June 23, 2012 what’s in a date?

Following the Georgian calendar it’s usually the 174th day of the year, this year it’s the 175th day due to the fact 2012 is a leap year. Maybe for you it’s Stardate: [-28] 06920.00 or the 5th day of the 5th Lunar month of Yi-Si (Snake) in the year 4710 by the Chinese Calendar or you can say 185 days until Christmas.  But any name you give it that’s OK by us.

What’s the fascination with June 23rd you ask? Well let’s see…I don’t know if it’s the kick off to summer weekend, but there are a lot of activities going on everywhere. Let’s start right here at home with some of our favourite people:

Customer Appreciation Day at WestShore U-Lock from 10 am – 2 pm located at 1621 Island Highway Victoria. Smokies on the barbeque, cake, refreshments and a prize draw for your very own barbeque. We will also be accepting donations on behalf of BC Children’s Hospital.

Then we travel up island to Nanaimo for….. more hotdogs! U-Lock Nanaimo will be hosting a hot dog sale for the Silly Boat Festival in support of the Nanaimo Child Development Centre. Join us from 9 am – 3 pm at the Fairway Market in Northtown Centre in Nanaimo.

Here are more community events that are happening June 23:

The BC Highland Games and Scottish Festival at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam

It’s Doors Open Surrey with over 30 venues (from parks and recreation centres, to places of worship to historical sites and art exhibits) opening up their doors inviting us in

Head up to Whistler and take care of your inner self at the Yoga Jam and Whistler Wellness Fair or in the opposite side of the spectrum take in the Tough Mudder

It’s opening weekend for the Victoria Jazz Festival check out some cool music and relaxing sounds

If cool jazz is not your thing you can take in some Roller Derby Action as the Belles of the Brawls take on Doomsday Bunnies at the Archie Browning Arena in Victoria

From roller derby to rock and roll Beatlemania returns once again to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo

Catch the last day of the Tall Tree Music Festival in Port Renfrew taking place at one of the western most points of Southern Vancouver Island, the scenic site will play host to this 3nd annual community spirited, open-air music festival

To top it all off, June 23 is also my aunts birthday “Happy Birthday Auntie Suzanne!!”. No matter where you are there is something fun happening on June 23.

Historically let’s look at what has happened on June 23

79 Titus succeeds his father Vespasian as the tenth Roman Emperor

930 World’s oldest parliament formed in southwestern Iceland

1868 Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called a ”Type-Writer”

1887 The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada creating the nation’s first national park – Banff National Park

1894 The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin

1904 The first American motorboat race got underway on the Hudson River in New York

1946 A 7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Vancouver Island

1975 Alice Cooper fell off the set of his “Welcome To My Nightmare” tour in Vancouver and broke six ribs

1979 Charlie Daniels Band releases “Devil Went Down to Georgia”

1982 Mary Hart joins Entertainment Tonight

1989 The movie Batman premieres

1991 “Weird Al” Yankovic records Babalu Music

1996 Nintendo 64 goes on sale in Japan

2003 Apple Computer Inc. unveiled the new Power Mac desktop computer

2004 Bob Dylan accepts honorary doctor of music degree from the University of St Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university

2012 ??? bet you can’t wait to find out what will happen this year – let’s make some history together

What are you doing on June 23?