James Johnstone is back with his historical walking tours and will be kicking off his first tour this Saturday, February 21st. James will take you on a tour of one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, Strathcona. The tour kicks off at 10:00 a.m. starting from 696 East Hastings at Heatley. This historical walking tour is a culmination of years of researching over 250 homes in the East End. Although you will find architecture is a theme on this tour, James will also focus on social history and how waves of immigrants established themselves in this area before moving on to other parts of the city. The tour will also touch on the impact of portside industries like BC Sugar, the prohibition and the proliferation of bootlegging as well as the City of Vancouver’s attempts to wipe out “urban blight”. Join James this Saturday and he will tell you why Vancouver’s first neighbourhood is also its most fascinating. The cost of the tour is $20 per person. If you are unable to attend this weekend’s tour, James will be repeating this tour on February 28th, March 7th, March 14th and March 21st. If you would like more information or to reserve your spot, email James directly at historywalks@gmail.com.
James Johnstone Historical Walking Tour Strathcona February 21st
19 Feb
4th Annual Strathcona Winter Craft Fair November 29th
27 Nov
You are invited to the 4th Annual Strathcona Winter Craft Fair. This event will take place at the Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer Street from 10:00 am –4:00 pm this Saturday, November 29th. There will be many great local artisans including Andrea Hooge, a Vancouver based artist who will be showcasing her original works, City Creations with puppets galore including finger puppets, East Van Jam with fun gourmet jam using locally sourced ingredients, Fable Naturals with a line of fair trade certified bath and body products. Be sure to check out their lip balms in biodegradable cardboard tubes. Also on hand will be Missy So with handmade cards and Tessa Manu Photography. Tessa is a self-taught photographer that is fascinated by intricate details, bright colours, crumbling paint and brick walls, be sure to check out her unique pics. For a full rundown of all the vendors this Saturday, visit Vendors 2014. Admission for the Strathcona Craft Fair is $2.00, children under 12 are free.
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Strathcona BIA Looking For Artists To Paint In Hastings Urban Tree Nursery
27 Aug
The Strathcona Business Improvement Association is inviting proposals from artists to paint concrete planters that form a part of the Hastings North Urban Tree Nursery. The Strathcona BIA recently installed the Hastings Urban Tree Nursery which consist of a series of concrete planters housing young trees. The trees will be under the care of local businesses until ready for transplantation to permanent locations. The tree nursery will benefit the local community in many ways including supporting the local economy, providing new skills training for community members and providing an otherwise concrete landscape with beauty, shade, and new insect and bird habitat.
Five artists will be chosen by the Strathcona BIA and each of the artists will be commissioned to paint the planters on one city block. Each artist will receive a base stipend of $300 plus an additional $200 for each planter painted. The concrete planters are located between 300 East Hastings Street and 700 East Hastings Street. Strathcona BIA will provide paint materials up to a maximum of $100 per planter. After the artists have completed their work, the planters will be coated with a clear product to protect against graffiti damage.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 8th at 4:00 pm. For more information you can contact the Strathcona BIA at info@strathconabia.com. To view the submission guidelines, visit Strathcona BIA Job Postings.
Photo: Strathcona BIA
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Barks & Parks In Strathcona Park Thursday July 24th
23 Jul
The Strathcona Residents Association, with special thanks to the Vancouver Foundation, will be hosting a community art project Barks & Parks this Thursday, July 24th in Strathcona Park. Barks & Parks is designed to celebrate the dog culture and park stewardship in Strathcona Park. Local residents will be collecting photos of neighbourhood dogs, printing them on waterproof material and attaching them to a park fence to create some fun and interest in the park. There will be an on-site photo shoot from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Northeast Corner of Strathcona Park (Venables and Raymur). If you wish to participate, come on down with your furry friend. But should you not be able to make it Thursday evening, you can still join in the fun. You are invited to send a photo of your dog by August 15th (preferably a close-up face shot, portrait orientation) to Strathconabarksandparks@gmail.com.
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Made In Strathcona: AGRO Roasters, Propellor Design & The Settlement Building
18 Jun
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.
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Made In Strathcona Tours: May 31st & June 7th
28 May
The Strathcona Business Improvement Association has embarked on an adventurous marketing plan. They have created Made In Strathcona Tours which will run two tours, one on May 31st and the second on June 7th. The tours are devised to showcase the community that is Strathcona including the history, the businesses and the people that make up this unique community. As they will tell you, over 500 businesses populate this area one. Some names you might recognize include JJ Bean, Endeavour Snowboards, Christine Lingerie, Aritzia, Herschel Supply Co. Of course, some recent additions include culinary hot spots such as Ask for Luigi and Yolk’s Breakfast and Commissary.
Made in Strathcona Tours are being offered on Saturday, May 31st where the feature is Manufacturing and Hidden Gems and Saturday, June 7th where Creative and Food is the theme. Once you decide on the date, you need to choose which 2 spots you wish to visit. The tour starts at 1:00 pm at the first stop you chose and goes to 1:45 pm. Then at 2:00 pm you are to make your way to the next stop that you chose and that tour will take you until 2:45 pm. After your tour, you are invited to attend the Settlement Building (Vancouver Urban Winery), 55 Dunlevy Avenue (1 block North of Oppenheimer Park) for a complimentary drink and hor’ deourves at 3:00 pm. The tours are a very reasonable $10 and available in advance via Eventbrite. For readers of ILiveInEastVan.com, Made in Strathcona Tours is offering a 50% discount on tour tickets. Use PROMO CODE: “Blogger50” when purchasing your tickets for the discount.
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Sweet Pop Up Shop at les amis du FROMAGE Saturday May 24th
22 May
Les amis du FROMAGE is hosting another delicious Pop Up Shop this Saturday, May 24th from Noon – 5:00 pm at their Strathcona location, 843 East Hastings Street. This time they have invited The Salty Cookie Company and The Lemon Square to showcase their baking talents. This is a great opportunity to show your support for these new local businesses. The Lemon Square makes handmade lemon squares with fresh lemons, butter and a dusting of coconut. Very addictive! The Salty Cookie Company is the brainchild of Meredith Kaufman who has been a pastry chef for many years. Come out and support these budding entrepreneurs!
Photo Credit: The Lemon Square
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An Evening Of Balkan Bhangra Dancing At The Russian Hall February 15th
13 Feb
You are invited to come and experience an evening of Indian and Balkan music and dance this Saturday night. This event hosted by Slivovica Productions and Transformation Projects promises to be an energetic and fun evening. The evening will kick off with a dance workshop led by Nada Putnik of the Gradina Balkan Dancers and Deep Sahota of the Royal Academy of Bhangra. They will be teaching you Indian dances as well as some traditional community folk dances. No experience is necessary to participate. Everyone is welcome to attend. The only request is that you arrive on time so you can take part in the lessons.
After the dance lesson, the show begins. The evening will showcase the talents of the Vancity Bhangra dancers, one of Metro Vancouver’s most popular dance troupes and the Vijay Indian Brass Band performing traditional Indian wedding music. To mix things up, Orkestar Slivovica, a Balkan Brass band, will showcase their talents by performing music in the Roma-trumpet-band tradition from Southern Serbia and Macedonia. And if that’s not enough, Luciterra Fusion Bellydancers will perform a modern fusion dance.
This event takes place at the Russian Hall located in Strathcona at 600 Campbell Avenue. There will be a bar and food selection including some Indian sweets, spicy hot Chai tea, Bosnian savory pastries, signature Serbian sausages as well as wine and spirits and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets are $20 in advance and available online at Brown Paper Tickets, or in person at Highlife Records, 1317 Commercial Drive. Tickets will also be available at the door for $25. Note all ages are welcome and those under 19 get in for $10. Doors open at 7:00 pm with the dance workshop getting under way soon thereafter and the show gets under way at 8:00 pm.
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Strathcona Winter Craft Fair November 30th
25 Nov
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Vista D’oro Pop Shoppe at 843 East Hastings Until Nov. 24th
18 Nov
So after taking in some amazing art during the Eastside Culture Crawl on Sunday, I did manage to swing by the Vista D’oro Pop Up Shoppe. Vista D’oro Farms & Winery is located in Langley and having visited their farm, it is such a treat to have them here in East Vancouver. If you didn’t manage to get in a taste of this great little shop this weekend, best do so quick. The Preservatory Pop Up Shoppe is only up until November 24th at 843 East Hastings Street next to les amis du fromage.
If you have any food lovers on your Christmas list, there preserves make for great gifts whether a housewarming gift, or part of gift basket for that foodie you know. There are many great flavours to choose from including Peach & Lemon Verbena with Champagne, Mango, Passionfruit & Kirsch, Pineapple Candied Ginger & Sake, Spiced Cranberry & Ice Wine, Raspberry Merlot with Peppercorns, Fig and Walnut Wine to name but a few. The one that sold me was the Plum with Vanilla and Star Anise which for a 220g jar retails for $9.95. The flavour of the star anise just lingers on the taste buds and was amazing with a hint of licorice. There are tastings spoons for all flavours on hand, so you can try before you buy. You can also purchase ‘Trio packs’ of three perserves for $33 which includes recipes for each preserve. They come in five varieties to appeal to specific taste buds such as The Entertainer, The Bachelor, The Mixologist, The Sweet Tooth and The Eupicurean. There are also a few smaller 40 ml jars available in two of the flavours, but best be quick on those before they are gone.
Also in store this week from a neighbouring farm in Langley are their friends from Lavender Eight Farms offering Lavender Sugar. The lavender sugar can be used in tea or what caught my attention was using it in baking. Lavender sugar in that Christmas shortbread or pound cake? Sounds pretty delicious to me. Small jars of Lavender Sugar are available for $6.95 or a bag is $18.95. Vista d’Oro Farms has also collaborated with Chocolate Arts to create exquisite chocolates using their wine or preserves from the farm.
les amis du fromage will have a few of their preserves on hand after November 24th, but if you want the selection and the opportunity to taste test all the great varieties, I suggest you stop by before November 24th. The Vista D’oro Pop Up Shoppe is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
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