Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the BC craft beer selection. Many are available in (larger) single bottles, so you can
sample a few without committing to a six-pack.
RIOTOUS BEHAVIOR
When the 2010 Winter Olympics were staged in Vancouver, locals were surprised
and delighted that the jam-packed nighttime streets never spilled over into
trouble. So, when the Vancouver Canucks hockey team entered a play-off run in
2011, few were concerned that things might turn ugly - despite the distant
memory of hockey riots here during a similar play-off run back in 1994.
On the night of 15 June 2011, however, just after the Canucks lost to the Boston
Bruins, the downtown core rapidly descended into chaos. Hundreds of booze-
fueled 'fans,' most of whom had been watching the game at an outdoor live-
screening site, began rampaging through the city, smashing store windows, set-
ting fire to police cars and looting dozens of shops, including the Bay and London
Drugs. The police seemed unable to quell the rioters and control of the city center
was lost for several hours. The region watched the unfolding events on their TV
screens in horror.
The next day, after the violence had subsided, a different group of locals turned
out on the streets. Armed with brooms and buckets, and rallied by a social media
call-to-action that asked Vancouverites to show what the city was really all about,
hundreds arrived to help with the massive clean-up. Interviewed on TV, many ex-
pressed their anger at what had happened the night before as well as their de-
termination to help the recovery efforts.
As for the rioters, many were outed and eventually charged by the police after
posting photos of themselves on social media during the evening's flame-licked
shenanigans.
