Yay! It's a long weekend! Looks like the good weather we are having is going to continue into the weekend. Lots of events to choose from. Be sure to check out the Powell Street Festival, Davie Street Festival and parade, and the Celebration of Light at English Bay!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Harmony Arts Festival
August 2 - 11
along West Vancouver’s waterfront between 14th Street and 16th Street
A lively festival along West Vancouver’s waterfront produced by the District of West Vancouver. Every summer for the last 22 years locals and guests from across the Lower Mainland have come to relax, enjoy and take in the arts, the music and the visual diversity that is Harmony Arts.

Pride Pavilion at VPL
1pm - 9pm (August 1st), 12pm - 5pm (August 2nd & 3rd)
The Vancouver Public Library, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street
In partnership with the Vancouver Pride Society, join the Vancouver Public Library for their free, family-friendly information fair! This three day event features film screenings from Out in Schools, live performances and entertainment hosted by the Bobbers, teasers from Eleanor Rigby: The Untold Story, and lots of opportunity to learn about what the community has to offer.

Davie Street Party - Free/$20
4pm/7pm - 12am
Davie Street from Burrard to Bute - Davie St - Vancouver
Start your pride weekend off on the right foot at the Davie Street Party, and dance with Pride to the hottest DJs of the summer!  We're changing things up and opening the street to all ages from Bute St. to Broughton St. at 4pm this year. No tickets required in the all ages area featuring performances, sports activities and much, much more!  At 7pm, the Licensed Zone from Bute St. to Burrard St. opens for the 19+ crowd and will feature the hottest DJs of the summer, and an amazing live performance by RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5 winner, American's Next Drag Superstar Jinkx Monsoon, presented by OUTtv and many other great surprises!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Harmony Arts Festival
August 2 - 11
along West Vancouver’s waterfront between 14th Street and 16th Street
A lively festival along West Vancouver’s waterfront produced by the District of West Vancouver. Every summer for the last 22 years locals and guests from across the Lower Mainland have come to relax, enjoy and take in the arts, the music and the visual diversity that is Harmony Arts. 

Viva Vancouver Granville Street Portobello West Market
8am - 5pm Sat & Sun
Granville Street
Created in 2006 by Carlie Smith and inspired by the famous artisan markets of Europe, Portobello West’s goal is to introduce Vancouver’s style conscious shoppers to the creative artisans and designers working here.  Now operating as a not-for-profit society headed up by a board of directors and a market manager, Portobello West remains Vancouver’s premiere fashion and art market.

JAMCOUVER 2013
10am-7pm
Sunset Beach
This summer, the Pacific Northwest’s quintessential skateboard contest “JAMCOUVER” returns with 60 top skaters from across North America converging on Sunset Beach Aug. 3 for a contest where creativity could earn them a share of a $10,000 prize purse.  This August 3rd, JAMCOUVER 2013 will see a return to the creative heart of skateboarding not seen since the early days of Slam City Jam.  This year, DC, LAKAI, OSIRIS, VOX, EMERICA and VANS will skate against each other as teams, in heats where judges will award those who make the most creative use of the unique street course. Individuals’ points will count towards their overall team score as well as their own personal score as they vie for the Best Overall title.

37th Annual Powell Street Festival 
11:30 am - 7 pm  Saturday & Sunday 
Oppenheimer Park (400 Powell Street),  Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova), Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall (475 Alexander Street), Vancouver Buddhist Temple (220 Jackson Street) 
 Powell Street Festival is a Japanese Canadian arts & culture celebration attended by thousands each year. There will be dance, music, film and video, visual arts, martial arts demos, amateur sumo tournament, craft vendors, traditional displays, and delicious Japanese food available.

Solar Dyeing Workshop
12pm - 3pm
Means of Production Garden Corner of East 6th and St Catherines, Vancouver
Dye your own wool with natural materials from the Means of Production Garden.  Come learn about the many locally available dye plants in the community garden, and pick up some basic principles on natural dyeing so that you can learn to dye at home with plants from your own garden.  Dye materials and wool provided. BYOJ (Bring your own Jar).

Pride Pavilion at VPL
1pm - 9pm (August 1st), 12pm - 5pm (August 2nd & 3rd)
The Vancouver Public Library, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street
In partnership with the Vancouver Pride Society, join the Vancouver Public Library for their free, family-friendly information fair! This three day event features film screenings from Out in Schools, live performances and entertainment hosted by the Bobbers, teasers from Eleanor Rigby: The Untold Story, and lots of opportunity to learn about what the community has to offer. 

Shorefest
5:30pm - 9:30pm
Sunset Beach and English Bay
SHOREfest is now entering its 5th year as one of Vancouver’s largest, free community concert series. Preceding the fireworks, SHOREfest (presented by SHORE 104) will host free concerts on two music stages in English Bay and Sunset Beach.   Visitors to the beach will be able to watch some of the hottest names in Canadian music perform at Sunset Beach and in English Bay on fireworks days.

Red Bull Airshow
8:10pm
English Bay
At the 2011 Celebration of Light, crowds in English Bay were stunned when Red Bull Air Race Pilot Pete McLeod buzzed over the beach in his single seater aircraft.  A thrilling air show followed, with over 300,000 amazed upturned festival goers watching on. 2 years later Pete is back and better than ever in a brand new Eagle 540 Aircraft for 2 stunning shows above English Bay.

Celebration of Light - Thailand
10:00pm - 10:25pm
English Bay (and surround area)
The Celebration of Light is not only Vancouver's biggest event, but it's also the largest offshore fireworks competition in the world and attracts up to 400,000 spectators along English Bay each evening. Owned by the Not For Profit Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society.  Another year of exciting countries vying for the title at the 23rd Annual Honda Celebration of Light features: July 27  United Kingdom - Pyro 2000  July 31 Canada - Calgary based Fireworks Spectaculars   August 3 Thailand - Thailand Fireworks 

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Harmony Arts Festival
August 2 - 11
along West Vancouver’s waterfront between 14th Street and 16th Street
A lively festival along West Vancouver’s waterfront produced by the District of West Vancouver. Every summer for the last 22 years locals and guests from across the Lower Mainland have come to relax, enjoy and take in the arts, the music and the visual diversity that is Harmony Arts. 

Viva Vancouver Granville Street Portobello West Market
8am - 5pm Sat & Sun
Granville Street
Created in 2006 by Carlie Smith and inspired by the famous artisan markets of Europe, Portobello West’s goal is to introduce Vancouver’s style conscious shoppers to the creative artisans and designers working here.  Now operating as a not-for-profit society headed up by a board of directors and a market manager, Portobello West remains Vancouver’s premiere fashion and art market.

Pride Festival and Market
11am
Sunset Beach @ Beach and Bute
Over 150,000 Pride partiers take in the Festival and Market, which is a great place to be before, after, and even during the Parade. This celebration includes live music by local performers and the local market provides a great mix of products, services, and community organizations

Nikkei's Historic Walking Tours - Hastings Park
11am
Meet at the northeast corner of Hastings Street and Renfrew
Discover the history of the early days of internment and the Hastings Park commemoration project during a free walking tour of Hastings Park. Meet at the northeast corner of Hastings Street and Renfrew (at the PNE) to join the free tour!

Blueberry Sale & Tea Richmond Nature Park
11:00am - 4:00pm 
Richmond Nature Park, 11851 Westminster Hwy (at No. 5 Rd) , Richmond
The blueberries are ripe and ready to enjoy! Savour the best blueberry pie in town or purchase fresh scrumptious berries. Proceeds support the Richmond Nature Park Society.

37th Annual Powell Street Festival 
11:30 am - 7 pm  Saturday & Sunday 
Oppenheimer Park (400 Powell Street),  Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova), Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall (475 Alexander Street), Vancouver Buddhist Temple (220 Jackson Street) 
 Powell Street Festival is a Japanese Canadian arts & culture celebration attended by thousands each year. There will be dance, music, film and video, visual arts, martial arts demos, amateur sumo tournament, craft vendors, traditional displays, and delicious Japanese food available.

2013 Vancouver Pride Parade
12pm
begins at Robson Street and Thurlow Street
2013 marks the 35th Anniversary of Pride in Vancouver. This year is an important turning point for the Vancouver Pride Society (VPS), with the City of Vancouver granting civic status to the Pride Parade, now considered one of the city's flagship events!  Attracting crowds of more than 650,000, the Pride Parade is renowned on the international stage among the largest and most successful events in the world in support of LGBTQ communities, with spectator and participants outnumbering the host City’s residents.  The parade begins at Robson Street and Thurlow Street, heads west to Denman Street, follows Denman to Pacific Street and Beach Avenue and finishes at the Sunset Beach Festival site.

“Deconstructing False Creek through Nature’s touch” - with Pamela Zevit - by donation
1pm - 3pm
181 Roundhouse Mews (corner Davie and Pacific), Vancouver
Meet in the courtyard in front of the Roundhouse Community Centre at 1:00 PM. This is at the centre of the Roundhouse complex.     False Creek has seen a lot of changes in the last hundred and fifty years - going from a secluded inland waterway full of sealife and surrounded by forest to industrial log milling operations to heavily populated global village. Join Pamela to walk from the Roundhouse Community Centre on the North Shore of False Creek to Habitat Island in SE False Creek to discuss the "back to nature" changes happening in False Creek today and reflect on their present value to society. From there participants can take the ferry back to Yaletown.

Swing Dancing in the Street #2, featuring Air Mail Special!
1pm - 4pm
no venue; outdoors on Granville Street, between Robson & W Georgia
It's the second installment of Dancing in the Street!  Sponsored by the Vancouver Swing Society, VivaVancouver, and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, Dancing in the Street is a free, family-friendly event that takes place on select Sunday afternoons on Granville between Robson & Georgia.  Featuring two drop-in beginner swing dance lessons at 1pm and 2:30pm, you don't need any dance experience--or a partner--to join us. Following each lesson, put your new skills into action to live music provided by Vancouver's premier small group swing ensemble, Air Mail Special, playing tunes by Benny Goodman and others!

Monday, August 5, 2013 - Happy BC Day!

Market Monday at the BVM
11:00am - 4:30pm  
Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby 
Free Gate Admission. Unique locally produced items from vendors will represent work in metal, paper, glass and fabric. There'll be treats for eating that are baked, made out of chocolate, and some that are icy-cold. Look for items for the body and mind, too! Market Vendors:  Barefoot Books - books and gifts for children, Creative Leather Crafts - leather goods, Nasty Free Naturals - products for body and pets     Brenda Lee - jewellery, Sweet Thea Cakes - tarts, pies, Slavic Rolls - dessert pastries

Reoccurring:

River District Farmers Market
10:00am - 3:00pm every Saturday from May4 - Oct26
Kerr Street Plaza – on Kerr Street, one block South of SE Marine Drive, Vancouver
This one-of-a-kind farmers market is the only riverfront market in Vancouver. Come shop for fruits and veggies, prepared foods, and handmade products produced farmers and artisans. Enjoy the waterfront, playground and pier.


Shop for organic and conventional product, meat, cheese, seafood and plants as well as tasty baked goods, beautiful crafts while being entertained by local musicians. Hot coffee and hot food available on site each week.

Shangri-La Farmers Market
every other Sunday, 11am to 3pm from May 19 - Sept 22
Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver, 1128 W Georgia St Vancouver
Join us in the plaza between the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver and Urban Fare for the Shangri-La Farmers Market. Sample fresh local produce and products every second Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Live cooking demos at 12 noon by Executive Chef Wayne Harris.

Food Cart Fest - $2
12pm - 5pm from June 23 - Sept 22
215 West 1st - between Olympic Village & Cambie Bridge
Food Cart Fest is a gathering of over 20 of Vancouver’s top Food Carts presented by Arrival and The Streetfood Vancouver Society. Join us every week this summer for food, fun, and sun complemented by community markets, live music and DJs, craft food vendors, kids activities, and more. Food Cart Fest launches on Sunday, June 23 and takes place every Sunday from 12pm-5pm until September 22. Admission is $2. Children 13 and under get in free. Max rate for families is $5. Vancity members get in free. Check out my visit here.

Chinatown Night Market
6pm - 11pm Fri, Sat, Sun May 17th to Sept 8
Keefer Street between Main & Columbia, Vancouver
This summer, the Chinatown Night Market is bringing a heady mix of time-honoured tradition and new school flavour to the festivities on Keefer Street. Live music, storytelling, and Mahjong; new vendors, more food, and some other stuff that wasn’t here last year like outdoor classic movie screenings and epic ping pong tournaments. See some photos from last year here.

Richmond Night Market - $2
Fri-Sat  7PM - 12AM 
Sun & Stat Holidays  6PM - 11PM 
Sat (Jul & Aug) 7PM - 1AM
8351 River Road, Richmond BC
Lots of food, live entertainment and vendors. $2 fee for regular admission (Subject to changes). FREE admission for children 10 & under and FREE admission for Seniors 60 & up. $10 and $20 Zoom Passes are available for purchase. Check out my photos from last year here.

International Summer Night Market
7pm - 12am Fri, Sat, Sun, May 10 - Sept 8
12631 Vulcan Way, Richmond BC
6th annual Summer Night Market in Richmond starting May 10, 2013! Lots of food, live entertainment and vendors. Check out my photos from this year here.