In case it slipped your mind, April Fool’s Day is Wednesday, April 1st. For this ‘fun’ day on the calendar, the Rio Theatre, 1660 East Broadway, will be showing the ultimate cult classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show not once but twice. If you haven’t seen the film, it has a newly engaged couple, Brad and Janet, who encounter a few monsters, a sweet transvestite in a castle and there is, of course, lots to sing and dance about, in particular the “Time Warp”. This is a great opportunity to dress up and have some fun with your favourite character. Those with costumes get to see the show for $8.00 and those without costumes $10. The movie will show first at 7:00 pm which will be open to all ages. Then a second showing takes place at 9:45 pm for 19+ crowd which will include an exclusive April Fool’s cut of the movie featuring some Geekenders performers. Advance tickets are available online at Rio Theatre.
Double Bill Of Rocky Horror Picture Show Rio Theatre April 1st
31 Mar
Workshop On Small Space Vegetable Gardens At Figaro’s Garden April 11th
30 Mar
Our favourite garden shop, Figaro’s Garden, 1896 Victoria Drive is hosting a hands on workshop on Small Space Vegetable Gardens. The workshop will be led by Andrea Bellamy, author of the award winning blog Heavy Petal. Andrea will be sharing her tips on small space gardening. Whether you wish to create an edible garden in a small yard, an apartment balcony or a small plot in a community garden, she will provide lots of great advice to help your garden grow. The workshop will be held on Saturday, April 11th from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm. Although there is no cost for the workshop, there is a $7 fee to cover the cost of supplies, being a post, soil and seeds. To register, contact Figaro’s Garden at T: 604.253.1696 or by email at info(at)figarosgarden.ca.
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Must See: What It Is! At The Cottage Bistro April 8th
27 Mar
You are invited to the Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, on Wednesday, April 8th to listen to What It Is! This is a group of four amazing East Van ladies, being Mebrat “Mimi” Beyene, Cass King, Patti Powell and Carol Wiedemann. Together they are a powerhouse of a cappella soul. Their sound is steeped in the soulful sounds of such greats as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Etta James. They are without a doubt engaging performers and will be sure to have you singing and clapping along with them. These ladies bring heart to their East Van Soul. If you get the chance, be sure to stop by the Cottage Bistro on April 8th. The ladies take the stage at 8:30 pm. The event is pay what you can.
Photo Credit: What It Is!
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1st Annual Beer League BASH April 4th Britannia Community Rink
23 Mar
You are invited to the First Annual Beer League BASH being presented by Bomber Brewing. The event is a fundraiser with all proceeds going to BASH, Britannia After School Hockey. The event will take place at the Britannia Community Rink, 1661 Napier Street. On hand during this event, will be 11 local craft breweries pouring tasters on the rink concourse. At the same time, 4 craft brewery teams, Bomber, Red Truck, Parallel 49 and the ‘Craft Beer All-Stars’ will be having a show down on the ice in a round-robin tournament. Some of the breweries on site pouring tasters for this fabulous event include Bomber, Red Truck, Parallel 49, Main Street, Strange Fellows, Off the Rail, Bridge, Central City, Storm, Yaletown and Moody Ales. Tickets for this event are $25 and are available online at Eventbrite. Each ticket will include 3 taster tokens. Although you can and we encourage you to earn extra tokens by donating gently used hockey equipment to the BASH program. Some items they welcome receiving for the BASH program include elbow pads, helmets, hockey sticks particularly composite sticks and socks. The First Annual Beer League BASH gets under way at 4:00 pm and goes till 10:00 pm. Note, this is a 19+ event. Come out and support this great community event!
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ICONs Returns To Biltmore Cabaret Sunday March 22nd
20 Mar
ICONS is back at the Biltmore Cabaret this Sunday, March 22nd. ICONs represents the racy subculture of modern vintage lifestyle which takes design and style cues from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s as well as a bit of early 90’s cultural icons. Some of the icons they take cues from include Keith Richards, Bridget Bardot, Iggy, Twiggy, Andy Warhol, Jane Birkin, Farrah Fawcett, Madonna, Steve McQueen and Patti Smith to give you some idea. ICONS is a heavily curated and highly anticipated vintage clothing market. You can also expect to find psychedelic posters, antiques, records, taxidermy, retro lamps as well as small furniture, cameras and a bit of this and that. There will also be drink specials and a DJ spinning tunes. The event is being held at the Biltmore Cabaret, 2755 Prince Edward Street. ICONS gets under way at 11:00 am and goes till 5:00 pm. This event is for ages 19+.
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Gourmet Warehouse Cooking Classes This Spring
16 Mar
The Gourmet Warehouse has a great line up of cooking classes coming up in April including Flavours of Vietnam, Greek Night, Cake Basics and Prawn Festival to name a few. Attending one of these classes, is certainly a fun way to spend an afternoon. Of course, there is always shopping after the cooking class as participants are offered a 10% discount for purchases made the day of your class. For a full line up of all the classes Gourmet Warehouse is offering this Spring visit Cooking Classes. We have set out a sampling of some of the delicious classes they have lined up:
Flavours of Vietnam – Saturday, April 18th 11:00 am ($59) SOLD OUT
Chef Cindy Low will introduce you to Vietnamese cuisine which is one of Southeast Asia’s best kept secrets. The emphasis will be on fresh Asian herbs and vegetables as well as bright seasonings that translate into refreshing, healthy and light cuisine. The dishes she will be making include:
•Vietnamese salad rolls with prawns, served with a spicy mango dipping sauce
•Shaking beef with arugula, served banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) style
•Chicken pho
•Stir-fried seasonal Asian greens
•Homemade Vietnamese carrot and daikon pickles
•Vietnamese coffee ice cream
NOTE: April 18th SOLD OUT so an extra date has been added Sunday, April 19th
Greek Night – Saturday, April 25th 11:00 am ($59)
Join Chef Cindy Low on another culinary journey to the beloved Greek islands with classic and traditional Greek dishes on the menu. Greek cuisine is highlighted by its distinctive, pure flavors and is satisfying in its simplicity. Not to mention, the Mediterrean diet is regarded by many as one of the healthiest in the world. Some of the delicious dishes Cindy will be preparing include:
•Horiatiki salata (Greek salad) – tomatoes, cucumber, feta, olives, green pepper, oregano,
extra virgin olive oil
•Prawns saganaki – prawns baked with tomatoes and feta
•Chicken souvlaki – tender cubes of chicken breast, marinated and grilled to perfection
•Roasted lemon potatoes
•Tzatziki – yogurt and cucumber dip
•Baklava “bites” – classic Greek dessert of nuts, honey, filo pastry
Cake Basics – Sunday, April 26th 11:00 am ($59)
You are invited to join instructor Rick Gaspard for this hands-on class. You can expect to learn the basic techniques required to decorate beautiful cakes for any occasion. You will also learn the basics of filling and frosting a cake, handling a piping bag and creating beautifully piped borders. As this is a hands-on class, registration is limited to 8 participants so early registration along with an apron is recommended.
Prawn Festival – Saturday, May 9th 11:00 am ($69) SOLD OUT
Well if you love prawns, this is the class for you. This cooking class coincides with the International Prawn Festival and to celebrate Chef Cindy Low will demonstrate how to cook prawns perfectly. Some of the dishes she will be showing you include:
•Prawn and mango amuse bouche
•Prawn and lobster bisque
•Prawns with chorizo and garlic, Spanish tapas-style
•Prawns and smoked salmon pasta in a cream sauce with herbs
•Wok-fried crystal tiger prawns with snow peas and asparagus
•Dark chocolate-dipped strawberries
If you are interested in any of the cooking classes, be sure to register early to avoid disappointment, classes do sell out. Bon Appetit!
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2nd Annual Cider and Gluten Free Beer Tasting Event At Wise Hall March 21st
13 Mar
You are invited to CiderWise taking place at the Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac Street, Saturday, March 21st. This delicious tasting event is brought to you by CAMRA Vancouver. As many know, there are a number of people that are gluten-intolerant, sensitive, allergic or choose to omit gluten for health reasons. Whatever the reason it makes drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages a little challenging. Even more so with the growing craft beer industry right here under our noses in East Vancouver. So we are pleased to see this event back at the Wise Hall to showcase gluten-free beers and ciders. Some of the participants lined up for this event include Txotx Basque Imports, Merridale Cider, Sea Cider, Left Field Cider Co. and Howling Moon Craft Cider. Want a bite of something to eat in between tastings? Food trucks will be set up outside the Wise Hall for your snacking pleasure with gluten free options of course. Tickets for CiderWISE are available at Eventbrite for $20 for CAMRA, WISE and Vanbrewers Members and $25 for non-members. Event kicks off at 1:00 and goes till 5:00 pm.
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East Van GoGos 7th Annual Jazz Brunch March 22
10 Mar
The East Van GoGos invite you to their 7th Annual Jazz Brunch Sunday, March 22nd. What is a GoGo? Gogo is a Zulu word meaning “grandmother”. The Greater Van Gogos which includes chapters in various parts of the Lower Mainland are grandmothers and ‘grandothers’ working in groups to support African grandmothers raising a generation of children orphaned by AIDS. This network of grandmother groups in south western BC are dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
In March 2006, Stephen Lewis, a Canadian humanitarian and former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, issued a call to Canadian grandmothers to bond with their African counterparts. In his travels, Lewis noticed the phenomenal grandmothers who had buried their adult children and stepped in to raise the orphans left behind. They needed money for school fees and uniforms, food and other necessities. In the Vancouver area, three women answered the call. They invited a few others and launched Greater Van Gogos in the summer of 2006 with four groups. Although grandmothers in Africa’s many countries are addressed in different ways – ja ja in Uganda, sho sho in Kenya or nyana in Zambia – the word gogo felt right. Many years later, there are 20 groups registered with approximately 600 members from Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Together they have raised more than $1 million for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The funds are distributed to community level projects supporting grandmothers and the children in their care in 15 sub-Saharan African countries.
The brunch on Sunday, March 22nd is a fundraiser for the East Van GoGos which will feature a musical performance by What It Is! The group consists of Mimi Beyene, Cass King, Patti Powell and Carol Wiedemann. We hear that these four unique voices are quite the powerhouse and have a captivating sound with a cappella soul. Their distinct arrangements are steeped in the soulful sounds of such greats as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Etta James, and Laura Mvula. They will be bringing East Van Soul to a whole new level.
Brunch will be provided along with coffee, tea and juice. Suggested donation is $25. To order your ticket contact Sharon at T: 604-254-4071 or eastvangogos@gmail.com. The brunch takes place from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm in the Grandview Room at the Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Drive. The music gets under way at 12:15 pm. Come out and support these great GoGos!
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Obaaberima At The Cultch March 24 – April 4
9 Mar
The Cultch, 1895 Venables Street, invites you to see Obaaberima which begins on March 24th. The play chronicles the tale of a young African-Canadian’s journey across continents, genders, races and sexualities. Obaaberima is a derogatory term meaning girly boy. The play will explore an important and often unheard perspective on the queer experience in Canada, that being first-generation queer immigrants. This is expected to be a powerhouse performance that blends theatre, spoken word, music and dance. Ghanaian-Canadian Tawiah M’carthy will give voice to people caught between their homeland and their new home. Obaaberima begins on March 24th and runs till April 4th . Tickets are available online at The Cultch starting from $19.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Mimnagh
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Time To Get Ready For The Great Grandview Garage Sale June 20, 2015
6 Mar
All bargain and vintage hunters it’s time to mark your calendars OR alternatively to get organized to participate. The area of Grandview-Woodland will be holding its 2nd Annual Great Grandview Garage Sale on Saturday, June 20th from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. This is a multi-family garage sale that takes place all throughout the Grandview Woodland area of East Vancouver. Specifically from Broadway to the Burrard Inlet and from Clark Drive to Nanaimo Street. If you live in the area, you are invited to participate and it is FREE to sign up. Whether you live in a home, walk up apartment building, co-operative housing, no matter, everyone is welcome to participate. If you are the one looking for those bargains or vintage finds, think of it as one big treasure hunt. Who knows what you might come across in your travels. The Great Grandview Garage Sale will go ahead rain or shine 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. To sign up to participate, or see a map of the current locations, visit Great Grandview Garage Sale. Spring cleaning is just around the corner, time to clear out those cobwebs and stuff you no longer need/use. Remember, the old adage “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure”.
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