2007: Is There a Tenor in the House?

On October, 18, 2007, during a concert of Gerontius, star tenor, Ben Heppner was forced to leave the Orpheum at intermission with a flu-like illness that rendered him unable to perform. Tenor Peter Butterfield (pictured) who was attending the concert as an audience member, courageously jumped into the role of Gerontius for the second half of the Vancouver Symphony production.

1921: Symphony Director Skips Town With The Take

In 1921, Henry Green, musical director of an orchestra that became the genesis of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, skipped town, with the orchestra’s money, never to be heard from again.

1908: Jeff, the Boxing Kangaroo Hits Town

In 1908 “Jeff, the Boxing Kangaroo” amused big crowds in Vancouver at the Pantages Theatre.

ed. note: After a quick Internet search I found evidence that "Jeff" spent his retirement years on the Ruhe Animal Farm in New York State. I don't know for sure that these two "roos" are one and the same, but how many boxing kangaroos named Jeff could there be?

http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/ruhefarm.html

1889: Kipling Becomes Vancouver Landowner

In 1889, the writer Rudyard Kipling visited Vancouver and bought land here: two lots at the southeast corner of East 11th Avenue and Fraser Street.