What The Sooke? » 2009

Victoria Christmas Events: Sooke Santa Skate This Sunday, December 20, 2009

Tim Ayres — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:47:49 +0000

Sooke Santa Skate

The annual Sooke Santa Skate, put on by our team at Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty and SEAPARC, will be held this Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at the SEAPARC Arena. Join us from 1:30 until 3:00 for a fun, family event. Admission is by donation of non-perishable food items, new, unwrapped toys, or cash to support Sooke families in need this Christmas.

Your local REALTORS® from the Royal LePage Coast Capital office will be on hand passing out free and tasty hot chocolate and hot dogs and collecting your generous donations. Skate rentals are also included if you do not have your own. Bring your camera and get a memorable picture with Skating Santa Claus!

Last year’s event was a success, despite having been postponed due to adverse road conditions brought on by the wild winter weather we had last December. Hopefully we’ll have a typically mild day, making it easy for everyone to safely get to the arena.

I hope to see you there!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Butchart Gardens Christmas Lights Display

Tim Ayres — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:31:47 +0000

The Sunken Garden at Butchart

Last night, my wife and I got out and enjoyed the crisp December evening and headed out to world-famous Butchart Gardens on the Saanich Peninsula. Every year they decorate the gardens in thousands of lights, creating a truly magical Christmas experience. Despite the sub-zero temperatures, it was a gorgeous, starlit evening, and the lights were amazing. The gardens are decked out in a Twelve Days of Christmas theme, so along the garden paths there are little vignettes displaying the different parts of the famous song. It was fun to hear everyone reciting or singing “fiiiiiive golden rings” and so on as they approached the various displays along the route.

I brought along my camera, tripod and shutter release to get some long exposure shots of the lights. Lights at night are one of my favourite things to photograph, and I think the results turned out quite well.

A large cedar with lots of presents

There was a brass quartet playing Christmas carols, a carousel, and a skating rink set up for all to enjoy. The admission might seem a little steep at $23.50 for adults (lots less for kids, price list here) but if you buy a yearly pass and go more than twice it pays for itself (many will go once a season, or more if you have guests in from out of town).

I hadn’t been out to Butchart Gardens in about 5 years or more, and I had forgotten how lucky we are to have such a world-class attraction in our back yard. It truly is a top-notch operation and it’s no surprise how popular it remains, after over 100 years in existence.

Enjoy these photos – you can view the rest on my Flickr page.

Ponds are frozen over at the Gardens

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Sooke Spirit Festival was a Success – Sailpast Video

Tim Ayres — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:11:14 +0000

This past Saturday saw the 2nd annual Sooke Spirit Festival which was a resounding success. What started as a small event in a snowstorm last year, grew into a well organized and well attended family affair this year.

I was driving the lead boat (the Coast Guard Auxiliary boat) in the sailpast, and managed to shoot a little bit of video to give you an idea what it looked like out there if you missed it. What a perfect night to be on the water. A little chilly, but the wind held off until after the sailpast, which was a big plus. There were lots of people on the boardwalk watching the dozen-plus decorated boats sparkle on the crystal-clear and calm evening on Sooke Harbour.

Check out the video I shot below. It’s mostly of the boats getting ready and of the beautiful harbour before sundown, as I was driving the boat during the actual sailpast. If anyone has any better video, shoot me an email and let me know and I’ll post it!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Sooke Spirit Festival – Parade and Sailpast – Saturday, Dec 5

Tim Ayres — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:37:50 +0000

Ho Ho Ho!

The Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce and The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit #37 – Sooke invite one and all to the Sooke Spirit Festival, which takes place tomorrow, Saturday, December 5th, 2009. Right in the heart of the town centre, come join us in getting into the Christmas spirit!

What’s happening?

Shopping: The parade route in the centre of town will feature concessions selling holiday treats and gifts, and many Sooke businesses will have special Spirit Festival deals!
Santa Claus Parade: Starting at 2:30, the big guy in red will travel down Sooke Road through the centre of town.
Sailpast: Led by the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, celebrate Sooke’s maritime heritage and enjoy the lighted parade of boats of all sizes from the Rotary Pier or Whiffen Spit.
Music: The fabulous Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Sooke Community Theatre at 7:30. Don’t miss it! This is a paid event with a portion of ticket sales benefiting the Sooke Christmas Bureau. Info at SookePhil.ca

We have been blessed with fantastic weather this year, and while it will be cool and crisp, there won’t be rain (or a snow storm like last year!) This is an awesome free family event you won’t want to miss.

Other family events this year in Sooke include the Sooke Santa Skate, put on by me and the team at Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty. Stay tuned to 642Blog for more information about this other wonderful Christmas family event.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Social Media, Web Marketing, and SEO Training In Victoria BC [Video]

Tim Ayres — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:39:40 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that I will be teaching web marketing and social media training in Victoria, BC starting next month. Reachd.com has approached me to be their Victoria instructor. The 3-hour classes are taught in the afternoon, and are ideal for anyone in any small business who wants to learn how to capitalize on this growing trend. How can you effectively use social media and web marketing to grow your business? I can’t wait to show you how. The three courses that are happening next month are: Social Media Guided Tour ($149), Explode Your Growth With A Blog ($149), and Broadcast Your Message With Online Video ($249 – includes a video camera!). You can take all three courses for $399 – a savings of $149. Come out and learn something in December and be ahead of your competition in the new year!

The courses will also be offered in January, along with courses on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google AdWords.

More information and registration at http://TimAyres.ca/reachd

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Life In Sooke #1 – Storms (And Storm Watching!)

Tim Ayres — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:15:22 +0000

Welcome to a new series on the 642Blog, Life in Sooke. The idea for the series came to me as I was out for a run the other day – I thought it would be fun to carry my video camera a little more often and shoot video of Sooke and the surrounding area to give visitors and potential new residents an idea of what it’s like to live here.

This month has been one of the wettest, stormiest Novembers I can remember. It seems there has been non-stop stormy weather, with one system after another pounding the coast with strong winds and heavy rain. Today it looked like we were having a break in the weather, so Marg and I decided to take the dog and head up West Coast Road (Hwy 14) for a little adventuring. We’d hoped to do some beachcombing and I had hoped to capture some nice images on my camera.

We had planned to stop in at Point-no-Point Resort for lunch – something we’d been meaning to do for a long time – Jason from DiscoverSooke.com and Inktvis Creative has been raving about it. Along the way it became apparent that this morning’s calm was only the eye of the storm, as we could feel the wind buffeting the car as we cruised along the road. By the time we got to Point-no-Point, the rain had resumed and was flying sideways.

We had an amazing lunch in the restaurant – overlooking the beach below, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and – if we could see them – the Olympic Mountains. The food was great, service friendly, and prices very reasonable. Because the weather had turned even worse, we just decided to hike for a half hour or so along the trails that run about the resort property (available to cottage and restaurant guests). Below is a video I shot of the waves and wind pounding the shores as we watched in amazement. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a stormy winter day, Point-no-Point is a great destination for lunch and a hike. If you’re looking for an overnight romantic getaway, the resort or one of the many other oceanside B&B’s and inns would love to have you!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Midweek Humour – Hockey Fail [Video]

Tim Ayres — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:40:28 +0000

We all do what we do because we enjoy it and we’re good at it. Sometimes there are days when even when it seems you can do no wrong – you’ve nailed every phone call, email, sales opportunity or customer service goal; and then, out of nowhere, an instance of FAIL takes over.

To illustrate, here is a video of an amazing goal… And an equally amazing fail afterwards:

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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All Sooke Arts and Crafts Christmas Show is this Weekend

Tim Ayres — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:07:09 +0000

Driftwood Santa Christmas Ornaments

One of the oldest and biggest craft fairs on the Island goes this weekend, November 20 – 22, 2009. The All-Sooke Arts and Crafts Fair is taking place in the Community Hall building in Sooke. Over 60 exhibitors on two floors will be there, along with food and entertainment.

Come on out and get some Christmas shopping done and get ready to deck your halls this coming season! Admission is free and the show runs 10:00 – 5:00 on Saturday and Sunday and 1:00 – 8:00 on Friday.

On a side note – while we won’t be at the fair (couldn’t get a table!), my wife Margaret still has her famous Driftwood Santa Christmas Ornaments for sale. You can call her at 250-508-9122, or order online.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tim Ayres at NAR 2009 Conference San Diego Day 3 [Video]

Tim Ayres — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:46:13 +0000

I had a busy day at the convention today. I caught the last part of a session on social media, but I’m glad I missed most of it. It wasn’t a really good session – the presenters were unprepared, and didn’t really seem to understand social media. For example, when talking about blogging, they didn’t even mention platforms like WordPress or Blogger. There were much better social media sessions at the conference than this one. I also spent some more time on the trade show floor and attended Tara Hunt’s presentation on Whuffie for Real Estate. Tara has some interesting ideas about social capital and how you can use it to grow your business. David Knox’s session on overcoming pricing objections was very entertaining and informative. I also met with the people from Obeo, a virtual tour and listing marketing company. They have an innovative and interesting product and you should check it out.

Check out the video below:

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tim Ayres at NAR Conference 2009 San Diego Day 2 – Trade Show [VIDEO]

Tim Ayres — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:26:35 +0000

Today I went to several sessions in the morning and spent part of the afternoon wandering around the massive trade show at the National Association of REALTORS® Convention in San Diego. There was quite literally just about everything you can think of that might possibly be related to real estate on the floor. Virtual tour companies, brokerages, MLS systems, lockbox suppliers, even plumbers, house inspectors and other contractors. I am going to have to go back and visit again to take it all in, it was that large. There were lots of contests and games and giveaways – I didn’t bring near enough business cards to enter! William Shatner was at the NAR booth signing autographs – cool! Below is a short video I shot about the trade show, including a pretty famous blast-from-the-past automobile that was at the DotLoop booth:

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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