John Ackermann

North Vancouver

Anchor and Reporter at CKWX-AM (Vancouver, BC)

Afternoons on 1130 NewsRadio @CityNewsVAN - Host/Producer #NewsRadioBookshelf - https://t.co/2l2hmdR9Yx

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Articles

Heritage Discovery Day to focus on Kitsilano neighbourhood this year

2 days ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

Heritage Discovery Day, an annual self-guided walking tour that allows visitors to explore unique heritage properties around Vancouver, will showcase sites in the Kitsilano neighbourhood this year. The tour will take place Saturday and will feature nine properties - seven private homes and two heritage community sites. "Site number one, which we're very proud to have on our tour this year, is the Hastings Mill store," said Laura Carey, executive director of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.
B.C. organization kicks off men's mental health campaign

1 week ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

A B.C.-based two-week global campaign in support of men's mental health kicks off Sunday. 'Step Up For Him,' started by HeadsUpGuys.org, encourages participants to walk, run, or bike while raising money that will provide men with self-check tools and connect them to qualified therapists.
Vancouver dance company celebrates 20 years

1 week ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

A Vancouver-based choreographer will celebrate 20 years of artistry with a star-studded gala this week. Joshua Beamish founded MOVETHECOMPANY at age 17. On Thursday and Friday he will stage two performances, bringing together some of North America's finest dance artists on a single stage. "[Audiences are] going to see five works - that are relatively short - that span my career from 2007 until 2022. So it's quite a spectrum of work from different points in my creative career," Beamish explained.
Vancouver author and illustrator celebrates the Chinatown of her childhood in a new book

1 week ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

Once a bustling commercial hub in the 1960s and 70s, the gradual decline of Vancouver's Chinatown neighbourhood started in the 1980s and 90s. In recent years, that decline has been compounded by concerns about public safety and gentrification. Reports of violence because of Chinatown's proximity to the Downtown Eastside have also discouraged visits to the area. This all came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic, when anti-Asian racism increased by 717 per cent.
BC author uncovers the hidden history of the Empress of Ireland

3 weeks ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

Eve Lazarus of North Vancouver has made a career out of highlighting the hidden histories that are all around us in books like Vancouver Exposed and Cold Case BC. Her latest title - Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Island Shipwreck - follows that tradition and is perhaps her most ambitious work to date. The May 1914 sinking of the Empress of Ireland in the mouth of the St. Lawrence River is still the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history.
Profiles in Courage 2025

1 month ago | johnackermann.substack.com | John Ackermann

Every year, the Coast Mental Health Courage To Come Back Awards recognize a group of extraordinary British Columbians in four categories: Addiction, Medical, Mental Health, and Young Adult. The awards, usually a sold-out gala at the Vancouver Convention Centre, raise critical funds for the Coast Mental Health Foundation. Writing these profiles and getting to interview these amazing people is an honour and a privilege and some of the most satisfying work I get to do.
Young Adult award recipient Omar Bseiso

1 month ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann |Charlie Carey

His experiences in the health-care system made him want to advocate for others. Now, he is studying to be a medical doctor. Omar Bseiso of Vancouver is the 2025 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Young Adult category. Bseiso was raised by a single mother, displaced by Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and forced to flee to Syria as a refugee. "In Kuwait, she was a dentist. In Canada, that education was not recognized.
David Chalk wins mental health award

1 month ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

He was a wildly successful tech entrepreneur with a secret - he couldn't read. David Chalk of Burnaby is the 2025 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Mental Health category. Chalk says he had a happy-go-lucky childhood until his first day of Grade 1. "The teacher wanted me to come to the front of the class and read, and I froze, and that was really it for the next 12 years. I realized that I could not read, especially in front of the class," he explained. That was only the beginning.
Addiction award recipient Stan Price

1 month ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

He went from smoking crack cocaine at age 17 to becoming a full-blown drug addict by his 20s. Stan Price of Surrey is the Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Addiction category. Price was born and raised on Vancouver Island. His mother was 16 when he was born, and he admits he didn't have a lot of stability growing up. "There was a lot of substance use in the house, and a lot of drinking," he said.
Medical award recipient won't let her disability define her

1 month ago | vancouver.citynews.ca | John Ackermann

She is a survivor and an advocate, sharing her story with anyone who will listen. Louisa Bridgman of North Vancouver is the recipient of the Courage To Come Back Award in the Medical category. She was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy at 18 months, presenting a complex set of challenges she continues to deal with to this day. "It's a neurological condition that affects my nervous system due to the fact of a lack of oxygen to the brain.""I don't have the use of my legs, so I am wheelchair bound.