The best things in (summer) life are free. Think long days of sunlight, wilderness hikes and big-name concerts – including Bif Naked and The Matinée – at Coquitlam’s new outdoor stage!
Just a half-hour SkyTrain ride from Vancouver, you can join the thousands who will be flocking to Lafarge Lake-Douglas station this month for free festivals and family-friendly entertainment. Did I mention on-site food trucks and craft beer? Read on for details about some of August’s best free events as well as some suggestions for exploring hiking trails that will lead you on some wild adventures. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Enjoy an evening of arts and astronomy under the stars with the Museum of Anthropology (“MOA”) on August 12th. Inspired by the global dark sky movement, Blackout Night Sky Festival brings together storytellers, musicians, artists and astronomers to share their relationships to the skies. Witness the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and explore the museum until midnight during this all-ages event.
Blackout Night Sky Festival at the MOA
Where: Museum of Anthropology (UBC, 6393 NW Marine Drive)
When: Saturday, August 12, 2017 from 5:00pm to 12:00am
Tickets: Adults $10, youth & students free. Tickets available at the door.
RSVP on Facebook »
You’ll have the chance to peer into telescopes, make your own star lantern and experience an experimental art installation that reimagines the constellations. Bring a chair or blanket and enjoy stargazing to a soundtrack of downtempo and ambient beats, punctuated by live music and throat singing.
Blackout Night Sky Festival Schedule
Indigenous Sky Stories 5:00pm to 6:00pm
Planets and Pulsations: The New Keplerian Revolution 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Late Night Gallery Viewing 5:00pm to 12:00am
Bar + BBQ + Music 5:00pm to 12:00am
Lantern Making Workshop 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Reclaiming the Night Skies 8:30pm to 12:00am
Lantern Procession at 9:00pm
Stargazing + Meteor Shower 9:30pm to 12:00am
Follow MOA on Twitter and Facebook for more information about this exhibition and more.
On one magical day a year, adults can order an iconic, legendary White Spot Pirate Pak and it’s not only encouraged, it goes to support a wonderful cause! Pirate Pak Day is back on August 9th and for every Adult or Kid Pirate Pak and select entree that sold, White Spot will make a $2 donation to the Zajac Ranch for Children – a summer camp that brings joy to children and young adults with serious medical conditions.
Pirate Pak Day at White Spot
Can’t make it but still want to support the kids? Text PIRATE to 202220 to donate $10 now to Zajac Ranch.
For the 8th consecutive year, a toonie from the sale of every Pirate Pak will be donated to Zajac Ranch for Children, a local charity that provides kids and young adults with life-threatening illnesses and chronic disabilities a unique summer camp experience.
Pirate Pak Day has become an anticipated annual tradition that has raised a total of $555,748 since its inception, and sent more than 370 hearties to camp. White Spot Week at Zajac Ranch runs from August 14 to 18 and includes activities ranging from kayaking and climbing to swimming and horseback riding.
On August 9th only, Adult Pirate Pak menu is available for both dine-in and take-out.
- Legendary Burger
- BC Chicken Burger
- Bacon Cheddar Burger
- Sriracha Portobello Veggie Burger
- Dippin’ Chicken
- The White Spot Club
- The Spot’s Fish & Chips
- Nat’s Original Beef Dip
In addition to traditional Burger Pirate Paks, White Spot will also be donating $2 from entrees and sandwiches from the Pirate Pak Day menu.
White Spot burgers are proudly made with 100% fresh Canadian beef, fresh BC chicken breast and secret Triple “O” sauce, and come on specially baked artisan-style bun. Each burger option comes in the nostalgic Pirate Pak boat, with a bounty of fresh-cut ‘endless’ fries, creamy coleslaw, soft drink, premium rich ice cream and of course, the treasured chocolate ‘gold’ coin.
New Ways to help the kids
Helping to raise even more money this year, White Spot partners will donate $0.25 for every sleeve or pint from the BC craft beer list or glass from the 100% BC VQA wine list ordered to Zajac ranch.
62 White Spot restaurants throughout British Columbia and 4 locations in Alberta are participating this year. Follow White Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information.
It came down in 1959 and just last week it rose again. Sai Woo’s iconic neon rooster has been recreated and installed at 158 E Pender St in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, thanks to donors and pledges.
Neon Sai Woo Sign Returns to East Pender
The project to restore the sign began earlier this year when current Sai Woo owner, Salli Pateman, was trying to track down the original.
“Sai Woo first opened its doors as a chop suey house in 1925. Its delightfully garish neon sign, which featured a giant rooster with spread wings, was likely taken down when the original restaurant was closed in 1959. The existence of the sign was known from archival footage.” [Source: CTV]
1936. Men outside Sai Woo. Archives# CVA 260-452
Sai Woo teamed up with TDH Experiential Fabricators to recreate the restaurant sign. TDH has created some of the most creative and recognizable signs across the west coast – including Gastown’s “Time is Precious”, Bao Bei’s neon sign, and Vancouver Aquarium’s sign. Salli picked TDH as they have a long history with neon signs and were willing to recreate the rooster sign exactly as it was going off only one frame of a 1959 video clip.
The cost to replace the sign rang up to $18,712 so she launched the Kickstarter campaign “Bright Lights, Van City“.
Word of the mission spread, and the community came together and raised $18,190 to recreate the sign, just shy of the goal. $522 short, with just hours left to find additional backers, Steven Wong of East Pender’s Modernized Tailors hand-delivered a check for $522 to Salli before the campaign ended.
Steven’s father frequented the original Sai Woo restaurant in the 1950s, Vancouver’s legendary Neon Era, when 19,000 neon signs illuminated the city when the sun went down. Steven’s donation was in commemoration of his father who passed away this year at the age of 96.
This year, several historic East Pender landmarks have risen from the ashes. On the 100 block of Pender St there was the return of Jade Dynasty restaurant in the recently restored Mah Society Bldg, which includes a new retro sign based on early examples found in the area. The new Chinatown BBQ shop is opening shortly a few doors down from Sai Woo and the HO-HO is under construction which will bring back this iconic restaurant and a new version of the 3 storey high neon sign which was last seen in the late 1990s.
In 2011, Vancouver’s Chinatown was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Want to see more of Vancouver’s old neon? Check out the Museum of Vancouver’s permanent exhibit: Neon Vancouver Ugly Vancouver.
Theatre Under the Stars (“TUTS”) has been bringing soaring works of song and dance to the crown jewel of the city, Stanley Park, for over 75 years! This season TUTS presents a pair of Broadway blockbusters at Malkin Bowl: Mary Poppins and The Drowsy Chaperone. I have the opportunity to give away an awesome date night experience that features fun in the city paired with one of these colourful musical productions.
Photo credit: Tim Matheson
The Drowsy Chaperone
“A deliriously witty love letter to musical theatre… funny, energetic…graced with talent galore.”
– Vancouver Sun
The Drowsy Chaperone is bursting with show-stopping song and dance. This Canadian musical parody & five-time Tony Award-winner whisks audiences away on a Jazz Age journey of love, laughter, and libation.
Alone in his modest, one-bedroom apartment, a musical theatre fan puts on his treasured cast recording. As the record spins, the colourful & chaotic characters of a fictitious 1928 musical spring to life – filling his living room with all manner of movie stars, gangsters, divas, and more.
Photo credit: Tim Matheson
Starring as Man in Chair is five-time Jessie Award-winner Shawn Macdonald who takes the stage with TUTS newcomer and lauded actor Caitriona Murphy (The Drowsy Chaperone) as well as Shannon Hanbury, who makes her ninth TUTS appearance as Janet van de Graaff. Joining them are Stuart Barkley (Robert Martin), Blake Sartin (George), and Dimitrios Stephanoy as the Latin lothario Aldolpho. Directed by Gillian Barber, The Drowsy Chaperone features choreography by Shelley Stewart Hunt, with musical direction by Kevin Michael Cripps.
The Non-Drowsy Chaperone Date Night Giveaway
Thanks to TUTS I have this exciting prize package to give away:
Theatre, dinner, drinks, limo, flowers? You’ll definitely score some points with your significant other when you win this date night! Here’s how to enter the contest:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Click below to post an entry on Twitter
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a @TUTSVancouver date night prize package #TUTS2017 http://ow.ly/l1qR30e5tRg” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
Performances alternate evenings. All shows at 8:00pm, except on Fireworks Nights, when shows begin at 7:00pm. Follow TUTS on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
*Based on availability. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, August 8, 2017. Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly.
Update: The winner is Rochelle!
