For 12 years it’s been one of the top free things to do in Vancouver throughout the summer, and Sunday Afternoon Salsa at Robson Square has just released their schedule for 2018.

Sunday Afternoon Salsa at Robson Square

Where: Robson Square rink (dance floor) 800 Robson St, Vancouver
When: July 8 to August 26, 2018 drop-in 3:00pm to 9:30pm
Admission: FREE to all skill levels

This free community salsa dance event is organized by Jennifer and Stephen Dancey of the Dancey Ballroom and SalsaVancouver.net. The dances happen every Sunday in the summer months of July and August and are run by a team of volunteers from Vancouver’s salsa dance community.

Sunday Afternoon Salsa events start with a free beginner salsa dance lesson at 3:00pm for anyone who has ever wanted to learn how to dance salsa, even those who claim they have two left feet. The lesson lasts for half an hour and is taught by some of Vancouver’s best salsa instructors. Social dancing is then on until 5:00pm.

At 5:00pm there is a dance show featuring performances by some of Vancouver’s more talented dancers.

Stick around for the after party at 7:00pm featuring a different style of music each week (Hustle, West Coast Swing, Kizomba). The after party starts with a free dance lesson at 7:00pm to 7:30pm, followed by dancing until 9:30pm.

Support the event by contributing to their GoFundMe campaign »

The Vancouver Aquarium After Hours adults-only evening event series returns in June with a Summer Camp for Grown Ups theme and a look at a compelling new art installation by acclaimed artist Douglas Coupland.

Vancouver Aquarium After Hours

Where: Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park (845 Avison Way)
When: Friday, June 1, 2018 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm
Tickets: Tickets are only available online now for $27 for members and $35 for non-members.

Summer Camp for Grown Ups

Get summer-ready with backyard-style games like beanbag toss, plinko, giant jenga, and more. Awaken your inner child with classic camp activities such as face painting, arts and crafts, and a scavenger hunt. Take a field trip into Vortex and journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as you immerse yourself in the ocean plastic pollution crisis and explore Coupland’s evolving relationship with plastic.

Don’t miss the s’mores dessert bar as no summer camp experience is complete without chocolate-y, marshmallow-y, graham cracker-y goodness. A true fan-favourite, the Meet a Penguin program returns to this After Hours so guests can get up close with African penguins, warm weather-loving waddlers.

An intimate affair, the event will be open to guests 19 and older and cocktails, beer, and wine will be available for purchase throughout the Aquarium.

After Hours is a 19+ event. Photo ID is required for entry. All ticket sales are final. Membership cards will be required for member-priced ticket holders.

Follow the Vancouver Aquarium on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram #AfterHoursVA for more info.

Summer in Vancouver means a trip to the PNE with the family and no experience is complete without checking out the amazing entertainment lineup that the fair offers each year. This summer is no exception with a roster of exciting concerts announced this week.

PNE Summer Concerts

The Summer Night Concerts, free with your Fair admission, will run nightly at 8:30pm in the PNE Amphitheatre.

Saturday, August 18 @ 8:30pm Boyz II Men
Sunday, August 19 @ 8:30pm Air Supply
Tuesday, August 21 @ 8:30pm Dean Brody
Wednesday, August 22 @ 8:30pm Goo Goo Dolls
Thursday, August 23 @ 8:30pm I Love the 90s Tour
with Salt-N-Pepa, Color Me Badd & More
Friday, August 24 @ 8:30pm Wilson Philips
Saturday, August 25 @ 8:30pm Marianas Trench
Sunday, August 26 @ 8:30pm Lost 80s Live
with A Flock of Seagulls, Men Without Hats & More
Tuesday, August 28 @ 8:30pm 112 Featuring Slim
Wednesday, August 29 @ 8:30pm Kool & the Gang
Thursday, August 30 @ 8:30pm Jann Arden
Friday, August 31 @ 8:30pm Burton Cummings & Band
Saturday, September 1 @ 8:30pm Chicago
Sunday, September 2 @ 8:30pm Village People
Monday, September 3 @ 8:30pm Cyndi Lauper

Seating & Reserved Tickets

New this year — Free with admission tickets will be available both onsite (at no cost), and online (with small service fee), on show days beginning at 11:00am. These will be general admission tickets which do not guarantee a seat in the venue. Max 2 per person.

Reserved seats start at $25 and will be available starting May 25, 2018 at 10:00am.

New Entertainment and Attractions

Free with admission:

Knights of Valour
Pacific Coliseum, Daily, 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 7:00pm

POPnology
Rollerland Building, Daily, 11:00am to 11:00pm

Action Sports World Tour
Pacific Coliseum, Daily, 4:30, 8:00pm

Street of Dreams
Miller Drive, Open Daily, 11:00am to 11:00pm

Silver Starlets
Festival Park, Daily, 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:30pm

NOVA: The Emergence of Light
Festival Park, Nightly, 10:15pm

Lost World of Dragons
Garden Auditorium, Open Daily, 11:00am to 10:00pm

ARCY LIVE! – Live Event Mural
Festival Park, Daily, 11:00am – 6:00pm

The 2018 Fair will run from Saturday August 18, until Monday September 3, 2018, and will be closed on Monday, August 20th and Monday, August 27th. Open 11:00am until late (weather permitting). Follow the Fair at the PNE on Facebook and Twitter.

The Only Animal and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity present World Premiere of SLIME – which tunes into the impact of humans on the ‘great animal orchestra’ – the biophony – in which we are immersed, and from which we have become dangerously disconnected by our infatuation with the sound of our own voices.

Commissioned by the Banff Centre, and penned by Bryony Lavery, the acclaimed British playwright of Tony-nominated, Frozen, SLIME is set just slightly in the future, at a climate-change conference where animals are at the table. The cast includes 100 animals, seven young animal translators, scientists and suits, and you, the audience.

Theatrical World Premiere of SLIME

When: June 15 to June 24, 2018
Tuesday to Sunday evenings at 8:00pm; Sunday matinées June 17 & 24 at 2:00pm
Where: Russian Hall (600 Campbell Ave, Vancouver)
Tickets: Available online now for $22/$25 plus service charges.

Seated amongst the animal delegates, you might hear an otter swimming down an aisle, a dolphin whistling at your elbow or a sea bird speaking over your shoulder: animals too have something to say.

We come together to face an absolute threat to life on earth — an insatiable creature taking over seas called SLIME. Like other forces in our 21st century lives, facebookslime or googleslime, SLIME moves with viral force, gobbling up all available resources. Humans enabled it, but nothing can stop it. This conference is the last hope for salvation for all life forms. Except SLIME.

Performed by: Lisa Baran, Pedro Chamale, Teo Saefkow, Anais West, Eddy Van Wyk, Sophia Wolfe, and Mason Temple

Win Tickets to the Theatrical World Premiere of SLIME

I have a pair of tickets to give away to opening night on June 15th, here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to post an entry on Twitter

Follow The Only Animal on Twitter and Facebook for more information.

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, May 29, 2018.

Imagine there was a search engine tool specifically for hikes. Maybe you’d select “waterfall”, or perhaps “beach front”. More criteria might be “old growth forests”, “viewpoint”, or even a unique feature like “suspension bridge”. If you were searching in the Port Alberni Valley, you’d be checking every box and getting all of the results I got to experience recently on my adventure with ZenSeekers.

3 Awesome Hikes Near Port Alberni

The night before my day of hiking, the ZenSeekers crew met up with a team of locals at at Twin City Brewing, including our guide for the morning, Sandy McRuer. When it was announced that he’d be taking us to Gracie’s Lookout just after sunrise, smiles lit up the room – we were in for a treat.

1. Gracie’s Lookout
Distance from Port Alberni town centre: 32km
Hiking distance from parking: 10-15 minutes, gradually uphill.
Details: Park in a pullout on the side of the road where you’ll see a wide trailhead on the east side of Mount Anderson that almost looks like an overgrown driveway. You’ll come to a clearing where the path levels off and to the north is a rocky plateau that will reveal a panoramic view of Sproat Lake and the entire Alberni Valley.

2. Nahmint Lake Recreation Area
Distance from Port Alberni town centre: 37.6km
Hiking distance: 500m to explore the campground and beach area
Details: Located across the Alberni inlet from Port Alberni, it features waterfalls, old growth trees, and a pristine mountain lake. This is a provincial park campground so there are facilities including walk-in and drive-in camping. Follow a trail along the creek to get to the waterfalls, about 250m from the lakefront.

3. Fossli Provincial Park
Distance from Port Alberni town centre: 16.6km
Hiking distance: 2.5km
Details: The first stretch is a gravel path down to the suspension bridge. Over the bridge you’ll come down to creek-level with a flat grove of old growth maples forming a lush green archway. The marked trail leads to a picnic area along the Stirling Arm of the south side of Sproat Lake. The whole distance is about a 2.5km, with an elevation loss/gain of about 60m if you do a loop.

Discover all of these locations and more by reading my full article over on ZenSeekers »

If You Go

• Search #ExplorePortAlberni for more inspiration. Be sure to tag #ExplorePortAlberni while exploring the region as you could be featured on our social media channels!
• Start planning your adventures in Port Alberni at Alberni Valley Tourism.
• Start exploring your Port Alberni region options with Destination BC.
• Find out more at the City of Port Alberni’s website.
• Read more about hiking in the Alberni Valley on ZenSeekers.

Rollerskate Vancouver presents a Pop-Up Roller Disco at Robson Square this weekend, where you can rock, skate, roll, bounce to tunes by DJ K-TEL.

Pop-Up Roller Disco at Robson Square

Where: Robson Square Rink (800 Robson St, Vancouver)
When: Sunday, May 27, 2018 at 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Admission: $10 at the door, cash only. Skate rentals $10. Must be 16+. Follow the Facebook event for more info »

Rollerskate Vancouver’s mission is to build and support the roller skating community by hosting events, promoting talent, finding resources, teaching skills and skating as often as possible.

You can catch Rollerskate Vancouver at their F.U.B.A.R. Roller Jam on June 17th at Robson Square, and at Car Free Day Commercial Drive on June 7th. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more rollerskating info.

Stay tuned for more event listings for Robson Square this summer too, including the 12th season of the Sunday Afternoon Salsa dance series.