The year opened slowly. January in Vancouver arrived with a heavy snowstorm that briefly stilled the city, streets quiet under fresh snow and routines paused whether anyone planned for it or not. Winter settled in fully, and much of the early part of the year revolved around work and adjusting to the demands of a new role. Days felt full and focused, leaving little space for much else.
Early February brought a shift in pace. Seeing Cold War Kids at the Vogue Theatre cut cleanly through the winter routine. The venue felt intimate and familiar, the kind of show that reminds you how grounding live music can be, especially when work has begun to take up most of your headspace.
That momentum carried into mid-February with Fan Expo. The event itself was a whirlwind. I met Danny Trejo, Giancarlo Esposito, Lauren Cohan, Michael Cudlitz, Bruce Campbell, and Elijah Wood. It was one of those weekends where everything moved quickly, conversations blurred together, and the scale of the event only really sank in afterward.
Work quickly reclaimed most of the calendar again, and March arrived before I realised how tightly the weeks had been packed. Early in the month, I finally stepped away long enough to head to Hollywood for the Oscars. From the hostel across the street, the red carpet came into view, and the city buzzed with anticipation. I caught glimpses of Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, and Ariana Grande among many others as they arrived. Watching it all unfold from so close felt surreal.
The night before the ceremony, downtown Los Angeles shifted into full celebration mode. Streets were already filling with crowds, security checkpoints, and media crews, and at one point I was interviewed on the street, caught up in the atmosphere of the city as it leaned fully into the moment.
Oscar night itself was overwhelming in the best way. Entire sections of Hollywood were locked down for hours, helicopters hovered overhead, and the scale of the security operation made it clear how significant the event truly was. Seeing the red carpet, the statues, and the sheer size of the production felt like a lifelong achievement. Hollywood was alive in a way I had never experienced before, and I left knowing it would not be my last time there.
Brewery hopping filled the next day, exploring downtown Los Angeles, an area I had barely spent time in before, having previously only known the city through places like Venice. The slower pace after the spectacle allowed the trip to settle properly before heading home.
Back in Vancouver, the city returned to focus. Late March included a local trip to an orchid show, a small but welcome contrast to the intensity of the previous weeks. Spring edged closer, and with it came hockey. The Canucks made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in many years. I was there to see them defeat Nashville, the arena electric with belief. The run ended in the second round against Edmonton, who would go on to reach the final before falling to Florida. Even so, the atmosphere around the city felt revived, like something long dormant had been stirred again.
May arrived with mountains on the horizon. An early work trip to Banff offered a brief reset, crisp air and familiar peaks grounding everything again. Mid-May delivered something entirely different. On May 10th, the strongest aurora event I had ever seen unfolded across Vancouver. The sky came alive, colour rippling over beaches and skyline alike. It was the result of a massive solar flare, and witnessing it from the coast felt almost unreal, like the city had been momentarily transported somewhere else.
Late May returned to music. Seeing Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service at the UBC Thunderbird Arena felt both nostalgic and expansive. The crowd, the setting, and the songs all carried weight, the kind that lingers long after the lights come up.
June stayed busy. Another work trip to Banff came and went, and before long I was back in Vancouver again. One standout night broke through the routine. Wrexham played the Whitecaps at BC Place, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in attendance. The stadium buzzed with energy, part football match, part cultural moment, and it felt uniquely Vancouver in its blend of sport and spectacle.
The summer months passed quickly. Work remained demanding, but the city offered enough moments of release to keep things balanced. By September, attention began to shift outward again. Europe waited next, with work taking me to Lisbon, Vienna, and Prague. Those journeys would mark a new chapter of the year, each deserving space of their own.
For now, 2024 stood defined by momentum. A year shaped by responsibility, punctuated by moments that felt unmistakably once in a lifetime, and grounded by a city that continued to hold everything together between departures.
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