The Harmony Arts Festival, presented by Odlum Brown Limited, will once again celebrate arts, culture, food, and music in West Vancouver this summer. Running from August 2nd until August 11th, 2013.

Photo courtesy of Harmony Arts on Flickr

Families will love Artsy Kids Outdoor Studio, Spirit of the West and others will perform during the Sunset Concert Series, the Art Market will showcase local artists and designers on Argyle Avenue between 14th and 16th Street, and the Waterfront Lounge will be open daily at the foot of 15th Street for casual dining and entertainment from the Pacific Arbour Garden Stage. A full festival guide will be distributed in the North Shore News on Sunday, July 28th, 2013.

Photo courtesy of Harmony Arts on Flickr

Other signature events include RARE, sponsored by Fresh St Market, which will take place on August 8th. This culinary evening is inspired by the West Vancouver Museum’s collection of notable Canadian artists including Emily Carr, Gordon Smith, Jack Shadbold and more. The beachfront at Lawson Creek Studio will transform into a contemporary casual dining lounge featuring Rodney’s Oyster House. The knowledgeable staff from house wine will be on site to serve the beverages.

Best of the West

The third annual Best of the West is another signature event, happening August 7th. Thirteen of the North Shore’s best restaurants will be paired with thirteen BC wineries and tasked with creating the perfect complementary dish. The evening’s guests will vote on their favourite, with the winning restaurant and winery team crowned BEST of the WEST for 2013.

Thanks to Harmony Arts, I have a pair of tickets to give away for Best of the West on August 7th. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment here naming a Harmony Arts event or artist (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

Follow the Harmony Arts Festival on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about upcoming events and activities. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, August 1, 2013. Must be 19+ to win this contest and attend Best of the West. Please enjoy responsibly.

Update The winner is Tracy!

The Church at the Hollywood will host screenings of Back to the Future next month to help raise funds for the restoration of the 1930s-era movie house they currently occupy on West Broadway.

The Hollywood made Heritage Vancouver’s Top 10 List of Endangered Sites this year and it’s one of the last remaining movie houses in the city. After falling into disrepair and closing in 2011, two local churches took over the space in 2012 and have been slowly bringing the theatre back to its former glory.

“Not everybody agrees with having a church here, but the overall feeling is that everyone loves this building and recognizes the heritage of it,” said [Sarah] Kift. “We feel we are able to steward that, for at least as long as we can.” [Source: Metro News Vancouver]

Leading the charge to revitalize the theatre, the Church at the Hollywood is hoping to raise $20,000 so they can repaint the facade and repair the iconic neon “Hollywood” sign. This is all a part of their “Love the Hollywood” campaign.

Back to the Future in events will be held on Friday, August 2, 2013 and Saturday, August 3, 2013 and will feature a costume contest, live music, a real Delorean, and more. The film will be screened in 35mm format. Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the door for multiple screening times during those two days.

Hopefully by the time Back to the Future II‘s future date of October 21, 2015 rolls around, the Hollywood will be restored and revitalized thanks to these efforts.

Rolling green prairie, lightning bugs, the smell of sweet corn, the rumble of a farm vehicle going down main street. These are the sights and sounds of our summers in Iowa when we head back to John’s hometown and hang out with his family for a few weeks. While we usually get some work done — I work on my writing and John helps out at his parents’ business — we do set aside a day or two to explore the region. After a quick glance at Eastern Iowa on Google Maps I picked out Maquoketa Caves State Park, which John confirmed would be a great spot to explore one morning when the humidity dropped.

Reading reviews online, it seemed that Maquoketa Caves State Park is a very popular location with a fantastic rating when it comes to family recreation and adventure. I could tell from some of the comments that if we wanted to get pretty dirty (entering caves where crawling is the only way to get around) we’d have to pack headlamps, a change of clothes, and sturdy shoes. Lacking those essentials and equipped with iPhones and flip flops, we set out like city slickers after a hearty breakfast. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Craft fairs are events we usually associate with the winter time as summer gives way for fresh-picked produce at farmer’s markets. However, the Craft Council of British Columbia and Circle Craft Cooperative are bringing a summer craft market to downtown Vancouver this sunny season to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Dates
Thursday, July 25th to Sunday, July 28, 2013.
Where
Jack Poole Plaza (beside the Olympic Cauldron) in downtown Vancouver
Hours
Thursday from 12:00pm to 9:00pm; Friday from 9:00am to 9:00pm; Saturday from 9:00am to 9:00pm; Sunday from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Over 70 exhibitors will participate, offering up fine work in clay, glass, leather, metal, fibre, and wood, as well as clothing for children and adults, jewellery, fashion accessories, home décor items, and visual arts. A full list of exhibitors and artisans is available online. Admission is free.

Circle Craft Cooperative annually produces Western Canada’s largest artisan show, the well-known Circle Craft Christmas Market. Combined with the Craft Council of BC’s long list of talented artisans, this will be the best place in Vancouver to admire true craftsmanship, as well as meet the many talented artisans behind these beautiful crafts.

For more information about the Summer Market and other activities, follow Circle Craft on Twitter and Facebook.

Back in June the We Heart Local Awards were looking for nominees to recognize and award key players throughout BC’s food and agriculture industry. Now that the nomination process has closed, the public vote has begun.

Voting is open now until August 5th, 2013. Anyone living in BC can vote for their favourite nominees in the categories listed below by visiting the Facebook campaign page. All voters and nominators are automatically included into a prize draw, for a chance to win 1 of 20 $100 gift cards to their local Farmers Market, as well as the deluxe prize: a weekend wine getaway in the Okanagan.

Categories

The celebration of local BC farming communities and the ‘Buy Local. Eat Natural.’ movement are actively supported by formal organizations such as the British Columbia Dairy Association (BCDA), British Columbia Agriculture Council (BCAC) and British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture. Partners for the We Heart Local Awards are BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, Vancouver Farmers Markets, Georgia Straight and Loco.

Be sure to get your votes in by August 5th. Follow ‘Buy Local. Eat Natural.’ on Facebook and Twitter for more information about the awards and their other initiatives across BC.