Cirque du soleil Totem

This year is the 30th anniversary of Cirque Du Soleil, a Canadian based circus company that specializes in carnival meet athletic ability performances. I finally got the opportunity to go to one of the main, and the newest show, Totem. I've seen Cirque as part of a show in Vegas with Criss Angel, which was a lot of fun, but this show was totally different.

The big top circus tent

I would have loved to get some photos, of a video, of the show, but doing so endangers the performers, and it's forbidden. Unlike many of the other Cirque performances, this one was different in that it was much less circus and much more organic performance. The actors are so damn talented, its almost unreal. I love how international the cast is as well, choosing talent over any national boundaries.

Some of the awesome stuff available for purchase

My thoughts on being able to do ANY of the things the performers could. Seriously, so talented!

Yum Yum popcorn!

Cirque selfie!

Photography wasn't allowed, but I got a quick snap before the show

the Cirque logo

Aren't these masks just beautiful?

.I don't know where, of even if, Totem is heading next, but if you guys get a chance to see the travelling version of Cirque, or, really, any version, I highly recommend it! There are always shows going on in Vegas, and you can get some pretty cheap tickets too. I suggest the travelling show because then you get to be in a big top. While the big top has less room for the BIG theatrics and technical stuff, it is super magical to see it all in a circus tent, you know?

So, have you guys been to Cirque du Soleil? What did you think?

Here is the official trailer for Totem, give it a watch, and tell me what you think!

That Anniversary thing!

Anniversaries-they happen every year, you know? A little while ago, that whole wedding anniversary happened and we went out to celebrate. Now, our anniversary falls between semesters. For those who don't rely on student loans for, like, everything, let me explain the importance of this.

Student loans come the beginning of each semester, and the end of semester and period between semesters is the Dark Place of no money, little food, and being a homebody. Now, we planned for this, a little. We put aside a bit of extra money, and made sure to have enough to go out for the wedding anniversary.
We decided to go to the Van Dusen Gardens, here in Vancouver.

Van Dusen is a HUGE garden in the middle of the city which has a cute little cafe/restaurant, a special area for weddings and events, and an insanely huge collection of rare plants from all over the world. They have separated each area into specific geographic regions, each of which tend to bloom at different times of the year, which is how the gardens are able to stay open year round. We came during the early spring period, but just after the cherry blossom festival.

The gardens feature several festivals year round, which highlight the plants that are in bloom. They also have a FANTASTIC festival of lights during the christmas season to celebrate that whole thing. It is just a huge affair, with winter favourites-including hot chocolate, story readings, Santa and, of course, millions of Christmas lights. I haven't gone yet, but I have heard nothing be fantastic things about this festival.

What I love about the gardens are the little places to get lost, and just get caught up in the beauty of nature, and just BE. The gardens take about 1.5 hours to go through in their entirety, but I suggest taking closer to 2 or 3 hours there. The little cafe/restaurant has afternoon tea available, as well as snacks, drinks and full meals at fairy decent prices. I had an Earl Grey macaron, and it was just sinful.

I have loads more pictures, but I'll put them in another post, which will be the photo-only continuation of this post in a day or so!
Until then!
xo

Sakura

It's Spring here in Vancouver. There has been some glorious weather the past few days, and it has been just lovely to take walks around in the sun.

Now, for those that don't know, because you don't know about Canada, or whatever, but Vancouver is on the coast. Here, we get the same weather as Seattle, which is about 3 hours away. And has the reputation as the Rain City. This is a well deserved reputation.

It's always raining here.

Which is why having nearly 2 weeks without rain, in the spring no less, is something of a rarity. To have such nice temperatures too (16C, 60F), well, just wow.

Because there has been such great weather, the sakura are up in (almost) full bloom! I LOVE cherry blossoms. I swear, they are my spirit flower, if that's a thing. Which is should be. Vancouver is super lucky to be able to have so many sakura trees, which were a gift from Japan (specifically Kobe and Yohohama) sometime after WW1 to celebrate the Japanese Canadian soldiers who fought in the war. Since then, the trees have grown and spread all over Vancouver, enough so that there is now an annual Cherry Blossom festival.

But, even before the festival, the trees are out in their pale pink glory, obscuring the sky with pink petaled clouds.

If you ever plan on visiting Vancouver, the early Spring is the time to do it. Nice weather, beautiful sakura, and lots of super happy people shedding the cold, rainy winter and embracing the warmth and beauty surrounding us.

xox

Anime Revolution-and a visit from a friend

This past week has seen a visit from a friend in Texas, the return of my husband from Ontario, and Anime Revolution. It has been super busy, with more than a few trips to the airport, among other, more awesome, destinations.

Anime Revolution is the new anime convention in town-and not to be confused with Anime Evolution, which is having a small(ish) event in November (which I will also be attending. Perhaps with an artist table) before it's full re-kick off next year. It was held at the Vancouver Convention centre, which sort of explains the excessive price tag for the event.

Now, I'm not going to complain about the line up-which I'm not used to since the other anime conventions generally don't have lines, and, when they do, are plowed through insanely fast. Unlike this one.

But, I digress.

The big events were all Sailor Moon related, since it is the 20th anniversary of Sailor moon. At least the English version of the show. As such, almost every single English voice actor was in attendance. Which was totally rad. I got to see one panel, but, since I only stayed at the convention for one day, I missed the big 20th anniversary panel.

Sailor Mercury, Tuxedo Mask and Mini Moon, in that order.

One of the big disappointments was the artist/dealers hall hours. The entire convention was going on until almost 1:00am, with the last big event being the bikini contest-which I did attend. The dealers/artist area was only open until 6:00. Like, what the fuck? I had several last minute purchases I wanted to make, but, by the time I had gotten through half of the hall, everyone else was closing. Not cool, man. Not cool at all.

One the plus side, I DID get to try on a fantastic corset and overcoat combo. I want the overcoat more than words can express. It was sexy, it fit like a dream, AND was an ego boost, coming in at an XXS. We all tried something on, and it was great fun!

There was a lot of awesome cosplay, and group cosplays. The art that I did get to see was great, and the other panels were a lot of fun.

I really hope that next years guest line up is more relevant to my interests, and that the wonky hours get changed. Otherwise, i will totally go to next years event!

This upcoming weekend, I am going to Cos and Effect, the cosplay and anime convention over at UBC. This convention I am really looking forward to since the artists of some of the comics that I read are going to be there, and I want some prints.

Pics of: Bikini Contest, cosplays. Also? My husband is amazing, and cosplayed as Axis from Teahouse. 

Summer Festival

I mentioned before that one of the really cool things about loving in Vancouver is that there are oodles of free or cheap events that are all over the city. With lots and lots of different themes and events.
This past weekend, I went to the Summer Festival, presented by ARC, up at SFU.

This is a lead-up kind of event for the next Anime events, including Anime Revolution, Cos and Effect and Anime Evolution. Now, originally, when I heard of anime Revolution, I thought it was the remake of anime Evolution. Apparently, and much to my dismay, I was wrong. I much MUCH prefer to go to anime Evolution-better guests, better panels, better vibe AND cheaper, which is essential to a poor student like myself. But, unfortunately, I have to go to Anime Revolution because my friend from Texas will be here specifically for the con.
It would be a dick move for me to bail out at this point.

Regardless, the Summer Festival is a sort of lead-up event, and has all sorts of games, contests, costumes and awesome food. There was also a dance, which I did not stay for. Oh, and local artists. Lots and lots of local artists, which is one of the main reasons I went. Some of the artists who do webcomics which I habitually read were present at the festival. Namely the girls over at Always Raining here. Which you should check out because it is awesome. And adorable.

The vibe was awesome, people had a good time, I had some super yummy cupcakes, and I got to see my husband in a bear suit. I also got to wear my awesome cute dress I got when I was in Japan. Huzzah!