VanRamblings this afternoon provides information (corrected, as of 5 p.m.) on Navigate The Streets, a sort of urban scavenger hunt where participants compete in teams of two. At the beginning of the race, each team receives a list of clues that, when solved, reveal checkpoints around nine cities (in this case, Vancouver) across Canada. There is no set course. Contestants compete on foot or use public transit. The team that visits all the checkpoints, in their respective city, and returns to race headquarters in the least amount of time wins. So far, so good. Sounds like fun!
The information above is provided in response to an e-mail, sent to me some while ago, from organizer Tim Shore …

“Navigate The Streets was created by me last October. I organized a race in Toronto. 76 teams (152 people) participated. Since everyone had a good time and the response was so positive, I decided to get a group of
us together to organize it in cities across Canada. Officially, the race was created and is organized by a company that I founded called Level 28”.

Contestants may bring whatever tools they feel might help them in their quest to navigate the streets of the city, and may employ such smart mob orientation devices as a cell phone, a wi-fi enabled handheld, map and guidebook, or a notebook computer. A digital, or polaroid, camera is required to take a photo of each checkpoint, as offer of proof that the checkpoint was reached. Winners of each race across Canada — and races take place not only in Vancouver, but in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Québéc City, Toronto and Winnipeg, as well — will receive free airfare, two nights double occupancy accommodation, and free entry to the final, winner take all ($10,000) race in Montreal.
Navigate The Streets is sponsored by the Monster Beverage Company, FatPort, TakingITGlobal, Om Records, Axis Gear, and the Georgia Straight. The charity parnter is Right To Play.

(click on poster to enlarge)

Friend and mentor, M. David Exman, sends along a note about a benefit concert for the former residents of 1700 Robson Street who, on March 8, were burned out of their homes.
Organizers of the benefit concert — Dan Casavant, Bill MacDonald and Nathalie Carriére — have set up a web page providing information not only on the concert, but on how you might donate monies to help victims of the fires recover their lives.

vs

Vintage postcard view of Granville Street at sunset, circa 1970

As the Onex Corporation formally puts the Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corporation (Cineplex-Odeon) up for sale, management announced that effective today regular admission ticket prices for all theateregoers will be lowered to $8.95, from $12.75.
That means no more cheap Tuesdays — when admission prices were only $6 — and no more cheap matin�es. Discounts for seniors and children have been eliminated, as well, as everyone will pay the same amount for admission, every day. The price change comes as good news for adults, though, who will no longer have to pay almost $13 to see a movie.

“As part of our regular, ongoing business reviews, we have made several price changes in various markets that will offer new, lower ticket prices for theatre visitors,” says Pat Marshall, Vice President Communications and Specialty Marketing for Cineplex-Odeon Galaxy LP. “This is great news for theatre guests, who we hope to see visit the theatres more often with this new added price incentive.”

Rival theatre chain, Viacom-owned Famous Players Theatres, offered no word of a price change for their cinemas, where regular adult admission prices run from $11.25 to $13.75.