Living

As a wine region, Chile already enjoys a built-in culture of sustainability, thanks in great part to its natural geographic isolation.

Thanks to an upstart coffee microroaster, when the masses at the Vancouver Convention Centre get their daily jolt, it's organic and fair-trade. Since 2010, North Vancouver's Moja Coffee has been the exclusive supplier to the VCC.

OCTOPUS One way to avoid the depletion of our favourite fish from the sea is to include less popular marine creatures on the menu; the squishy, spiny and tentacled beasts that seem more scary than succulent.

The advance of our food scene from its once uninspired doldrums to its current position as one of the most diverse and attractive in the world has been staggeringly quick.

Lobster Festival is back until March 31 at Le Gavroche, 1616 Alberni St., Vancouver. Guests can enjoy a lobsterpacked three-course dinner for $39. To complement this special menu, guests can purchase Provençal wine pairings for an additional $25.

CHANGING seasons are a perfect time to tune up and check out your car. BCAA offers these 10 car care "musts." 1. Tire Pressure. Overinflated tires ride roughly and suffer premature wear at the center of their tread.

- Masters Dance Challenge, presented by Raise the Barre Productions, May 4-6 at West Vancouver's Kay Meek Centre. Registration deadline: April 4. Info: www.raisethebarre.ca. FOR dancers, there's nothing like it.

Dunn's Poutine Festival, until March 21 at Dunn's Famous restaurant, 827 Seymour St., Vancouver. There will be six types of poutine to choose from three types of gravy. Info: 604-682-8938 or www.dunnsfamousbc.com.

Event tied to Playhouse outlives theatre

Community members are invited to learn to trust their intuition at two upcoming presentations by representatives of the Inner Peace Movement of Canada in North Vancouver March 20.