If Lisa Ovens was "hiring" the Club Bud Party Crashers...

by Lisa Ovens

Before I get to my picks for the best party crashers I should announce...Party Crashers of BC...the search is still on! There is still time to apply to win an opportunity to crash some pretty cool parties hosted by Budweiser during the 2010 Winter Games. Club Bud's headquarters will be the Commodore Ballroom and two lucky party crashers will go behind the scenes and report live from at least two events. Visit Club Bud's facebook page to apply, and do it by February 3rd. (If'd you like to read my take on the Commodore Ballroom please visit my first article on Club Bud at the 2010 Winter Games )

I checked out the entries to date and I must say I am impressed. Here's my short list if I were hiring...

Party Crasher Goddess: Meghan MacLean, nickname: Golden Girl
Why I picked her? When asked to describe her typical Friday night she said " Eat chocolate covered espresso beans and run around Vancouver in a unitard." I can soooo relate to that...

Party Crasher Goddess: Jennifer Nelson, nickname: jenijealousy
Why I picked her? When asked what would you ask an elite athlete or celebrity if you met them at Club Bud? she said " Who are you listening to at this moment, fave classical composer and last book read? Jen would get some great anwers when asking those questions. Plus she actually kissed someone's ass (a radio contest) to get into an INXS event...hardcore!


Party Crasher God: Chris Walts, nickname: Cdub
Why I picked him? When asked to describe his typical Friday night he includes going to a downtown club "where I destroy the dance floor." A good crasher knows how to move it and shake it.

 

Party Crasher God: Chris Breikss, nickname ChrisBCunch.
Why I picked him? When asked what the craziest thing he'd ever done to get into an exclusive event he said "Joined the Liberal Party." After reading several MacGyver like feats pulled off by other applicants, I have to say Chris's answer was so unexpected and it made me laugh out loud!

Be sure to check out the other Club Bud Party Crasher applicants on Club Bud's facebook page.

Club Bud's Exclusive Party Agenda at the Commodore Ballroom...

Friday Feb. 19 Burton Party
Saturday Feb 20 NHL Party
Thursday feb. 25 Club Bud Party
Friday Feb. 26th Under Armour Party
Saturday Feb. 27th Lululemon Party

If you would like to know about the "who's who" heading to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, check out this article for all of your celeb watching needs

Club Bud Searches and Three Beavers Quenches

By Lisa Ovens

Budweiser Beer created a nice little 2010 Winter Olympics gig for itself: acting as an Official party host at the legendary Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street. "Club Bud’s" list of corporate party goers include The National Hockey league, Under Armour, Burton Snowboards, Lululemon, and of course, themselves. Five party nights promising sports stars, celebrities and keg after keg of ice cold Bud. And Club Bud wants you to crash the party!

Club Bud is searching for two official party crashers to go behind the velvet rope at a minimum of two parties and report on the action via their phones. This contest is only open to BC residents (sorry Ontario...you have to sit this one out!)

To apply for the party crasher gig, become a fan on Club Bud’s facebook page, click on “apply”, answer a few questions and you are entered in the contest. Good luck to the potential crashers.

Lisa’s Commodore Ballroom

Ah the fabulous Commodore Ballroom. I could fill a book with memories from that place. And every chapter would contain my exploits on the spring loaded dance floor. I went to punk shows, rock shows, jazz shows and some crazy Halloween parties, too. But my all time favorite show to see at the Commodore was Bootsy Collins. CAN YOU SAY FUNK??


I actually danced with Bootsy during that time in his show when he heads down into the crowd. I spun around and there he was. He grabbed me and my friend by our arms and we got the funk, baby!!

And that springloaded dance floor...you could stand perfectly still and the packed floor would do the dancing for you (but only a fool would do that). I remember the feeling of the first dance of the night: walking out, instantly feeling the floor doing it's own thing, then catching the groove and staying there forever because there was no good reason to stop (okay...eventually the call of a beer would grow louder and louder).

It's been a few years since I've walked up the stairs into the Commodore, and if I am not mistaken, that amazing dance floor was removed during renovations ( a major fire hazaard). If I am right, then when that floor was removed, a little part of Vancouver died with it. Maybe that's how the "No Fun City" nickname got a foothold on this town.

Three Beaver Quenches

And  Finally, onto the beavers because the one thing this country needs more of is beaver stuff! Howe Sound Brewing Co of Squamish, BC has launched a new brew named Three Beavers. Like Club Bud, the beaver beer is not an official Olympic Sponsor, they just like to party like one...woot! The three beavers featured on the label even have adorable little medals hanging around their necks. Check it out here Howe Sound Brewing website. It's a red ale, complete with a dual action closure system: a pop stopper and a cap! Enjoy...

In My Back Yard

by Lisa Ovens


We are six months away from the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics in my hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, and I haven't even begun to get in shape for this monumental sporting event. I am way behind schedule on my pre- Olympic workouts, beer drinking and sporty life style shtick.

photos by Lisa Ovens

However, for the last five years I've been taking pictures, writing notes and generally lying around thinking about this five ringed spectacle about to take place in my back yard. This blog is the place for me to unload the material and free my mind of it, finally.

2010 and High Heels is a spin of Hockeyandhighheels.com, the home of my first baby, Hockey and High Heels- A different kind of hockey book. Because of that book, h&hh.com welcomes visitors from around the world and many of them haven't been to Vancouver. So here are a few things about Vancouver that readers might like to know...

Age

Vancouver is 123 years young. Yeah, we're just a bunch of pups over here...woohooo!

Location

From my own experiences traveling around the world, everyone seems to know where Toronto is, and Vancouver is no where near Toronto. It's a 42 hour drive west of TO according Mapquest. That's 2700 miles (4300 km), if you drive through the United States like Mapquest suggests. Vancouver lies on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, nestled behind a wall of mountains that act as a natural barrier from the rest of Canada. If we have itchy feet and want to visit another country, we only have to drive 30 miles south and we're in the United States.

Inhabitants

Vancouver is Canada's third largest city with it's metropolitan area home to just over 2.3 million people. Because we have the mountains, ocean and the United States border hemming us in, "urban sprall" is a phrase not in our vocabulary. We have lots of high rises, but not too high because people should have at least a little view of the surrounding natural beauty.

Animals that dig the natural beauty: squirrels, raccoons, bears, ducks, sea otters, orcas, seals, sea lions, cougars....those are some of the bigger ones, and a few of them walk by my living room window almost ever night and look in at me, like I'm some sort of zoo exhibit or something.

The Migration of Retail

Vancouver is the first city to have Lululemon, and the last city to get a Sephora (It literally just opened a few weeks ago).

I'll stop there at the subject of retail/ merchandise; a subject that will pop up plenty as I empty the Olympic contents of my mind and closet.