Inside Vancouver

This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Kelsey Klassen

by Ehren Seeland in Vancouverites on May 7, 2013

Hometown:
I grew up in Maple Ridge, BC. My parents still live in the family house, so even though Vancouver is my new home, nothing feels quite as good as dinners on their back porch.

How long have you been a Vancouverite?
Since Vanier dorm days at UBC (2002), minus a long traveling stint, and two years spent living in Sydney, Australia. I moved home just before the 2010 Olympics.

Occupation:
Journalist at WE Vancouver newspaper (formerly known as the Westender). I write about everything from David Suzuki to Sarah McLachlan, and all the local stories in between. I also edit a weekly fashion section called Shop Talk, and a twice-monthly feature on Vancouver’s style set called It Girl (it has yet to have an It Guy, but that’s coming). I’m also the Undrudgery editor for Vancouver Is Awesome (which just won best local blog!), tracking down Vancouver’s coolest jobs and how people got them. And from time to time, I’ll book a gig and play some music. I thought for sure my set at the 2007 Maple Ridge Jazz and Blues festival, which happened to open for an undiscovered Carly Rae Jepsen, was my ticket to folk stardom. Alas.

For more information on the above, you can visit my website here.

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This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Kelsey Klassen

Joyce Island album release party at the Media Club

by eliannalev in Vancouverites on April 16, 2013

The first time I met local songstress Lisa Joyce, she was in her natural element: singing acoustically with her guitar on her lap. We were both attending “Nu Grass”, a (now defunct) weekly night organized by local musicians (including members of Black Mountain and Lightening Dust) who would gather in John Rogers Park to sing traditional folk songs. While I’m not exactly a musical person, I was struck and inspired by the joyfulness and ease Lisa exuded while she performed alongside the group. In the years since our musical meet up, I’ve seen her Lisa perform on several stages around town, both big and small. Yet the one thing that’s consistent is the uplifting energy she puts out when she’s singing. (It’s no surprise that she’s also a vocal instructor.) That will likely be evident when she takes the stage at the Media Club, under her stage name Joyce Island, for her album release party on April 19. I recently spoke about what it’s like to be a singer/songwriter in Vancouver.

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Joyce Island album release party at the Media Club

This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Kristen Stevens

by Ehren Seeland in Vancouverites on April 2, 2013

Hometown: Kelowna, BC

How long have you been a Vancouverite?
I moved here when I was 19 and fell in love with the city. While I search for warmer weather nearly every winter, I really can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Occupation:
I run The Endless Meal Supper Club. We host dinner parties that are held in mystery locations, usually in Gastown. I also hold social dinners where people can buy tickets for a seat at the table, rather than booking the entire space for their group. I also publish a food blog called The Endless Meal that is all about casual but delicious food. It allows me a great opportunity to use photography to express my love for food. I was always told that if you do what you love it won’t feel like work. Perhaps it is cheesy, but it certainly seems to be true. I feel really lucky to have a job that I absolutely love.

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This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Kristen Stevens

This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Jackie Ellis

by Ehren Seeland in Vancouverites on March 5, 2013

Hometown: Vancouver, BC

How long have you been a Vancouverite? All of my life. I moved away for periods of time but Vancouver’s always been home.

Occupation:
Baker and owner of Beaucoup Bakery. I was previously a designer and owner of a small design firm.

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This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Jackie Ellis

Meet Wanting Qu: Vancouver’s First Tourism Ambassador in China

by Inside Vancouver in Vancouverites on February 15, 2013

Wanting Qu

Over the years, Vancouver has produced a number of celebrities who have gone on to international fame – and today, one of our local talents was unveiled as the city’s first-ever tourism ambassador in China.

Meet Wanting Qu, a Vancouver-based singer/songwriter and pianist who’s glamorous, talented and, at just 30 years old, already in the midst of an explosive career. “I don’t see myself as a celebrity. I just share my stories with the world through music,” says Qu in an exclusive interview. “And I wrote probably 99 percent of my songs in Vancouver. This is where I became a singer/songwriter. There’s so much creativity here… so much room for imagination.”

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Meet Wanting Qu: Vancouver’s First Tourism Ambassador in China

This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Kelsey Klassen

Joyce Island album release party at the Media Club

This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Kristen Stevens

This Week’s Featured Vancouverite: Jackie Ellis

Meet Wanting Qu: Vancouver’s First Tourism Ambassador in China

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