Sid Sawyer from VanCity accepting an award from Shirley Chan

BOB was pleased to be a part of two great events that took place this past week. In fact, we were so busy with them that we haven’t had time to blog about them until now! On March 22nd BOB honored our donors and partners with a luncheon at the Shebeen Whisk(e)y house at the Irish Heather. Beautiful crystal awards from Eclipse Awards International were presented to 11 donors (and one BOB team member) while everyone enjoyed the fantastic food prepared by the Irish Heather’s kitchen. The awards, and the respective recipients, were categorized as such:

Foundation Partner Award

Their generous donations provided the foundation from which BOB could grow and develop into what it has become today.

Bell      Millennium     VanCity

Leadership Partners Award

These partners and donors took the initiative, showed leadership and helped BOB to grow. They were crucial in helping us achieve our $100,000 fund raising target through their large donations in the final months.

Joe Segal, Michael Audain, Bob Lee, Vancouver Eastside Educational Enrichment Society (Hendrik Hoekma), VanCity Foundation, Edgewater, VANOC, Alex Lau (Golden Properties)

Bob Lee, with wife Lily and son Derek. Thank you to the Lee Family (including Carol Lee who is not in photo but was at the event) for your continuing generous support.

Community Partners Award

Largely comprised of members of our Board, these partners were the first to give to BOB and played a crucial role in ensuring that support would extend throughout the community. Their, time, intellect and financial make them invaluable and essential partners.

Hendrik Hoekma accepts an awared on behalf of VEEES from BOB's Board Chair Lee Davis

Lee Davies, Linda Coady, Fred Leonard, Chris Gora, Central City Foundation, Michael Geller, Home , Toby Barazzuol, Shirley Chan, Barry and Lynn Fenton, Maureen Collier

Government Partners (Recognized but not awarded fancy trophies!)

Our government partners provided longstanding support, through the Vancouver Agreement and were there with us through all our success.

Western Economic Diversification, MHSD (The Province), City of Vancouver, members of the Vancouver Agreement.

A special award was given to Liz Charyna in celebration of her leadership over the past 3 years at BOB! Congrats Liz!

KALEIDOSCOPE

The winner of Vancouver's Coolest Person 2010 is Jenn Christenson. The award, designed by Eclipse Awards International (A local Strathcona business) was presented to the graphic designer at Kaleidoscope by organizer and MC, Wes Regan.

Then on March 27th BOB and our friends partied it up at Kaleidoscope. This new annual event had its inaugural launch at the Rickshaw Theatre to an enthusiastic crowd. Kaleidoscope celebrates entrepreneurialism while raising awareness of social and environmental issues. Proceeds from this year’s Kaleidoscope went to BOB and the Canadian Mental Health Association, while awesome prizes were donated by John Fluevog ($250 Gift Card to the Gastown store), Steve Cole ($320 worth of tattoo time with him at Sacred Heart Tattoo), Saul Good Gift Co. with a fantastic gift basket and (once again) a beautiful crystal trophy from  Eclipse Awards was awarded to the Coolest Person in Vancouver, which was randomly drawn from ticket stubs. Bands who performed this year included Spoon River, The Left, Rodney Decroo and His Convictions and Boombox Saints. If there was a Kaleidoscope award for best dancer Liz Charyna would’ve won that too!

Spoon River delight the crowd at the first annual Kaleidoscope

Thanks to all our friends and partners for an incredible week and for being a part of all the work the BOB team does.  We look forward to many more action packed weeks and months.

It was just announced that Steve Cole of Sacred Heart Tattoo will be doubling his prize giveaway at Kaleidoscope from $160 to $320 dollars worth of tattoo time!! And with that I’ll launch into a quick reminder that Kaleidoscope, a celebration of art, culture and entrepreneurial spirit in the DTES is happening this Saturday at the Rickshaw Theatre, 257 E 4th Ave from 7:00 pm to 10:00 Pm. Other prizes include a georgeous gift basket from Saul Good Gift Co. an Award for the Coolest Person in Vancouver 2010 form Eclipse Awards International and a $250 gift card from Fluevog (Vancouver’s favorite shoemaker)

A reminder that tix are $10 and are available at Red Cat, Scratch and Zulu records or you can pay by donation at the door.

WHY DID WES AND HIS FRIENDS FRASER AND LEX DO THIS? Well…let me be disarmingly personal for a moment if I may. In the 3 months that I’ve been with Building Opportunities with Business I have been so impressed by the work that goes on here, by the office culture, the leadership that the management team shows and the work ethic that the staff have. The projects and people that I’ve been introduced to have inspired me and given me hope. The Canadian Mental Health Association and many other organizations at work in Vancouver’s inner-city help people who are most at risk of losing their livelihoods and ending up in a self destructive cycle. Mental health, is  a serious issue and one that has impacted the DTES (particularly in light of one particular mental health facility closing down some 20 years ago).

Why a celebration of entrepreneurial spirit in the DTES? Because as important as it is for our government leaders to address these social issues and help to improve our communities it is also up to us. Entrepreneurs who take a chance on inner-city neighbourhoods, who put their creativity, their elbow grease and their cash into a venture in the inner-city deserve to be recognized; they too can have a powerful positive impact on the community through their actions, and through their success. They show leadership and take initiative, they create opportunities for residents and other businesses here in the DTES. Those are the kinds of people who strengthen community capacity. So by having these companies donate a prize it’s a way to promote them and recognize them, by having the proceeds go to non-profits and charitable organizations we recognize the work that goes on from that end too. We celebrate them both and celebrate art, music and life along with them!

So naturally a combination of the two made sense, and that is what Kaleidoscope is all about. That, and having fun listening to great bands and enjoying a drink with friends in a cool venue. If this sounds like something you might enjoy then come on down this Saturday 7pm to the newly reopened Rickshaw Theatre at 257 E. Hastings. We would love to see you there.

Wes

BOB is pleased to announce a joint project with the Museum of Vancouver that has led to the creation of 500 gorgeous pins featuring the iconic Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret sign (left). BOB will be giving some of these awesome pins away to lucky people, all you have to do to win one is be a current Facebook friend of Building Opportunities with Business or BECOME ONE.  Two draws will take place, one for our existing friends as of today and one at the end of March for all our new friends. 6 pins in total will be awarded to 6 lucky Facebook friends of BOB! The winners will be announced at Kaleidoscope: A celebration of art, culture and entrepreneurial spirit in the Downtown Eastside a charity benefit concert to be held at the Rickshaw Theatre on March 27th featuring local bands Rodney Decroo and His Convictions, The Left, Spoon River and Boombox Saints.

The Smilin' Buddha Cabaret sign still looked cool in the daylight, here it is seen in 1958 above a bustling Hastings Street.

For decades the Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret was a legendary music venue in Vancouver. In the 1960s artists like Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane headlined there, then in the 1970s and 80s it became a favorite spot for legendary punk bands like DOA, Black Flag, The Ramones and countless others. Vancouver’s own 54-40 even played their very first show there. Subsequently when the venue closed down in the late 1980s the sign went into storage. The band, recognizing the value of the iconic Buddha sign, rescued it from its dusty corner and after naming an album after it took it on tour. 54-40 then later donated it to the Museum of Vancouver, where it is currently housed. Immediately making them one of the coolest bands of all time.

Help us celebrate the musical history of Vancouver and it’s colourful legacy as one of the world’s most prominent neon cities by winning one of these pins! For more information on the how BOB and the City of Vancouver are working to relight the inner-city in the proud vibrant neon it was once renowned for go here.

Regardless of fabric or colour these pins will make any clothing item look and feel that much more awesome(r), as is clearly demonstrated by this photo of the Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret pin which is firmly attached to my cardigan.

What do you get for the man who has everything? How about for that special lady with refined tastes? Might we suggest the Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret pin, brought to you by BOB and The Museum of Vancouver. Available through this special one time offer, Facebook message checkers are standing by.

Cute as a button but a thousand times cooler