You are invited to learn the art of mosaics at the Sunset Community Centre this September. They will be hosting 3 free workshops for their Mosaic Stepping Stone Project which will be led by an experienced artist. You will learn to create glass tile mosaic stepping stones. The mosaic stepping stones you create will be installed in an outdoor space adjacent to the community centre’s lobby. Your creative work will then become part of the community for all to see and enjoy. The first workshop gets underway on Monday, September 5th at 10:30 am and is scheduled to be a two hour Family Workshop. The next two hour workshop gets underway on Friday, September 16th at 2:00 pm and is scheduled as an Adult Workshop with a Youth Workshop to follow later in the day at 4:15 pm. Again, the workshops are free and materials will be supplied. Step up and get creative.
Mosaic Stepping Stone Project This September At Sunset Community Centre
23 Aug
Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival September 17th & Lantern Workshops
22 Aug
The Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival returns Saturday, September 17, 2016. If you are unfamiliar with this event, the 1st annual Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival took place in 2003 and was created by artist Carmen Rosen in collaboration with the community. This event celebrates the full moon and harvest abundance while honouring diverse cultural traditions. The moon festival will highlight art, music and environmental stewardship. The event gets under way with the Harvest Fair at 4:00 pm which will feature a number of booths from local organizations, artisans, and non-profit groups. There will also be live music, a selection of hot food and their infamous Harvest Fair competition.
At 7:00 pm, the Twilight Lantern Walk begins with a parade of lanterns from Slocan Park to Renfrew Park which is led by a giant moon lantern. You are invited to bring your own lantern and walk the trails along the ravine accompanied by live music as night falls. Passing by the river-stone labyrinth, the procession will be invited to a walking meditation surrounded by music and light. The parade then passes by other lantern installations and surprise performances until it reaches Renfrew Park at nightfall, for more live music, food and of course, the moon.
Leading up to the big event on September 17th, there will be a number of events including workshops for making lanterns. There are three types of lanterns being made, including globe lanterns, salmon lanterns and glass jar lanterns. There is a small cost for making 
each lantern which varies between $10 and $25 depending on which lantern you choose to make. All workshops will be held at the Slocan Park Field House at 2750 E. 29th Avenue which is located next to the 29th Avenue Skytrain Station. We have set out the dates of the workshops below:
September 6th: Globe Lanterns
September 7th: Globe lanterns
September 8th: Salmon Lanterns
September 9th: Salmon Lanterns
September 12th: Globe Lanterns
September 13th: Globe Lanterns
September 14th: Glass Jar Lanterns
September 15th: Glass Jar Lanterns
For more details, visit Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival or their Facebook page. This is a great community event that is fun for all ages along with great photo opportunities.
Photo Credit:Glass Jar Lanterns by Ben Rosen-Purcell
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The Little Mountain Pop Up Shop Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary August 16-21
18 Aug
The Little Mountain Pop Up Shop is a great space located at 4386 Main Street. If you haven’t already checked out this amazing space, we highly recommend you do. Outside of it being a beautiful space run by two fantastic ladies, it is an entrepreneurial hub. Right now, creators of this space, Natasha and Alice are celebrating 1 year in this space. They have created an amazing showcase of over 20 local makers for a special One Year Anniversary Pop Up Shop which includes:
Explorer’s Press
Bag Of Holding
Missy May Bags
SAXX Underwear
RVCA
Nine O’Clock Gun
MACCS
Smash + Tess
Tuck Shop Trading Co.
Feelin’ It Decals
Lisa Warren Pottery
Bloc
G Ceramic And Co
Agnes in August
Lover’s Tempo
Amara Blue Designs
Erinlaura
Wheat Kids Clothing
Mawdsleyloves
Glitter & Spice
Beauty In The Backcountry
Peregrine Supply Co.
West Coast & Co
KAITCREATIVE
Sarah Hammond Studio
Tuzla Interiors
One of many makers participating in this Pop Up Shop is East Van’s Amara Blue Designs. Creator, Kassandra Taylor, makes beautiful hand stamped jewellery which will be available for this Pop Up Shop.
On Thursday, August 18th, you are invited to a celebration night with treats from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm which will feature Salt Spring Coffee cold brews and beers from Postmark Brewing. All donations will go toward a friend’s Ride to Conquer Cancer fundraiser. The Pop Up Shop is open 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily until Sunday, August 21st.
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Vine Arts Festival Happens August 17-20
17 Aug
Over 40 artists will be participating in the 2nd Annual Vine Arts Festival starting August 17th. This is a community-driven event which features visual and performing artists along with eco-conscious community leaders, herbalists, musicians, urban farmers and woodcarvers. The festival is a celebration of the Coast Salish landscape with a focus on re-wilding the city. There are a number of performances and eco-events taking place in 4 East Vancouver parks specifically Maclean Park, Norquay Park, Trout Lake Park and Pandora Park. At one of the events, Lori Wiedenhammer, author of Victory Garden For Bees will be on hand running workshops as will Lori Snyder, who is a First Nations herbalist and urban foraging expert. An interesting new addition to this year’s festival includes the Grass-Roots Project. The director, Heather Lamoureux has commissioned three activists to create works focusing on art as a tool for social change. Also, there will be a ‘teaser showcase’ of an upcoming youth project from The Only Animal Theatre Company which will be premiering at the Vancouver Fringe Festival called ‘Generation Hot’. For a full rundown of what events are happening in which park, we invite you to check out their website which has all the details. Note, all the events are free and the main event takes place this Saturday, August 20th at Trout Lake/John Hendry Park from Noon to 7:00 pm.
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The Drive Coffee Bar (formerly Café Napoli) Featuring East Van Artists
15 Aug
We recently sat down with Kenny Vannucci, co-owner of The Drive Coffee Bar (formerly Café Napoli) on Commercial Drive near 1st Avenue. This coffee shop has been transformed from its former space with white walls, a unique coffee bar and some beautiful brick work. One feature wall in the back showcases all of Kenny’s photos taken around East Van. The rest of the space has been set aside to showcase East Van artists. The Drive Coffee Bar doesn’t take commissions, but encourages the artists to host a gallery night during the month. The current artist featured caught our eye, Kathryn McPhee. She has a great eye for colour and applies elements of graffiti and animation. She uses oil pastels, acrylics and spray paint. Kathryn has been drawing and painting since she was a child and currently works out of The Arts Factory which is a mixed-use arts facility in a transformed warehouse at 281 Industrial Avenue. Last year, Kathryn participated in the Eastside Culture Crawl for the first time and her work was showcased at the Firehall Culture Crawl Exhibition which featured the works of new artists. She currently keeps busy with commissioned works, but she will be hosting a Gallery Night at The Drive Coffee Bar on Wednesday, August 24th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Kathryn will be on hand to chat and has some local musicians lined up for the evening including Sadie Campbell and Cam Labelle doing an acoustic set. Stop by and check out this talented artist and this great new space on the Drive.
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KnifeWear Moves To Permanent Home At 4215 Main Street
11 Aug
Knifewear moves from Pop Up Shop on East Hastings to their permanent home at 4215 Main Street. If you love to cook, then this is the store for you. They have amazingly beautiful quality knives from Japan. Their Grand Opening is now underway with some special events lined up for the opening. August 11 – 16 they will be hosting a Knifewear Garage Sale. Twice a year, owner, Kevin Kent, travels to Japan to meet with blacksmiths and sources out one-of-a-kind finds, some lightly used samples knives and a few unusual items thrown in for good measure. We understand prices start from $75 for the Garage Sale. On August 20th, they will have on hand a 27th generation Master Blacksmith, Moritaka Hamono from 9:00 am to 11:00 am who will be available to personalize your knife. As an added bonus, knives are currently 10% off at all locations and online at KnifeWear.com until the end of August. Stop by and check out their permanent home which is in the midst of many great shops on Main Street.
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Best of Craft BC At The Wise Hall August 17th
10 Aug
Liberty Merchant Company presents the Best of Craft BC tasting event on Wednesday, August 17th at the Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac Street. The event will feature craft beers, cider, mead and spirits from all over BC. There will also be some tasty samplings from Commercial Drive food purveyors. This event is also a fundraiser for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society which helps provide food for up to 25,000 people in need each week. All ticket sales and draw prizes directly support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Tickets are $24.99 each plus a food donation (canned tomatoes have been requested). You can purchase tickets at all Liberty Wine Merchant locations. In East Vancouver, visit them at 1622 Commercial Drive or call them at 604.633.1922. The event gets under way at 7:00 p.m. and goes till 9:00 pm.
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New In Town: Gift-A-Green – The Greeting Card That Grows
4 Aug
It’s been a little while since we’ve featured a new business in East Van and we recently came across something we loved. It’s called Gift-A-Green and it’s another great thing to come out of the creative space that is the MakerLabs. Cam Auge and Bryan Kinney have based their business in Strathcona and are single handedly bringing “LIFE” back to the greeting card industry. What is “Gift-A-Green”? It’s much like a postcard, but it’s actually a pouch with seeds for micro-greens which grow in the pouch itself. And yes, it’s edible, that is the point. Once you’ve purchased the pouch, you just write your personal message to the recipient, their name and address, affix a stamp and pop in the mail. For the receiver of the Gift-A-Green, you just tear along the dotted line, remove the small bag filled with seeds and add water to it, place the pouch in a sunny location and watch the microgreens grow. They should be ready to eat in about 14 days time. The greetings currently come in 5 themes including Thank You, Congratulations, I Love You, Thinking Of You and Happy Birthday. All the seeds are locally sourced and non GMO. You can purchase their greeting cards online for $9.95 for a single Gift-A-Green or all 5 messages for $45.95. You can also find these unique greeting cards locally at KimPrints in Gastown, Benny’s Market at 598 Union Street, MakerLabs Store, also Vancouver Special at 3612 Main Street, Walrus, Vancouver Art Gallery, Indigo and Garden Works. You can bet we will be watching this young company grow and we hear via the grapevine they will be featured on the upcoming season of Dragons’ Den that starts this September. In the meantime, we invite you to check out their very cool informative website.
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Exhibit Opening Every Day in Every Way At The Cultch Gallery August 4th
3 Aug
The Gallery at The Cultch invites you to an opening reception this Thursday, August 4th. It is a group exhibition from Kickstart Disability Arts & Culture which features artists living with disabilities. We are thrilled to see some great artists in this mix including one we’ve featured here at ILiveInEastVan.com, that being L.J. Throstle. Other artists include Deborah Leigh, whose work is pictured to the left, Dawn Margaret Enman, Take5 and Trish Smith. All the artists will be on hand for this reception which kicks off at 6:00 pm and runs till 8:00 pm. This is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend. If you miss the opening reception, the exhibit will run until August 27th.
Image by Deborah Leigh
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Fundraiser At Stateside Craft August 15th for Pediatric Transplant Research
2 Aug
You are invited to Stateside Craft on Monday, August 15th for a burger, fries and refreshment of your choice, being beer, wine or a highball. This event is hosted by Sheena & Adam Lee, Elaine Yong and Aaron McArthur. The inspiration for this event is a lovely girl named Addison who had a heart transplant at 3 weeks old. Addison recently celebrated her 5th birthday or ‘heart-iversary’ and is doing well. The facts are that the long-term survival rate for transplant receipts is only 50% at 10 years. There is more awareness in recent years of organ donors and the need for them, but that is only part of the equation. Research is needed to ensure transplant recipients lead long and healthy lives. All of the funds raised on August 15th go directly towards the great work BC scientists are doing in this area. There are 175 tickets to be sold at only $25 for such a great cause. Kids are welcome to join you. Did we mention, there will be a raffle with some great prizes on hand? You are asked to RSVP by registering for free through the Eventbrite page and organizers will contact you with details on how you can pay for your ticket. If payment is collected through Eventbrite, there is of course a fee. They would like to see every penny go to transplant research. Come out and support this worthwhile cause.
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