Mattress Vancouver

Attention Foreign Students Studying in Vancouver.

Before you move into a furnished home there are three things you should consider about the mattress you will be sleeping on for the next three to twelve months:

1. Its Condition – What is the age of the mattress? Are the springs in good condition? Does the mattress have a disturbing odour? When you remove the sheets, are there stains covering the surface?

2. Mattress Size – When you lie down on the bed, are your feet sticking out over the end? Is there enough room to stretch out? Is the bed an appropriate size for the room it’s in?

3. Bed Bugs – Is the mattress currently in a building that is on record with the Vancouver Bed Bug Registry? Did the mattress come from another location that may have had a bed bug issue? Is their evidence of bed bugs along the seams of the mattress?

If any of these questions cause you concern, discuss them with your landlord, home-stay parent or placement supervisor. If you need to buy a new bed, a Simmons Mattress Gallery professional can help recommend the perfect mattress for your Canadian lodging.

Your time abroad should be spent in comfortable setting. Consider a new mattress.

Vancouver Language School

As a consumer in a capitalistic society, you have choices for what you buy and where you buy it. There is no one warehouse for shampoo or light fixtures and fortunately we all don’t have to buy the same ugly trainers. We are free to spend our money on any product we deem economically superior.

The consumer’s responsibility is product comparison. Finding the lowest price and best terms is a demanding second job. Fortunately, some companies are making it easier for the consumer. Their prices and the quality of their products places their item or service on a level far above their competition.

Simmons Mattress Gallery is one of these companies.

SMG is currently offering up to 60% off on beds in their warehouse. That is a massive markdown that can’t be beat.

They are also offering free delivery. Customers don’t have to lift a hair.

SMG will also remove and recycle your old mattress, an environmental benefit that will help you sleep even more soundly at night.

Save money, buy a quality product and have it delivered. Simmons Mattress Gallery has it all covered.

The recent discovery of bed bugs in a Vancouver library book has embarrassed the city’s lending service and reopened the inquiry into how prolific the bed bug problem is in our city.

The bugs were found in a book borrowed from the Mount Pleasant Library.

Since the incident, the library has done a thorough search of their stacks. Their work has turned up no evidence of further infestation. It may have only been the one book, stored near an infected mattress or couch that acted as a temporary home for the critters – unlucky for the library.

The fact that the bugs were found in an item other than furniture or clothing illustrates how prolific the problem is in our city. Bed bugs are everywhere, but those infected are keeping their mouths zipped.

Unlike a public library, homeowners can silently try to deal with bed bug issues without the prying eye of the public. Victims call a pest control service, they move to a hotel for a few days or go on a ‘vacation’, they buy all new mattresses and when they get back, the Taylors will ‘still’ be sending little Jenny over for play dates. A convenient solution with little-to-no public humiliation.

Until there is a strategy to wipeout the bugs for good, private pest control will be the public’s best option.

Bug Problems

We have just over a month to go till Christmas. Are you ready?

The Starbucks cups were out on the 1st, St. Paul’s Lights of Hope turns on next Thursday and the Christmas Train starts up on December 2nd, Each unique event reminds us of how close we are coming to the family holiday.

And there’s so much to do…

The cleaning is what stresses us out. Vacuuming, scrubbing, dusting, polishing – it all must be done before the family arrives.

Then there are the lights to be hung, the tree to buy and the sweets to be baked.

Finding time to rest over the holidays can be a chore in itself. To improve your horizontal hours, purchase a Simmons Beautyrest mattress from Vancouver’s mattress store. It will be a gift that you can enjoy every day of the year. You can’t say that about the Rudolph-themed slippers you received from Uncle Rob.

So treat yourself to a new bed and counteract the Christmas sleep withdrawal.

Asleep At The Switch

Christmas crafts sales are a one-stop shopping centre for all those people on your list that need something simple but festive. From ornaments, to wreathes, to salt and sweet treats, you’ll find everything under the broad blanket of Christmas crafts.

This weekend hosts a number of Christmas craft fairs around the city. Simmons Mattress Gallery suggests the following sales:

Friday, November 25th

-9th Annual Chilliwack Christmas Craft Crawl

Various times and locations in Chilliwack

-North Delta Potter’s Guild Christmas Pottery Sale

Artspace Studio (11425 84th Avenue)

-Richmond Potter’s Club Christmas Sale

Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Place)

Saturday, November 26th

-Dunbar Community Centre’s Annual Craft Fair

10am – 5pm (4747 Dunbar Street)

-Renfrew Community Centre’s Craft Fair

10am – 3pm (Eastt 22nd and Renfrew)

-Strathcona Community Centre’s Winter Craft Fair

601 Keefer Street, Vancouver

-Urban Artists’ Craft Fair

10am – 5pm Roundhouse Community Centre

-Woodside Gallery Christmas Arts and Craft Show

10am – 5pm (2226 Lougheed Highway)

Homemade Christmas Gifts

Since 1998, St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver has been creating a public light display to raise funds for various projects and causes connected with the hospital.

This year, the ‘Lights of Hope’ display intends to raise $1.9 million in corporate and private donations. The St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation has already raised a total of $16 million since the conception of the light show.

The set-up for the lights began on November 5th, when a 100 volunteers helped erect the carefully planned display. It is estimated that the lights would span 10 kms, if attached as a single line. That would be quite the sight.

If you would like to donate, visit the charity’s website: http://www.helpstpauls.com The site suggest many creative ways to give, from security stock, to a mention in the will, to a monthly donation. Whatever you can afford to give, they’ll use.

The projects that the hospital wishes to fund are: the purchase of a new CT scanner, two 3D-capable echocardiography machines, bronchoscopy equipment, for the detection of lung disease and the completion of the Diagnostic Treatment Unit.

The official opening of this year’s Lights of Hope display will be on Thursday, November 24th.

Light Up the Stars Tonight

It helps to have connected friends, especially friends who speak your language. Anthea Poon, Vancouver’s Top Multi-Lingual Realtor, is a valued friend of Simmons Mattress Gallery. We recommend her work for any potential buyer or seller actively looking for a Vancouver realtor – especially if they speak Mandarin or Cantonese.

Anthea’s main focus of work is Vancouver’s West End, but she also services the Greater Vancouver area. She has built her own West End database for potential buyers. This is a invaluable resource for potential condo owners.

You may recognize her face from her prominent bus advertisements that have been circling the city. With a B.A. in marketing, Anthea knows how to get your listing in front of the eyes of potential buyers.

Selling or buying a home can be the most important decision you make. Let Anthea aid the process.

To enlist the service of her real estate team, call or email her company. She will gladly reply in English, Mandarin, Cantonese or French. That’s the benefit of talented friends.

The historic Yale Hotel and Blues Bar is closing its doors after 130 years of operation. One of Vancouver’s finest small-act musical venues, The Yale will close for twelve months to undergo a much needed renovation plan. November 21st will be the final show day.

Opened in the 1880s, The Yale was one of only a handful of buildings to survive the 1886 fire. It became a musical frontier in the early 1900s and has been supporting emerging and established blues, jazz, R&B and soul acts ever since.

The renovations will help The Yale take on Vancouver Heritage status. The renos will also improve the facilities in the club. Planned improvements include an upgraded sound system, a hardwood dance floor and a raised roof above the stage area.

The final five nights will feature 5 genres of top-end local and imported talent.

Wednesday, November 16th

-The Best of Boogie Woogie

Featuring Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne

Thursday, November 17th

-The Best of Country and Classic Rock

Featuring Chilliwack

Friday, November 18th

-The Best of Electric Blues Guitar

Featuring David Gogo

Saturday, November 19th

-The Best of Rockin’ Soul Blues

Featuring the All-Star Blues Revue

Sunday, November 20th (Afternoon)

-Big Band Blues

Featuring Dal Richards

Sunday, November 20th (Evening)

-The Best of R&B, Soul and Blues

Featuring Brickhouse and special guests

The Yale: Vancouver's Only Rhythm and Blues Bar

Random Fact: From 1889 to 1911 the Yale was renamed The Colonial,

before returning to its original handle.

It’s the night before your company presentation and all you want is a few hours of undisturbed sleep.

You have been working tirelessly for three months in preparation. There have been late nights in the office, when the only people in the building have been you, the security guard and the cleaning staff. There have been hour-long Skype sessions with the tech department in Toronto and countless meetings with your team in Vancouver.

You saw your idea evolve from a boardroom discussion to a tangible product. Over thirty employees put their time and resources into its development. Now it is time to sell it to the company brass.

No pressure.

Lying on your bed, staring at the ceiling, you run through the presentation in your head. You have done all you can.

The only thing left to do is receive the seven hours of sleep you need to stay alert and focused.

You roll over on to another lump and openly curse your twelve-year-old mattress.

Give Your Mind a Rest

Innovation starts and ends with the sleep you receive. Purchase a Beautyrest mattress at one of the two Simmons Mattress Galleries in the Lower Mainland. Your productivity is resting on it.

Simmons Mattress Gallery is not usually a forum for gossip speculation, but the recent split of newlyweds Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries has us a little concerned.

The marriage lasted a total of 72 days. They didn’t even complete a financial quarter. Imagine what all the guests who attended that wedding are feeling. I bet a few of them are wishing they didn’t spend so much on their gift.

But the real question is: Why are so many celebrity couples calling it quits?

Is it the pressures of being in the spotlight? The legions of fans who bolster their egos? Is it that they were never in love to begin with? Are all these marriages simply grandiose publicity stunts?

No. Most probably started with love, but somewhere along the way, the fire died.

Sleeping apart from your partner can have that effect. We firmly believe the couple that sleeps together, stays together. Often celebrity couples are forced apart by the demands of their jobs. Without a permanent mattress to share, the individuals start to feel less like a union and more like two private enterprises.

Thankfully, most couples that buy our mattresses are able to enjoy the comfort they offer together. With non-flip pocket coils, designed to eliminate motion transfer, both partners can rise in the morning refreshed from an undisturbed sleep. When both parties in a relationship are rested, there is less chance of minor issues blowing up into major ones. There is also more energy for the other endeavors that mattresses provide.

Don’t model your life on the fleeting bond of two distant stars. Stay grounded on a mattress that supports the weight of a committed relationship.

Kim Kardashian

When watching a film, our gaze is directed at a subject that has been chosen for us. We give the director free reign to control our sight line. This exchange encourages new experiences, some of which are cultural.

This week, the Vancouver Asian Film Festival hopes to direct our eyes towards the North American Asian experience.

In their 15th year of operation, the VAFF is intent on providing a cultural bridge between Asian and non-Asian communities. The Festival will run from November 3rd to November 6th, with all shows screening at Cineplex Odeon International Village, near Roger’s Arena.

The films range in subjects from cross-cultural love for the Vancouver Canucks, to a historical documentary on the migration of asian settlers to North America.

Also included in this year’s festival, as a part of Vancouver’s 125th celebration, is an encore presentation of “Love Letters,” the photo and video campaign shown last June. Love Letters was an open call for Vancouver citizens to submit digital records of images and video that conveyed their love for our fair city. VAFF will show Joanna Wong’s entry on the festival’s opening night.

Tickets for all the shows may be purchased online at the Festival site or the day of at the Festival box office. Passes are also available for the true film buffs.

Let’s take a look back at the beds that defined you:

The Wooden Prison – Your crib provided you with a confined space to for those short periods of sleep between epic crying bouts. The upside: you never had to get up to go to the washroom in the middle of the night. The downside: lack of freedom.

The Layer Cake – All of your friends were envious of your bunk bed, but sharing a bedroom with your older brother quickly lost its novelty. You dreamed of the top bunk, but sadly were forced to settle for the lower class bottom bunk for eight long years.

Puberty Plank – Pimples, emerging hair and voice crackles were manageable, but your Grade Ten growth spurt put your feet off the end of your twin mattress; it left you with 3/4’s of a comfortable night’s rest.

College Daze – If your dorm room mattresses could speak, we’re sure it would utter something along the lines of Kurtz’s final words; “The horror….the horror.”

Young Professional - Independent enough to buy your first bed – too poor to shop anywhere but IKEA.

Marriage Bed – She insisted on going to a proper mattress store. Together, you picked out a Beautyrest. Everything up to that point was…history.

Bunk Beds: Family Caste System

An uninterrupted sleep can dramatically increase your daily health. There – we said it! But the next best thing is laughter.

We’re not 100% sure of the science, but we do know a good laugh is a great way to relieve anxiety. Forget the scented candles and bubble bath, grab a friend and find a local comedy club or check the events calendar for local comics coming to town. Then take a night-off from work/kids/bridge and laugh your way back to health.

This month, Paul F. Tompkins will be visiting the city and performing at the Rio Theatre, only a few km’s from our Broadway location. Tompkins’ humour is a little quirky, but if you have ever listened to his podcast or his appearances on Comedy Bang Bang, you wouldn’t miss this night for your Grandmother’s funeral. Tompkins will be taking to the stage on November 30th. For a little taste of his style, listen to the audio clip below:

http://audioboo.fm/boos/510900-new-dads-paul-f-tompkins

Never been to the Rio Theater? You are in for a treat. Be forewarned, this is an adults only show and as a result, beer will be served. And yes, you may take your cans of PBR into the Theatre.

Another great venue for traveling comedians, as opposed to the community kind, is the River Rock Theatre. Last year, legendary comics Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld performed at the Rock.

If a smaller, more casual setting is more to your taste, check out the Comedy Mix in the Century Plaza Hotel downtown.

Out in the burbs? Try LaffLines in New Westminster. Tracy MacDonold, a fine Canadian comic, will be performing on November 4th and 5th.

Get out there and get your laugh on!

Paul F. Tompkins

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is an area of the city that many of us choose to avoid. The poverty level scares us, the open drug market makes us nervous and the prostitution reminds us of the dangerous hold of addiction. So we divert our travel routes, choose alternative venues and leave the issues for the community to deal with on their own. It’s a coping mechanism that most of us subscribe to.

One thing we can’t forget, even if we choose to turn our backs, is that the DES is full of people. People who have a past, present and future. People who value the community they live in. People who are artistic, creative and passionate.

As a part of Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary Celebration, the DES community will be celebrating the ‘Heart of the City Festival.’ The festival will showcase the talents of many of the area’s current citizens, as well as document some of the rich stories from the neighbourhood’s past.

Events are running all week. For more details check the festival website:

http://www.heartofthecityfestival.com/

Looking for a family scare this weekend? Check out the Dunbar Haunted House, which ironically, is no longer located in Dunbar.

The annual scare factory has moved locations, due to the increased volume of visitors that the house has received over the past seven years. The new location is 8934 Shaughnessy St., near the Marine and Cambie Canada Line station.

The house has now become a community project, taking almost four months to create.

With props, live actors, dramatic settings and an animated soundtrack, the walking tour is a theatrical buffet of scaredom.

This year’s theme is “Barbaric British Columbia.” The word from the crypt is the house will showcase a number of iconic images from BC history and culture – possible frights include the undead crew of the S.S. Beaver, the resurrection of Bill Vander Zalm’s Fantasy Garden and the impenetrable Tim Thomas.

The haunted house opened for business on Oct 14th and will close its doors at midnight on Halloween.

Entry costs $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All proceeds are distributed between the B.C. Fire Fighter’s Burn Fund, the Christmas Bureau and the Vancouver Police Union Charity Foundation.

For younger visitors, the house offers a reduced rate, performerless walk through on Saturdays and Sundays, between 11am and 7pm. At 7pm, the actors take their place to offer the true, spine-tingling spectacle.

We’ll see you there… if you dare.

Spooky Family Fun

The British Academy of Sound Therapy has named “Weightless,” by the Marconi Union, to be the most relaxing tune ever.

The sleep-inducing track beat out offerings by Coldplay, Enya and Mozart.

Marconi Union produce ambient electronica. For “Weightless,” the group worked with a number of sound therapists to construct a song that soothed the listener through specifically chosen harmonic intervals.

The Telegraph, which reported the story last week, commented that the “carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms and bass lines help to slow the heart rate, reduce the blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.”

The eight-minute track is so effective, that drivers have been warned not to listen to the track while behind the wheel.

The study published the list of the top ten songs for inducing sleep like qualities. “Weightless” was number one. Coming in at number eight, was Adele’s current chart topper, “Someone Like You.”

When compared with other relaxation methods, “Weightless” trumped massage, walking and drinking tea.

It’s a shame they didn’t match it against a Simmons Beautyrest mattress – but that wouldn’t be fair.

Do the people who abandon mattresses on the streets think they are helping the homeless? Do they believe there is a magic mattress collector that trolls the alleys at night looking for soggy discarded beds? One would wonder…

With the recent ban on mattresses at city transfer stations, beds are being illegally abandoned all over the city.

Last year 1,500 mattresses were discarded illegally on city streets. This year, with the $20 surcharge in effect, frugal, lazy citizens have dumped over 5,000 mattresses.

The city has used taxpayer money to send out special vehicles to collect the unwanted beds. It has been a massive resource drain on the collection department’s budget. All this because people did not want to properly deal with their waste.

It’s a shame.

The good news is that more beds then ever are being properly recycled. Thanks to the new ban, over 47,000 mattresses were given to Lower Mainland recycling agencies in the first half of this year.

If you are looking to properly dispose of your old mattress and do not want to pay the $20 fee, consider one of the three mattress recycling companies operating in and around Vancouver.

Here is a list of the companies and their minimum charge:

Canadian Mattress Recycling - If dropped off, CMR will charge $12 per item. This is the cheapest option. They also have pick-up options starting at $72.00.

Mattressrecycling.ca - This company charges $12.50 per dropped off item. With a professional website and David Suzuki’s endorsement, this company appears to be the most respectable operation in the Vancouver area. We have also featured this company in an earlier post on mattress recycling.

Recyc-Mattress - This is the most expensive option. Recyc-Mattress charges $15 per item.

A mattress dumped in a landfill takes decades to decompose. Do your part and recycle your bed properly.

Mattress Abandonment

In the spirit of the Writers and Readers Festival, here is a short ode on a subject dear to the heart of Simmons Mattress Gallery:

Ode to a mattress

Where would we be, without our coiled invention,

Damp on a straw mat, constricted with tension?

Some might give credit, to the mighty steam engine,

But the steam locomotive, is a hot-aired distraction.

Some might say soap, brought us new sanitation,

But it also helped Tyler, fund the club we won’t mention.

Some might praise books, and the print of a German,

But one needs a bed, to relax and read fiction.

No, praise the mattress, don’t fall for deception,

You deserve the best, a Simmons sensation.

Our rhyme scheme might stray, but our love for the mattress is unwavering. Come visit one of our two locations in the Lower Mainland to sample the large selection of Simmons mattresses on hand.

Language is a toolbox from which we borrow implements to cut, shape and model our thoughts. From Facebook posts, to journal entries, to private poems, our soul is portrayed through the words we connect together.

This month, writers and readers from around the province will have a chance to celebrate the expressive power of writing. The 24th Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival will be held on Granville Island from Tuesday, October 18th to Sunday, October 23rd. It begins with an interactive session with the children’s author, Paulette Bourgeois. Bourgeois is the creator of the ‘Franklin’ series that adults and their children have enjoyed since 1986. The discussion is aimed at young readers. Primary teachers and encouraged to bring their classes down for this midmorning discussion.

The final event of the festival is the Governor General’s Award Party, where four previous recipients of Canada’s highest literary achievement will discuss the award and it’s social merit.  The four writers, Nino Ricci, John Pass, Joan MacLeod and John Vaillant, will each read a short passage from their decorated work.

In between these bookends, will be a number of author seminars, publishing and writing workshops, poetry slams and literary debates.

The Vancouver festival will also host a short story and poetry contest for emerging writers. Deadline for submissions is October 23rd.

For more details on the contest and the festival events, visit http://www.writersfest.bc.ca.

Share Your Words

But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. -Lord Byron

Tired of taco night and boring pasta dishes? Want to rekindle your culinary passions? Looking for things to do around Vancouver that don’t involve a mattress?

The Arts Club Theatre Company is hosting celebrity cooking classes for Vancouverites to learn and indulge in the fine art of food preparation. Head chefs, from a variety of restaurants around the Lower Mainland, are teaching the classes. The lessons include a full meal, wine tasting and a hands-on learning experience.

Hosted at private homes, the lessons are an opportunity to learn cooking techniques in a casual environment, where the product can be enjoyed in the setting it was intended for.

The experience is also a fundraising opportunity for the Arts Club Theatre program.

Tickets are $125 per person. There are five planned events being offered before the New Year. Each class is unique and specific to the chef who is hosting.

Your PVR recordings of Hell’s Kitchen can only take you so far. Learn how to cook extravagant meals without Gordon Ramsey telling you where to stick it.

For more information, visit the Arts Club Theatre website.

Culinary Theatre

The new moon has a special significance in October (and no, it has nothing to do with Vampires). It marks the date of the cultural festival known as Diwali. Observed by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, Diwali is a fall festival that celebrates ‘good over evil.’

In traditional celebrations, the triumph of good is portrayed through the lightening of lamps and candles.

The new moon is the darkest day of the month. In a natural setting, void of electrical lights, the candles represent a defeat of the darkness that exists during the absence of the moon.

Like Thanksgiving, Diwali is traditionally a family occasion, with activities organized around the family unit.  But it is also celebrated with community events and decorations.

The slogan for Vancouver’s publicly organized Diwali celebrations is “Light your Spirit.” There are five major events put on by Vancouver Celebrates Diwali. They run from October 15th to the 23rd. Here is a brief summary of the planned festivities:

October 16

“Dance All Sorts Diwali Style” (2:00 pm)

-The festival will begin with a performance by Bageshree Vaze, a contemporary kathak dancer, who will preform at the Roundhouse Theatre in Yaletown. Tickets at the door.

October 18

“Diwali Bright Lights” (4:30 pm)

-This night is dedicated to emerging South Asian artists in the Vancouver community. It will include classical Indian music and a variety of dance groups, including the ever-popular Bollywood style. The event will take place at the Heritage Hall on Main Street. This is a free event.

“Chai House on Main Street”

-This is an upscaled version of the earlier event. The headline performer will be Grammy winner Chin Injeti. Tickets are $10.

October 23

“Diwali Downtown” (12:00 pm)

This is a family event to close out the public festival. It runs from noon till 6:00 pm at the Roundhouse in Yaletown. There will be a variety of musical acts, dance teams, craft workshops and traditional Indian food. Tickets for this final event are by donation.

Festival of Lights

Shah Rukh Khan is one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. Appearing in over 70 Hindi films, Khan is considered by many to be the King of Bollywood.

With his new science fiction film, “Ra.One,” premiering on October 26th, the world media is obsessed with everything Kahn.

This week, an article in “Harper’s Bazaar” published some interesting facts about Kahn’s sleeping rituals.

Kahn was asked by Mala Sekhri to describe his bed attire. The middle-aged star, often referred to by his acronym SRK, revealed that he prefers to ‘dress up for bed.’

“I like to wear clean, really nice pair of clothes, so like my Dolce and Gabbana shorts, I will sometime . . . wear my Lululemon track pants and I’ll wear a nice, crisp white T-shirt.”

Kahn also went on to comment that he enjoys putting cologne on before crawling beneath the covers.

Cologne? Dress shirts? DG boxers? The ‘King’ knows how to push the boundaries of extravagant living. And a little shout-out to a local company.

We only hope his mattress is on par with his sweet-smelling wardrobe.

SRK

Summer is winding to a close and fall is starting to show on the leaves. This is great news for corn lovers in B.C. as the fields are filled with this year’s crop. It’s also the time of year when farmers with an entrepreneurial artistic side, can turn their land from simple fields of corn into complex harvest labyrinths.

One of the largest mazes in the Pacific Northwest is located in Pitt Meadows. Appropriately titled the ‘Meadow Maze,’ this year’s design boasts 6.3 kms of pathways. The theme is the Vancouver Zoo. Previous themes include: the PNE, the Golden Ears Bridge and ‘eat local.’

The corn maze design begins on a computer, where a designer creates an image and then maps out the pathways. The maze is then cut when the corn is a foot high using a tractor with GPS compatibility. Before the cut, there are nearly 1 million plants in the field.

Visitors to the maze are encouraged to bring water and a hat. The Pitt Meadows location occasionally closes when the temperature is too high. The average walker takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete the maze. The fastest time for this years design is 35 minutes.

The Meadow Maze also boasts a full concession and market area, plus a petting zoo and hay rides.

Pitt Meadows Maze

*From Experience: Do not watch “Children of the Corn” before a trip to the Pitt Meadows maze.

Amateur and pro cycling enthusiasts around the Lower Mainland have been training, tuning and timing for months in preparation for this weekend’s Gran Fondo ride from Vancouver to Whistler. The ride is 120 km, along one of the most beautiful highways on the planet. Take part or encourage a friend or family member as they climb towards Whistler Village.

This is the second year of the mass cycling event in Canada, a phenomenon that was born in Europe and given the Italian name of Gran Fondo – roughly translated as ‘Big Ride.’ The event is not a race, but awards are given to the top finishers. It features riders from a variety of skill levels and backgrounds. This year’s amateur category is sold out, but the pro category still has room for last minute entries.

The race will start at Thurlow and West Georgia at 7:00 am, with amateur riders staggered back to Seymour Street. The race will finish in Whistler Village, with the finish line closing at 4:00 pm. There will also be a celebration event afterwards, featuring the music of 54-40.

Zimbabwe is a country with deep political problems. It’s economy has been suffering for more than a decade and personal freedoms have been being steadily reduced as its president for the last twenty years, Robert Mugabe, struggles to retain control. It is far from a safe region to visit.

This is a tragedy for art lovers around the world, as Zimbabwe is home to Africa’s finest stone sculptors. The word Zimbabwe actually means, ‘Great House of Stone’ in the Shona language.

Fortunately, many of the stone pieces being produced in the country are now part of a traveling exhibition that will be visiting Vancouver for the next month. The works are being shown at the VanDusen gardens. It is the only Canadian stop on the world tour.

The pieces are strategically displayed around the gardens amongst the beautiful flora that Vancouverites have come to love.

Two of the artists behind the works, Passmore Mupindiko and Patrick Sephani, are giving daily lessons on stone art. The two artists are currently traveling with the stones and the exhibitions two curators, Vivienne and Joseph Croissette.

There is no extra cost to see the sculptures or to attend the daily stone workshops.

Zimsculpt

The Vancouver Art Gallery is currently hosting “The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art.” The exhibition began in May and will run until September 25th. Simmons Mattress Gallery encourages you to inspire your own dreams by witnessing the amazing works on display at the VAG.

Surrealism was a reaction to Sigmund Freud’s investigation into the meaning of dreams. André Breton wrote the manifesto of the movement in 1924 and encouraged artists to create works that focused on the unconscious mind over perceived reality.

Part of the exhibition highlights the connection between Pacific Northwest First Nations art and the Surrealist movement. Apparently, many of the contributing artists looked to First Nations art for inspiration.

Kwakwaka’wakw Headdress from Alert Bay

Another theme of the exhibition is the influence of cinema. Still a relatively new medium in the early half of the 1900s, film was able to put images in motion and create a fluid canvas on which perspective could be manipulated. From avant-garde films to Charlie Chaplin, to Betty Boop, cinema created a fictional world that the surrealists saw as similar to their own artistic ambitions.

Artists on display include: Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Alberto Giacometti and many more.

Looking for an educational activity for the family this weekend. All Discovery Walks is offering a interactive tour of one Stanley Parks secret bogs. The tour begins at Lost Lagoon at 1:30 and ends around 3:30.

Vancouver Community College Science Instructor, Maria Morlin will be hosting the walk that will focus on the role of bogs and wetlands in forest ecology.

This is an excellent opportunity to subtly get your children back into an academic setting. You may want to research the topic of bogs beforehand with your family, to get them thinking about the subject matter. While on the trail, encourage questioning by modeling. Maria will be happy to answer any questions you or children bring to light.

Educators might also want to take part, specifically those working with students in Grades 3 and 4. ‘Habitats and Communities’ is a big part of the Science curriculum for these grades. Maria’s tour may inspire you to organize your own forest walk in the fall.

If you do plan on attending, you may want to wear appropriate footwear. We suggest boots.

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the start of the tour.

Beaver Lake

The fireworks have come and gone, but there are still a number of free public events being offered around the city. The most popular are the Fresh Air Cinema screenings being shown around the Lower Mainland.

“Jaws” aired on Tuesday in Stanley park. Word has it there was more laughs then screams. Still a classic that everyone enjoys. The defining line: “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”

This Tuesday the classic urban Cinderella story comes to Stanley park with the screening of “Pretty Women.” We’ve never really been big Julia Roberts fans, but when Richard Gere snaps that jewelry box shut and Julia flashes those pearly whites, just for a moment we can see how she rose to fame. What a smile!

"Snap!"

The film we are dying to see airs on August 30th. “Stand By Me,” the quintessential end of summer/innocence film will closeout the summer series at Stanley Park. From “Chopper sick balls,” to the ‘barfarama,’ to the rail-tie sing-a-longs, “Stand By Me” has it all; even a few tears. Bring the family or a date and relive your youth in the open air of Stanley Park.

Acute illness is usually connected with the winter months, when our bodies react to the change in temperature. The common cold usually strikes us somewhere between the months of October and early December, when our immune system is weakened due to the seasonal climate change.

But the summer months can be just as deadly on our immune system. During summer, we often treat our bodies with less care. We indulge in greasy food, we neglect the gym and we also sleep less. Reducing our sleeping hours is the major cause of summer immune deficiency.

The temptation to sleep less is high in July and August because of our activity loaded days and nights. A fireworks show, two barbecues, a staff party and a wedding can run a hefty sleep debt. It is important to make time, even when the weather is nice, for a few early nights.

A consistent eight hours of sleep can keep our bodies running at maximum capacity. This may mean going home a little early from the party or declining the odd invitation for dinner, but it could also mean not getting sick.

Do your body a favour and make time for sleep this summer.

Summer Sickness? Get More Sleep!

What could be more comfortable than a layer of 80 individual pocket coils? A double stack of coil on coil springs to ease your body onto. Add a 360° memory foam encasement and top it with a hi-loft pillow top and you have the finest Beautyrest mattress available in our showroom.

The Beautyrest Exceptionale series is the jewel in the Beautyrest line. It is designed to offer the most comfortable sleep imaginable. No other mattress comes close to the pampering offered by an Exceptionale mattress.

The stack begins with two layers of four-inch coils; that’s a full eight inches of support. The foam layer adds another three inches of cushioning. And the pillow top is half an inch. The total sum: eleven and a half inches of mattress heaven.

Add a Triton foundation, and your bed is suddenly a tower of clouds so soft and supportive, an angel would be envious.

If you feel you deserve the best mattress possible, select the Beautyrest Exceptionale mattress. It is comfort taken to the highest level.

Beautyrest Exceptionale - You Deserve It!

On Friday, August 28th, the Malkin Bowl Summer Concert Series welcomes Ben Harper to Stanley Park. This is one of the most anticipated outdoor shows of the season. Tickets went on sale in May, but there are still some being sold online. If you see one show this summer, catch Ben Harper’s set in the park.

Harper is touring on his most recent album, Give Till it’s Gone. Like most of his previous works, the album contains a strong message of hope, mixed with the pain of life. Always spiritual, Harper’s tracks reverberate with healing and religious conviction. But even with their strong Christian message, Harper’s words attract a strong secular audience that can relate with the pain and joy of love’s handiwork.

If you have never heard Harper’s music, download Live from Mars. Standout tracks include “Please Bleed,” “Women in You” and the quintessential mix-tape track “Walk Away.”

Harper will be playing between the cedars and beneath the stars at the beautiful Malkin clearing. Bring a blanket and some friends and let the one-man choir receive your heart.

Ben Harper Playing the Slide Guitar

Before you come into shop for a new mattress at Simmons Mattress Gallery, it’s a good idea to compile a few notes on the specifics of what you will be looking for in your new bed. This will help the Simmons professionals suggest the perfect mattress for your needs.

Here is a list of questions you should consider:

1. What sort of sleeping position do you prefer? Do you sleep on your back, your side or on your stomach? Some mattresses are specifically designed for certain sleeping positions, so knowing which one you prefer helps with selection.

2. Do you have chronic back pain? Memory foam is an excellent addition for those suffering neck or back pain.

3. Do you and or your partner move around in your sleep? All of the Beautyrest models are made with non-flip pocket coils that help reduce motion transfer, but some are more sensitive than others.

4. What firmness do you prefer? Think about the most comfortable sleep you’ve had. Was the mattress extra firm or was it the softness that made it so cozy?

5. How much room do you have in your bedroom for your new mattress? You don’t want to buy a king size mattress if it will not fit in your room. Use a tape measure and record the dimensions you will need.

6. How much are you willing to spend? Figure out a budget beforehand. Knowing this number will help the mattress professional suggest mattresses within your price range.

Bring all these facts in with you when you visit one of our two locations. Make sure to sleep test at least five different mattresses in our showroom. Again, this will help you decide on what qualities you prefer.

Wake Up on Your New Simmons Mattress

A new baby can turn your sleeping schedule upside down. Finding ways to help your infant fall asleep at times that are suitable for you is a challenge. New research is showing that one of the best aids you can use is soothing noise. This calms the baby and encourages sleep.

The makers of baby related products have reacted to this research and have started producing high-end white noise machines. These little items might make great shower gifts, but for those mothers who don’t receive one, the cost can be a little excessive. Babies are an expensive enterprise and finding ways to cut down on costs is a necessity for new parents.

Good news! A new app for your android phone called Relax and Sleep Plus can play soothing sounds through the speaker in your phone for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a white noise machine. The app costs $2 and is available at the Android Marketplace.

The app lets you set how long you want the ambient noise to run. It also has a number of various sounds to choose from. You can mix them together, or have them play one after another. Examples of available sounds are: acoustic guitar, aquarium sounds, ocean and rainforest. There are also animal noises such as frogs and birds. The most bizarre option is the sound of wolves howling, for those Farley Mowat fans.

Consumer guides suggest setting the volume at a low level and keeping the phone well away from the sleeping infants head; the debate on cell phones and stimulating brain cancer is ongoing.

Another tip is to set your phone on airplane mode. You don’t want your infant interrupted by one of your friends calling or texting.

Unfortunately for iPhone users, this app is not currently available on Apple products. We’re sure they will make something similar in the coming months.

Down for at Least a Few Hours

This Saturday, the sky will once again be lit by exploding pyrotechnics, as the Celebration of Light returns to English Bay. This will be the twenty-first year Vancouver will host the event. It has become one of the must-see spectacles of the summer and major draw for tourist booking their Vancouver holiday.

The organizers of this year’s event are hoping to make a little more revenue by selling grandstand, V.I.P. seating at English Bay. The tickets are $45. The early bird seats have already sold, but Tickets Tonight is still selling.

Other changes include a shorter program. Instead of the standard four nights of explosions, this year’s festival will have only three; July 30, August 3rd and August 6th. Canada will perform on the final night.

A panel of judges chosen from the events corporate sponsors will evaluate the competing countries.

For more information on the Celebration of Light, check out their website. There is a really interesting section on the history of fireworks. There is also a full explanation of how the barge is loaded and prepped for each night of action. Apparently it takes a crew of 16 people, three days to prepare the show. There may be 2,000 to 4,500 bombs (that’s what they call them) used in one night’s performance. That’s a lot of gunpowder.

And just remember, if you are coming down to watch the fireworks downtown or at any of the beaches around English Bay, leave the alcohol at home. This is a family event and we want to keep it going for years to come. Enjoy Vancouver.

The Lights of Summer

The Canadian Open returns to Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club this weekend. Some of the best in the game have already arrived in Vancouver and sampled Shaughnessy’s grueling fairways.

The talk surrounding the course is that the rough is extremely thick. Many in the field believe the difficulty of the course will level the playing field.

“I would say this is probably one of the toughest or the toughest course I have ever played,” said Anthony Kim, former U.S. Open champion. “I don’t think it’s so much the golf course length or the way it’s strategically laid out, it’s just that the rough is six or seven inches deep and we’re hacking out sideways.”

The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, Luke Donald will be trying to return to form, after missing the cut at last week’s British Open. Donald played the course on Wednesday and commented that the rough was an issue, but the length was the more daunting feature. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had that many yardages of 200 and over into a lot of these holes and the ball is going short.”

Whatever their gripe, the men will need all their clubs this weekend, not just their low irons and wedges.

The tournament concludes on Sunday at 3:00pm. Global, TSN and the Golf Chanel will be sharing the coverage.

The 11th

Summer is the perfect time to curl up with a good read. You can spread out on the back lawn, take in the sun and be transported to the Manchurian plains. At night, while the cushioning coils of your Simmons support your lower body, you can flip through the new bestseller and walk the back alleys of nineteenth century London.

Finding an appropriate book, that won’t be a waste of time, can sometimes be a task. To aid you in this process, Simmons Mattress Gallery has two suggestions for summer reads.

1. Various Positions

Dance positions…

This is a novel by a Canadian author living in Toronto. With similarities to last years Oscar darling, Black Swan, Various Positions, explores the physical pressures and suppressed sexuality of the ballet world. Like Swan, the protagonist is a young girl striving to make an impression on the artistic stage. She falls in love with the artistic director, but decides to hide her feelings and focus on her craft – the one thing she can control.

2. The Help

Almost every book club in North America has added this title to their list. The Help is set in the 1960s, in Mississippi. It revolves around a young female writer who returns to her hometown around the time a law is set in place forbidding black workers (the help) from using the bathrooms of their employers. Skeeter, the protagonist, exposes the absurdity of this bill by writing a novel about the many essential services provided by the black women who raise the children of white families. The movie will be out on August 12th.

Read It Before You See It

At home, the only people who have to deal with your nocturnal noises are your family and or your roommates. But what happens when you travel? Do the rest of the guests have to suffer through your snoring bouts, as the nasal noise reverberates around your room and out into the hall?

The Crowne Plaza hotel chain has created a room to minimize the effects of your snoring, so both you and your partner can enjoy a sound sleep. Anti-snoring pillows and white noise encourages your body to sleep quietly. With sound proofing on both the walls and headboards, noise that is made, is contained so that other patrons are unaffected.

Other popular hotel chains are implementing measures to identify and deter noisy sleepers. More than ten hotel chains in Europe and the Middle East are hiring night watchmen to act as snore patrollers. These men and women walk the halls and check for noise disruptions. When they find a culprit, they bang lightly on the door to wake the snorer, pulling him or her out of their slumber and temporarily relieving the noise.

The watchmen keep track of which patrons are being unintentionally disruptive. Like a medical annotation, your sleeping history follows you. After three disturbances, hotel staff can suggest an area of the hotel where noise is permitted.

Back home, on your Vancouver mattress, you can be as loud as you like; or as loud as your partner permits.

“If you wish to be a success in this world, promise everything, deliver nothing.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon was a man of infinite energy who made alliances with those he needed and crushed those he didn’t. The ‘Little Corporal’ was a terrier when it came to diplomacy, constantly hustling, solidifying his power in the name of Revolutionary France. His battle strategies are still being studied in military academies around the world for the innovation.

But where did all this energy come from? The answer: naps.

Napoleon could fall asleep anywhere, in any condition; some attribute this ability to be linked to his over the top self-confidence. A quick catnap and the pint-sized leader could be up and ordering troops within minutes. During battle, his naps allowed him to go days without a full night’s sleep. At the end of a siege, Napoleon could sleep up to eighteen hours to bring himself back up to speed.

Would this be considered a healthy lifestyle? No. But it does illustrate the power of a quick bit of shut-eye.

In our modern world, napping is a curious topic. We often partake in naps to make-up for the sleep we missed the night before. A short nap can give us the energy we need to finish our day’s work. A longer nap can cause us to be anxious and interfere with our regular sleep schedule.

Using naps to the degree Napoleon did is ill advised. Using a nap instead of an afternoon coffee, is much more reasonable.

The Napping Emperor

When are you most likely to cheat?

A new study, produced by Christopher Barnes of Virginia Tech. University and published in the Harvard Business Review, suggests that individuals who have their sleep reduced by thirty minutes or more a night are more likely to cheat on work related issues.

The study was conducted with a control group and a sleep deprived set. The study asked volunteers to report their scores on different tests they were given. The higher test scores were rewarded a larger monetary prize than the lower ones. The incentive to cheat was there, but the number of individuals who actually fudged their numbers to increase their financial advantage was much higher from the sleep-deprived set.

The study defends a theory that managers who push their employees to work overtime may be doing their company a disservice.

The best thing you could do for your staff is to help them keep their working hours to an eight-hour day. Showing them more effective ways to work is much more productive than having them work increased hours.

If it is imperative you push them, why not offer a new mattress as a perk at the end of the month. They deserve it.

Simmons Mattress Gallery has your employee bonus beds in stock.

Let Your Employees Sleep At Home, Not On Their Desks.

Simmons Mattress Gallery professionals are always being asked the same age-old question: “How do I fall asleep at night when my body won’t turn off?”

Are answer always starts with a question: “What kind of mattress are you sleeping on?” After suggesting a switch to an ultra-comfortable Beautyrest, we widen our advice to include a few tips that have been passed down to us from our many satisfied customers.

One tip is specifically formulated for those nights when you have an important business meeting or presentation the following day.

Our anxious nature occasionally inhibits our mind from slipping into a state of unconsciousness. For those nights when we are consumed by the pressure of our work, we offer this tip:

• Don’t lie in bed trying in vain to fall asleep. Get off your mattress, go to your desk or kitchen table and take out a pen and paper. Do not work on the computer; that will just add more distractions. Write out everything you will be doing the following day. Include all the details you can think of. If need be, include a timeline.
• With that done, return to bed and switch your brain from logical functioning to creative. Imagine a picture or scene and place yourself in it. Let your mind relax and drift away.

You’re welcome.

Write It Down

Two weeks ago, we posted a story on Randy Gardner, the official Guinness record holder for the number of consecutive hours without sleep. The young man attempted the feat as part of a science experiment.

Since writing that article, Simmons Mattress Gallery has received a number of emails about other famous insomniacs.

One story that stood out from the others was the story of Peter Tripp. Tripp was a disc jockey, who in 1959, stayed awake for 201 hours as part of a promotional stunt for a New York radio station. The stunt took place in a glass booth in Times Square.

Unlike Gardner, Tripp used pharmaceutical stimulants to stay awake. Doctors, who should have known better, supplied these.

By the fifth day of the stunt, witnesses claim Tripp took on a crazed look. He began to hallucinate, claiming to see kittens and mice scurrying around the makeshift studio. He also became spooked when a man in a trench coat visited. Tripp believed the man to be an undertaker and ran out into the street in fear. He was dragged back to his turntables.

The stunt was successful in raising money for the March of Dimes, a charity whose mission is to promote the health of young infants. Tripp’s health, however, declined after the stunt. Years later, he would complain of recurring headaches and emotional instability.

We think a car wash would have been a much healthier fundraiser.

Peter Tripp Trying to Keep His Eyes Open

In a province where you can ski the slopes in the morning, golf in the afternoon and spend the evenings on the beach, BC residents know that a comfortable mattress is an essential element to a busy day of west coast fun-and-play.

With the variety of activities that fill our waking hours, it is nice to have a consistent reliable mattress to collapse on when the sun finally sets.

That is why BCers continually choose Simmons Mattress Gallery as their BC mattress store.

Simmons Mattress Gallery has been providing BC residents with quality beds and exceptional service for years. In the last seven, we have distinguished ourselves from the competition by achieving the Consumer Choice Award for mattress store.

We are proud to carry all the top models from the Simmons Beautyrest line, a mattress series defined by the revolutionary non-flip pocket coil.

For an undisturbed sleep that will leave you rested for all BC has to offer, go with a Simmons mattress. You can find the entire series at our Coquitlam mattress store and our Vancouver mattress store. Try one today.

English Bay Sunsets

“Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.”

These are the profound words offered by James Maas, Ph.D., coauthor of Sleep for Success! Like eating right and getting adequate exercise, the hours you spend asleep are critical for the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

When we are behind on our sleep, we often neglect our healthy habits. We start making poor choices due to our fatigue.

These poor choices could include missing various appointments for physical activity. This can have a snowball effect and before we know it, two months have passed since we’ve made a trip to the gym.

With a lack of sleep comes a lack of energy to prepare nutritious food. Instead of making a stir-fry and a summer salad, we hit A&W for a double teen burger and onion rings. Poor choices…

We also suddenly crave quick hits of caffeine to keep our mental activity alert. Again, this has a compounding effect. The crash is inevitable.

To avoid this dangerous cycle, make time for at least seven hours a night. The necessity, not the luxury.

Luxury - Clearly Not a Necessity

British Columbia issued license plates for the Olympic year with the slogan, “Best Place on Earth.” Many Easterners saw this as another west coast hyperbole that proved the level of our conceitedness.

But for those of us who call BC home, the phrase holds more truth than the sharp-tongued retorts of the critics.

BC is one of the most diverse provinces in the country. It has the mildest winter weather and the least humid summers. It is is home to the country’s most beautiful city, Vancouver, and It is also the proud parent of the Vancouver Canucks, the only Canadian team to get past the opening round of the 2011 NHL playoffs.

Our province has some of the lushest parks in the country, the most epic skiing conditions and one of the only stretches of shoreline worth surfing in Canada.

We showed the world we could host a party in 1986 and we did it again in 2010.  The BC acronym is synonymous with a higher level of living that folks from all over the world recognize.

Part of that living experience is the proximity to the most elite mattress store in the country, Simmons Mattress Gallery. The BC mattress store, offers the top Simmons Beautyrest beds at prices that are worth the drive from St. Johns.

If you’ve never slept on a Simmons, you’ve never experienced the west coast. Come see why this truly is the best place on earth. We’ll be waiting with a mattress, two free pillows and some of the BC’s finest (mattress professionals).