Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre invites you to their Italian Night Market starting Friday, August 15th at the Italian Cultural Centre located at 3075 Slocan Street (at Grandview Highway) in East Vancouver. The Night Market will run every 3rd Friday of the month from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm until Friday, November 21st. Specifically: August 15th, September 19th, October 17 and Friday, November 21st.
The first of it’s kind in Vancouver, the market aims to bring together the tastes of Italy with produce grown locally. You can expect to find fresh fruit, vegetables, handmade products by local artisans as well as food prepared by Il Centro’s Chef. Also on hand, will be live Italian music featuring mandolin and accordion as well as activities for the kids.
Have you always wanted to learn a bit of Italian? If so, the first 50 shoppers on Friday, August 15th will receive a coupon for a 10% discount on Italian Language Classes offered at Il Centro.
You’re invited to the 7th Annual Macdonald Park Block Party in the South Hill area. This is a free, fun, family event which will feature a community potluck, bike parade and bike decorating, hula hoops galore, kids’ obstacle course, street hockey, face painting, and a well-loved drum circle. You are invited to bring your friends and food to share. Everyone is welcome. The event takes place this Saturday, July 26th from 11:00am to 3:00 pm at MacDonald Park which is located between Fraser and Main Street along the 45th Avenue Bikeway. The organizers are also looking for help cleaning up after the party. If you’re interested in getting involved, you are asked to email them at southhill.neighbours@gmail.com.
Do you have fruit trees or grape vines on your property and need a hand picking the fruit? Will you be away this summer and don’t want to see your fruit go to waste? Or maybe you’re interested in picking and eating local produce. Many Hands Fruit Share has the equipment, all they need are willing workers and tree owners. This program connects local residents with fruit to spare and neighbours who care. All fruit will be divided between the property owner/renter and the volunteer pickers. Many Hands Fruit Share will be picking fruit now through September. If you’d like to be involved, contact southhill.neighbours@gmail.com.
Photo Credit: Zsuzsanna Kilian
River District is pleased to announce the launch of their Food Truck Festival which kicks off on Sunday, July 27th. The Festival will be located at East Kent Avenue at Kinross Street (located between Boundary Road and Kerr Street). They are still in the process of compiling vendors, so if you are a food truck vendor and interested, fill out the application form. At present, they have a few local food trucks lined up including San Juan Food Truck, Sweet Ride Fro Yo and Tandoori Tikka Dogs. Keep an eye on their website for updates on what we expect will be a growing list of vendors The Festival will take place every Sunday from July 27th to August 24th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
UPDATE: River District has announced this event has now been postponed until 2015.
Graze Restaurant invites you to join them Thursdays for Date Night where you and your partner-in-crime can enjoy a steal of a deal. You and your guest will receive a 3 course Prix Fixe menu for $50. If you don’t know the restaurant, Graze has a creative plant-based menu that incorporates locally and organically produced ingredients including those grown in their own garden. The interior is lovely and cozy perfect for a ‘date’, but they also have an outdoor patio if you wish to hang on the deck and catch a few rays at the end of the day. To make your reservation, give them a call at T: 604.620.8822. Graze Restaurant is located at 3980 Fraser Street just North of King Edward Avenue.
Photo Credit: Graze Restaurant
The Trout Lake Community Center, 3360 Victoria Drive, begins their weekly free outdoor Summer Concert Series Wednesday, July 2nd at 6:30 p.m. with Deanna Knight & the Hot Club of Mars. This group will have you travelling back in time to the early jazz era of the 1920s and 1930s with some of Vancouver’s most eclectic gypsy-jazz ensembles. The following week, July 9th you will find the Sanctuary All Stars which is a 17 piece jazz band. July 16th Highrise Lonesome will entertain you with bluegrass music. July 23rd brings the Late Thaw Band playing country music which will be sure to pull a few heart strings. July 30th Robin Layne and Paul Bray team up for the first time for a duo collaboration of improvised music August 6th brings String Fever which is an eclectic string band with various influences including jazz, folk, Celtic, newgrass, classical and world to name but a few. August 13th the Jeff Stanfield Band is on deck with acoustic folk and blues. August 20th the Rio Samaya Band brings you original songs and poetry that combine Latin, reggae and rhumba. Lastly, on August 27th Kara-Kata Afrobeat Group brings you a mix of many sounds including reggae, Calypso, gospel, modern funk, jazz, blues, salsa and more.
All performances will be held on the East side of Trout Lake Community Centre. This year there will also be a BBQ and a kids art station. You are invited to bring a blanket, bring the family, your friends and come enjoy the music! Dancing is encouraged.
I had the pleasure of attending the recent Made In Strathcona Tours hosted by the Strathcona BIA and organized with the assistance of My Loud Speaker. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the businesses in East Vancouver like Blake Hanacek founder of AGRO Roasters located at 550 Clark Drive. Blake is truly passionate about all aspects of coffee everything from growing the beans, to farming, to roasting and is well versed in the science behind what makes a good cup of coffee. Our second stop was Propellor Design tucked away at 1128 East Georgia Street just North of La Casa Gelato and situated directly across the street from Admiral Seymour Elementary School. Propellor Design is a multi-disciplinary design studio. The principals at Propellor Design create lighting, furniture, sculptures and more. Many of their custom lighting designs have landed in restaurants across North America. You can see a sample of their work next time you visit the lobby of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
After our tour of these East Vancouver businesses, we were invited for wine, appetizers and a mix and mingle at the newly branded Settlement Building (formerly Vancouver Urban Winery), 55 Dunlevy Street. The Settlement Building holds the Fresh Tap wine system which packages wines in 19.5L stainless steel kegs. Add to that, they have some 36 wines on tap for tastings. The Settlement Building is now home to newcomer the Belgard Kitchen a restaurant serving lunch/brunch and dinner which seats up to 65 people. The food is prepared by chef and part-owner, Reuben Major, who brings 18 years of restaurant experience with him. Mia Stainsby of the Vancouver Sun just did a delicious review of the food. To learn more about her rundown, visit the Vancouver Sun. Today this busy group of entrepreneurs officially launch Postmark Brewing, East Van’s newest craft brewery. Postmark Brewing will introduce you to 4 new beers specifically, Postmark Pilsner (a clean, refreshing hybrid Pils brewed with Czech yeast, German malt and traditional Noble hops), Postmark IPA (a well-structured American Red IPA brewed with Simcoe, a Postmark Stout (a semi-light bodied stout with a dry bitterness and the complex notes of chocolate and coffee and the one I have my eye on Postmark Hefe (a dry Bavarian style Weiss beer brewed with lemon zest and local raspberries. I would be remiss if I forgot to mention the drive by growler refills that are coming.
Kudos to all those involved in organizing the Made In Strathcona Tours. It was great to meet the faces behind the local businesses and get to learn more about what they do and the many ways in which they contribute to their surrounding communities. Stay tuned for news on future tours, we hear they will be back for another round.
The Renfrew Café (also known as the Cafe for Contemporary Arts), 826 Renfrew Street, opens its doors today for a soft opening from June 10th – 12th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. They will be doing a little promo for all their new neighbours during the soft opening. Purchase one of their delicious pies and receive a free drink (hot or cold). Pie flavours include Beef & Kimchi, Mushroom & Spinach and Classic Apple. Prices range from $4.00 – $6.50. The cafe will be serving Elysian Coffee and Oollo Tea. They will also have a supply of organic soda on hand. Their official Grand Opening will take place on Wednesday, June 18th. Stop by and say hello.
Vancouver Farmers Market at Thornton Park across from the VIA Rail Station kicks off today at 3:00 pm until 7:00 pm. You can expect to find 26 vendors on hand offering local and organic produce, seafood, meat, coffee, cheese, flowers, jewellery, bread, chocolate, honey and much more. In case you missed the news, local strawberries are out. You are bound to find some at the market. Come out and support your local makers!
Remember if are planning to take the Skytrain to make your way to this market, you will need to watch for specific trains that stop only at Main Street while the Main Street Skytrain Station is under construction.
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