The following was written exclusively for Miss604.com by Michelle Kim.

The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) seems to always fall at a strange time of year for me. Last year, it preceded a trip to see my ailing 95-year-old grandmother in Seoul (I had to race down the mountain like a madwoman to not miss my flight) and this year, the WFF preceded final exams. So, my apologies to Miss604 and to her beloved readers for not getting this post up sooner (though I’m happy to say, I think I aced my Korean Modern Fiction exam).

But timing of the festival (right before holiday season), and the compactness of the festival (both terrain-wise and time-wise) is exactly what makes WFF so unique, so intense, and my favourite festivals on the circuit.

The WFF always takes place early December over a four-day-weekend in the heart of Whistler Village, right below Whistler Mountain. It’s always been an amazing festival—incredibly tranquil and celebratory, kicking off the Christmas party season. But admittedly, at moments, one couldn’t really tell that a festival was even going on. Attendees often faded into the alpine landscape or got lost among the local skiers and snowboarders as they made their way down and up the mountain again.

But this year was different. Maybe it was because the village was gearing up for the Olympics (through fences, I could see the Olympic/Paralympic park nearing completion), because there was way more anticipation in the air on that mountain this year. Though there were about the same number of films (80 films, including 36 feature and mid-length films and 44 shorts) and about the same number events at The Forum at the Whistler Film Festival (an industry conference that runs in conjunction with the festival) as in previous years, attendance for the ninth annual festival almost doubled.

I don’t know exactly what it was, but there was a spark and intensity at the festival, one that was manifested by line-ups outside Village Cinemas, when Ivan Reitman (WFF held a special tribute to famed director), Kristen Kreuk, and Jennifer Bachiwal (she’s a personal hero of mine since high school) can be spotted in the same room, or when a swam of beautiful actresses leaving the annual Brightlight Pictures party at Araxi, intimidated and outnumbered snowboarders heckling them.

Photo credit: asmythie on Flickr

There was so much going on at any given moment, from the Forum, to the screenings, to the parties, that is was almost heartbreaking to choose one thing over another. But one this was for sure: it was all amazing. And the WFF is officially my favourite festival on the circuit. And it’ll continue to grow while maintaining that close intimate feeling one gets from being huddled together on a mountain.

Some highlights:

Ali Liebert, Kristine Cofsky, and Michelle Kim

The Whistler Film Festival takes place in Whistler, British Columbia annually in early December. You can follow them on Twitter (@@WhisFilmFest) for updates year-round.

Michelle Kim is a Vancouver-based novelist and actor. You can read her other posts contributed to Miss604.com here.

Unfortunately since we’re not allowed to have live or cut trees in our place we’ll just be boxing up the tree again this year. However for those with real live or cut trees, you can dispose of them this weekend through a variety of chipping and recycling events.

Photo credit: mrlerone on Flickr

Each year the City of Vancouver along with volunteers from the Lions Clubs in Vancouver provide Christmas tree chipping and composting services by donation (either cash or non-perishable food items for local charities).

Here’s where you can find the stations this weekend:

UBC Botanical Gardens is also hosting a tree chipping event from now until January 10th. They’re open daily from 9:30am until 4:30pm in the parking lot at 6804 South West Marine Dr. Suggested donations of $5 will support the development of a heritage food garden for SPG Childcare / Quilchena Elementary.

Over on the North Shore there are a few locations as well:

If you can make it out to one of these event this weekend, that’s probably your best bet for safe removal. If not, the City suggests you can also take your tree to the transfer station or the landfill directly.

Unless properly disclosed, motivation for reviews on blogs has sometimes been a mystery to the unfamiliar reader. Was the author paid? Did they simply feel moved to write based on their enjoyment a restaurant or product? Thanks to the CMP.ly service, bloggers and Tweeters now have an instant and easy-to-share way to add a disclosure statement to a post or tweet.

“CMP.ly provides bloggers and advertisers with a simple disclosure solution. We have created a set of easily identifiable disclosures and codes that can be used to identify any material connections in your blog posts, tweets or other communications. These disclosures give you flexible options and provide you with both short codes and full text disclosures that can be included in your posts.”

I know that often on my site I include information and events simply because a) I think they’re worth sharing b) my audience would appreciate it c) it’s Vancouver-centric. However, I am often accused of being paid off for sharing specific information, which is never the case unless I have specifically used the words “sponsored” or “commissioned”.

In the United States, “Mommy Bloggers” (or mothers that earn a living blogging from home) have been accused of being “corporate shills” as they write about products they have been given for review. Same goes for technology bloggers or any independent online writer who is sent product. This exchange is very prevalent in the blogging realm but as I see most often, the company supplying the product does so without expecting a blog post in exchange. Many are usually told, “if you’d like to blog about it after, that would be great but you’re under no obligation.”

Who we are in our blogs are real, but our blogs are just one part of us, sometimes amplified. Every page on your blog, right down to the most seemingly boring and mundane and possibly lawsuit-averting – like, ahem, a disclosure policy – is an opportunity to develop your character and tell your story. [Problogger]

Despite a disclosure statement being recommended, in the fall of 2009 the FTC in the United States amplified things… just a tad. They announced that it would be fining bloggers up to $11,000 for failing to disclose endorsement payments for review or sponsored blog posts.

The growing trend is fueling legal and social debate over how bloggers disclose what goodies they get. New guidelines released last month by the Federal Trade Commission say bloggers must divulge financial or product compensation they get in exchange for writing about a company’s products. The regulations go into effect Dec. 1 [2009] [NewsTribune]

Even though the FTC does not reach up into Canada, all bloggers should still consider having a disclosure statement. You can use the CMP.ly service or simply have a page on your site dedicated to disclosure.

Disclosure types:

CMP.ly also allows you to make disclosure statements based on specific campaigns.

Photo credit: Joe Gratz on Flickr

Going forward on this site, I’ll be using a CMP.ly link at the end of posts that mention restaurants or products as well as on my sidebars in the “sponsored” or “partnership” sections. This way readers can simply click the link and it will take you to a page that states the disclosure for the post (ie. “To read the disclosure on this post visit http://cmp.ly/0). Mind you, not everyone even cares about this stuff but for those who do (and eventually for the government) it’s here to stay.

I love supporting local businesses and offering contests, but I also love being transparent for my audience — providing truthful and responsible content. Hopefully this will avoid any confusion in the future and allow everyone to benefit from the sharing of information (and some pretty cool prizes to boot).

Just like last year, we rung in the New Year with John’s family in Iowa. Yesterday he took me out for a bit of a drive and we went on a wintery photowalk — our last of 2009.

You can view all photos from our trip in this Flickr set & John’s are also online.

This season I have partnered with Canada Place’s Christmas campaigns and as such, I have learned a great deal about their support of the Strathcona Community Centre.

I had the chance to speak to Recreation Programmer Ron Suzuki about Strathcona’s many programs and how they have built up such a strong bond in what is even referred to on Wikipedia as “Canada’s poorest postal code”. Working with the odds against them, they have cultivated an amazing support system in the Downtown Eastside, with the community centre at the heart of it all.

Photo credit: mag3737 on Flickr

The Strathcona Community Centre has been around since 1972 and they operated 7 days a week, year-round. They have fitness facilities, basketball camps, floor hockey and piano recitals like most other community centres although they also host several specific programs to not only entertain, but help the entire neighbourhood, especially the children, learn invaluable life skills for themselves and their families.

The Downtown Eastside neighbourhood in which the Strathcona Community Centre lies consists of a “working poor” population where 78% are ESL (English as a Second Language) and 60% are single parents. This means they work to make ends meet and as such are just above certain income levels in order to get social assistance (although many would refuse this aid in any case). This also means that parents are working so much and so hard that they cannot be there to greet their children when they get home from school, and this is where the community centre comes in.

Photo credit: mag3737 on Flickr

Fed by three public schools in the area the community centre is a place for children to hang out but also continue their real-world education. “The public looks to the Community Centre as the ’safe place’ in the community,” said Suzuki who introduced me to several of their programs:

Food Security
This isn’t so much as securing food for the children, it’s about giving them access to healthy food. Funding from Canada Place helps sustain the majority of this program, which began in 1999 (serving 75 children everyday). Connected to an inner-city school of 500 students, Ron said that as of last spring they have served over 250 breakfasts for children.

Once 3:00pm comes around, Ron says that “as many as 200-250 children are engaged in after-school activities that run until about 6:00pm.” During this after-school time, children tend to be hungry again so Canada Place’s funding also helps about 175 children with the “Healthy Snack” program.

Ron said it’s truly a community effort as the youth (usually grade 6 or older) learn how to wash and prepare the snacks to serve to the younger ones.

Holiday Safe Place
“The sad thing about children living in poverty or about children living in the inner-city is that the most vulnerable times of their lives are during Christmas and Spring Break,” said Ron. Right now is a crucial time for these children as parents continue to work yet they do not have classes to attend at school (or the school’s lunch program).

Teachers have referred about 120 students to the community centre who will receive a hot breakfast and lunch throughout the holidays. They also have about 35-40 youth volunteers who are helping out. Ron says this is such an important time of year as “hunger does not take a school break.”

Healthy Food Choices
The goal of the food programs isn’t just to make sure mouths are fed but it’s also to ensure that the children are eating right. It’s all about giving kids access to healthy food choices, not just “snacks” in general.

“We take parents, and we engage children with the parents about where to find good food, how to prepare good food and how to serve good food.” The community centre runs a “Cooking Fun for Families” program, also supported by Canada Place funding, that educates parents and children alike on where to shop for good ingredients, finding recipes, and looking at healthy and accessible/affordable options to eat right.

Ron drives home the point that “Food Security” also means access to good food and knowing where to find it. “It’s a lot of education,” he says, but it’s a journey well worth taking.

Seniors Program
Programs at the Strathcona Community Centre are for all ages and their highest population in the Downtown Eastside actually consists of seniors. “Many are shut ins because they are afraid to get out of their homes,” says Ron. This isn’t because they cannot leave, it’s because it is a scary neighbourhood for them. Every Wednesday the community centre has a luncheon for the seniors and Thursdays are luncheons for senior stroke victims.

Showing the true community spirit, parents from the “Cooking Fun for Families” assist in preparing the meals for these events.

Photo credit: eli_k_hayasaka on Flickr

Youth Culinary Arts Program
Youth from about grade 6 and 7 are shown how to wash, cut, food and make simple meals through the “Youth Culinary Arts Program”. Ron said they also offer the “Youth Culinary Academy” where up to 25 young people from grade 6 to grade 12 get to work with a trained chef who teaches them how to make broth, sauces, and how to prepare nutritious meals. This includes shopping for the ingredients and menu planning. The program started about a year ago and they have also started a catering program where the food served at community centre events is prepared by the Youth Culinary Arts students.

The Heart of the Community
“We’re a little community centre but we do big things,” noted Ron. “None of the programs are advertised in our brochure. These are all programs that came about because of need. We reacted to social programs so these had to (sadly) be created.”

Even though the families live in “one of the scariest communities” in the country, they look out for each other. “You will never meet a more appreciative, kinder, community than the people at Strathcona,” Ron adds, making sure to give credit to the parents that are doing their best.

“These are the best parents in the world,” says Ron. Working 15 hour days 5 or 7 days a week just to make sure your children are clothed and fed is enough of a task but all everyone wants is to have their child grow up safe, strong and healthy. Ron says he would actually challenge other communities to see if they are feeding their children food that is as healthy and nutritious as Strathcona’s.

The Strathcona Community Centre has a great collection of generous sponsors as they need sustainable funds to keep these programs running. I hope others can recognize the value in their initiatives so that they can feed, educate, and help many more children grow.

“We care for one another,” says Ron. “The strength of our community centre is a community and even though we serve so many people and so many families — even though the community doesn’t have a lot of material — what the people in the community have is that sense of community.”

Photo © Pivot Legal Society – 2010 Hope in Shadows calendars available now

The people of the Downtown Eastside live, work, play and do the best to live their lives to the fullest. They are children, parents, and families who are creative, dedicated, and fortunate to have each other through the Strathcona Community Centre. “No one should feel sorry for them,” Ron told me. If anything, it’s a sense of support, camaraderie and community that I think we would all be very proud to be a part of.

If you would like more information about the Strathcona Community Centre or would like to inquire about being a sponsor, you can contact them through their website.

You also still have time to donate to the Food Security program through the Christmas at Canada Place website. By donating through Canada Place before January 10th, 2010 you’ll be entered to win an all-inclusive trip for 2 to Jamaica.

At the beginning of the theatre season in Vancouver I wrote a big directory listing previewing some of the shows that will be taking place around town. With Christmas around the corner, and theatre tickets being a fabulous gift or stocking stuffer, here’s another roundup of productions this winters.

Pacific Theatre’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

There are so many productions year-round and moving into 2010, especially with things like the Cultural Olympiad and the PuSh Festival, Vancouver’s arts scene will hopefully illuminate under one big spotlight. There are many more listings and community theatre groups in the City that I have not listed here but please check them out if you can.

Sometimes giving the gift of an experience, such as an evening of theatre on the town with friends or loved ones, can beat out the store-bought tangible gifts any day.