On June 15, 2011, riots broke out in downtown Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, after the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins. At least 140 people and nine police officers were injured in the riots, and 117 people were arrested during and afterward.

Vancouver Stanley Cup riots

It’s kind of a big deal because Canadians are perceived to be a very nice and polite society which looks down on its brash neighbors south of the border.

So there’s a worry that this riot will change peoples’ perceptions not just about Vancouver, but Canada and Canadians in general.

Jimmy Kimmel hit a raw nerve with a section on his show (see video) where he says “I like angry Canada…It makes me feel less bad about our behavior.”

Kimmel then played a fake Canada tourism ad, which shows video footage of the riot with a narrator saying, “Canada… Where the people aren’t nice anymore.”

On the other hand, there has been an outpouring of emotion and love for Vancouver from the locals, who turned up to clean the streets and scrawl their thoughts and regrets about the riots on downtown storefronts.

This is where Tourism Vancouver comes into the picture, with a new online platform (www.thisisourvancouver.com/) for channeling these emotions and allowing people to share the pictures and videos online.

Vancouver Stanley Cup riots message

“Last Wednesday Vancouver was reeling from a blindside,” said Tourism Vancouver president and CEO Rick Antonson. “Today, Vancouver’s integrity shines again. ‘This Is Our Vancouver.com’ is our way of helping the world know that Vancouver’s greatest asset is its people.”

The site, set up by Tourism Vancouver and its creative agency DDB Canada; plenty of users have posted items and photos directly connected to the riots.

“As a creative agency, our world is about harnessing emotion. We mobilize people around sentiments that hold real meaning for them,”  explains Lance Saunders, executive vice president and managing director of DDB Canada’s Vancouver office. “This is about celebrating Vancouver and restoring its image to where it deserves to be.”

It’s also, clearly, a good opportunity to kick-start a social media aggregation site where citizens and visitors can share their thoughts and media about the “real” Vancouver, on an ongoing basis.

Photos: Elopde; Clayton Perry

Related posts:
City Art in Vancouver: Eagles Aflight
Canada Tourism Puts Up Twitter Walls in U.S. Cities
Identity Crisis for Vancouver USA

Mother’s Day is just a week away, so there’s been a recent surge of hotel deals hitting the market for the big weekend. The common denominator of 2011 Mother’s Day packages seems to be one three-letter word: spa. Day spas and destination hotels will feature discounts on spa packages, as well as treatments designed specifically for the holiday.

Boca Raton, Florida: Boca Raton Resort & Club is giving moms a 25 percent discount on all spa services at Spa Palazzo, as well as 25 percent off golf greens fees and tennis fees. Room packages start at $219 per night at the resort, $249 at the club.

New York City: The Affinia Dumont, a “wellness-themed” hotel in Midtown, will offer a $250 nightly rate over Mother’s Day weekend in a package that includes a 30-minute express service from Oasis Day Spa, an eco-friendly reusable water bottle and a room customized to guest preferences. (Upgrades for longer spa treatments are available.)

Horseshoe Bay, Texas: The Horseshoe Bay Resort in Texas Hill Country has a special package for mothers-to-be that includes 20 percent off all spa services. It also focuses on mother/daughter activities over the holiday weekend, including a golf clinic, bingo and a ping-pong tournament.

Marco Island, Florida: Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort will feature a “Spa Ritual” package designed for moms at its Balinese-style spa. The deal, starting at $519, includes two nights lodging, breakfast each day in Tropiks restaurant, daily spa membership and choice of one spa treatment per guest. This package is available through September 30, 2011.

Maui, Hawaii: The Grand Wailea Resort on Maui’s south coast will offer a Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch on Sunday, May 8, along with numerous “Mom & Me” activities, such as lei-making demonstrations, beach yoga, a botanical tour and hula lessons. Spa Grande has a special Ohe Bamboo Massage in honor of the day.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada: Scandinave Spa Whistler, best known for its outdoor eucalyptus steam baths, is offering Mother’s Days deals starting at $169, which includes an hour-long massage, access to the baths and a snack from the “health bistro.”

Photo: Courtesy of Boca Raton Resort & Club

Related Posts:
Updated Old School at Boca Raton Resort

In yet another sign that New York City is arguably more family friendly than ever before, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Monday that Disney’s reach in the city will soon expand from Times Square over to the Hudson River, from where Disney Cruise Line will begin sailing in May 2012.

The popular family cruise line is also expanding its presence to the West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico with sailings set from Seattle and Galveston, Texas, making it easier for more families to experience the magic of Disney on the high seas.

Speaking of magic, Disney’s newest ship, the Disney Magic, launched on Jan. 26, 2011, will service sailings from New York with 20 cruises from the Big Apple’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal to the Bahamas, with stops at Nassau, Port Canaveral and Disney’s private island Castaway Key. The Canadian cruises will stop at at Halifax, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Rates start at $370 per person for a two-night at-sea sail, $715 for a five-night Canada cruise and $1,240 for an eight-night Bahamas itinerary. The ship calls potentially will bring 45,000 additional embarking passengers into New York City, resulting in an estimated $11 million in direct spending.

The Disney Magic also will service Galveston’s 12 seven-night cruises to the western Caribbean and Mexico, with stops at Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel; rates start at $840 per person. The Disney Wonder will sail 14 seven-night cruises from Seattle to British Columbia and Alaska, with stops at Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria. Rates start from $917 per person.

The Disney Magic can accommodate 2,700 passengers with 10 decks. More than 950 cast and crew will be on board the ship. The Disney Cruise Line fleet will expand again in April 2012 with the addition of the Disney Fantasy, a sister-ship to the Disney Magic.

Photo credit: Disney Cruise Line

Related posts:
Spring Break Family Idea? Take a Cruise!
Cruising the Caribbean on Disney Cruise Line