Events help us build community.
Would you like to get fitter and stronger before spring starts in earnest? We have 16 recorded 1-hour exercise sessions (functional strength training) from a GREAT online fitness teacher, Sue Q, to share with interested members (and friends and family members, male or female) via Zoom for a 5-week period starting the week of March 9th. There will be 5 Zoom meetings scheduled each week, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 am Wednesday 9:30 am, Saturdays 4 pm, Sundays 8 am. You can choose to participate once, twice or up to 5x per week! Each time we will gather "live" from our homes and all follow the same recording.
Here is a quick sample from one of our older online workouts. We hesitate to share samples because one of the beauties of these workouts is that Sue is so good at varying things that there are few repetitions ever. She is also very conscientious about doing a full body workout, and gives good suggestions for how to accommodate sore or injured knees, hips and shoulders.
Warmup moment: youtu.be/warmup
Workout moment: youtu.be/strength
Stretching moment: youtu.be/stretching
I started Sue’s Zoom classes 2 years ago and am really enjoying them. She is an excellent teacher, giving us lots of variety and ensuring we are using good technique. I like that the classes are geared to more mature bodies but certainly do give us a good workout. And it is great to be able to do the classes at home.(Bonnie)
Sue is a wonderful fitness leader, always varying her zoom classes and challenging our capabilities. She encourages us and keeps safety in mind, giving us options to do the exercises safely. Sue rose to the occasion when the pandemic hit, and created her zoom classes with enthusiasm and energy, one very good result of the pandemic! (Jocelyn)
I have been doing Sue’s workouts for about 7 years. What I especially like is how varied each class is and how closely Sue monitors and corrects us. The sessions always include strength, flexibility and balance training. (Kay)
As I get older there are new features of my body that show me that I need a regular fitness program. I joined Sue’s classes to add strength to my bones which trend towards osteoporosis. She covers most muscle groups of the body in each class and is so enthusiastic, I wouldn’t think of leaving her training. She also provides great advice for recovering from injuries and surgeries. (Peggy F)
I always feel SO good afterwards, and I am definitely getting stronger. (Laurie).
For equipment you will need a mat, some hand weights (could use canned food), a stretchy band (could use tights or stretchy pants) and a large exercise ball (Laurie's is very old and small and half deflated but it seems to work perfectly). If you don't have a ball, borrow one. It's a great piece of workout equipment - good for balance. I'm sure we all have many acquaintances who have an exercise ball in a cupboard somewhere. Sue occasionally uses a small ball as well (about 20 cm in diameter) but it is pretty easy to replace it with a cushion.
This event is open to the public - to anyone anywhere who can live with the PST times - so if you know someone else who might be interested feel free to share the link to this event with them, include them with your YES as a guest, or send them this poster: Get Fit for Spring with VG4A poster 2026.pdf
In My Day Phoenix Theatre Saturday matinee –
Verbatim Theatre from the stories of those who went through the early days of HIV and AIDS.
It is playing from March 12-21. Reply YES to this invitation only if you would like to join a group of VG4A members attending the March 14th matinee performance. Feel free to buy your own ticket for another date! We're sending the invitation out early because we've discovered that some performances are selling out already. Phoenix Box Office is 250 721 8000.
Ticket prices are $18-$34 (Cheaper on Tuesdays). Buy tickets soon if you want to come.
Author - Rick Waines
In My Day is a verbatim work of contemporary drama that exists at the cross section of disability and memorial arts. Centred around HIV’s impact on Vancouver and Victoria, it is a story of a pandemic response with extraordinary victories and heartbreaking failures.
This work is inspired by a community-based oral history research project from 2017, titled HIV In My Day. It was initiated by researchers at the University of Victoria interviewing long-term survivors and caregivers who lived through the first 15 years of the HIV pandemic in British Columbia. The collected stories and reflections honour the voices of men, women, people of colour, Indigenous folks, trans, people who use[d] injection drugs, and others, alongside those of cisgender and gay men.
After show “talk backs” allow you to question actors, the author and research participants.
https://finearts.uvic.ca/theatre/mainstage/2025-2026-mainstage-season/in-my-day/
And after after show there will likely be a group heading to 5th Street Grill for a debrief. :)
The Flame is a storytelling series that features real people, sharing their personal true stories in front of a live audience—along with a musical guest. Since its inception in 2009, The Flame has flourished and grown into a wildly popular event that has packed venues in Vancouver and Victoria.
Our very own Peggy Frank will be one of the story-tellers at this season's production of The Flame. We have six tickets booked. Reply YES if you'd like one of them ($31.50)!
