Coast Eco Timber on Global BC/Global National from Lara Gerrits on Vimeo.

About a year ago, I began to follow the Burnaby Burrards of the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association after never watching a single game in my life. So why did I take an interest in a Senior B Men’s League? There was a great story involved, and that is the story of the Burnaby Burrards.

It wasn’t that long ago the Burrards were last in the league and known as a perennial loser. A young GM and seasoned lacrosse veteran by the name of Shawn Joinson took over the team as GM, and he had a vision.  That vision took the Burrards to a new home at the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby with new players led by a former BC Lacrosse Association Coach of the Year in Tony Delmonico.

Four seasons later, led by former Team Canada world silver medalist Cory Siegner, the Burrards finished first in the league and are poised to take the national championship on their home turf as they prepare to host the 2010 Presidents’ Cup.  You won’t see these guys going pro, you won’t see them on cereal boxes or in ads either. What you will see  is a group of guys gut it out for the love of the game, and for most of them, one last chance to come out on top.

The Presidents’ Cup national championship runs from August 16-21 at Bill Copeland Arena, tournament information is available at www.presidentscup2010.com

I’ll see you in the stands.

After 25 years, Bryan Adams is finally coming back to the Fair at the PNE and all of us here at the LBMG offices could not be more excited.  The PNE has released an additional 2,000 tickets to the sold-out show, giving fans a second chance to be a part of what promises to be an AMAZING kick-off to the 100^th anniversary of the fair at the PNE!

The $40 premium seats will be released at 10 AM tomorrow, August 7, and will be available through Ticketmaster.

In anticipation of the next round of ticket sales, a few of us die-hard fans have compiled our Top 5 list of Bryan Adams songs. (Note to reader: all of the above mentioned self-proclaimed “die-hard” fans are, in fact, women. Shocker.)

1 – Everything I Do (as voted by Rebecca Peters, Media Relations Manager)

2 – Straight From The Heart (as voted by Lara Gerrits, Media Relations Manager)

3 – Can’t Stop This Thing We Started (as voted by Courtney de Boer, Client Services Manager)

4 – Summer of ’69 (as voted by Lauren Wainwright, one of our summer interns who has joined us all the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia)

5 – Cloud Number 9 (as voted by yours truly, a summer intern hailing from BCIT’s Broadcast Journalism program)

So… what’s your favourite?

It hasn’t even been one month since HST was introduced in BC on July 1, and many of us are still figuring out what items and services have HST and which ones don’t. While the list of what has increased in price due to HST is quite long, including things such as haircuts and new homes, one of the big-ticket items not on that list is a new car.

LBMG is currently working with the New Car Dealers Association of BC to help dispel the myth that HST affects new car purchases.

HST has zero effect on the amount of tax that will be paid on a new car. The reality is that both the GST and PST, which are blended together to form the new HST, were already charged on all new vehicle purchases prior to the introduction of the blended tax. The total tax charged on a new vehicle is 12% – the same amount of tax charged prior to when HST was introduced on July 1.

Some consumers will even pay less for their vehicle under the new tax rules. The “luxury tax” of up to 3% on new cars worth more than $55,000 has been eliminated as a result of the HST introduction.

Click here to see today’s Vancouver Sun story by Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C.

It’s not hard to fall in love with this glittering, glamorous, made-for-entertaining home – all it takes is one look. That’s why the team here at LBMG is working hard to get the public excited about this year’s PNE Prize Home.

The 2010 Prize Home, featured at the The Fair at the PNE’s 100^th anniversary, may be the most sought-after Prize Home EVER, after all.  Want to know why?

Check out these four tips to best appreciate what the Prize Home means to the history of British Columbia, and how you can get in on the dream for 2010.

1.Take a look at the stunning Prize Home photos that appeared in the Friday edition of The Vancouver Sun, found here.

2. Fall in love – View the Prize Home for yourself!

If you weren’t one of the thousands of eager Vancouverites to preview the 76^th annual PNE Prize Home over the weekend, don’t worry – there’s still time! The Prize Home is officially open for public viewing every Sunday from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and everyday during the 100^th Fair at the PNE, taking place August 21 until September 6, 2010

3. Buy tickets!

Don’t wait, buy your Prize Home tickets today. Tickets are affordable and come in bundles. For all you not-so-savvy mathematicians, the more you buy, the better your chances are to win this stunning, fully furnished home. Tickets can be purchased for 5 for $25 or 15 for $50. Click here to purchase your Prize Home tickets today.

4. Get to know the designer trio.

This diverse group of women combined their skills to create a beautiful home to be admired by all.

The Designers:

• Barbara Aylesworth – A Stroke of Genius, North Vancouver
• Cathy Still – Seascape Interiors, North Vancouver
• Colette Amaral – Beyond Clutter Interiors Inc., Coquitlam

5. Catch up on your Prize Home history.

The first PNE Dream Home was won in 1934 by Leonard Frewin, a mechanic from Vancouver who was courting Emily Leitch. Emily’s father insisted that Leonard couldn’t properly provide for his daughter, so he did not support the match. As fate would have it, Leonard attended the 1934 PNE on the last day of the Fair, where he purchased a Dream Home ticket for 10 cents. He heard his name announced as then-called ‘PNE Dream Home’ winner while listening to the radio that night. He then went to Emily’s house and proposed on the spot.

Do you want to know what’s happening on a day-to-day basis behind the scenes at LBMG? Click here to follow us on Twitter @LBMG_PR to keep up on the latest events, PR news and fun tips!

Our very own Laura Ballance was among other Vancouver luminaries included in last Wednesday’s 24 Hours, which listed its own summer reading lists. Laura is just finishing A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and will be starting The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Other notable reads listed include Vancouver Canuck Henrik Sedin, who loves Swedish criminal stories, and Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts who is currently reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

Interested to see what the rest of the LBMG team will be reading this summer? Here’s the official LBMG team’s summer reading list:

Jeremy Dunn: The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Lara Gerrits: Lolita in Tehran, A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Darren Gordon: Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis

Rebecca Peters: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Looking for something to do this weekend?  Here are 3 of LBMG’s top picks:

1. Celebrating 100 years, Playland at the PNE has something to offer ride enthusiasts of all ages – from the iconic 1958 Wooden Roller Coaster and the hair-raising Crazy Beach Party to the Wave Swinger and the Kids Playce – there’s something for everyone.  Rides not your thing?  Check out the Midway Games, Pacific Adventure Golf and much more!  Open 10am – 8pm all weekend.

2. If you’re looking for an indoor adventure, check out the highly popular, FREE Animal Grossology at Metropolis at Metrotown.  The interactive 3D exhibit gives visitors a larger than life look at nature’s blood-sucking, vomit-munching, slime-making and dookie-loving creatures!

3. If the weather turns nicer (or if you head to the interior where summer weather has already arrived) – rent a boat and enjoy life on the water.  Just make sure you have your Pleasure Craft Operator’s Card, or you could face a hefty fine!  Don’t have your card yet?  It’s not too late – visit BoaterExam.com and you can take the test online and print out a card before you go!

Even us non-hardcore football fans here at LBMG are becoming masters of the pigskin while working on media relations around an exciting new addition to the Pacific National Exhibition: Empire Field.

The turf is laid, the scoreboards are up and the B.C. Lions even played their first home game yesterday afternoon.

Last week, we organized a media tour of the $14-million facility. Designed to offer reporters a look at the beautiful new stadium, the tour was successful in securing widespread and varied media coverage previewing the return of Empire Field. Check out this story from The Vancouver Sun.

Watch for many more media events and exciting announcements at the PNE, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

It’s almost that time…. time for British Columbia’s favourite May Long Weekend event: the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair. How can you go wrong with country music, world-class rodeo action, the Fraser Valley’s largest traveling midway, and a Country Fair packed with family-friendly fun and entertainment? Well, you can’t.

In addition to all the staple ingredients, we’re also happy to be promoting the highly anticipated Desi Mela South Asian Festival, as well as a terrific Art Zone showcasing the best and brightest of the City of Surrey’s thriving arts community – both brand-new elements to the Country Fair.

See you there May 21-24!