The Vancouver International Jazz Festival kicks off June 24th and continues to July 3rd in and around Vancouver. The festival is now in its 31st year and features an array of artists from Canada and around the world. There are 300 performances during the course of the festival that take place at various 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 these shows.
June 24 – Two Much Guitar!
June 25 – Steve Kaldestad Trio
June 26 – Nobuki Takamen Trio
June 29 – Autobahn
June 30 – Victor Noriega Quartet
July 2 – Anger Management
July 3- Meghan Gilhespy Quartet
Another venue that was scheduled to be showcasing some jazz, that being The Libra Room, has closed unexpectedly until mid-July. We’ve heard The Roma on Commercial Drive has taken on their line up for the jazz festival. We’ve set out the previously scheduled line up below. Note, due to change in the venue there could be some slight changes. For a full rundown of events happening around the City, visit Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
June 24 – The Paris Trio
June 25 – The Grand Trio
June 26 – Deanna Knight and the Hot Club of Mars 7 pm
June 26 – Mostly Marley 9 pm
June 27 – Monks’ Dream 7 pm
June. 27 – Alvaro Rojas 9 pm
June 28 – Bruno Solo Piano 5 pm
June 28 – Alvaro Rojas Trio 9 pm
June 29 – Jon Roper 7 pm
June 29 – Zak Youssef 9 pm
June 30 – Hot Club of Mars 7 pm
June 30 – Tim Sars Band 8 pm
July 1 – Bruno Piano Trio +1 7 pm
July 1 – Jay Leonard Jautco 8 pm
July 2 – Winston Minkler Band 7 pm
July 2 – Alma Chevere 9 pm
July 3 – Los Duendes Latin Band
One of the biggest community events in East Van happens this Sunday, Italian Day which to us is like one big street party. We love it because not only does it celebrate all things Italian, which we love, but wander down the streets and you will find a whole host of cultures and ethnicities represented along this stretch of Commercial Drive. One of the biggest line ups each and every year is the Portuguese Club which has become known for their BBQ’d sardines and chicken. Federico’s Supper Club always has a great patio set up which makes you feel like you are back in Italy in a piazza with all the hustle and bustle going by. This is one of our favourite events so on this Foto Friday we leave you with some of our favourite photos of Italian Day from past years. We hope to see you there.
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The Tomo Suru Players brings you 8 short plays that will be performed every night between June 14th and 18th at the 
The warmer weather brings an array of beautiful blooms. These days we are taking more of an interest in those flowers that attract bees such as lavender, poppies and sunflowers. We recently did a little investigating into which flowers are most attractive to bees. Did you know it’s single petal flowers? Apparently, a single row of petals is more attractive and easier for bees to reach the pollen. We found a simple rundown on Wikihow that sets out a great list of tips and plants including herbs, shrubs and trees. Some of the plants listed include Asters, Cosmos, Clover, Crocuses, Dahlias, Floxglove, Geraniums, Hollyhocks, Hyacinths, Marigolds, Poppies, Roses, Snowdrops, Sunflowers and Zinnias. If you prefer herbs, there’s a long list that bees favour including mint, rosemary and sage. For more ideas and information, check out 
You are invited to check out the work of some of Vancouver’s best young independent filmmakers at the Rio Theatre on Sunday, June 5th. The 
