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Tackling the impacts of COVID-19 on Mental Health.
Practical Strategies to Protect Mental Health
This coming Saturday, join the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre for a FREE webinar as they look at practical strategies to help you protect your mental health.
This week's lineup will consist of Shane Rice a fitness coach, Gillian Goulding, I/CAN’s Social Care Advisor in Vancouver & Erin Loughnane, I/CAN’s weekly Yoga Instructor. This will be an insightful look into the fundamental links between our physical and mental health, with some practical strategies to protect mental health.
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YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL FOR MEN
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Living Life to the Full is a mental health promotion course designed to help you deal with everyday life challenges.
A certified facilitator will guide you and support discussions to help you practice and implement new skills. The course is interactive and you will get to know people facing similar challenges.
Attending Living Life to the Full usually costs up to $250.00 per person but this is being offered by CMHA BC Division FREE of charge.
read more >>
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YOUR WELLNESS
FREE LIVE YOGA
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Don’t miss the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre's FREE LIVE Yoga Class with Erin Loughnane over on their Facebook Page at 5 PM EST on Wednesday.
Erin is joining I/CAN as part of their Mental Health Initiative so that you can stay healthy and active in lockdown.
read more >>
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IRISH IN BC MASKS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
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We have raised a total of:
$2000.00
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THIS WEEK'S
ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT
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THE BLAKEY SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE
The Blakey School of Irish Dance was established in the Okanagan Valley just over 20 years ago. Their dancers have had great success at competition across Western Canada, North America and at the World Championship level. One of the dancers most favourite pastimes is travelling to feiseanna (competitions) both local and abroad. Sadly with the COVID-19 pandemic, those adventures have come to a screeching halt. However,
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the teachers, dancers and parents of Blakey School have come together as a family and a community to make the best of the situation. In March (March 17th-St. Patrick’s Day, to be exact), they had to close their studio doors to in-person classes. The school cancelled over a dozen performances they had booked for St. Patrick’s Day. At that time, they took one week off for spring break and retreated to their homes to do their part to help flatten the curve and stay safe. During that week off, the teachers decided to design a brand new curriculum which would able the dancers to keep dancing.
read more >>
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THIS WEEK'S
CULTURE SEGMENT
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EU Film Festival.
From November 13 to 29, join the first-ever Canada-wide European Union Film Festival, featuring 27 recent films from 27 EU member states. Each film will be “live” online for a 48-hour period; some will be supplemented with exclusive filmmaker interviews and introductions.
Ireland's EUFF entry, The Last Right, will be available to stream Nov 26–27. With its winning mixture of mirth and melancholy, not to mention cameo appearances by Colm Meaney and Brian Cox, The Last Right is one unforgettable Irish road trip.
read more >>
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Dublin Book Festival.
The Dublin Book Festival is one of Ireland’s most successful and vibrant book festivals, running since June 2006.
The 2020 festival will take place online from 27 November – 6 December. Join in and get to know some of Ireland’s incredible writers, publishers, literary festivals, arts organizations and venues.
read more >>
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EFACIS: The Irish Itinerary Podcast
The Irish Itinerary Podcast is the latest innovation to our longstanding Irish Itinerary circuit which organizes live events with Irish authors and artists in university cities and towns all over Europe.
read more >>
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THIS WEEK'S
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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OUT OF IRELAND - IRISH IMPORTERS
The store is a very eclectic mix of everything Irish showcasing the very best of traditional Irish knits, fashion accessories, jewellery and gifts. Theresa Palmer hails from Newry Co. Down and opened her Irish import store with Alberta born husband Perry Foster in 2001 – Out Of Ireland – in downtown Victoria.
After 19 years the business has weathered the fallout in international tourism following 911 and the economic disaster of the 2008 recession. However, the Covid Pandemic has truly been the most challenging scenario.
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In the summer months, the store relies heavily on American and international tourists. This summer was tough with the closure of the USA border and the cancellation of Victoria’s lucrative cruise ship season. Outside of the summer season, Out Of Ireland is lucky to have local and Vancouver customers. The business has been building back since reopening in May, but it is still very challenging with a changed marketplace and customer mindset.
In order to survive, Palmer quickly set up a shopping cart on the store website. The store has also been building followers on Facebook and Instagram. Most heartening has been the support of in-store customers who have made the decision to shop local bricks and mortar instead of online.
“Our Irish suppliers have been great too,” says Palmer – “We have known some of our vendors for over 25 years - they are clearly hurting badly at home. We are all suffering the same small business pandemic issues. Everyone is of a united mindset - let’s survive this pandemic and help each other out." That might mean a supplier shipping out one small box of knitwear at short notice for a special order or, in the case of Theresa and Perry, delivering a single box of Barry’s tea to a local customer in the dark days of last April when the shop was closed.
One lovely thing about this year is that we have had lots of young Irish travelling over for the weekend from Vancouver and calling into the shop. “We’ve had people from every county and lots of good craic - all thinking the same thing that we are lucky to be here in BC but still missing home and family,” Says Palmer.
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CANADA POST
PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY SENDING
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Plan to send a parcel or a card to friends or loved ones back home this Christmas? Canada Post are urging you to do so as early as possible.
View the dates that Canada Post recommend sending your holiday packages and cards by to ensure they arrive in time by clicking here...
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THE IRISH
BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF B.C.
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In response to the Covid-19 crisis, this Food Voucher Program has been developed by The Irish Benevolent Society of BC. It has been designed to help those who may be struggling to provide themselves with basic food essentials. The initiative has been generously funded through the Consulate General of Ireland in Vancouver.
Applications are welcome and encouraged from all sectors of the Irish community within BC and can be made by completing the survey below. The program is being administered in a fair and equitable way. All of the information you provide is confidential and will only be shared as required to administer this program. You will be contacted to verify your information.
You can access the application here: Emergency Food Programme Form
For more information on this program, contact benevolentsocietybc@gmail.com.
There is also a GoFundMe initiative fundraising to support the program.
Donate to support this initiative >>
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COMPETITION TIME
WIN: IRISH IN BC MASKS
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Would you like the chance to win an Irish in BC Mask for you and someone of your choice?
We will be announcing a competition over on the Irish in Vancouver and BC Facebook page in the next few days.
Don't forget - if you're not in, you can't win.
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BC GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC HEALTH UPDATES
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Provincial health orders from Dr. Henry are in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19. People who break restrictions on gatherings and events, or who act in unsafe ways, can get a fine or violation ticket of up to $2,000.
read more >>
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The production of the Irish in BC newsletter is made possible through the Government of Ireland Covid-19 Response Fund for Irish Communities Abroad which is administered and supported by the Irish Abroad Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Consulate General of Ireland in Vancouver.
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If you have an Irish run event, organization or business you would like us to share. Please send us an email with the details to IrishInBC@gmail.com. Content must be submitted the week previous.
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Harrison Lake, British Columbia
