East Van is home to many great community events and June is shaping up to be a busy month. We can look forward to Car Free Day, The Italian Market, East Van Garden Tour, but one of our favourites is coming up Italian Day on Sunday, June 12th. This is your chance to experience everything Italian from food, to music to culture. Now in its 7th year, the Drive will basically be transformed into one large piazza where you can wander from one end of the Drive to the other. This year’s theme is Mangiamo! Let’s Eat! As you might expect, Italian food will be showcased and they do it so well. There will be lots of events, live music and entertainment along the Drive throughout the day. The Britannia Community Centre will also host a special Pasta Jewellery project led by East Van artist Paula Luther. This will be a free outdoor workshop set up in the Napier Greenway for pasta lovers of any age. It’s on a drop-in basis and all the materials are supplied. The Pasta Jewellery Project runs from Noon to 4:00 pm. Also for the kids, there will be arts and crafts in the Little Italy Kids Zone and Funswing amusement rides in Grandview Park as well as balloon twisting and face painting. Some other fun activities include the Whitecaps/BMO Fun Zone with kicking cage as well as the very popular Bocce Court.
On Italian Day, you will be able to walk the Drive from Broadway to Venables and find over 100 merchants and guest vendors, a line up of food trucks and carts, more than 20 restaurant patios and an array of things to see and do. Of course, we do expect to find Federico Fuoco center stage drawing a crowd as always at the 2nd Avenue Main Stage. There is also a special feature planned to celebrate the official ‘Little Italy’ designation which pays tribute to over 50 years of Italian heritage on Commercial Drive. There have been 8 blocks officially sanctioned Little Italy by the City of Vancouver which will be christened with banners and crosswalks on June 12th. Come out and celebrate all things Italian!
ILiveInEastVan.com 
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