Archive | July, 2015

Sips Cocktail Emporium Helping You Make The Perfect Cocktail

13 Jul

Mother's Day Gold and PinkMany people are aware there has been an evolution in the craft beer industry in East Vancouver.  At the same time, cocktails have been making a big come back as evidenced by some recent articles in BC Living and the Westender about the best cocktails, best bartenders and now you can even find a Vancouver Distillery Tour. This new tour is brought to you by the ladies of Off The Eaten Track Culinary Walking Tours.  One of the stops on their tour is a personal favourite Odd Society Spirits which is located at 1725 Powell Street just East of Commercial Drive.  Off Society Spirits has been quite inventive with their concoctions made from their East Van Vodka, Wallflower Gin and Crème de Cassis. For those wanting to try their hand at making their own cocktails, Odd Society Spirit, outside of having some great spirits, has some very tasty recipes on their website. These are definitely worth giving a try.

In case you haven’t noticed, there has also been a recent influx of local entrepreneurs making bitters and elixirs like East Van’s Graveley & Sons. You will find many of them at the various artisan and craft fairs around Vancouver. Of course, putting together some of these concoctions may be a bit daunting for some of us seasoned wine drinkers looking for something different every now and again.  Well help is now here for those that wish to make and mix their own cocktails at home.  Sips Cocktail Emporium is an online store created by an East Van couple, Darcy Broatch and Jordie Yow. They have turned their passion for cocktails into an online store that includes everything one would need to make the perfect cocktail. Located in East Vancouver, they have everything but the kitchen sink really and the booze of course. That’s on you. Their website GoodSips.Ca carries a selection of bitters sourced locally and abroad, syrups, cocktail shakers and every other accessory you could imagine. In a mere few weeks, Darcy and Jordie will be taking their passion to the next level and opening a physical location in Mount Pleasant at 339 E. Broadway. After which, they will start holding workshops so you can taste, smell and see everything first hand.  We are looking forward to this great new addition in East Vancouver. In the meantime, we invite you to check out their online store which has all the accessories for the perfect cocktail! Cheers.

Photo Credit Above: Sips Cocktail Emporium
Photo Credit Below: RD Cane

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1st Annual Iced Tea Festival At Heritage Hall July 19, 2015

10 Jul

IcedTea2BenEarwickerWell it’s summer and having a refreshing drink close at hand is certainly front and center on our minds these days. So this upcoming event caught our eye.  On Sunday, July 19th Tea Sparrow is hosting the 1st Annual Iced Tea Festival at the Heritage Hall. As many know, tea has been gaining in popularity in recent years for many reasons including the many touted health benefits.  At the upcoming Iced Tea Festival, you will have the opportunity to sample and score 16 different iced loose leaf teas from Germany, Canada and the U.S.A.  Co-Founder of Tea Sparrow Michael Menashy says “This is going to be an incredibly exciting and interactive event. Where else do you get to try every tea on display, score card it, and have your opinions help shape and change the flavour of the industry?”   The 1st Annual Iced Tea Festival takes place at the Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street on Sunday, July 19th and gets underway at 11:00 am and goes till 6:00 pm.  Tickets are available in advance – 2 for $10 for adults or $10 each at the door and children under 12 are free. To purchase your tickets in advance, visit Tea Sparrow or check out their Facebook page for updates about the upcoming festival.

Photo Credit: Ben Earwicker

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River District Drive-In Movies This Summer Starting July 12th

8 Jul

FilmMovieReelWell it’s time to get a little nostalgic folks.  River District is hosting drive-in movies this summer.  For those that have never experienced a drive-in movie, now’s your chance.   River District will be hosting four of them starting this Sunday with a personal favourite, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  This is a classic 80s movie to which you are encouraged to wear your 80s garb.   Also on hand for this event, will be a selection of food trucks. They anticipate the following line up for Sunday’s feature movie:

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck
Tasty Torpedo
Cheeses Crust
Reel MAC and Cheese
Street Meat Truck
Mr. Cool Ice Cream Truck
Chili Tank

The River District Drive-In is located at 3650 E. Kent Avenue South which is located just west of Boundary Way and before Kinross Street in SE Vancouver. Gates open at 6:30 pm and the movie gets under way at dusk (approx. 8:00 pm).  River District will provide you with the FM station for audio, so a working radio/FM station will round out your experience.

Sunday, July 26 – Indiana Jones & Raiders of the Lost Ark
Sunday September 6  – DOUBLE FEATURE
The Outsiders and Stand by Me

This is a free event and there is space for 250 cars, but it is first come first served. So if you are keen, best to arrive early.

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Interesting Vancouver Is Hosting A Do Shop at MakerLabs July 25th

6 Jul

InterestingVancouverThere are some very neat events coming up this summer.  One that caught our eye was a partnership between Interesting Vancouver and MakerLabs. They are hosting DoShops with a view to gathering the curious to explore, discover and learn through hands-on demonstrations.

Their first DoShop takes place on Saturday July 25th and features Piñata Making with Meaghan Kennedy.  If you are not familiar with the name or her work, Meaghan made her first piñata over 5 years ago for a local cable show and fell in love with the process. She left the professional work world to pursue a life as a piñata artist. Just goes to show when you follow something you love. Meaghan’s piñatas have been featured in GQ, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Huffington Post, the Globe and Mail, CTV News, Elle Canada, Ion Magazine, Vancouver is Awesome and The Georgia Straight. Her work was also recently exhibited at Hot Art Wet City.

Also lined up for this DoShop is YoYo Tricks with Harrison Lee. In the world of yo-yo’ing, Harrison is known as the ‘hurricane’. Harrison has been yoyo’ing since the age of 11 and  became the 2013 Canadian National Freestyle YoYo Champion and represented Canada at the 2014 World YoYo Championship in Prague, Czech Republic.

These look to be truly interesting and fun events at a minimal cost. Tickets are available online at Eventbrite for $30.00. Choose between one of the two activities and they will start you off with a 2 hour session before a 1 hour lunch break at Noon and then you complete your ‘Do’ session from 1:00 – 2:00 pm.  Lunch, supplies and even beer are covered.   The event runs on Saturday, July 25th from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at MakerLabs 780 East Cordova Street.  Interesting Vancouver and MakerLabs invite you to come out “roll up your sleeves and get ready to ‘Do’!”

Photo Credit: Kris Krug

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The Play ‘Six’ At The Havana Theatre July 8 – 11

3 Jul

MountainVanArts Production presents Six at the Havana Theatre, 1212 Commercial Drive for a short run from Wednesday, July 8th to Saturday, July 11th.  Six features six undergraduates who spend a summer in the isolated wilderness. They are there to study their surrounding ecosystem under the tutelage of two graduate teaching assistants. They will learn of the five global mass extinctions that life on Earth has suffered in its history to date and the sixth that may be upon them.  They get to know each other and themselves. Unrequited love is also in the air along with the mosquitoes. The show runs nightly at 8:00 pm.  Tickets are available at the door.

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The Storm Crow Tavern’s MicroFiction Contest On Now Until July 17th

1 Jul

TalesFromTheBeerMatThe Storm Crow Tavern, 1305 Commercial Drive, is self-admittedly the City’s premiere nerd bar. This restaurant and bar is a spot where you can find fellow gamers, sci-fi and fantasy nuts while drinking a microbrew and playing board games. There is a big screen TV, but you won’t find a sports game showing here, but you will find showings of sci-fi, fantasy and horror flicks.

This summer, The Storm Crow Tavern, is offering something very unique. An opportunity for you to write a bit of microfiction, win prizes and have your story placed on a beermat for all to see and read. What exactly is ‘microfiction’? Their definition is 250 words or less.   The winning stories will have their microfiction placed on their new coasters.   The contest is open to everyone and the deadline is July 17th.  As mentioned, this is Vancouver’s nerd bar, so although all genres are accepted, we are guessing they will lean to those with a sci-fi, fantasy or horror theme.   For your efforts, you will have the opportunity to win:

First Prize: $500 + $100 gift card
Second Prize: $250  + $100 gift card
Third Prize: $100  + $50 gift card
Honorable Mention: $50  + $50 gift card

The finalists will be judged by their panel of notable local authors including:

Kristi Charish
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Peter Darbyshire

You are invited to submit your entry by July 17th  along with a 25-50 word biographical sketch of yourself. Check out the following link at Storm Crow Tavern which sets out the rules and entry form. If you have questions, you can email them at coasterfiction@stormcrowtavern.com.

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