The Winter Storm of 2018

It came one day in late February: a west coast winter storm.














Transit was stuck, commutes were snarled, and the city awoke the next day to 25 centimetres of fresh, clean snow.













The storm came so quickly this great blue heron was frozen into this small patch of water, waiting for the ice to thaw.








Hearing the crunch of the snow underfoot is a wonderfully Canadian feeling, and one we don't often get here on the left coast. Childhood memories of hot chocolate and cinnamon toast, of skating and tobogganing...























All too quickly the snow disappeared. Spring is coming.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2018 by Jim Murray. 

Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden

Another year has gone and again we find ourselves the day before the official opening of the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden.










The light show really begins on December 1st but we come just before closing on November 30th to see the lights come on for a "dress rehearsal."

After a record setting month of rain, our time was spent under only a gentle mist.


















At one time pink was for boys, and water bottles were just that.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2017 by Jim Murray.

Earle Peach receives Mayor's Arts Award

It was a gala October evening to celebrate Vancouver's artists who enrich the city's culture through creativity and dialogue. It was the annual Mayor's Arts Awards, and a highlight was celebrating Sherry's friend and colleague, and new honouree, Earle Peach.

Earle received the award in the Community Engaged Art category. He leads four choirs: the Solidarity Notes Labour Choir; the Highs and Lows Choir; the Gathering Place choir; and InChoiring Minds. Earle also heads the delightful Illiteratty, and he is one half of Songtree with Barbara Jackson.

When the mayor and Earle were posing for the official photograph, the photographer asked the two men to turn into each other. Earle looked at the Mayor and said, "Frankly, I'd rather you turn into me."




Earle's acceptance speech was gentle and without ego. It spoke to the need to repair the world, to reconcile, to be accountable, and to raise up voices rarely heard, like those in the Highs and Lows.

Among a number of other projects, Earle is currently working with playwright Sherry MacDonald on a musical about the Battle of Ballantyne Pier.

Earle Peach is a gifted composer and songwriter, a dedicated political activist, and highly deserving of a Mayor's Art Award in 2017.

Now, if only our mayor could turn into someone more like Earle.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2017 by Jim Murray.