CornerMesh

Mini Photography Portfolio

2010-01-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

Photographs taken by Kimberley Anne Ytsma between 2008-2010

Olympics a tight squeeze for Spandy

2009-12-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

Standing in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Andy Rimer adjusts his tight yellow short-shorts, which he wears atop his custom-made, neon checkered spandex outfit.

“Today, I am wearing a luxurious one-piece,” said the 22-year-old, as he modeled his outfit with a laugh, pulling a pair of black goggles over his curly locks and placing his old-school boom box on the sidewalk.

The Andy Samberg look-alike spent a moment skipping through techno songs before bursting out onto the street and gyrating down the road.

As he moon-walked, break-danced and freestyled down the pavement, pedestrians couldn’t help but laugh. As Rimer danced circles around an unsuspecting businessman carrying a briefcase, and shook his booty at a middle-aged man, an old woman on an electric scooter stopped to watch and smiled.

“I love getting people’s reactions and shocking people. I love bringing them out of their regular day,” said Rimer. “Whether they smile or they’re just stunned, I know they won’t forget what they just saw.”

While his parents know him as Andy, Rimer is better known as his alter-ego, Spandy Andy: Vancouver’s spandex-wearing break-dancer, who has dominated the street-performing scene since his first appearance in English Bay.

His slogan?

“Spandy Andy puts the mint in entertainment,” said Rimer, “and that’s fresh!”

After his audition on So You Think You Can Dance Canada was aired nation-wide, and he won the title of Colgate’s Freshest Dancer and $10,000, “Spandy” has returned to the streets of Vancouver to do what he loves best: make people smile.

Even though many choose to shy away from his wild antics, Rimer doesn’t mind in the least: this is what he loves to do.

“For sure people ignore me,” said Rimer. “They’re scared of me, which is kind of funny since I’m a five-foot-nothing guy in spandex.”

And while the cold weather didn’t stop his performance today, the approaching Vancouver Olympics could.

According to the City of Vancouver, buskers are not permitted anywhere near to the Olympic venues during the 2010 games.

A representative from the city’s busking department told the Chronicle that the ban around the Olympics was due to “security concerns,” something Rimer has a hard time understanding.

“Look at me,” said Rimer, looking down and laughing at his ridiculous outfit. “What is this short, goofy-looking man in spandex going to do?”

The city of Vancouver wanted to make it clear that artists have the opportunity to perform in other areas of the city, as long as they have a permit and follow the city’s guidelines.

Within the past year, Rimer has fought many battles with city officials, including one over the volume of his boom box and another over where he can park his neon-green electric scooter, but this is by far his biggest battle. With recent changes to the regulations, Rimer could find himself unable to perform in public.

“We are not allowing any music amplification [including] battery-operated or electric...no boom boxes,” said the city’s representative. That's a change to the original “reasonable” volume control allowed last year.

The new restrictions and Olympic ban has forced Rimer to take “Spandy Andy” elsewhere, seeking out local community-building project “I Heart Van Art” to support his act.

I Heart Van Art has partnered with the Yaletown Business Improvement association, according to Rimer, who said the association would be filling up the streets of Yaletown for a 17-day street event during the Olympics.

While Rimer plans to apply as a performer at the event, he also has a way of getting around the city’s bylaws, allowing “Spandy Andy” a chance at worldwide fame, as tourists from all over the world swarm the Vancouver Games.

“It creates complication when you put your hat out and ask for money, so if I don’t have a hat, I’m not technically a busker,” said Rimer. “Nobody can get mad at a random guy dancing in spandex. You just can’t be angry at that.”

As Rimer dances past a row of cars stopped at a traffic light near the Art Gallery and signals for them to start dancing, a middle-aged man rolls down his window and begins dancing behind the wheel. A huge smile comes across Rimer’s face, as he dances with the man until the light turns green.

“Just wait for the Olympics,” said Rimer. “Without the hat, I’m going to be busting out of trees. You never know when Spandy Andy’s going to pop out of nowhere and surprise you.”

Spandy Andy

2009-12-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

Andy Rimer arrives at the Vancouver Art Gallery the only way he knows how: on a neon-green scooter, wearing black goggles, yellow short-shorts and a multi-colored diamond-checked, one piece spandex outfit. An old-school boom box is bungee corded behind his back seat, and a yellow flag reading “Spandy Andy” is blowing in the wind.

He is immediately recognized.

“Spandy Andy rules,” yells a young man walking by the gallery.

“What’s up!” said Andy, waving while placing his boom box on the sidewalk, turning the volume up loud before he spontaneously begins to dance.

A young girl jumps as Andy bursts out in front of her and gyrates down the sidewalk, standing in shock for a minute before laughing and continuing down the road.

“I love shocking people, and I love getting their reactions.” Said Andy, “when they ignore me, I just want to dance harder. It’s amazing how many [people] are scared of me, and it’s hilarious.”

The 22-year-old began his street-performing act under the name of “Spandy Andy” over a year ago, in his hometown of Red Dear.

“I took a class about street performing—and they asked ‘What is your skill?’ and some people were like ‘I’m going to juggle!’ or ‘I’m going to ride a unicycle,’” said Andy, “The only I was good at was that I’m never embarrassed. Andy was my name, and then Spandy? I don’t know, it just worked, it was meant to be.”

After moving to Vancouver, Andy auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, sporting a hole in the crotch of his spandex outfit and wearing a colourful sequin top. Andy didn’t make it to the next round, but the audition changed his life.

“The judges loved it. They were howling and laughing and having a great time,” said Andy “and I was at a point where I had just moved to a new city and was thinking ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ and after my audition I knew that I wanted this.”

He then began dancing in English bay, collecting fans and smiles, and getting into trouble with the park’s police.

“They gave me two noise violation tickets and tons of other tickets, they didn’t want me down there,” said Andy, “but I had a Spandy Andy protest and I fought it all the way, and now I’m friends with all the park rangers.”

As Andy pranced down the street in the cold November weather, his humour and unique dance style attracted all kinds of people. When he break-danced and free-styled past pedestrians, an old woman wearing a tiara joined the dancing, and within 10-minuets Andy was dancing alongside two women dressed as zombies, and a man in an RCMP costume with large stick-on moustache.

“You can’t help but be attracted to Spandy,” said long-time friend Aleah Holden, “he just makes you want to smile. He genuinely wants other people to have fun, and to spread smiles and make them laugh. He’s real. I don’t think there’s anyone else like him.”

As Andy dances around several older men, the reactions are priceless.

“You can’t be mad at this,” said Andy.

Many see the colourful performer as a joke, but Andy takes his career seriously. After attending college for computer programming, Andy was hired full-time at IBM in Calgary, a well-respected, high-paying job which he later quit to dance around the streets in spandex.

“I’m very hopeful for him,” said Andy’s father Alan Rimer, “but he’s a wiz at computer, he’s very smart and I wish he would get a paying job. He needs the money, but he’d rather make people smile, and that’s what he loves.”

Andy currently pays his bills by working part-time as a computer programmer in Vancouver, and serves a couple days a week at the Mongolian Grill.

“I love serving people doing the robot,” said Andy, who was also able to pay off a large portion of his debt with the help of Colgate Toothpaste.

After viewing a dance competition ad on Facebook, Andy immediately entered.

“It was perfect! I knew I had a chance, because Colgate was looking for “Canada’s Freshest Dancer.” Said Andy, “and my motto from the beginning was ‘Spandy Andy puts the mint into entertainment, and that fresh.’”

Starting with a online video, Andy was voted into the Top 5, where he was flown to Toronto to compete in a dance-off. In the end, ‘Spandy Andy’ won $10,000 and the title of Canada’s Freshest Dancer.

“I just went crazy, and I danced like wild.” Said Andy, “I screamed ‘yes!’ and I just went ballistic. When you’re in the moment and you’re just so happy, and you’re just feeling it, and you’re in the music, that’s what I felt.”

Back in Vancouver, Andy is continuing his performing, getting reading for the next season of So You Think You can Dance Canada and taking all kinds of dance classes along the way. While improving his skills is important, he has an even larger message to spread.

“You can wear what you want, and you don’t have to be afraid, and I think we’re at a time where people are still really afraid to just be themselves,” said Andy, “I think now is the time to just step out and do what you want, you know?”

As he packs up and heads off to work a shift at the Mongolian Grill, Andy waves goodbye at some of his friends and fans watching him from the Gallery’s steps.

“Stay tight and bright,” said Andy, disappearing on his bright scooter into the heavy Vancouver traffic.

Jonas Brother Hit Vancouver

2009-06-30T23:06:00.000-07:00

While The Jonas Brothers are best known for their screaming preteen fans, last night’s performance at GM Place was anything but childish.

As the Jonas Brother prepared for their first Vancouver concert, the streets surrounding General Motors place were already packed with thousand of adoring fans.

With line-up’s spilling into the streets and girls from all across the Lower Mainland crowding like sardines in the stairwells of the Stadium, it was already apparent that crowd-control was going to be an issue.

After an announcement was made delaying the show by almost an hour-and-a-half, the crowd was not impressed and began heckling the announcer and the security at the door, but it was only a matter of time until the Jonas fans went back to what they know best: Kevin, Nick, and Joe.

Murmurs about The Jonas Brothers could be heard for miles as fans designed cardboard signs and waited for the doors of the Stadium to finally open.

“I wonder if Nick will look at me”

“Kevin Jonas is by far the best Jonas Brother”

“I like Joe Jonas more, Nick is the serious one. Maybe he’ll make that silly face he made in camp rock”

Camp Rock was their first film and Musical aired by the Disney Channel in 2008.

After waiting outside for an hour, the doors of GM Place were opened and thousands of bodies pushed their way inside and scuffled off to find their seats.

First up was Honors Society, a jersey-based based band with a so-called “Modern Pop” vibe.

While the older audience tapped their feet and danced along for a couple of songs, the bands strong “Rock and Rock” style of performing appeared too intense for the younger fan base.

After playing a small string of powerful tunes, the band headed out and several minuets later American Idol Jordan Sparks ran through the audience and hopped on stage.
Wearing a short and shaggy black dress the American Idol Cutie belted out her hit “Tattoo” as the whole audience sang along.

Running across the Stadium-long stage in black heels Sparks reaches out to fans and thanked each and every one of them for coming out to the show.

After her high and powerful voice preformed several of her hit songs, Sparks left the stage and the room went dark.

A long-period of screaming later, an announcer came on stage and introduced a special performance by a South Korean girl group called “The Wonder Girls”.

Dressed in matching outfits the five girls taught the crowd their dance moves in broken English and got the crowd to dance along to their mediocre performance of “Nobody”.

The five girls were talented beyond doubt, but appeared nervous on stage as they finished their song, gave a bow, and left.

This is when the real screaming began.

The Stadium was jet-black and the fans were screaming more than ever.

Hands were clapping and feet were stomping against the cement floor as Queen’s “We will Rock” began playing throughout GM Place and the Jonas brothers ran through the crowd and under the stage.

The Brothers were sighted several minutes later, heads rising as they came out of an elevated trap door and broke out into a performance of “Paranoid”.

The fans went crazy.

The centre stage spun continuously in circles as Kevin, Nick, and Joe ran up and down the ramps, from one side of the Stadium to the other, rocking hard on their instruments and and surrounded by screaming fans, green smoke, lasers and disco balls.

The stage was spectacular.

As the band moved to some of their older songs, the centre stage would disappear and come back with drum sets, band members, backup singers and trampolines.

The vocals were pitch perfect as curly haired Kevin spun around in circles and power-slid across the stage, grabbing fan’s hand and interacting with his fellow brothers.

While heartthrob singer Joe Jonas danced from side to side and reached out to his fans throughout the show, it was 16-year-old Nick Jonas that impressed the crowd with his musicianship.

Switching between drums, guitar, vocals and piano, the youngest member of the band even did a solo performance to the song “A little bit longer”, and talked to the crowd about his struggle with type one diabetes.

Telling the story of how he was first diagnosed on tour four years ago, Nick gave a heart-felt speech on his determination to find a cure.

“The first thing I asked was, “I’m I going to die?” said Nick.

The crowd was silent as the young heartthrob became very serious.

“I told myself they would find a cure, just a little longer and I’d be fine.”

“That day I decided I was not going to let this slow me down, and that’s what this song is about.”

Cell phones broke out as the lights dimmed, and fans joined the singing of a tear-jerking performance of “Just a little longer”.

Behind a white piano Nick’s solo performance was the highlight of the night, being pitch-perfect and inspirational beyond belief.

After a several emotional moments by both the fans and Nick, the band was re-united on stage for a more uplifting performance and more surprises for the fans.

The stage elevated the band for an acoustic balcony-level performance of “Gotta Find You” and then lowered back down to later perform “Look me in the Eyes” with Nick once again on piano.

The girls in the audience were still proudly holding up neon signs reading “I want to look Nick in the Eyes” and “Kevin, tell me that you love me” while smiling their heart away and belting out every lyric of every song.

The band had an incredible power over the crowd, as fans watched their every move, hands raised in the air and swaying from side to side.

As they move on to “Live to Party”, the theme song of their new Disney television show, Nick hit the drum set one more time, as Kevin and Joe appeared to be strapping themselves onto a small black box.

Within seconds the box begins to rise and a large lift spun the two brothers all around the right stage, as they grabbed large fire hoses and sprayed the crowd with white foam.

The crowd went wild as the teenaged band appeared to be having a riot, hovering around the stadium and impressing their fans.

Finally the band broke out into one of their biggest hit, “Burning up” and had the crowd jumping up and down, as Kevin spun around the stage with his guitar and Joe ran from side to side, his vocals barely heard over the belting of the crowd.

He was smiling.

After a final performance of S.O.S the show was over, and band ran to every position of the stage to thank and shake hands with fans, leaving them screaming, and several in tears of joy as they disappear into the centre stage.

Murmurs of the Jonas Brothers could still be heard as fans siphoned off into the night with smiles on their faces and left the streets of Vancouver waiting “Just a little longer” for tomorrow’s second and final performance.

Janice Gillett: Hearts on Noses

2009-04-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

From her small Maple Ridge home, Janice Gillett looks through her kitchen window, and stares off into the distance of her large, green acreage.

The cramped kitchen is cozy, and as a Rottweiler paces the kitchen floor and a small cat rests nearby, you can’t help but to notice a large collection of pig ornaments scattered about the home.

In fact, Janice Gillette lives with pigs.

A metal pig stands by the fireplace, surrounded by scattered blankets and pillows, and as your eyes begin to adjust, more pigs become noticeable.

A pig cookie jar sits on the kitchen counter, and a series of pig-themed ornaments have been hung proudly on the walls.

And while you take the time to observe Janice’s collection, what you may have missed is the full-sized farm pig standing on the picnic table outside of her window.

This is not an unusual sight for Janice.

If it’s not a pig on the picnic table, it’s a pig laying on the couch, standing at the door waiting to be let in, or squealing for food by the refrigerator door.

After all, she has 39 of them.

If you ask Janice what she likes about pigs, she’ll tell you. In fact, she’ll tell you everything you need to know about them.

She’ll tell you about Sparkle and Casanova and Pebbles and all about the stories of Comet and Tortilla and Roscoe.

There’s something special about Janice.

The small, tired-looking woman is the founder of Heart on Noses Mini Pig Sanctuary, the only pig rescue centre in British Columbia.

“Everything is for them,” says Janice “The house, the acreage, me. Everything I do now is for these pigs.”

Janice steps outside her house and walks over to the carport, where she empties a cardboard box of vegetables onto the cement, and then over to a pen where a large pig waits for her.

“This is my wild child, a farm pig,” says Janice as she unlocks the pen and the pig goes running to the pile of food left in the carport.

The pink animal is massive, coming above Janice’s waist, and proving difficult to control.

“He has to respect my direction at this size,” she explains “What do you do with a 700-pound pig that is challenging you?”

What’s most surprising about Janice is that she wasn’t always a fan of pigs.It was something that come to her with time.

Janice rented her acreage in 1993 and was surprised to find a small pig abandoned on her property several months later.

As an animal lover, she took the pig into her home and it soon became part of the family.

As Janice moves around the corner of the carport and behind her house, a village of pig stalls become visible.

Wooden fences surround each pig’s area, with large pig houses and a straw umbrella to keep them cool in the summer and protect them against rain in the winter.

The area resembles a small Jamaican resort with the exception of its occupants.
Each stall has fresh water and food, and several wrinkled black pigs.

The chubby critters are anything but cute, with tough skin and large black bristle rising on their backs.

“When pigs are happy and when they are listening to you, they raise their bristle on their Mohawks,” said Janice, as she greeted each pig by name in a squeaky baby voice and with a treat in hand.

She talks directly to the pigs.

“Hello, Winnie! You need to be brushed? Just shake it off!” she says.

Casanova, a smaller dark pig starts shaking straw off her back, and Janice responds:

“Good shaking, Casanova!”

“Casanova goes to schools, he kissed the principals, he kissed them a few times, didn’t you Cassanova?”

The pig grunts and circles Janice as she knees down to pet his nose.

When Janice began to talk about the start of Hearts on Noses, she often talked of a pig close to her heart.

Willy was her first pig, the one found on her property long ago and her “first love” as she would often call it.

The mention of Willy left Janice in tears, as she looked up to the sky and paused to think about her beloved pet.

“Willy is my heart, and he is in heaven. I can’t talk about him without missing him. He taught me about loving his kind, about pigs and what people don’t see. To look past the exterior and into the heart,” says Janice.

Walking further into the village of pigs, Janice lets each one out, one by one, and watches as they ran in all directions in search of food around the acreage.

She stops in front of Wyatt’s cage and smiles as the pig comes waddling out to greet her.

“Hi, Wyatt.Is the plumbing still working good? Is everything working for you?”

Wyatt had severe medical problems in the last couple of months. He was left with a blocked urinary tract, rushed to the vet three times and left Janice with $2, 500 in medical bills.

The money doesn’t matter to her.

“I make sacrifices. I don’t go out for dinners, I don’t go to movies. I shop for them. I don’t have a $100 pair of shoes or the fancy brands. I go to second-hand stores. We all make our sacrifices.”

“People don’t see pigs the way they see other animals. They see it as just a pig, and I don’t understand it”, said Janice as she fed and cuddled Wyatt while brushing straw of his stiff black bristles.

She walks down between two narrow posts and opens the wooden gates to several more stalls, stopping to talk to every one of her pigs.

“They can understand everything you say”, said Janice.

Once again, Willie is to thank.

“After loving him, and getting to know him, and getting on the net, I thought it was the only one to ever love a pig, but I wasn’t, and I found other people who felt the same way.”

That was all she needed.

Soon after discovering other pig-lovers, she got in contact a woman who needed a home for a pig, and gladly accepted to take the animal into her home.

That’s how it all start, just one pig after the other.

“I told myself I was not going to do this by myself, and I ended up doing it by myself. Did I think it would get this big? Yes, I guess I did”, said Janice as she thought about what she had said and laughed.

Janice is getting to the end of the pig stalls and starts walking back toward the house as the animals follow her in search of attention.

Their strait, pencil-thin tails wagged like a dog’ as they trotted after her and pressed their wet noses against her leg.

At one point she had the pigs sitting in a row, and another time circling her on command, and a couple even played a small toy piano for a treat.

“I love these pigs, and they need me”, said Janice as she crouched down to pet one of the smaller pot-bellied pigs.

After asking the pigs to make baby noises and laughing as they squealed on her knee, the pig-hero made her way towards a tree in the centre of the backyard and stopped.

“We lost some pigs a couple of weeks ago, and we hung these bird feeders in their honour, and we’ll plant some flowers after the snow, we always want to do something special for them.”

It was this passion that made Janice unique: she could make anyone care for pigs.

It was then that we met Sparkle.

The highly-vocal pig came squealing up to Janice at full-pace and rubbed up against her jeans for attention.

Janice began talking on the pig’s behalf

““This is Sparkle, she says, ‘When I moved here, my name was Hotdog. But my mom said you’re not a hotdog you’re a sparkle!’”

Her voice was loving and enthused.

Sparkle went through three homes before coming to Hearts on Noses Mini Pig Sanctuary.

Janice explained that Sparkle was kept in a small rabbit cage in the basement of one home, because his owners were frustrated with him.

They called him “the evil white one” Janice says in fury.

She explained that Sparkle was not behaving because she was locked in a cage, and that pigs need love and attention.

“Why would she want to behave if she was locked in a cage all day?”

The owner later told Janice that the breeder she got the pig from was starving all of their animals, and that she would take the pig back in order to get a refund.

“These are the kind of people that buy pigs,” says Janice, “Dumb as a bag of nails”

That was the day that Janice bought her first pig.

“When they come here, there are not wanted by somebody. That kills me, it rips my hearts, because the pig knows they don’t want him.”

This is where Willy comes in again.

The inspirational pig gave something special to Janice, not only through love, but through a simple observation one day.

When Janice’s noticed that the pig’s noses were in the shape of an upside-down heart, she was thrilled. A friend of her’s once observed this, and called Willie a “hearts on noses pig.”

That’s where she got the name of her rescue effort.

“They have hearts on their noses and my heart is on that nose”, says Janice with a grin.

One thing unusual about Hearts on Noses is that all the pigs stay with Janice, and are rarely adopted out to a family, something that the middle-aged woman is proud of.

“Once the pigs come through the gates, my promise to them is that is that I will love them forever,” said Janice, who explains that many people disagree with her.

She told of a fundraiser where she has set up a booth, to teach people about her cause.

A young woman came, and was shocked to learned that she owned so many animals.

“How can you possibly take care of them all?” she asked Janice, who simply responded with, “You have no idea”.

“What I really should of said was, ‘Come over and see for yourself’, and I regret that”, Janice said.

Walking back around the house and into the carport, Janice says hello to some pigs finishing a meal and begins to tidy around the area, picking up leftover food and straw, and talking to her pigs as she works.

It hasn’t always been easy supporting these pigs on personal income and fundraising.

It wasn’t until this year that the rescue centre was able to receive grants from the government.

Janice was working full-time up until a couple of months ago, and spent long nights looking after pigs when she arrived home.

“Anytime after work is all about the pigs. Cleaning, feeding, fixing gates, posts, sweeping-everything is about them”, she says, after finishing her cleaning and walking out of the carport.

Her family didn’t always understand her need for pigs.

“My mother thought I was nuts. My family didn’t understand them, they didn’t see what I saw”, she said, “but over the years, now they see what I see.”

That’s what Janice wants everyone to see. She loves the way pigs interact with each other, the way they rub their little noses against her leg and squeak, and the way they show their love to her.

“There more than a food source. They have needs and wants”, she explains. “They will come up to me looking for loving and put there feet on my legs. That’s what people don’t know about them.”

Janice has even bigger dream for her shelter.

She currently is trying to sell her home in search of a larger property, in order to give her pigs more room to roam.

“I do the best I can with the land I have here”, she says, “but it just isn’t enough. My dream would be to live in a big barn-style house, with a living quarters upstairs and room for the pigs downstairs, so they could run and play and live inside with me.”

Janice walks up the steps of her home and in through the side door where another cat was sitting in of pile of blankets.

Walking over to her kitchen, she stood by the sliding door and opened it just enough for Wyatt to come waddling in.

The pig went straight for a large blanket and stretched his legs out as Janice cleared her kitchen table and looked out on her property.

She looked tired and stressed as she looked into the distance as pigs ran around her yard, but there was a twinkle in her eye.

She looks over at Wyatt sleeping in her living room, her face begin to relax and glow.

You can ask her anything about her pig, and she’ll tell you, but there’s something more important she’ll tell you.

“I look out there and I smile. I’m proud of what I’ve done. I just wish I could do more.”

From the Press Box

2009-03-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Giants lost 3-5 last night against the Everett Silvertips in a slow and highly predictable game.

While the Giants were winning in shots taken by the end of the first period, they were down 2-0 and desperate to get a goal.

The first goal of the night was scored at 15:28 by Tyler Parker (24) of Everett and assisted by Jesse Burt (22).

After a string of penalties, including Trevor Bauer of Everett for hooking, the giants’ goalie Tyson (29) Sexsmith failed to block the puck, and allowed Everett star Tyler Maxwell (9) to earn his twenty-second goal of the season.

Minutes after a “checking from behind” penalty for Giant Casey Pierro-Zambotel (17), Vancouver scored their first goal of the night, provided by Brendan Gallagher (11) at 2:10.

After a quick eruption from the crowd, the game turned serious as Silvertip Kellan Tochkin (16) was given a 2 minute penalty for tripping at 2:53, followed by another Everett penalty on Ryan White (23) for interference with the goal keeper at 6:36.

Finally the Giants were able to sneak another goal in, holding a 2-2 score by player James Wright (19), and assisted by teammate Casey Pierro-Zambotel (17).

Thirty-six seconds into the third period Vancouver Giant Casey Pierro-Zambote (17) scored with Craig Cummingham (14) assisting, leaving the score 3-2 for the Giants.

The Giants luck was over after a long battle when Everett’s Kellen Tochkin(16)scored at 4:06 followed by another goal from Craig Cummingham (14).

Fans left disappointed this game, but with the giants heading to the Playoff’s in a matter of weeks, the Giants are still holding strong.

Kimberley Ytsma

The waffles are amazing

2009-02-16T17:58:00.001-08:00

Chartwells Kwantlen Cafeteria
8771 Lansdowne Main Floor
604-599-2689
Payments: Debit, Visa, MasterCard, and Cash

Mon-Thursday 7-9
Friday 7-3
Sat 9-1

Chartwells’s Kwantlen Cafeteria is better than eating from a dumpster, the biggest compliment it will get from the starving students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

While I say that with complete honesty, the waffles are amazing.

Being a vegetarian, I will immediately criticize the lack of meat-free products available to the animal-savvy population, and present a big “thumbs down” to Chartwells for failing to provide me with the tofu sandwich I longed for.

Ignoring the fact that my choices were limited, Chartwells produced the worst tasting cafeteria food I have ever experienced.

The cranberry scone was a definite mixture of flour and water, and despite its title, was severely lacking the appearance of cranberries.

The cafeteria’s hash browns were served with slices of orange, an odd combination, especially if you enjoy eating the white sticker that often accompanies that orange.

Not only was the food boring and tasteless, but the meal provided me with the worst yogurt experience of all time.

I can’t even describe how horrible that yogurt was, as the mere thought of it makes me want to run home and cry.

A mixture of granola and expired-tasting milk is never good, no amount of frozen fruit will hide that.

The $2.95 waffles however, were amazing.

Textured perfectly and served with a mound of fresh whipped cream and tropical fruit, the sweet tasting waffle was a miracle among the disappointments.

For an average of $6 a meal, I would avoid Chartwells at all costs, unless you want a waffle.

Winterfest 2009

2009-02-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

Crowds filled the Surrey Central City plaza last night for Surrey’s Winterfest, a free outdoor concert celebrating the one-year countdown to the 2010 Olympic Games.

The show included performances by Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila, Faber Drive and the chart-topping Canadian rock group Thornley.

While Avila appeared to be a crowd-pleaser, her performance was far from brilliant, with a low-energy set and poorly pitched vocals.

Playing her hit single “Give me the music” the Canadian Idol looked bored as she belted out a horribly out of tune rendition of the song, along with some poorly choreographed dance moves.

After Avila finished her set a flow of underage children could be seen heading home, and it was clear that Surrey was ready for talent.

Faber Drive hit the stage next, and delivered nothing short of a solid rock show.

Performing hits such as “I’m with you”, “Time Bomb” and “24 story love affair” the band was filled with solid energy, and performed with CD quality sound.

After a hilarious cover of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance”, along with several other Much Music favourites, the band introduces newest guitarist “Hollywood”, who awed the fans with incredible passion on his instrument and powerful performance antics.

By the end of the show Faber Drive had the crowed wrapped around their finger, as bassist “Krikit (known for his head-banging black afro) pleased the ladies by reaching out into the crowd.

After the band handed out free merchandise, thanked the fans and left the stage, anticipation began to grow as fans of all ages prepared for Thornley.

After a long sound check and orchestra of screaming fans, Thornley hit the stage performing “Come Again”.

The set was break-taking, and it became clear that the Canadian band could be one of the greatest Canadian bands to ever hit mainstream fame.

Fans were bouncing, jumping screaming and rocking out as members of the band filled the plaza with pure electricity, feeding off of the energy of the crowd and slamming on their guitars.

The sound was perfect, the atmosphere was fun and for a free show fans got their money worth, so to speak.

After performing a full set, including “So far so good” and their newest single “Make Beleive” the band ended with an encore solo performance by front man Ian Thornley.

As hundreds of excited fans siphoned out of the plaza and headed home, a buzz of satisfaction could be heard by all.

Lil Wayne packs GM Place

2009-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

“I’m a millionaire I’m a young money millie”

You’d have to be to afford Lil Wayne tickets, ranging anywhere from $95-$400 a seat, and while the rock star-rapper sings of his riches, woman everywhere were singing an entirely different story.

GM Place was packed full of screaming woman last Saturday where they were treated to an all-star line-up consisting of Lil Wayne, Keri Hilson and Gym Class Heroes.

The young rapper was defiantly a lady-pleaser, as the stadium was packed full of female fans showing plenty of skin.

As sound crews were setting up, several teenage girls leaned against the stage rails in bras and miniskirts hoping to catch a glimpse of the rapper also known as Young Jeezy.

Across the room three girls stood in matching green tank tops and short shorts holding a yellow neon sign reading “We will do anything for Lil Wayne”.

It was no doubt this show was for the ladies and as the lights dimmed echoes of the screaming girls could be heard through the stadium.

Gym Class Heroes kicked off the show, followed by new-comer Keri Hilson.
It was not until T-Pain hit the stage that the real show began.

For an opening act his stage was incredible, equipped with a complete circus backdrop, including a full-sized circus tent and half a dozen dancers.

Belting out hits such as “Shawty”, “Drop it” and “Laffy taffy” the energetic performer hit the stage for a solid half hour and had the crowd singing their hearts out.

After a final performance the stage went black.

The crowd went insane as lights filled the stage, and the man known as “the greatest rapper alive” walked onstage.

Wayne gave a hell of a performance.

The small gnome-like man kicked off the show with a pyro-inspired stage, equipped with fire-cannons, blow torches, fireworks and flames, as well as several backup dancers wearing next to nothing.

With a swagger like Wayne’s, it’s hard not to give the croaky-voiced performer credit for being cool, at least in the rap industry.

After slamming down hit after hit, including the hit singles “A millie” and “Lollipop”, the dreadlocked man stopped to give thanks to the sold-out crowd.

Sitting on the edge of the stage with the house lights on, the rapper told the crowd two important things to remember “I ain’t shit without you” and “I ain’t shit without you”.

With that, the rapper finished his set with several tracks from his mixed tape, and ended with one small piece of advice for all the fans.

“Don’t do it because it’s cool, do it because you are cool”