Surrey’s Canada Day celebrations at the Cloverdale Millenium Amphitheatre on July 1, 2013 were hot, hot, HOT! With temperatures cracking 30 degrees, the ice cream, smoothie, sno-cone, and water misting stations were definitely the busiest. The midway was rolling, faces were painted with patriotic colours, and the bands on stage were real troopers as they faced the sun and entertained thousands. Here are some of our Surrey Canada Day photos this year:
This week Latincouver presents the Latin American Carnaval Week featuring Carnaval del Sol, Vancouver’s Latin American celebration of arts and culture. It kicked off last night with a themed float in the Canada Day parade and we’re in store for much more in the coming days. Hundreds of volunteers will welcome an expected 100,000 people to this energetic festival downtown filled with dance, music, soccer, and more spanning several blocks.
Miss604 is a proud Official Media Partner of Carnaval del Sol and as such, I will be featuring various components of the festival over the next few days. For now, here’s an overall glance at what we can expect from this exciting celebration:
Connecting the Latin community in Vancouver, the Inspirational Latin Awards gala on Thursday, July 4, 2013 will recognize distinguished members of the Latin American community for their outstanding achievements and contributions in shaping BC’s economy and cultural developments. The event will run from 7:00pm to midnight at the Roundhouse Community Centre and include the awards ceremony, a cocktail reception, and a silent auction. Purchase your tickets for the Inspirational Latin Awards today.
Over 80 musicians and performers will take to the streets for Carnaval del Sol on Saturday, July 6th from 11:00am to 8:00pm and Sunday, July 7th, 2013 from 11:00am to 6:00pm.
Festival stages and performance locations will be setup along Granville between Hastings and Smithe, over at the Tom Lee Musical Plaza. There will be food vendors, a craft market, children’s area, environmental education activities, dancing, music, and much more. Admission is entirely free.
There is still time to sign up and register your team for the Mini World Cup Street Soccer Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Carnaval de Sol. The tournament is supported by Vancouver Whitecaps FC and will be attended by the Mayor of Vancouver who will award the championship trophy.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC are supporters of Latincouver and they will have a presence at Carnaval del Sol. The team will also be hosting Noche Latina, a special theme for their match on July 14th.
There is still a call for volunteers for the Carnaval del Sol street festival as well as teams to play in the street soccer tournament. Connect with Carnaval del Sol (Facebook, Twitter) and Latincouver (Facebook, Twitter) on social media to follow news and updates. The official hashtag is #CarnavaldelSol and add Latincouver on Instagram for photos.
The closing gala of Carnaval del Sol will take place on Sunday, July 7th at VENUE nightclub starting at 8:00pm. It will be open to the public (tickets are on sale now for $25) and the many volunteers who will make the event possible.
Update I have a pair of tickets to give away if you would like to attend the Carnaval Overtime closing party. Here’s how you can enter to win:
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00am on Sunday, July 7, 2013. Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly.
Looking through the Vancouver Public Library and City of Vancouver Archives for Canada Day content I had to remember to modify my search terms to “Dominion Day”, as it was called until 1982. Vancouver has had some great-looking Dominion Day celebrations in the past with downtown parades being the main attraction:
Dominion Day decorations:
The Georgia-Harris Viaduct in Vancouver opened on Dominion Day in 1915:
It’s always fun to kick off a month with a long weekend and some sunshine, and when you throw in free family festivals, fireworks, and live music you’ve got the perfect recipe for summer fun. Thanks to those who have sent in their listings, the July Events in Metro Vancouver list is ready to roll. As usual, this list will be updated several times each week so be sure to check back often!
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green below. A few features that run all month and into August include Theatre Under the Stars, the Stanley Park Open, Vancouver Canadians Promotions, free dancing lessons at Robson Square, and free outdoor movies.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Sponsored by Miss604: Surrey Canada Day
Sponsored by Miss604: Canada Day at Canada Place
Canada Day at Granville Island
Canada Day at The Portside Pub
Canada Day Craft Fair at Waterfront Park North Vancouver
Steveston Salmon Festival
Coquitlam Canada Day
Delta Museum and Archives Society Celebrates Canada Day
Vancouver International Busker Festival
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Summer Concert Series at Trout Lake
Eco-Arts Salon with Nicole Bridger
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Inspirational Latin Awards
Dancing on the EDGE Festival
Indian Summer Festival
Kenneth Roy Mitchell & Maxine Wolodko at District Foyer Gallery Opening Reception Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
There had to be a better way to get pedestrians over a set of busy train tracks and a four-lane highway in a scenic riverside city and Vancouver, Washington found the perfect solution. In 2008, with federal, state, and private funding, the Vancouver Land Bridge opened to the public. This 40-foot wide paved pathway links up the regional Discovery Trail System and connects the riverfront walkway to Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
John and I were staying at the Red Lion at the Quay during our “Vancouver to Vancouver” trip recently and decided to explore the area the way we usually do when we travel: on foot. The hotel is right along the River Waterfront Trail on the north side of the Columbia River so we headed east, under the I-5 bridge that connects Washington and Oregon, and found the entrance to the Land Bridge.
Our goal that day was to explore Fort Vancouver but stumbling across the Land Bridge was a bonus. Not only was it the best — and safest — way to get to the historic site, going under the train tracks and over Highway 14 (Lewis and Clark Highway), it’s also ranked within the Top 10 attractions in Vancouver, Washington on Trip Advisor.
The Vancouver Land Bridge is one of seven sites of the Confluence Project:
Designer Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Memorial, was commissioned by Native American tribes and civic groups to create a series of seven art installations along the Columbia River Basin created to evoke the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. These installations range from the border of Idaho to the mouth of the Columbia River. [Source: About]
The wide, smooth paved pathway is lined with native plants, historical information, and tributes to the local First Nations, masking the fact that you’re walking over a rushing highway. On the south side, where we began our walk across the Land Bridge, we crossed through a portal before getting to a Historical Timeline series of photographs and paintings along the wall.
As we ascended, we didn’t get many great views of the river on our right because a train was passing at that moment. We did stop at the first set of about 3 rotundas that had symbols and quotes from local First Nations.
Designer Johnpaul Jones seems to have almost massaged the landscape, pulling it up and over the railway tracks and highway to connect Fort Vancouver with the Columbia River waterfront. “Like in the old days, you can now walk from the river to the fort and back,” says Jones, of Jones and Jones in Seattle. [Source: Seattle Times]
At the top of the gentle grade was the span of the bridge that covered the highway followed by the Prairie Overlook and another rotunda. This wound down to the Village Overlook, with another rotunda, that reached down to the level of the meadow and orchard adjacent to the Fort.
“The land bridge is a real link connecting back to the Klickitat Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the development of the Northwest. It completes a circle that’s been broken.” Johnpaul Jones [Source: Confluence Project]
Berry shrubs and bushes had informational placards (I had never previously heard of the Serviceberry), and we walked out into the grass field with Fort Vancouver in site.
We’ve been over the Laurel Street Land Bridge in Vancouver, BC that connects Fairview to Charleson Park along False Creek but this was a whole other level of land bridge. Between its convenient location, beautiful scenery, history lesson, and elegant layout, I can see why this bridge is a top attraction.
Learn more about the Confluence Project by following updates on Facebook.
Related posts about our Vancouver, USA trip: The Grant House, William Robert Broughton, Fort Vancouver (coming soon).
