Hi friends!
One of the oldest books I genuinely love reading with my kids is from the 1930s: The Story of Ferdinand. ( Amazon)
Ferdinand is a young bull in Spain. While all the other bulls run, butt heads, and prove how tough they are, Ferdinand just wants to sit quietly under a cork tree and smell the flowers.
Beautiful pen-and-ink drawings. The kind of book that makes gentleness feel serious.
And the whole thing is quietly saying: you can just be who you are, even when everyone around you wants you to be something else.
Naturally, after reading this peaceful masterpiece a few times, my 5-year-old is now into bullfighting. But I'm sure that won't happen to you. Probably.
laughed at this page and then it lived in my head for a week.
Anyway …
Here’s what’s inside this issue:
🖥️ UBC teen summer camps ($200 off right now)
💖 New single moms support group (starts this Saturday, it's free)
🎨 Marpole art show deadline (10 days to register, pull something off the fridge)
🎬 Despicable Me for $3.99 (Saturday plans, sorted)
Let's get into it. 👇🏼
🖥️ UBC Summer Camps for Teens (And $200 Off Right Now)
Finding a summer camp your teenager won't immediately veto is an extreme sport. (Is what I heard!) This one might actually survive the eye roll: UBC's Pre-University Summer Camps are open for registration. Courses in AI, gaming, coding, and cybersecurity. Online and on-campus options.
What: UBC Pre-University Summer Camps (run by Circuit Stream + UBC Extended Learning)
Who: Ages 13–18
Where: UBC Campus + online
When: Summer 2026 (registration open now)
Cost: Starting at ~$1,995. $200 off all camps with code EASTER2026
The Move
Grab the discount code now, sort the details later. Easter sale pricing won't last and these fill up.
Why It Matters
It's UBC on a transcript. And it keeps a teenager busy for a chunk of summer. Parents of teens, you know what that's worth.
💖 New Single Moms Support Group in Mount Pleasant
Solo parenting means there's no one to tag in at bath time. Or bedtime. Or the 3am wake-up. Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House gets it, and they've just launched a new bi-weekly support group specifically for single mothers to build connections and share resources.
What: Single Moms Support Group
Who: Single mothers
Where: MPNH, 800 E Broadway
When: Every 1st and 3rd Saturday, starting April 18 (10am to noon)
Cost: Free or by donation
Register: Sign up here or email Bilquis at [email protected]
The Move
First session is this Saturday. If this isn't for you, chances are you know someone it's for. Forward it.
Why It Matters
Finding support as a single parent is hard enough without having to dig for it. This is free, it's local, it starts this week, and it's the kind of thing that doesn't get enough visibility. Let's fix that.
Know a single mom who could use this? Forward her this section. Sometimes the most helpful thing is knowing it exists.
🎨 Last Call: Marpole Community Art Show (Deadline April 24)
We first brought this up back in winter, but the deadline is suddenly next week. So if you've been meaning to register, this is your nudge. The deadline is 10 days away.
Marpole Neighbourhood House is looking for local artists of all ages for their Annual Community Art Exhibition. Paintings, sculptures, photos, mixed media. If you or your kid made it, they want it.
What: Annual Community Art Exhibition
Where: 8585 Hudson St
When: Show runs May 23 + 24 (registration deadline: April 24)
Cost: Free to enter
How: Register here or email [email protected]
The Move
You have 10 days. Dust off that pandemic paint set. Pull something off the fridge. Just register.
Why It Matters
No gatekeeping, no gallery pressure. Just a warm community audience and a reason to actually finish something creative this spring.
🎈 Call for Vendors: Pleasant Day Kids Zone
Main Street is shutting down this August for the massive Pleasant Day festival, and they're hunting for businesses to pack the Kids Zone with fun. If you have a family-focused side hustle, or you just want to make sure your favorite local kid-brand shows up, send them this way.
What: Call for Kids Zone Vendors at Pleasant Day
Who: Family-friendly vendors, activities, and local partners
Where: Main St (16th to King Ed)
When: Festival is Saturday, August 8 (applications open now)
Cost: Vendor fees apply (details on site)
The Move
Forward this to that friend who runs a brilliant kid-focused small business. Or apply yourself.
Why It Matters
This festival pulls thousands of families onto one car-free stretch of Main Street. If you've got something to offer local kids, there's no better stage.
📌 The Notice Board
🚧 Terminal Ave Sewer Repair Work Is Still Ongoing
If you drive through the Main / Terminal / Quebec area, give yourself extra time this week. The City says permanent sewer repair work is continuing, with traffic interruptions expected around Terminal Avenue.
The Move: Avoid cutting it tight if this is part of your school-run route.
🅿️ New Parking App (Because Parking Wasn't Complicated Enough)
Remember when it was just PayByPhone and the meter? Those were simpler times. Now it's PayByPhone here, Impark there, EasyPark over there, and a different app depending on which lot you accidentally pulled into. The City just added another option: a second mobile parking app called HotSpot. Officially, it runs alongside PayByPhone at all on-street spots. Same codes, no extra fees. A backup for when PayByPhone crashes mid-sprint back from pickup. That part's genuinely useful. But if "alongside" quietly turns into "instead of" at certain locations down the road... well. One more app to download, one more login to forget.
For now: download it, hope for the best.
Free, no added fees
Works at all on-street pay parking locations
Free SMS reminders
Ignore any QR codes on meters. The City doesn't use them. That's a scam.
🎬 Family Fun This Week
Despicable Me at Cineplex for $3.99
Some Saturdays you need a plan. Some Saturdays you just need a dark room and Minions. Cineplex's Family Favouritesseries is showing Despicable Me on April 18 and Despicable Me 2 on April 25. Under five bucks.
When: Saturday, April 18 (Despicable Me) + Saturday, April 25 (Despicable Me 2)
Where: Select Cineplex locations
Cost: $3.99 (CineClub) / $4.99 (Scene+) / $5.49 (everyone else) + tax
The Move
Book online to pick your seats. The booking fee is a buck or so but worth it to avoid the "I can't see" meltdown.
Why It Matters
Cheap. Dark. Air-conditioned. Minions. Sometimes that's the whole plan and that's okay.
🎭 HONK! JR. at Arts Umbrella (Tickets On Sale Now)
Arts Umbrella's Musical Theatre Troupe is putting on HONK! JR. this May as part of their annual Expressions Festival. It's a show about being different, told with humor and big musical numbers. Performed entirely by kids.
What: HONK! JR. — part of the Expressions Festival 2026
Where: Jack and Darlene Poole Theatre (Granville Island)
When: May 14 + 15 at 7pm, May 16 at 2pm + 7pm
Cost: Tickets on sale now. Saturday matinee is pay what you can.
The Move
The Saturday 2pm show is pay-what-you-can. That's your window. Book it before it fills up.
Why It Matters
Live theatre, performed by local kids, for the price of whatever you want to pay. That's a hard deal to beat.
P.S. Got a friend with a teenager and zero summer plans? Forward them this issue. The UBC camps are legit, and that $200-off code won't be around forever.
That’s a wrap for this week.
We’ve got this!
Saba Yazdani
The Cambie Memo
