Archive | November, 2020

Holiday Favourite East Van Panto Goes Digital This December

30 Nov
One of our favourite things in December is attending the East Van Panto at The Cultch. It’s always good fun with lots of laughs for all ages. And honestly couldn’t we all use a few more laughs this year? For its 8th season, Theatre Replacement’s Artistic Directors James Long and Maiko Yamamoto are bringing the production digital direct to your living room.

In 2020’s Panto Come Home!  Artistic Directors James Long and Maiko Yamamoto sneak into the York to find a very sad pyjama clad Veda Hille parked at her piano. Seems she’s moved into the theatre and has been spending her days trying to relive Panto memories of old. In an attempt to cheer her up they call up a bunch of their favourite Panto friends to sing and dance her best East Van Panto hits. Things go sideways fast when the Phanto of the Panto swoops in. He’s been watching these things ever since Jack and the Beanstalk opened the York 8 years ago and has a few choice ideas on how to make this year’s Panto really work. We hear physically-distanced antics then ensue.

Expect a silly production as favourites from Pantos past come together to remix the best of the last seven Pantos into a brand new holiday extravaganza. From the ‘Cheese Song’ to the BC Ferry Godmother, Panto Come Home! is guaranteed fun for the whole family. So grab your front row seat where you can cheer, sing and dance along with the show in the comfort of your home, hey in your PJs if you want. Panto Come Home! runs December 17-27, 2020. Single tickets start from $35 with a Family Box available with other options. To learn more or purchase your ticket(s), visit The Cultch.

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Buy Local This Holiday Season

26 Nov

We don’t have to tell you it’s been a rough year for small business. On recently updating our Places We Love listing, we were saddened to remove some favourite spots no longer in business like Doctor Vigari Gallery and The Flower Box. These were two long time staples on Commercial Drive. As you’ve likely heard, it’s important to shop local this holiday season if you wish to see these businesses on the other side of the pandemic. We have always been passionate about supporting our local business community and wish to remind folks these local businesses are the ones that provide donations for your school fundraisers, sports clubs and other community events. Now they need YOU.

Local business woman and social entrepreneur, Elizabeth McKitrick, who owns Second Nature Home in Cedar Cottage, was recently featured on CTV News discussing her thoughts on shopping local. McKitrick said she’s hoping people “just don’t go to Amazon.” “It’s like a black hole, really, for cash,” she said. “It’s going into Jeff Bezo’s pocket. He’s the wealthiest person in the world, and I just think, ‘Why?’ We have other ways of helping out communities.” And if you missed the recent CBC Marketplace episode showing where all your Amazon returns go, you may wish to enlighten yourself.

When gift shopping this holiday season, you have the opportunity to make a difference and support those makers and creators living among us. They are those micro businesses, side gigs and entrepreneurs trying to stay afloat and stores like McKitrick’s support these businesses. So instead of lining the pockets of the richest man in the world, how about lining the pocket of your neighbour down the street or across town?

To give you a starting point, we’ve set out a few of our favourite stores for shopping local in East Van. One of the many reasons we likes these stores is because they all support other local artisans, makers and small business.  So visit them in person or online and see what items they have that might make that perfect gift for someone special this holiday season.

Second Nature Home

Second Nature Home is a home décor boutique located at 3565 Commercial Street in Cedar Cottage.  The store has a wide range of items outside of home décor including  jewellery, gifts for the foodie in your life, something cute for the new baby or new mom and much more. They are open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sundays from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. They will also be open till 8:00 on Wednesday in December.

Plenty + Spare

Plenty + Spare is located at 2168 East Hasting Street. It’s easy to miss by the smells of their neighbour Delish Gluten Free Bakery which can draw you in by your nose literally, but do stop into Plenty + Spare. They create an array of beautiful handmade bath and beauty products and stock a number of other items perfect for gift giving. Added bonus, they’ve just updated their website for online shopping and offer store pick up as well as free shipping for orders over $60.

Giving Gifts

Giving Gifts is a beautiful space located at 4570 Main Street. The store tucked between 30th & 29th Avenue is made of up 5 rooms packed with items from over 100 local as well as fair trade artists from around the world.  It is a gift giving boutique so you will easily be able to pick up a few gifts for just about any age. They are open Monday to Saturday from Noon to 6:00 pm and Sundays Noon to 5:00 pm.

Jackson’s General Store

Jackson’s General Store located at 1490 Kingsway (at Dumfries) near Knight Street. This space is the epitome of cool with a distinct retro vibe. Store owner, Mike Jackson, has created an eclectic mix of unique items in store which features clothing, gourmet food, books and if you are looking for a candy fix that is a blast from the past, this is your spot. Jackson’s General Store has also created some Care Boxes which support local brands and can be delivered to your door. Jackson’s General Store is open Monday to Saturday 11:00 am to 5:30 pm and Sundays 12:00 to 5:00 pm.

The Coast Goods

The Coast Goods has just opened their doors in the last couple of months. They are located at 1302 Victoria Drive. This is great neighbourhood shop that focuses ethically sourced home decor and giftware again supporting our local independent artisans. They are open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays. Be sure to check them out and give them a follows on Instagram.

Olive & Wild

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention this beautiful shop located at 4391 Main Street. They have an amazing array of home decor items and lots of great things on hand for gift giving. They feature local as well as international artists. Olive & Wild is open 7 days a week.

Why we should Shop Local.

For every $100 you spend with a local business, $46 is re-circulated back into the BC economy (vs $18 for multi nationals). Small business re-circulates 2.6 times more revenue in the local economy as do chains. 

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One Seed One Community Project: 2021 Growing Season

25 Nov

The Grandview Woodland Community Seed Library has a new initiative for 2021 that will be run virtually in light of COVID-19. The aim is to teach people how to grow food and save seeds. Those that participate will have the opportunity to learn about planting, harvesting and the seed saving process. Organizers have selected four things to grow that do well in containers so if you don’t have a yard or garden, you will still have the opportunity to participate from your apartment balcony. Participants will learn to grow Oregon Sugar Pod Peas, Lacinato Kale, Little Red Pear Tomatos and Purple Peacock Beans.

To be eligible to participate in this project, you must live in Grandview Woodland, Strathcona, Hastings Sunrise, Mount Pleasant, Kensington-Cedar Cottage or Renfrew-Collingwood. You must also have a personal email address, access to email and internet to be able to receive information and support over the growing season. To learn more, visit One Seed One Community.

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Sweet Thea Holiday Pop Up Shop On Main Street

17 Nov

If you love your baked goods as much we do, you’ll be excited to hear Sweet Thea Bakery is hosting a Pop Up Shop at 4305 Main Street for the upcoming holiday season. If you’ve attended any artisan markets and Christmas craft fairs around Metro Vancouver, you will no doubt seen them.  But, of course, due to the pandemic we all know that many of these in person events are not happening this year. But the good news for us is that Sweet Thea Bakery is offering their delicious baked goods at their Pop Up Shop on Main Street.  Some of the goodies you will find there include their delish Ginger Cookies, Chocolava Cookies, Honey Hearts, Chocolate Lebkuchen Cookies and Stollen.  If that isn’t enough, they have curated some of their market favourites for their Pop Up Shop for you to purchase while picking up some baking. Some of these include maple syrup, roasted nuts, small batch bean to bar chocolate bars, honey, hot sauces, jams and mustards.  Perfect gifts for the food lover or well, just you. If you can’t make it to their Pop Up Shop, we have more good news. They are offering Canada Post deliveries, or pick up at 3 different locations – Main Street Pop Up, Tsawwassen Quay Market (must be taking a BC Ferry to access) and their Langley Shop.  To place your order, visit them online at Sweet Thea Bakery or stop by their Pop Up Shop at 4305 Main Street which is open 11:00 am to 6:00 pm most days, but is open till 7:00 pm on Fridays.  Treat yourself and your family to some amazing baked goods while at the same time supporting a local business.

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Do You Want What I’ve Got? A Craigslist Cantata Live To Your Living Room Nov. 19-22

7 Nov

The Cultch invites you to join a cast of wild and wacky characters from the Craigslist community as they attempt to buy and sell online, all the while longing and searching for human connection. Do You Want What I’ve Got? A Craigslist Cantata revisits one of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows to come out of Vancouver. The upcoming production comes with a fresh, new perspective on social isolation and is live-streamed from The Cultch’s Historic Theatre November 19- 22, 2020. What you can expect is a witty and poignant exploration of physical distancing along with original songs such as 300 Stuffed Penguins, Chili Eating Buddy and Decapitated Dolls. The production features the incredibly talented local cast including, Meaghan Chenosky, Josh Epstein, Chirag Naik, Amanda Sum, Andrew Wheeler and choreography by Amanda Testini. The production is written by the talented Veda Hille, Bill Richardson and Amiel Gladstone. Tickets start from $29 for a 1 viewer household and $58 for a 2 viewer household. To grab your ticket(s), visit The Cultch.

“Must-see theatre…one of the most unique and entertaining theatrical concoctions this town has seen in many a year”
– JERRY WASSERMAN, THE PROVINCE 

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