No surprise to any of my followers, that much of this column space will once again be devoted to food – or at least establishments that serve food and help others.
But I wanted to start off by telling you about the participation of a number of Langley businesses in this weekend’s West Coast Women’s Show. For instance, Marie’s Guilt-free Bakery: http://mariesguiltfreebakery.ca/, Bella & Wren boutique: http://www.bellawrendesign.ca/, and Kuseno (buckwheat hull pillows) http://kuseno.com/ are among the Langley businesses that are exhibitors at this year’s event.
The West Coast Women’s Show, which starts Friday, and continues through Sunday, is being held at the Tradex in Abbotsford. It features more than 400 booths and typically attracts more than 20,000 people to attend.
It is, what some would call, the perfect excuse to go shopping.
Dubbed the ultimate girls’ weekend out, this 15th anniversary celebration features endless vendors. There’s an artisans marketplace, innovative exhibitors, a fashion show, and the very popular return of the Hall of Flame calendar firefighters (the half naked men on stage being reason enough for some women to attend this event).
This show is running 1 to 10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $12 per day per adult, and can be bought at the door.
Now, let me also tell you about a special dinner meeting happening next Wednesday.
The local Business & Professional Women’s chapter has invited 2012 Miss World Canada Tara Teng to talk about advocacy and action at its Oct. 21 meeting at the Sandman Signature Hotel at 8 p.m.
The Langley woman is a Canadian model, human rights activities, television personality, and public speaker. She prefers to be known as an abolitionist than as a beauty queen and guests will find out why at the meeting.
People wanting to reserve a spot can email reservations@bpwlangley.com, or call Deanna Evertt at 604-309-7808.
Talk chamber
And speaking of dinner meetings, B.C. Chamber president Jon Garson is the guest speaker at the next Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce evening gathering.
The title of his presentation is A New Chamber for a New Economy.
The meeting is being held Tuesday, Oct. 20, with registration at 5 p.m. and dinner and the presentation to follow at 6:30 p.m. at Cascades Casino.
Reservations, however, are required by emailing events@langleychamber.com or calling 604-371-3770.
And also on the books next week, the chamber’s monthly Open Late for Business networking session is being held Thursday, Oct. 22, at Aldergrove Credit Union, and a week later the chamber hosts its coveted Business Excellence awards dinner.
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Beer = food
And as promised, I’m going to talk food – or food establishments.
Let’s start with Ron Knight’s new McDonald’s restaurant in Willoughby. He and the team were chosen to unveil what’s dubbed as the next “and perhaps boldest” chapter of its brand transformation.
Restaurants in Burnaby, Surrey, and Langley all introduced a new self-order kiosk system on Wednesday afternoon where customers have a chance to create their own burger.
Using a customizable “Create Your Taste’ burger menu, customers can build their own premium burger from scratch, choosing from about 30 options – including five types of cheese, 12 toppings, two buns, a lettuce wrap, and nine sauces.
Guests will also be treated to table delivery, allowing them to sit down and enjoy their drinks while they wait for their customized burgers to be created.
“We’re thrilled that Metro Vancouver was selected to be among the first markets in Canada to bring the restaurant of the future directly to our guests,” said Shelly Hansen, McDonald’s Western Canadian regional vice-president.
“We’re excited to be showcasing our brand transformation, unveiling new, unexpected guest experiences and our Create Your Taste menu in three Greater Vancouver restaurants.”
With the transformation comes some new jobs, as well. Between the three restaurants, there are 10 to 15 additional jobs that have been created.
It’s a nice fit with Knight’s new restaurant, that is boasts much more of a relaxed, dining room type atmosphere.
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PHOTO: Pizza Huts around B.C. helped raise close to $50,000 to help juveniles with Type 1 diabetes. (Submitted)
Now, the restaurant news doesn’t end there. Let’s turn to Pizza Hut.
I want to commend the local team for contributing to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The B.C. restaurants raised $47,000 for the annual Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes, $780 of that coming from the Langley store and the customers who donated $1 at a time for eight weeks.
Now, let me also tell you about Original Joe’s (OJ’s) in the Fraser Crossing and what staff have been doing for the past four months to help the local food bank by turning beer into food.
Joe’s, in partnership with Big Rock Brewery, has raised $26,241 for food bank associations across Western Canada, almost $10,000 of that raised and donated in British Columbia.
The money was generated through the sale of feature pints of Big Rock.
“There’s a common misconception that food banks only need support around the holidays, and that’s simply not true,” said Bobby Ewing, Original Joe’s area manager.
“At OJ’s, we believe in feeding hungry people, both in our restaurants and in our communities. We’re proud to once again be supporting Food Banks B.C.”
Food Banks B.C. is a provincial organization that distributes much-needed food and funds to community food banks to help alleviate chronic hunger. Last year, Food Banks B.C. distributed more than 1.8 million pounds of food worth close to $4.5 million to the province’s 95 food banks.
“We can’t thank Original Joe’s enough for choosing to support Food Banks B.C. this year,” said Food Banks B.C. executive director Laura Lansink. “Their continued support and support from other community-minded organizations helps us in our goal to end hunger in British Columbia.”
In addition to hosting this annual fundraiser, OJ’s staff are encouraging customers to support the local food banks and help fight hunger in British Columbia. For more information on how to support Food Banks B.C., visit www.foodbanksbc.com.
The giving doesn’t end with OJs, either. Triple O’s (that off-shoot of White Spot) is keeping B.C. kids off the sidelines with their latest undertaking.
Triple O’s sixth annual KidSport Day fundraiser provides financial support to young British Columbians who might not otherwise have the opportunity to play organized sports through their support of local KidSport chapters.
Between Oct. 5 and 23, guests at all 34 locations – including the four locales in Langley (three along 200th Street, at the Power Centre, the Chevron at 86th Avenue, the Chevron at 95th Avenue, and the Chevron at 232nd Street and the Trans-Canada Highway) – have been collecting donations for the #SoAllKidsCanPlay initiative. And on Friday, Oct. 23, Triple O’s will donate a loonie from the sale of every combo.
For those of you who aren’t already aware, KidSport helps finance underprivileged kids into organized sports such as hockey, gymnastics, lacrosse, and soccer. The goal this year is to raise $50,000. Since the campaign started in 2010, Triple O’s has raised $140,000 for the cause.
For approximately every $00 raised, one child in a B.C. community gets a chance to play sports for a full year, said KidSport BC director Pete Quevillon.
“We believe every child should have the opportunity to play sports and Triple O’s shares that belief. The commitment to give back makes Triple O’s a wonderful partner for our community chapters. On Oct. 23, I encourage everyone to head to their neighbourhood Triple O’s and enjoy a post-game meal, and support local kids in the process.”
Info: https://www.facebook.com/tripleosrestaurant/
Need some help popping the question?
Langley’s Spence Diamonds is giving three lucky couples their dream proposal. Three participants who submit their ideal proposal online have a chance to win. There will be winner each month between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
This is ideal for any of our readers who are preparing to pop the question. All you need to do – if you fall into this category – is submit the wildest dream proposal possible to http://proposals.spencediamonds.com/.
Spence wants everyone’s proposals to be special, magical, and unforgettable – just like their love, said public relations officer Larissa Kroeker. And after people propose, others always want to hear how it happened – what the 4-1-1 and in explicit detail.
Well the jeweller, which has a store on 200th Street – near the Langley Bypass – is vowing to capture the magic moment of three lucky winners through their Dream Proposals campaign.
All people need to do is submit their dream proposal and they’ll be entered to win a chance to make it a professionally captured part of their love story, helping plan the details, supplying the props, and assisting with the location.
I hope at least one of the winners will be from Langley.
Free education offered to youngsters
CEFA has two early learning centres in Langley.
So, it might be only a coincidence, but there are also two Langley families that recently won a free one-year scholarship to the facilities.
There’s one centre operating on 200th Street, just at the intersection with the Trans-Canada Highway, and another on the Langley Bypass, and they cater to children between the ages of one and five years old.
The Kramer family’s daughter May will be attending the Walnut Grove centre, while Rhodesia Pham will be attending the Willowbrook centre.
“Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we are thrilled to serve our local communities further in extending full CEFA tuition scholarships,” said Yvette Pepper, the CEFA vice-president of enrolment marketing.
