Vancouver Sign to be Permanent

Looking forward to having a sign like this in this spot?

Vancouver is going to get... a Vancouver sign placed at Coal Harbour in a bid to get visitors to take selfies and post them on social media.

Earlier this week city council voted 10 to one for the giant sign that could cost a total of C$1 million to produce and install, and then around $50,000 in operating costs. The sign would be placed in between the convention centre and Canada Place... a scenic space featuring mountains and the water that already screams "Vancouver" without spelling it out.

"This is a no-brainer," said Mayor Ken Sim, in that the sign will be a vehicle in promoting the city. "It plays a huge role in making Vancouver even cooler... there will be a buzz."

Mayor Sim says the sign is a "no-brainer"

In the winter of 2023 to early 2024 there was a temporary "Vancouver" sign in that spot that was red and lit up with light bulbs and attracted a lot of attention. The sign was part of a campaign called "Liven UP Coal Harbour" and was paid for by the Vancouver Hotel Destination Association in partnership with the Vancouver Convention Centre and the Port of Vancouver.

At the time the media reported on the sign, asking people how they felt about it, with mostly positive comments, which probably led city council to think about installing a permanent one.

"People will flock to this sign for photos, for video," said Councillor Peter Meiszner. "Tourists... sharing those photos and videos on social media around the world helps promote Vancouver as well as it really being a point of civic pride for locals."

The sign will be around 13.5 metres in length, 1.8 metres high and 1 metre wide, according to the city report.

Not everyone enthused by the sign downtown

Destination Vancouver has already promised C$200,000 to the project, as has the Vancouver Hotel Destination Association.

Where did the old sign go? Was it turned into scrap already?

But not everyone is onboard with the sign.

Councillor Sean Orr said that with many Vancouver residents struggling with the cost of living, spending money on a giant sign should not be a priority, and could even be seen as excessive.

"I am just unfortunately concerned about the optics, the cost also," he said. "Some of the talk about the safety issues, as well as where it's located in front of the mountains, to me, kind of seems like Paris putting up a sign that says, 'Paris' in front of the Eiffel tower.

"It maybe cheapens the view a little bit."

Some online commenters agree, saying it's not the best way to spend taxpayer money, and would rather use the money to clean up the streets instead.

Now that could be an attraction.

The Endurance Test for a Discount

Yes the line stretched back all the way to the blue sculpture!

It's that time again when cosmetics giant Estee Lauder holds a warehouse sale for four days at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. 

The last two years I went the line was not too crazy, but this year was completely insane, partly because it was all over social media advertising the sale.

This was where I stood around 9.10am

On Thursday the first day, I arrived just after 9am to see a massive line outside Canada Place that snaked across to the new convention centre down to the waterfront. Don't these people need to work?! It was also chilly too, but thankfully not raining.

There were over two hundred people in front of me, mostly women, or women who brought extremely patient boyfriends. 

At first the line moved periodically which was good, and by just after 9.30am I reached the front where a South Asian "security guard" stamped our hand with a circular stamp. From there we were allowed to go into Canada Place and walk towards the end where our hand was checked for a stamp and then we entered a room with a giant line that weaved back and forth seven times.

This was when things were stagnant, as only a few people at a time were allowed to go into the actual sale area. 

The dreaded weaving line at 9.36am

Most people were glued to their phones to pass the time, and only a handful of people like me brought reading material. Soon it was 10am, 10.30am, 10.45am, and my legs were tired from standing and not moving much. What was also annoying was there were occasional announcements telling people not to sit on the floor... 

Finally by 11.15am I was able to get into the sale area. Armed with a cloth bag provided for shoppers, I quickly scanned the rows of tables, which had a lot of make-up, from lipstick to foundation, concealer and then skincare. Finally found what I was looking for -- Advanced Night Repair at a fraction of the cost. 

100ml bottles were priced at C$48 (C$321 for 115ml), compared to the $80 last year. Lots of Chinese women were interested in buying the product as well. There were also two 100ml bottles packaged in boxes that I've seen sold in duty-free shops in airports. Here they were over $120 -- but why buy that when you can get two bottles for $96?

Rows of excess cosmetics, skincare, hair products

Mission accomplished, I went over the tables from the beginning again to make sure I didn't miss anything; some South Asian women sat on the floor with things they had accumulated; some Persian women were on video calls with friends, going over what they had managed to snag; others carried as many box sets of Clinique they could carry.

By the time I paid and got out of Canada Place, it was 12 noon and I was tired and hungry! Never did I think it would take me over two hours to get in. After this experience I don't think I will wait in line for a sale like that again, especially since I only wanted to buy one product!

Picture of the Day: Avid Shoppers at Warehouse Sale

Lots of people hunting for deals at the Estee Lauder sale

People are looking for good deals, and when they involve warehouse sales, these avid shoppers descend like hawks on prey.

Today was the start of a four-day sale of all kinds of products under Estee Lauder Companies at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Up for grabs were products from not only Estee Lauder, but also Clinique, Mac, Bobbi Brown, and Aveda.

Last year was the first warehouse sale they had in Vancouver, and perhaps because it was so popular it was back again.

It started at 9am, but I started off late and arrived around 45 minutes later to see a decent line already forming. I was surprised to see so many people -- did they not have to work today?

Nevertheless I passed the time by reading a magazine as the line would move in stops and spurts. Behind me was a group of young Persian women gabbing away animatedly in Farsi... I wish I knew what they were saying!

Finally when I was able to get into the massive hall, I got a purple shopping bag and there was a path of tables arranged like a snake, each full of products, and behind them lots of cardboard boxes filled with more products.

A staff member encouraged shoppers to move along if items on the table did not interest us -- the first table was lipstick of all kinds of brands and shades, followed by all kinds of makeup, from foundation to eye shadow and lipgloss, perfume, gift sets and men's skincare too.

The tables eventually presented skincare products. Last year it hardly had any of the products I was interested in, but this year there were to my surprise. I snapped up a few bottles at 50 percent off, along with a mint shampoo and a moisturiser.

The vast majority of customers were women with a few men who were patient enough to come along.

Interestingly by the end of the tables there was an area for shoppers to stop and take stock of what they had amassed and "curate" what they really wanted to buy before going to the till. Many people left several items behind on the tables, perhaps acting too rashly and then reality set in.

Then there was yet another line for the cashier. And before leaving a security guard checked our bill against our purchases and looked at our bags too before we headed to the exit.

Outside there were even more people lined up... and this was only Day 1 before noon.