The Brazilian Film Festival of Vancouver has been visiting our city for the same number of years that I have been living here. As a Brazilian expat, I am always happy to welcome The Inffinito Group’s film festival and watch my beloved Vancouver get better acquainted with my culture.

In the last few years, the Brazilian Film Festival of Vancouver has allowed me to meet other amazing Brazilians who are also learning to call Vancouver their home, Canadians who speak perfect Portuguese, and people from all around the world who love Cinema . With a workforce of over 50 volunteers, the Brazilian Film Festival of Vancouver brings four full days of Brazilian cinema packaged in a very interesting selection of Brazilian short and long length films, and special events.

The 3rd Brazilian Film Festival of Vancouver will take place at Vancity Theatre from July 15th to 18th. Ten full-length films will be screened, including four documentaries, one comedy and five dramas. The festival has also scheduled  a FREE panel discussion on Saturday, July 17th called BRAZIL XXI – A Cinema Without Borders with film critic Wilson Cunha and one of the festival curators Bianca de Felippes.

[ONLINE CONTEST] Blue Eyes – Olhos Azuis

The Inffinito Group has kindly offered MadameHeringer.com a pair of tickets for the July 18th screening of José Joffily’s drama Blue Eyes.

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post or tweet:

I entered to win a pair of tickets for the Brazilian Film Festival of #Vancouver @madameheringer http://wp.me/pHmOV-BL

The winner will be announced on Friday, July 16th at 3:00 pm. Good Luck!

Monica Hamburg is the lucky winner! Thanks for the comments, everybody.

Epic, the largest sustainable consumer tradeshow and eco-marketplace in western Canada, kicks off tomorrow; however, this year I have an extra special reason to attend the Vancouver Sun’s sustainable living expo. My friend and entrepreneur Regina Landim Noppe  will unveil Green Sapphire Imports, an importer and distributor of eco-friendly Brazilian products in Canada. Green Sapphire Imports is the realization of Regina’s dream of sharing eco-friendly and sustainable Brazilian products with Canadians.

Even though she is very busy with the last Epic arrangements, Regina took the time to quickly answer my questions about Green Sapphire Imports. Regina’s passion is contagious and her dream of contributing to Brazil’s development is another reason to become one of her customers. Enjoy!

Veronica: Why did you decide to bring Brazilian clothing and accessories to Canada? Why do you think that your products are special?

Regina: As a Brazilian-Canadian, I’ve always wanted to bring some part of  my mother country to my new home so Canadians could also experience some of the beauty and passion that beats in every Brazilian heart. Having been living in Vancouver for 5 years, I’ve also been learning a lot about respecting the environment. It has been pleasantly surprising to see how much Canadians care and do their best to contribute to a better, more healthy world.

I am bringing two prominent Brazilian brands to Epic. Eden Organic Fashion and Patricia Moura Biojoias. Eden Organic is a clothing label inspired by elements of nature and made of 100% cotton coloured with natural and chemical free dyes. Patricia Moura is a Brazilian-born designer who has been internationally recognized for her outstanding talent. Her eco-jewels are made of raw materials from Amazon rain-forest, Pananal and Brazilian Cerrado. Do I need to say more?

V.: Why did you choose to represent these two brands is Canada?

R.: I decided to represent both Eden Organic and Patricia Moura Biojoias because of the contribution of their products in building more sustainable communities in Brazil.

By using the açaí berry in her design, Patricia Moura is also encouraging the cultivation of the açaí berry rather than the harvesting of the tree, helping to prevent further reduction of the rain forest. Patricia Moura eco-jewelry infuses the local economy with profits from açaí jewellery sales, giving a real reason for people to protect the forest .

On the other hand, Eden Organic not only produces eco-friendly clothing but is also social responsible. Eden Organic supports over 200 families living in the city of  Juquiratiba, in the State of São Paulo, and have planted over 1,000 trees in their Eden Garden.

V.: What is Sapphire Imports planning for Epic?

R.: We will have both Eden Organic and Patricia Moura eco-jewelry represented at Epic Fashion shows (Friday 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm – Saturday 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm – Sunday 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm). We will also have our products displayed at booth FH12.

Regina has kindly offered one admission to Epic and a Patricia Moura Biojoias açai berry necklace to my readers. Here’s how to enter to win:

Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry):  

I entered to win Green Sapphire Imports’ contest @MadameHeringer http://ow.ly/1qysMN

I’ll will draw the Epic admission winner tomorrow, May 28th at noon. The winner of the Patricia Moura Biojoias açai berry necklace will be announced on Wednesday, June 2nd at 3:00pm.

UPDATE – May 28th: Caroline (@SexyinVancity) won the Epic Expo ticket. Caroline, Regina will contact you shortly to arrange the pick up!

UPDATE – June 1st: Anna is the winner of Green Sapphire Imports’ açaí berry necklace. Anna, Regina will contact you shorthly.

Thanks everybody for your nice comments and tweets!

Photo Credit: PressReleaseFinder on Flickr

I have been postponing a re-branding/re-focusing of MadameHeringer.com for a while now and before I really transform it into the journal of a marketer, I am asking for your help. MadameHeringer.com has been through a lot of changes in the past year. We finally bought a customized domain, added new contributors and implemented a WordPress theme, but now I am curious to know how these changes have been working for you, my valued readers!

The direct link for the online survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RZ7J2ZJ. You can also click on the pop up to be redirected to Survey Monkey. I tried to make it as comprehensive as a survey with only ten questions can be. Please, be honest!

As an incentive, I am giving away a movie night for 2 to one lucky survey respondent. Just enter your email in the last question for a chance to win!

Thank you in advance for your help. It’s always a pleasure to do business with you!

Yesterday, Mr. Ames picked up a wonderful bag of goodies from our UPS box. The sender? The Wellness Show and its sponsors.

I don’t know about you, but since January 1st I have been trying to stick with my new year’s resolution of becoming a healthier person.I must confess that it isn’t going as planned, but I am slowly catching up. Attending this year’s Wellness Show sounds like a convenient incentive and probably will equip me with more tools to fight my cravings and laziness.

The 18th edition of The Wellness show will happen from Friday, April 30th, through to Sunday, May 2nd at the Vancouver Convention Centre. General admission tickets are $12.50, seniors and students are $10, children 6-15 are $5, and children 5 and under are free.

You might be asking yourself why I am telling you all that, right? Well… in order to promote MadameHeringer.com’s first giveaway, I am getting myself into a lot of trouble!  I entered the Mom’s Muffin Category of the Healthy Baking Contest. I need to deliver 4 baked muffins inspired by my Mom’s recipes on the first day of The Wellness Show. Since Brazilian moms don’t bake muffins (at least my mom doesn’t) and heathy for me means a lot of chocolate, I don’t even know where I should begin.

If you’re as concerned about my decision as I am and want to help, or even if you only want a chance to win this amazing bag full of goodies, you should leave a comment with an suggestion for my muffin’s recipe or a baking tip for me. I’ll draw the winner on Monday, April 26th at 2pm.

The Wellness Show giveaway bag that you have a chance to win includes:

- 2 complimentary tickets for The Wellness Show

- 1 Light Activewear yoga tank top ($46 retail price)

- 5 Power Plates workouts and 5 infrared sauna sessions at Powervibe

- 1 Infofit personal training session

- 1 Western Sage Creamed Cool Mint Honey

- 1 Western Sage Creamed Cinnamon Honey

- 1 Western Sage Bee Magic Honey

- 1 Tuscan Farm Gardens Lavender Body Lotion

- 1 Prana Chia Oil bottle

- 1 GoldSeal Wild Salmon Oil Dietary Supplement

- 1 BCDHA kit

- 1 Kitchen Basics Chicken Cooking Stock

- 1 Allera’s Immune Extra Dietary Supplement

- 1 Nelli’s all-natural Laundry Soda package

and much more!

Which ingredients should I use? What can’t I forget to add to my recipe? Leave a comment for a chance to win.

Update: In a really old fashion style, I numbered 15 post-its and asked my friend and co-worker Ana Marie to pick a number.  Ironically, #13 is FMC’s lucky number and he/she is the first MadameHeringer.com’s online contest winner! Congrats! You have until tomorrow by noon to answer to my email.

Thanks everybody for sharing your baking knowledge with me!