bouquet for the 1800 winners. O (what’s with you?) Canada!

The “green-gos” have spoken.  Last week, the powers that Olympicize introduced the bouquets that winners in the 2010 Winter games will wave.

“The Olympic bouquets are a soft, elegant green, with five B.C.-grown spider mums in the centre, surrounded by layers of monkey grass, aspidistra leaves and hypericum berries imported from Ecuador.”

What do you think?

We reported awhile back that June Strandberg, partnering with Margitta Schulz of North Vancouver, had won the contract to design and make the games’ 1800 victory bouquets. Strandberg’s Just Flowers, based in Surry, hires ex-convicts and trains them for livelihoods in floristry, giving her a conscionable advantage over the competition.

We’ve since learned that Strandberg is not only compassionate; she has the patience of Job. The Vancouver Sun reported on the extended “plea-bargaining” involved in choosing a design for the Olympic flowers. Strandberg had hoped to use only native flora of British Columbia: “We wanted the arrangement to look natural,” she said, “like something you would see if you drove up the mountain. But that is not what they wanted.”

The Vancouver Olympic Committee wasn’t impressed by indigenous salal or boxwood, and then nixed pussy willow for fear that a tossed bouquet might put somebody’s eye out. So Strandberg and Schulz kept juggling with the event’s muted colors – blue, green, and white.

“If I put in a white statice and blue iris and green mums they took out the white statice,” Strandberg told Steve Whysall of the Sun. “Next time they said ‘Cut back on the irises.’”

After 23 outtakes, the panelists chose an all-green design tied with a blue bow. The ‘Revert’ spider chrysanthemum (definitely on the chartreuse side) will be coming from Quik’s Farm’s greenhouses in Chilliwack, B.C., but everything else will fly in from an unnamed Ecuadorian farm; the foliage was to start arriving today. On Friday, the team will begin making the victory bouquets, 80-150 per a day. The Olympic committee asks that all 1800 arrangements look identical, which is tough (also kind of lifelessly peculiar. These are flowers, folks, not ski poles!)

From the photos available thus far, the 2010 Olympic bouquets look both striking (as in, weaponlike) and muted—a cross between a feather duster and ornamental cauliflower.  We suppose that the preferred simile will be a torch, since the Olympic fire, passed hand to hand for weeks, builds anticipation for the games and will ignite the competition this Friday.

But an all-green bouquet? It doesn’t take a Ralph Nader to figure out the politics of this choice.  The committee stresses that though not all the plants included are local, the South American farm involved has been carefully vetted. “Strandberg says she has investigated thoroughly to make sure the foliage is not being ‘raped from the jungle’ and that the farm itself operates in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way and has a reputable employment practice.” Even so, background checks weren’t enough. Today’s media environment demands a “meatless” color scheme, too.

Call us apprehensive but open. We wish June, Margitta, the 22 grads of Just Beginnings’ program and all those bobsledders well. Maybe green torches against snow-covered slopes will be dazzling.

That “sustainable” snow should be arriving any time now from Baltimore.

The iconic North Shore landmark, the "Q" Tower, has been repaired. The "Q" is fully functioning once again, just in time for the Olympics. The tower, standing at 75 feet tall, was without its "Q" for nearly a week. The "Q" wasn't able to revolve or light up for nearly two years, and after being removed by a giant crane and repaired, is now fully functioning and shiny with a brand new coat of signature red paint.

The North Shore News 2010 Readers Choice Awards winners have been announced. This year’s awards were fast-tracked to January so that the winners could be announced in time for the Olympics, giving visitors the opportunity to experience the best the North Shore has to offer. Congratulations to the following tenants for their achievements:
 

The Salmon Shop & Screaming Mimi’s
Favourite Seafood Store
 

The Soup Meister
Favourite Meal Under $10
 

Margitta’s Fresh Flowers
Favourite Florist - Runner Up
 

Lonsdale Quay Hotel
Favourite Hotel - Runner Up
 

Caribbean Days Festival
Favourite Annual North Shore Festival

The Kid's Ballroom in Kid's Alley is open again after extensive renovations. After nearly 23 years as a castle, the ballroom now boasts a beautiful new facade in the style of a Gingerbread House. The interior received a fresh coat of paint, and was filled with more than 10,000 brand new balls.

The Soup Meister has reopened his beautiful newly renovated and expanded store, with even more fridge and freezer soups to enjoy. Come check out his new space!

After extensive renovations, Lonsdale Quay Market is excited to announce East Side Mario's will open on Tuesday, February 9. East-Side Mario's Restaurants are everything you love about Italian - the warmth, the passion and, of course, the food.

Lonsdale Quay Market raised $217.48 and collected several bags of toys for North Shore families this holiday season. All proceeds from the Gingerbread House Contest, visit from Santa Claus and kids' activities, and Gift Wrapping Station - generously staffed by Lady Vancover Club volunteers - benefitted Family Services of the North Shore's Christmas Bureau.

Lonsdale Quay Market Cobs Bread supplied the bread and a variety of breakfast items for the Travel Media Association of Canada's (TMAC) conference, held at the newly open Pinnacle Hotel on Saturday, January 16.

Margitta's Fresh Flowers has won the bid to supply the bouquets for the 2010 Winter Games. In order to fill the challenging 1,700-bouquet order, she will enlist the help of some Vancouver women overcoming  life challenges of their own. Click here to read the full story.

More links to news about Margitta and the Olympic bouquets:

Globe & Mail: Flower Power Helps Troubled Women Bloom

News Talk 1010: Flower Power Behind Olympics Bouquets

Vancouver Sun: Native BC Flowers

The Soup Meister needs room for all his new toys! The expansion is expected to be open by the end of January. Come check out his new space!

Congratulations to the winners of the Market's 2nd Annual Gingerbread House Contest. All entries were beautifully crafted, and our judges struggled to choose their favourites.

Mangia E Bevi Ristorante - First Place                                 NVSD Outdoor School - Second Place

Back to Basics Daycare - Best Holiday Spirit                  Favourite Gifts & Accessories - People's Choice

Opus Art & Framing                                                                    Quay Property Management

New Generation Construction Management                      Marcela Clark

Lonsdale Quay Market's 2nd Annual Gingerbread House Contest was recently featured in the North Shore News.

The North Shore Spirit of BC Bear Bells are now available at Lonsdale Quay Market! The Bear Bells make great stocking stuffers, and all proceeds benefit the North Shore Black Bear Society. Available now for a minimum $5 donation at Customer Service.

For your complete Holiday Shopping Guide click here.

Visit Artisan Wine Shop on December 3rd for wine tasting and great deals.

Wine tasting will feature the 2006 Mission Hill Quatrain, 2006 Compendium and the 2007 Reserve Riesling Icewine.

All regular priced Riedel will be on sale for 25% discount and all tasting wines can be purchased at a 10% discount.

Enjoy!

Bean Around the World at Lonsdale Quay Market presents local artists performing live at 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

• Sunday, Nov. 15, - Benjamin Keith, singer/songwriter.
• Saturday, Nov. 28, - Andrew Gangte & Robert White

Learn the basics of Precious Metal Clay (PMC) in this one-day workshop. This exciting clay, when fired, is 99.9% fine silver. Learn how to form, texture, cut, dry, finish, and polish a pair of earrings and a pendant. No experience needed. All supplies included.

December 6, 2009 | 10am-4pm at Flying Fish International

Contact Liz to register:

liz@PMCartisan.com | 604.970.0075

Congratulations to Margitta Schulz of Margitta's Fresh Flowers for winning the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award for 'Business Person of the Year'. Margitta is well-deserving of this great honour. Well done!

!

Lonsdale Quay Market’s Taylor Mathiesen presented the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation’s Judy Savage with a cheque for $1500 on September 6 after a summer of fundraising for the hospital’s angiography suite campaign.

Kosta Zogaris, of the Salmon Shop and Screaming Mimi’s, provided fresh fish fare at the Chef Meets Grape event (September 17), hosted by Wine of BC and in support of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program.

• Market Level  - 9am to 7pm
   
• Retail Level - 10am to 7pm
   
• Restaurants - Open later

Come down to the Market on Saturday, September 6 for a late night coffee experience at Bean Around the World. The shop will be open until 9:30pm.

Watch for East-Side Mario's coming to Lonsdale Quay Market! East-Side Mario’s Restaurants are everything you love about Italian - the warmth, the passion and, of course, the food.

www.eastsidemarios.com

Celebrate Artisan Wine Shop's 3rd Anniversary today (July 31, 2009) with free in-store Ice Wine tastings, 25% off all crystal and receive a free gift with a purchase of $50 or more.

Congratulations to this year's North Shore Outlook 'Best of the North Shore' winners.

1st Place

Best Produce: Kin's Frm Market

Best Gifts: Favourite Gifts

Best Hotel: Lonsdale Quay Hotel

Best Malaysian Food: Pepperpot Food & Spice Co

Best Volunteer: Margitta Schulz, Margitta's Flowers

Best Musica Festival: SummerFest at Lonsdale Quay Market

2nd Place

Burgers: Dex Gourmet Burger Bar

Flowers: Margitta's Flowers

Tea: Cargo & James Tea Cafe

Tailor: Ylium Alterations

Seafood: The Salmon Shop

Candy: Olde World Fudge

Breakfast: All Day Cafe

3rd Place

Children's Wear: Tulips

Chocolate: Olde World Fudge

Kitchen Store: Essential Kitchenware

Travel Agency: Flight Centre

Fish & Chips: Montgomery's Fish & Chips

Mexican Food: Cilantro & JalapenoBakery: COBS Bread

Kin's Farm Market - celebrating local produce since 1987.

Local produce season on now.

Favourite Gifts and Accessories has given 14 of her local designers and artists plain white t-shirts as a blank canvas in which to create something fabulous. Anything goes...they can be dyed, painted on, even cut up and sewn back together.

The tees will be unveiled at Favourite on Saturda, July 3rd and will be on display at the store until Sunday, July 12th.

Throughout the week there will be a Silent Auction and 100% of the proceeds will go to the North Shore Women's Centre.

For more information contact Carol Hyslop at (604) 904-8840.

Flying Fish International has opened a studio space for bead-work in their shop. Customers can use the studio space and tools for free to make pieces of jewellery.  Flying Fish carries a large collection of beads from around the world.

Margitta Schultz, owner of Margitta's Fresh FLowers at Lonsdale Quay Market, will be supplying the bouquets for the 2010 Winter Games.

The Soup Meister was a top three finalist in the 'Best Business' category in the 2008 North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.