Thank you for a wonderful year East Van. We have included photos of some of the many events, places and artists we have covered this year which all play a part in making East Van the great place it is. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year.
Archive | December, 2013
You are invited to Graze Restaurant, 3980 Fraser Street, on Wednesday, December 18th for a fundraising dinner for the Vancouver Branch of the SPCA. If you are unfamiliar with Graze Restaurant, it is a vegan restaurant that provides locally and organically produced ingredients. The concept is to provide people of all eating preferences with dishes that are creative, nutritionally well-balanced and simply delicious.Whether you are a strict vegetarian who is starving for choice, a flexitarian who enjoys trying everything or an omnivore who simply wants a familiar and satiating meal, Graze was something for you. One thing they have that has made it onto Erin Ireland’s Must Try Five List is their Vegan Perogies. Erin says “Chef Karen McAthy’s piece de resistance is a yam and egglant perogy dish for $16 topped with crispy shallots and served with an intensely smoked coconut cheddar sauce, sour coconut cream and spicy tomato jam.” Not only does Graze Restaurant do great food and service, they are doing fundraising dinners for local charities where they donate 20% of the sales from your bill to a local charity. When you make your reservation for this Wednesday’s dinner, make sure to mention the SPCA and Graze will donate 20% to the Vancouver Branch to help shelter animals in need.
Happy New Year East Van
31 Dec
New Year’s Eve Gala At The Wise Hall
29 Dec
The Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac Street, is hosting a New Year’s Eve Gala. The event features Rich Hope and His Evil Do’ers, The Razzle Tassel Tease Show and will be hosted by Paul Anthony and DJ Thee Creep3r. Tickets include admission, food from the Reef Restaurant, and a champagne toast at midnight. Tickets are $35 and available online at Brown Paper Tickets, Red Cat Records, Highlife Records or the WISE Lounge.
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Merry Christmas East Van
24 Dec
Merry Christmas
Frohe Weihnachten
Buon Natale
Joyeux Noël
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Natal
Maligayang Pasko
Sretan Božić
Vrolijk kerstfeest
Wesołych Świąt
Καλά Χριστούγεννα
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Uncle Vanya At The Cultch December 23 to January 14
23 Dec
Blackbird Theatre presents Uncle Vanya at The Cultch, 1895 Venables Street starting December 23rd. This is classical theatre with Anton Chekhov’s heart-wrenching 19th century masterwork rich in improbable love, yearning and folly. The play portrays the visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yeléna, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends, Vanya, brother of the Professor’s late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local Doctor, both fall under Yelena’s spell.
Blackbird Theatre has received multiple Jessie awards and nominations since 2006 so you can be assured of a great performance. Tickets start at $17. The show runs until January 14, 2014 with post show talkbacks on Dececember 29, January 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 2014.
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Last Chance Christmas Craft Fair At Croatian Cultural Centre Sunday, December 22nd
21 Dec
Well for those of you that have left their Christmas shopping down to the wire, here is your chance to pick up some one-of-kind gifts from over 100 local artisans. The Last Chance Christmas Craft Fair is taking place this Sunday, December 22nd at the Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive, from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. First 50 people through the door on Sunday will receive a free Swag Bag. Admission is $5 at the door, but children under 12 are free. There will also be face painting and balloon animals for the kids. You can purchase your ticket(s) online at Eventbrite and by doing so, you will be entered into a draw for a $100 shopping spree. Winner will be announced on Saturday, December 21st.
While you are at the Last Chance Christmas Craft Fair, pop in and say hi to Kim Mulder and Kennedy Telford. Kim and Kennedy are two librarians who are passionate about real food and have just published a cookbook This East Van Kitchen: A Fresh Introduction to Cooking. The book features vegan, vegetarian and meat recipes with colour that jumps off the pages. The book will be available for sale this Sunday for $30 for a single copy and $25 each for multiple copies. If you miss them at the craft fair, their book is available at the People’s Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
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Eastside’s 20th Annual Winter Solstice Dance At Astorino’s December 21st
19 DecYou a
re invited to bring the kids, out of town guests and anyone else you wish to bring to the dance. The Secret Lantern Society in partnership with In The House and Arts in Action is producing an all ages community dance party to celebrate the longest night of the year. The event is taking place this Saturday, December 21st at Astorino’s Hall, 1739 Venables Street (at Commercial Drive). Live music will be on hand by High Society, Orkestar Slivovica and The Barefoot Bandits. Tickets are available at the door for $10, cash only, with children under 13 free. You can also purchase tickets online at Picatic until December 20th at 11:59 pm. The festivities get under way at 8:30 p.m. and will go till 1:00 a.m.
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East Van Photographer: Tanya King
18 Dec
East Vancouver is filled with a wealth of creative energy that is uniquely our own. You see it every day in the music, the art, the photographs, the live theatre, the writings, the comedy and on it goes. During the recent Eastside Culture Crawl, I must say I was in awe of the many talented artists showcasing their work. It inspired me to showcase some of the talent that is among us.
As an animal lover, one photographer that caught my eye with her amazing photographs is Tanya King. She is able to capture that bit of personality in pets that is not always so easy to do. I speak from experience. Having had a Newfoundland dog that came from a family of show dogs, I spent many hours taking countless photos to get just that perfect photo. Although I did manage a few great photos, it was no easy feat. As we move to more digital photographs, we don’t see as many framed or printed photographs.
If you would like that perfect framed picture of your pet, I invite you to check out the work of Tanya King. She manages to take some pretty spectacular shots, being that pets are always on the move and don’t sit quiet and pretty when you want them to. Usually quite the opposite. With Christmas around the corner, I thought giving a gift certificate to receive a session with Tanya would make a wonderful memorable gift for that animal lover. Subtle hint to those family and friends reading this post.
Tanya worked with renowned photographer, Hans Sipma, for 8 years and you will see her photographs in Modern Dog Magazine. Outside of spending time assisting local pet adoption agencies and shelters by donating her time and skills to help animals find loving homes, Tanya does pet photo sessions in her studio. Her studio is located in the Parker Studios, 1000 Parker Street, in East Vancouver. Each session takes about 30 – 45 minutes. You can also have the entire shoot of photos put into one photo book with 25 – 30 images which would also make a wonderful keepsake and fantastic gift. Gift certificates for Tanya’s photo sessions are available. You can find prices listed on her website.
You can see in the photos that Tanya loves animals, it is the only way she is able to take the photos she does. Animals have a very innate sense of who they like and trust. Tanya generally photographs cats and dogs, but will soon be turning her eye to photographing horses. Although, I have included a sampling of her photos here, I invite you to check out her photos online, they are pretty spectacular.
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Opening Night Reception: Urban Landscapes At The Cultch December 18th
17 Dec
You are invited to the opening reception of a new exhibit at The Cultch Gallery this Wednesday, December 18th. The Cultch Gallery, 1895 Venables Street, presents Urban Landscapes an exhibition of urban spaces and artifacts by Vanessa Lam, Valerie Arntzen, John Russell and Sharon Petty. John Russell is a self taught photographer whose body of work is built on photographs of abandoned couches reclaimed by nature, creating untold tales of their history in the minds of viewers. Vanessa Lam’s contributions are mixed media paintings/collages. Taking inspiration from the texture and colour of city artifacts and incorporating unusual objects into the work, Vanessa paints a unique, abstract view of the city. Valerie Arntzen Lam has been a photographer and assemblage artist for over 20 years. Sharon Petty is a trained photographer from York University and Langara College. Valerie and Sharon work together to present a series of photographs that examine urban landscapes shaped by the people who travel them. Their combined photographs depict the expressions of communities upon the spaces they live in. Everyone is welcome to attend the opening reception this Wednesday, December 18th from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. If you miss the opening reception, you can visit the gallery from 12:00 – 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturdays from Noon – 4:00 p.m. The exhibit runs until January 23, 2014.
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Vancouver SPCA Fundraising Dinner at Graze Restaurant December 18th
16 Dec
You are invited to Graze Restaurant, 3980 Fraser Street, on Wednesday, December 18th for a fundraising dinner for the Vancouver Branch of the SPCA. If you are unfamiliar with Graze Restaurant, it is a vegan restaurant that provides locally and organically produced ingredients. The concept is to provide people of all eating preferences with dishes that are creative, nutritionally well-balanced and simply delicious.Whether you are a strict vegetarian who is starving for choice, a flexitarian who enjoys trying everything or an omnivore who simply wants a familiar and satiating meal, Graze was something for you. One thing they have that has made it onto Erin Ireland’s Must Try Five List is their Vegan Perogies. Erin says “Chef Karen McAthy’s piece de resistance is a yam and egglant perogy dish for $16 topped with crispy shallots and served with an intensely smoked coconut cheddar sauce, sour coconut cream and spicy tomato jam.” Not only does Graze Restaurant do great food and service, they are doing fundraising dinners for local charities where they donate 20% of the sales from your bill to a local charity. When you make your reservation for this Wednesday’s dinner, make sure to mention the SPCA and Graze will donate 20% to the Vancouver Branch to help shelter animals in need.
Should you not be able to make Wednesday’s dinner, you could always try for Tuesday, December 17th. Another charity near and dear to my heart is the WRA Wildlife Rescue Association of BC. Funds raised from this dinner will help provide care for 4,000 injured, orphaned and pollution-damaged wild animals each year. Same idea applies, when you make your dinner reservation, mention the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC. To make your reservation for either night, contact Graze at 604.620.8822.
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Craftacular At Beehive Hair Lounge December 14 & 15
13 Dec
You are invited to a different kind of craft fair this weekend. Craftacular which takes place at the Beehive Hair Lounge, 3904 Fraser Street, on December 14th and 15th from 6:00 pm – 10:30 pm each evening strives to be a showcase for the undiscovered and eclectic talent. Now in its 10 year, here you will find vendors and artisans who have never shown any of their work before and may never again. So it is truly an opportunity to find that one of a kind item. To keep things lively, they will be offering a cash bar while you shop. There will be different vendors on each day. On Saturday, December 14th, you will find:
Chenoa LeBlanc: She makes unicorns and octopi.
Sarah Race Photography: Will have a photo both set up ready for those Christmas photos with an 80s theme to boot. You are encouraged to wear your craziest Christmas sweater and come down for some pics. Note: Sarah will be on site Saturday and Sunday.
ZULA Jewelry + Design: Nature Inspired Metal Wear. ZULA creates wearable pieces that incorporates objects from nature such as leaves, twigs, seeds, roots and bones. Her jewellery is said to have a West Coast feel and is handcrafted in silver, copper, gold and bronze.
Britt: Creates air plants and terrariums.
vchy designs: Specializes in mirror art from large door hunt size to compact.
William & Jonathan: Handcrafted bath bombs and organic soy candles.
On Sunday, December 15th, you will find:
Sarah Race Photography: Will be back with her Christmas Photo Booth
Takohako Designs: Cute, nerdy, and pun-y paper goods and crafts from unique occasion cards to handmade felt coin purses to pinback buttons.
Andrea Hooge: Prepare some space on your fridge. Andrea will have a great selection of magnets for your fridge which include cats, dogs and other animals. She will also be bringing packs of Bill Murr-gnets and Big Lebowsk-gnets. Prints and original artwork will also be available.
Come check out this Craftacular event!
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