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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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Live Jazz Music At Tangent Café During International Jazz Festival

18 Jun

JazzDoubleBassThe Vancouver  International Jazz Festival kicks off June 18th and continues to  July 1st in and around Vancouver. The festival is now in its 30th year and features 1,800 artists from Canada and around the world.  There are 300 performances during the course of the festival that take place at 35 different venues around the City.   East Van’s Tangent Café located at 2095 Commercial Drive regularly features live jazz music and for this year’s jazz festival, will have a steady line up of talent to showcase. We’ve set out their schedule below along with the start times. There is a $10 cover charge for all of the shows.

Thursday, June 18th, Paul Rushka Trio, 8:30 pm
Friday, June 19th, Victor Noriega Quartet, 8 pm
Saturday, June 20th, Jodi Proznick Trio, 8 pm
Sunday, June 21st, Oliver Gannon Trio, 8 pm
Monday, June 22nd, Pram Trio, 8:30 pm
Tuesday, June 23rd, Davidovici/Blake/Poole, 8:30 pm
Wednesday, June 24th, Bruno Hubert Trio, 8 pm
Thursday, June 25th, Mike Allen Quartet, 8 pm
Friday, June 26th, Two Much Guitar, 8 pm
Saturday, June 27th, Brad Turner Quartet, 8:30 pm
Sunday, June 28th, Van Django, 8 pm
Monday, June 29th, James Danderfer, 8 pm
Tuesday, June 30th, Ihor Kukurudza Trio, 8:30 pm

Another venue which will be showing some musical talent is the Libra Room at 1608 Commercial Drive. There are also some free events at various venues around Vancouver. For a full rundown of events, visit Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

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Italian Day Returns To Commercial Drive Sunday June 14

11 Jun

ItalianDay2015ArtIn East Van, we are fortunate to be home to some great community events. One of our favourites happens this Sunday, Italian Day.  This is your chance to experience everything Italian from the food, to the music to the culture. The 5th Annual Italian Day returns to the Drive with this year’s theme being ART.  So you can expect to find Italian art showcased or you can make your own. The Britannia Community Centre will be hosting an interactive photo-art project between Noon and 3:00 pm in the Britannia Courtyard. As well, I’m Impressed Paper Arts Ltd. will have supplies available so you can create your own art.

The Drive which is very much alive most days of the week will be transformed for Italian Day where 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 from Italian honey bees to classic cars and motorcycles. The Italian Cultural Centre will be hosting live opera at the Grant Street music stage as well as jazz with Cory Weeds.  Of course, you can expect to find Federico Fuoco center stage drawing a crowd as always at the 2nd Avenue Main Stage along with Carmelina Cupo.

For the kids, there will be lots to see and do including arts and crafts in the Little Italy Kids Zone and Funswing amusement rides in Grandview Park as well as balloon twisting and face painting. Other street activities also include the Whitecaps/BMO Fun Zone with kicking cage as well as the Car2Go sponsored Bocce Court. Some new additions to this year’s festivities include a new third stage at Grandview Park which will showcase Italian martial arts demonstrations by Blood and Iron as well as improv by Theatre Temp from Templeton Secondary School and Marionette Puppet Shows by Carnival Sized Cinnamon Hearts. Opening Ceremonies kick off the event at Noon on the Main Stage at Second Avenue and festivities run till 8:00 pm.  There will certainly be something for everyone here. Come out and celebrate all things Italian!

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Italian Market At The Italian Cultural Centre Friday June 19 With A Little Extra Italy

9 Jun

ItalianMarket2015Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre invites you to celebrate Italian Heritage Month with them at the Italian Market on Friday, June 19th. The Italian Cultural Centre is located at 3075 Slocan Street (at Grandview Highway) in East Vancouver and has a number of great events taking place this month, so be sure to check out their website to see what they have lined up.  Although the night market runs every 3rd Friday of the month from 3:00 to 7:00 pm until November 20th, the market on June 19th will have a few extras.  There will be the usual produce grown locally including Fresh Roots and Glen Valley Artichoke Farms with artichokes, fresh greens, beans, tomatoes and herbs as well as Farmhouse Natural Cheeses, Sweet Thea Cakes with fresh pies and baking and Stepping Stone Bakery will have biscotti, cookies and squares. You can also expect to find fresh fruit, vegetables, handmade products by local artisans as well as food prepared by Il Centro’s Chef including house baked breads which will be available for purchase.  Take note seed lovers, Fresh Roots will also be conducting a seed exchange at their booth. So you can bring your seeds to trade with others attendees.

The Italian Market will also be hosting two local wineries, Kalala Organic Estate Winery and Township 7 Vineyards. And if that isn’t enough to make you come out, they are welcoming back Bella Gelataria who will be selling their gelato and Demiani Fine foods will be on hand with an assortment of pasta sauces, olive oils and balsamic vinegar and Orazio’s Olive Oil will be sampling their products. And if are wanting to learn to cook your pasta ‘just right’, Peter from Pasta Familga will be doing a pasta making demo from 5:30 to 6:15 pm which will cover all the basics. There will also be an outdoor ‘bistro’ set up where you can sit down and enjoy the food and live Italian music featuring Gianni Fuoco. There will be a few food trucks on hand for your dining pleasure including favourites Via Tevere Pizzeria Nepoletan and the Cannoli King with fresh filled cannoli, Sfogliatelle, chips and dip as well as Hotties with fresh pasta.  We expect this will be another great market. See you there!

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You Can Be A Maker With Vancouver Tool Library In East Van

1 Jun

VancouverToolLibraryToday we’d like to introduce you to another exhibitor at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. This one hails from the heart of East Vancouver.  The Vancouver Tool Library is a cooperative tool lending library located at 3448 Commercial Street. This a membership driven co-operative that lends a wide variety of tools for home repair, gardening, and bicycle maintenance much like your local library. They also offer affordable workshops on tool related skills and projects including a monthly Introduction to Tools Workshop.   This is an organization that is committed to building vibrant spaces that reflect a commitment to sustainability and at the same time create a community resource that will reduce the costs of improving and greening the places in which we live, work, and play.

Vancouver Tool Library will be participating in this year’s Mini Maker Faire at the PNE Forum on June 6th & 7th. They will be holding workshops over the course of the weekend making none other than holders for growlers. Which we think is rather fitting in that A) East Vancouver is now affectionately being called ‘Yeast Van’ for the number of craft breweries located in a small area and 2) Vancouver Craft Beer Week Festival will be taking place outdoor on the PNE Fair Grounds the very same weekend.  Perfect fit we think.

Various members/volunteers from the Vancouver Tool Library will be on hand as well to answer questions about their co-operative, tools they have available and yes new members are always welcome. Feel free to ask one of their members for more information when attending the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. We certainly will be. As an added bonus, for those that sign up to be a member during the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire, you will have the opportunity to win 1 of 6 2L growlers from Strange Fellows Brewing. Your newly made growler holder will hold two 2L growlers.  Pretty good incentive to sign up we think.  If you can’t attend the Mini Maker Faire but wish to learn more about becoming a member, you can email them directly at info@vancouvertoollibrary.com.

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River District Farmers Market May 30 to October 10

28 May

RiverDistrictMarketRiver District is hosting a Farmers Marketing starting this Saturday, May 30th. You can find this market at 8683 Kerr Street next to Romer’s Burger in SE Vancouver on the Fraser River.   The market will run from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.   You can expect to find many great local products at the market including produce, plants, baked goods, handmade goods, works by local artisans and live music.  We understand a few vendors on hand for the first market include Rocky Point Ice Cream Food Truck, Baguette & Co. and Stir-it-Up-Bike Caffe which if you haven’t seen is a pedal powered Caffè that uses Organic Marley Coffee. Stir-it-Up often has gluten-free snacks on hand so be sure to ask.  If you are not familiar with this area of Vancouver, the market is located at the foot of Kerr Street, one block South of SE Marine Drive and is easily accessible by car, bike or transit. The market will run every Saturday until October 10th.

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Phresha – On The Prowl Recycling Bike Parts Into Jewellery

26 May

10-phresha-ontheprowl4We have been highlighting makers in this year’s Vancouver Mini Maker being held at the PNE Forum June 6th & 7th.  In and amongst those 100 exhibitors will be Phresha Le VandalÃ.   Phresha we’ve learnt was born with a crayon in her hand. She is a college educated artist with experience in graphic design and advertising, but is deeply influenced by graffiti aesthetics. She won us over right there.  Phresha works in a variety of mediums ranging from conventional mediums like ink and paint to found objects and salvaged scraps in back alleys. At this year’s Mini Maker Faire, she will be featuring her side project and those salvaged items being “On The Prowl”.  Phresha began, as an experiment in sustainability, combining her love for bicycle culture, recycled materials and jewellery design and from that On The Prowl was born.

Phresha started off with making earrings out of bicycle inner tubes. She has expanded to making belts and bracelets out of bike tires. Phresha is a member of Hackspace where she frequently utilizes their laser cutter to design jewellery out of wood, rubber and upcycled leather. She will have many of her one of kind pieces available for display and sale at the upcoming Vancouver Mini Maker Faire.   If you aren’t able to catch her at the show, you can also find her jewellery at Rabbit & Empee at 1044 Commercial Drive, Puff Uptown 3255 Main Street, Puff Eastside, 1204 Commercial Drive,  Floral & Hardy Edible Plants & Gifts 688 East Hastings Street and Sugar Skulls Studio, 68 Water Street in Gastown. Phresha will also be participating in Car Free Day on Commercial Drive and will be located near Venables Street. Of course, so you can see for yourself how creative and resourceful Phresha is, we have hit her up for some photos of her unique one of a kind designs which she states you really need to see in person. So be sure to visit Phresha at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire.

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Photo Credit: Phresha Le VandalÃ

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Dogwood Brewing Offering Delicious Events For Vancouver Craft Beer Week

25 May

DogwoodBrewingIn case you hadn’t heard, Vancouver Craft Beer Week is coming from May 29th to June 7th.  A number of restaurants and craft breweries will be featuring special events during this period.  One of those include Dogwood Brewing Ltd. This is one of East Vancouver’s newest breweries located just off of SE Marine Drive by the Knight Street Bridge at 8284 Sherbrooke Street.  Dogwood Brewing is also Vancouver’s only organic brewery.  To celebrate Vancouver Craft Beer Week, they will be hosting a number of special events. Think oysters, chocolate, brunch, charcuterie and on it goes. They all sound pretty delicious to us.  All events take place at the brewery and some of the events have multiple time slots on the same day so you have a few options.  We invite you to check out this great new little brewery making some great beer.  We have set out below the special events they will be hosting.

May 29: The World’s Your Oyster Night  3:00-8:00 pm

May 30: SPRUCE up your Act! Lumberjack Cask Weekend 12:00-8:00 pm

May 31: Brewery Brunchies! 10:00 am, 11:30 am or 1:00 pm

June 3: Chocolate and Beer Pairing 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm

June 4: Charcuterie Pairing Night 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm

June 5: Come Fir another Lumberjack Extravaganza 3:00 – 8:00 pm

June 6: Hair of Dogwood Saturday Brunch 11:30 am or 1:00 pm

June 7: Hair of Dogwood Sunday Brunch 10:00 am 11:30 am or 1:00 pm

For more information, we invite you to check out Dogwood Brewing’s Facebook page or Eventbrite as some of the events you can purchase tickets in advance. Of course, you are welcome to pop by their Tasting Room anytime to check out their beers. Dogwood Brewing is open Wednesday & Thursday evenings from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Friday from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Saturday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm and Sundays 11:30 am – 5:00 pm.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dogwood Brewing Ltd.

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East Van Vintage Car & Bike Show At The Whip Restaurant May 24

22 May

VintageShowThe Whip Restaurant, 209 E. 6th Avenue, is hosting the East Van Vintage Car and Bike Show this Sunday, May 24th, 2015.  The event now in its 8th year and will show case pre 1989 cars, trucks and bikes. The Whip will also be putting on a BBQ with an extended licensed patio. There will be live music by none other than Cousin Harley. So good food, good tunes, some car history, we are sure it will draw a good crowd.  The event kicks off at 11:00 am and runs till 4:00 pm.

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