2015 BCATW Symposium
April 18, Century Plaza Hotel Vancouver
Theme: Ecotourism
Speakers are still being retained and the program organized. A web page will be launched soon to give you all the details.
For now, save that date! Saturday, April 18.
February BCATW Meetup
Travelteerism: How to See the World and Serve it too
Thursday, February 5, 7:00 PM Randi’s Room
Join Casey Miller of Travelteerism to learn about one of the “hottest trends in travel.”
Casey will share how he came up with Travelteerism, some of his successes, and what he has learned along the way. He will also talk about upcoming trips and his non-profit partners.
Casey has spent 10+ years as a fundraiser for purpose-driven organizations. For many years, Casey lived in Mexico where in helped found a clean-energy company. A year-long bike ride produced 6 and a half: a story about roads, rashes, and redemption and led him to found a non-profit that helps veterans via the healing power of long distance cycling.
March BCATW Meetup
Eat My Words: an evening with Eric Pateman
Monday, March 9, 5:00 PM Edible Canada Bistro
$35.00 per person
Come and join Edible Canada President, Eric Pateman, for an informal evening as he discusses the success of Edible Canada and its mission to create a national food community and to define Canadian cuisine.
Eric has incorporated a passion for writing and travel with his entrepreneurial aspirations, and will give us tips on how to properly write about the food scene as well as sharing how his drive has led to Edible Canada being named to Profit Magazine’s Fastest Growing Companies list, not once, but twice in the last 3 years!
To secure your seat, this BCATW Meetup requires advance payment of $10.60 per person for both members and non-members. The balance of $25 will be charged at the dinner. Cancellations and refunds will be allowed up to 5 days prior, but not after.
BCATW Member News
After two months spent re-living her hippie days in a VW camper and travelling south in search of sunshine, Cherie Thiessan is back at work. Her story on cycling in southern Italy will be in Victoria’s BLVD magazine, and her stories on the field naturalists of Pender Island and the Chambers of Commerce on the southern Gulf Islands is in the current issue of Aqua Magazine. Senior Magazine’s current issue (January) also has her story on Saturna Island.
Joan Boxall published a travel memoir article with photos, ‘To Bayeux and Beyond: Memories of D-Day’ at Travel Through History and will feature in ‘Senior Living’ in March on Food to Fork on Salt Spring Island.
The image of a crofter’s cottage in North Uist, Outer Hebrides, was a finalist in a Scottish photography contest.
Julie H. Ferguson has begun reaping her rewards from 2014’s adventures. January saw the first three articles published. Two focused on small-ship cruising in southern Ontario and the Inner Hebrides. Another article demonstrates the value of participating in a full-day, hands-on photography workshop and also describes the Isles of Arran and Tiree. More stories and images will be appearing in 2015 about her trip to Scotland and Iceland that turned out to be the stuff of bucket lists. Also one of Julie’s images was a finalist in McKinlay Kidd’s annual photography contest, the award-winning tour company in Scotland. Now she’s planning her travel for 2015, which follows the TMAC 2015 conference in the Kawarthas and later sees her exploring the Pacific Northwest in September.
Darlene Foster is settling into life on the Costa Blanca in Spain. Her and her husband have rented a lovely apartment in Orihuela Costa and wake up to sun and gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. They enjoyed the festivities of Three Kings Day on January 6, including the parade the previous evening where children line up to catch sweets from the Three Kings. The excitement of the children is infectious and the costumes amazing. This day is a bigger deal than Christmas in Spain. There are a few pictures on her blog. In between walks on the beach, making new friends and visiting outdoor coffee shops, Darlene is working on book five of her children´s travel adventure series, Amanda on The Danube – The Sounds of Music. She wishes all her friends at BCATW a wonderful 2015!
Gangaramaya Temple
Irene Butler and her husband Rick spent most of January in Sri Lanka – this being their 24th country of continuous travel since July 2014! In Sri Lanka they witnessed the election of a new president, and the hype for the upcoming visit by Pope Francis. They were swept into the country’s rich Buddhist history in temples, and enthralled with elephants galore! Check out Sir Lanka on their website!
Megan Kennedy recently returned from a trip to Cuba to celebrate her birthday and the Christmas holidays. She fell in love with the country and is missing the warmth of the people every day. She is currently working on stories and editing her photos. Her first post, Celebrating Christmas Eve in Cuba – Las Parrandas de Remedios is currently live on her blog with more to come.
Ruth Kozak reading at the Hellenic Center
Ruth Kozak had a very successful book launch for her historical fiction novel SHADOW OF THE LION: BLOOD ON THE MOON on Jan 14, at the Vancouver Hellenic Centre, sponsored by Mr Ilias Kremmydas, the Greek Consul. Ruth is planning to have a travel writing workshop at her home Tuesday nights from March 3 – 31, 7 pm – 9.30pm $50. To register, email Ruth at ruthaki1@nullshaw.ca She will also be conducting a two-hour travel writing workshop at the NW Public Library on Feb 19 from 6.30 to 8.30 through the Royal City Literary Arts Society. Ruth is also a feature reader at Twisted Poets, sponsored by the Pandora Poetry Collection on Feb 26 at the Cottage Bistro, 7 pm. reading from her historical fiction novel.
Karoline Cullen, along with fellow BCATW member Karen Pacheco, has a photo exhibit at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre called “BC and Beyond”. The exhibit features photographs from their respective travels in BC and from around the world. It runs until February 10th. Karoline’s article “Boom or Bust in Dawson City” ran in several newspapers in January.
Mari Kane has released her updated ebook, Create a WordPress Website in Ten Easy Steps, available now at Amazon.com. This edition is fully interactive and explains everything an entrepreneur must to do to build a web site – fast and without knowing code. Written by a blogger – for bloggers – Create a WordPress Website is an essential guide to help you take control of your web presence.
See you at our next Meetup and until then, happy writing!
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