Orpheum Tour, Rocky Point Visit, and Together Themes

This week's Our World Tuesday post breaks down as follows: 

1. A tour of The Orpheum, Vancouver's most beautiful concert hall

2. A visit to Rocky Point in Port Moody.

3. A request for some help selecting a photo for a contest.

THE ORPHEUM

Bill and I have attended many concerts at The Orpheum, but touring it was a completely different experience.  This summer, BC Entertainment Hall of Fame is offering tours that will take you through parts of the theatre you never imagined you would see.  If you live in Vancouver, or are thinking about visiting Vancouver, this is first rate entertainment, and a steal at a cost of $10. Check out this link for dates and more information about the tour.  It was a thrilling and enlightening experience for us.  Here are a few pictures but I stress that my pictures barely give a small taste of the pleasures in store, should you have the opportunity to do the tour for yourself.

We began by learning about the architecture.  Bill came the closest to naming the style.  I am not going to give away secrets here.  You could read this article, but this is an experience that will never be the same unless..  

you meet Arthur and listen to his stories.  Once he has met you, he will remember your name, and he will find a way to connect to your interests.  He and Rob Haynes (I so regret that I did not manage to catch Rob for a photo) banter back and forth, 

and apart from the humour and fascinating information that I know you will appreciate, you will come away with an understanding of their deep love for The Orpheum.  They don't just know the history.  They lived it!  They were hugely involved in the campaign to save this unique building that was slated to become another Famous Players multiplex.  They met the stars.. 

..and they knew June Roper, who operated a dance studio next door to the theatre.  (That space is now a part of The Orpheum.)

The person below was one of June Roper's dancers.  She was at one time voted the most beautiful woman in the world.  Arthur and Rob will tell you stories about June's dancers, and how they gave live performances before the movies were shown.  (Yes, The Orpheum was once a movie theatre.) 

This mural is on the ceiling of The Orpheum.  I have long admired it and I was thrilled to have a chance to lie down on the carpeted floor of the theatre and look up with my camera.  You will learn about the artist who painted it, and about the various scenes within the painting.  

This is one of the scenes in that mural.

 Arthur will tell you a story about Orpheus and the scene below.  Suddenly, the name "Orpheum" will make sense as it never did before.  

You will not only see the stage from the audience's perspective..

but you will see the lighting director's space..

and you will go up to the rafters! 

You will walk a route that many stars take before they go on stage, and feel as never before..

what it is like to stand on.. 

the stage of a great theatre.

You may even live out..

a fantasy :)  Thank you, Rob and Arthur, for an experience that will long remain in my heart.

ROCKY POINT, PORT MOODY

I also loved our afternoon at Rocky Point Park.

At the end of the pier was an osprey nest!  I (with Bill's help) have already named the lovely couple that we met.  Don't you think "Matt and Mimi" has a nice ring to it?  I assumed when I took the photo that this was Matt, but I believe that may be a brown "necklace" across the breast, so perhaps, it was Mimi who was doing the lion's share of the nest building.  They don't appear to be taking care of an egg or a chick, so it is my guess that they may be unsuccessful in rearing offspring this season.  You also may be able to see the opposable toe, a bird of prey feature shared only with owls. 

Matt or Mimi below? I'm really not sure.  It would make more sense for Mimi to be waiting for Matt to bring nest material or a nice, juicy fish, but again, I wonder if I see a "necklace."

This Merganser mom was looking after eight little ones.  I could only get six in this shot.

A closer look at the little ones.

Isn't she beautiful?

It was bath time for the Canada Geese.  To us, they seemed so happy!

We were surprised to see that they totally submerged at times, although I wasn't able to catch a photo of the spectacular dive just before they went under the water.

My attention moved from geese to the mergansers to the ospreys and it seemed, the action was nonstop.  Here, Mimi (?) spots a stick.. 

and moves in for the pick-up.

Wings up..

and wings down.

A Caspian Tern added a splash of orange colour and a..

spectacular demonstration of its flying skills.

This time, I think it may be Matt.  What a splash they make when they dive straight down at death defying speeds.

Although he was too far for a really good photo,

it is fairly easy to make out the fish in his talons.

We also saw Purple Martins and I was happy to get one flying shot.  What a great day we had!  Thank you, Bill!

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: "TOGETHER"

For this section, I would be so appreciative if you could find the time to choose the two photos that you think have some photographic merit and that also hopefully represent the theme of "Together."  The deadline is July 17th, so I have another week to work on this and may add a few more photos in next week's post.  If you don't have time to comment, that is fine.  Just the numbers of the two you chose would be great (best one first).  Remember that the number is always under (not over) the photograph.  My deepest thanks to all who modelled for me.  I did get the permission of the humans involved to post their pictures.  Thank you, as always, to you the readers for stopping by the blog.  Do check out events in the lives of other people around the world by going to the Our World Tuesday web site.

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