I'm passing on this message from the Climate Action Network:

World leaders are meeting in Copenhagen at the UN Climate Summit over the next two weeks to negotiate a new global climate agreement.

Between December 11th and 14th, Canadians will be organizing and attending events across the country to send a clear message: The world wants a real deal. That means a climate agreement that is fair, ambitious and binding. Rallies in support of a real deal are being held in major cities in Canada and around the world on December 12th as part of the Global Day of Action.

Vancouver's participating

11am - 9pm, December 12, 2009
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch Promenade. 350 West Georgia St, Vancouver

Join people at the VPL for a full day of climate action:

11am - Open Discussion (filmed)
12pm - Opening Ceremonies / Music
1-3pm - Speakers, Kids Programming, Theatre
3pm - Flashlight, Bikelight, Cellphone Vigil
5pm - Candlelight Vigil @ the Art Gallery
5:30pm - Candle vigil procession back to library for singing and to warm up.

Facebook event page

Visit TckTckTck.org to find out what else is going on around the world. It's also not too late to send an email to the Prime Minister to tell him you want action on climate change. Over 11,000 people already have.

Don't live in Vancouver? Find an event in your community! Don't live in Canada? Avaaz has you covered.

Update! Thanks to everyone who came out.

I hope my lack of writing lately is a sign of a good social life rather than exhaustion. Here is finally my experience at the recent slow food cycle.

The gems are often tucked away at the end of a road. Like last year's treasures in Pemberton, the most wonderful spots in Agassiz's slow food cycle route lay a ways down a road or off a nondescript path you only just had to trust would lead somewhere.

At one end of the self-guided, circuitous route through Agassiz's sprawling farmland and country houses was a paradise I could not have expected. The Back Porch seemed to suggest with its name a rustic and romantic place. Greeted by dozens of bikes, we found ourselves on a farm that could have been transplanted from the artsy, organic culture of BC's Gulf Islands. A pottery studio and coffee grinding shop occupied the first outbuilding, a unique combination that was at once odd and harmonious. Antique coffee grinders (ca. 1919) sat among vintage graphic design pieces which tickled my design nerd fancy!

Update August 8th
Well, my post was unfortunately premature... by a year, now, in fact, as this year's Slow Food Cycle Sunday has been cancelled due to the forest fires. The 5th annual event will occur August 15th, 2010. I'm very disappointed, but all is not lost as on the 22nd and 23rd there are cycle farm tours in Agassiz and Chilliwack by Slow Food Vancouver, although these require advanced registration and cost $10 — $20. I'm going to get on that and invite the folks who were planning to attend the Pemberton event. Too bad! If you still want the amazing potatoes, however, visit a Vancouver Farmers Market and look for Helmer's.

On Sunday, August 16th, we're celebrating the 5th annual Slow Food Cycle Sunday in scenic Pemberton, BC.* The flat, paved road through the farming valley is perfect for cyclists of any age and skill level. And of course, what we're ultimately drawn together here for is the food! After my first trip last year, which was capped by a traffic jam on the way home that had us moving slower than a kid on a bicycle, I felt the potatoes alone were SO worth the 50 km ride and the road trip. They are phenomenal.

On June 14, I volunteered at Car-Free Day Vancouver on Main Street and had the opportunity to also check out the festivals in the West End and on Commercial Drive. The vibe between the three was distinctly different, but without a doubt everyone was having a good time and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I wound up the evening back at Main where I got to witness the last hour of the car-free street til close to 10pm when it was opened back up to cars. I think co-organizer Shannon described it as "tragic." The transformation in the morning, and back again in the evening was interesting to witness. Fortunately, it will be happening again several more times over the summer, though on a smaller scale, as different chunks of Main St participate in the "Summer Spaces" program. (Yay!)

If there's any band out there that reminds people that music is an art form, it's Coldplay, four British boys that never fail to knock all the socks off 16,000 people in an arena.

It should have come as no surprise to me, given the use of a famous Delacroix painting on the cover of last year's stellar Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends and the painterly design of their promo, but I was pleasantly surprised and had perhaps forgotten the level of their artistry.

My face brimmed with a smile and my eyes nearly welled up the moment they bounced onstage with sparklers, behind a sheer black screen that then created a layered shadow show. I felt a bit like a Beatles fan overcome with emotion as my hands clasped my face but it wasn't because it was Coldplay as much as because it was just incredibly beautiful. And that beauty would not cease the rest of the evening.

Last Wednesday night saw the return of Toronto-based 5-piece Gentleman Reg, barely a month after their previous Vancouver date at the Commodore. This time, touring more suitably with A Camp (the last tour was with The Stills), they brought their infectious pop to the ill-fated Richard's on Richards. I had expected a crowd even more keen on dancing than the passionate group at last month's show, simply because of the difference in the headliners' genres (A Camp, I expected, would draw a different crowd with music considerably more "dancy" than The Stills). I wound up disappointed with the lack of dancing, although the two girls in the front near me were rocking out pretty hard. (Frontman Reg Vermue enjoyed that so I tried to be less self-conscious about my own moves.)

The set included a stirring cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" that showcased guitarist François's talent. They ended the evening with the catchy, sing- or clap-along "Boyfriend Song" for which Reg put away his gorgeous black guitar to tap out the beat with a tambourine. If you're not bouncing to that one, there's something wrong with you.

With lucky last-minute tickets, I attended an engaging talk by author Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) at Vancouver's spectacular UBC Farm this afternoon. This was his only Canadian stop on a book tour for the paperback edition of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (reviewed here earlier this week) and the location could not have been more appropriate. The afternoon included a quick farm tour after the talk, upon which I'll touch later. It was cloudy for the talk, quite gladly, then the sun showed up afterward and made the place look like paradise! I enjoyed eating a yummy home-made salad and watching others eat around me. The event sold out all 670 tickets, and each person received a signed copy of the book.