Next weekend BC’s largest multicultural celebration, the Surrey Fusion Festival, will take over Holland Park with two full days of music, food, and free entertainment. Between filling up on empanadas, Jamaican smoothies, and cannoli or watching Delhi 2 Dublin, Good For Grapes, Hawksley Workman, and Los Lobos, you can take a free walking tour of the city’s new downtown core.
Paul Hillsdon and Nathan Pachal of the blog Civic Surrey will lead a Downtown Development Tour at 11:00am on Saturday, July 21, 2012. You can meet them at Gateway SkyTrain station and join the tour for free, just RSVP. If there’s anyone who can tell you about present and future developments in Surrey, it’s these two.
“The downtown walking tour is an opportunity for locals from across the region to see first-hand the urban transformation underway in Surrey. For followers on Civic Surrey, who read about these changes on the blog, it’s a chance to experience downtown on foot and meet some new friends along the way,” Paul told me.
“We’ll examine SFU Surrey and the new City Centre Library, as well as private developments from Concord Pacific and Century Group. Of course, this is also the weekend of Fusion Festival, so there’s no better time to explore downtown and then enjoy the rest of the evening at one of Surrey’s premier regional events!
If you can’t make it out for the walk, they’ll host a Civic Surrey meetup at the Fusion Festival at 1:00pm on Saturday where you can meet Paul and Nathan, and chat with other readers of the site.
On this day in 1959, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II herself presided over the grand opening ceremony for the Deas Island Tunnel, known today as the George Massey Tunnel.
(Left) 1957 – Banner for the tunnel construction. VPL Accession Number: 41357.
(Right) 1957 – Aerial view of construction. VPL Accession Number: 41355
The premier [W.A.C. Bennett] handed the Queen a costly pair of silver scissors, and she gave him a dime for them. The coin-for-scissors trade is an old British custom, which holds that if the giver of a cutting implement does not receive a coin in return, the friendship between the giver and the receiver will be cut. [Source: Vancouver History]
(Left) 1959 – Tunnel entrance. VPL Accession Number: 41361B.
(Right) 1958 – Walkthrough. VPL Accession Number: 41340B.
This stretch of highway connecting Richmond and Delta/Ladner is the lowest point of any public road in Canada, dipping 20 meters below sea level. It actually opened to traffic in May of that year but the ceremony took place in July. Tolls were applied until 1964 and it was renamed in honor of Delta MLA Nehamiah “George” Massey in 1967.
Bowen Island is just a quick ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay but it’s a great way to escape the city and enjoy the coastal scenes of Howe Sound. If you needed more of an excuse to visit, the Bowen Island Steamship Days festival is on now.
1946 – The Lady Alexandra approaches the dock on Bowen. Archives item# CVA 586-4601.
For over 100 years, Bowen Island has been known as “Vancouver’s Playground”. In 1902 Captain Cates sailed here in the luxurious S.S. Britannia and dubbed her, “The Happy Isle”. Thousands of passengers arrived daily in Steamships from Vancouver to frolic on Bowen’s beaches, picnic grounds and dance halls.
In 1924 The Lady Alexandra, the flagship of the Union Steamship Fleet, brought up to 1,400 passengers a day eager to kick up their heels to some of the best dance bands of the era. Over 200 summer cottages and a lavish hotel were built to accommodate the throngs of summer seekers.
Revisiting the steamship getaways of the past, you can enjoy an outing to Bowen this weekend in particular and check out events, music, games, exhibits, and more. Tomorrow, the legendary Dal Richards Orchestra will be performing on the wharf in Snug Cove (along with the lovely and talented Dawn Chubai) and tickets are just $20.
There’s also a wooden boat show, Casino Night, and a Golf Tournament. Stop by Doc Morgan’s Pub, learn more at the Bowen Island Museum & Archives, visit the USSC Marina, and spend a day on this charming island.
You can even take transit! Hop a Horseshoe Bay bus from downtown Vancouver, walk onto the ferry (it’s just over $10 per adult, return trip), and you’ll be right in Snug Cove in 20 minutes. If you’d like to stay overnight, no problem. There are Bed & Breakfasts and cottages all around. Bowen Island Steamship Days run until Sunday, July 15, 2012.
Fighting Chance Productions presents Rent at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island from July 13th to August 5, 2012.
Rent, Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical that debuted at the height of the AIDS epidemic, is one of the best known musicals of the past 20 years, and was a huge hit for Fighting Chance Productions in 2009 enjoying 29 sold out performances and shattering box office records for Presentation House in North Vancouver.
There will be previews for Rent July 13th to July 18th with the full run starting July 19th. Evening shows will be at 8:00pm and matinees, starting at 2:00pm, will take place on Saturdays starting July 21st. Tickets are available online ($39.25 for adults, $18.25 for previews) and at the door.
Granville Island is a great place to be in the summer and you can spend an entire day taking a water taxi over, shopping at the market, getting dinner, and topping it off with a burst of entertainment at a live show.
I have a pair of tickets to give away for Rent thanks to Fighting Change Productions. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner next Friday, July 20, 2012 at 10:00am. Update The winner is Maryanne!
Through sunshine and the rain, Stanley Park‘s natural attractions, activities, and tree-lined trail offerings are abundant. The seawall attracts throngs of visitors, runners, walkers, and cyclists, while the Vancouver Aquarium, Prospect Point, Hollow Tree, the sports fields, and Second Beach Pool all provide unique opportunities for enjoying the park.
Picnics are another way to enjoy Vancouver’s crown jewel. Bring your baskets to one of these locations throughout the park to enjoy a meal outdoors with family and friends.
Blanket and Table Picnics
- Lumberman’s Arch: The lawn between the Vancouver Aquarium and the North side of the seawall is a great lookout spot. It’s close to the waterpark for the kids, the concession stand, and washrooms.
- Rose Garden: The rumble of traffic on the causeway will fade away as you lay out under a leafy canopy in the rose garden. Clusters of floral shrubbery and bushes provide separation from others out on their blankets.
- Hollow Tree: You’ll find picnic tables near the restored Hollow Tree along Stanley Park Drive.
- Prospect Point Ballpark: More picnic tables can be spotted near the athletic fields just South West of Prospect Point.
- Ceperley Meadow: Host of free outdoor movies nights, the lawn at Ceperley Meadow is a sunny sprawl near all of the Second Beach facilities.
- Brockton Oval: Site of the Vancouver 125 Summer Live concerts, there’s plenty of room to setup lunch on the grass and throw a Frisbee around.
- Brockton Point: Picnic tables are available near the Brockton lookout and lighthouse on the Western tip of the park. Walk in from around the Coal Harbour seawall or park nearby.
- Third Beach: Our favourite urban beach has a concession along with a picnic area up above the seawall with gorgeous views, tables and benches.
Reserved Picnic Areas for Groups
The following picnic locations in Stanley Park can be booked for large groups for lunch or dinner between 9:00am and 4:00pm, and 4:00pm and 9:30pm:
- Ceperley/Second Beach Shelter for up to 150 people (seats 110) features 3 cold water sinks, 4 electrical outlets and is close to the playground, pitch & putt, outdoor pool, washrooms, and parking. Fee $100.
- Miniature Railway #1 shelter for up to 150 people (seats 110) features a shared kitchen, 2 electrical outlets, cold water, a grassed area and is close to Lumbermen’s Arch, Miniature Train and Vancouver Aquarium. Fee $100.
- Miniature Railway #2 shelter for up to 150 people (seats 80) features a shared kitchen, 2 electrical outlets, cold water, a grassed area and is close to Lumbermen’s Arch, Miniature Train and Vancouver Aquarium. Fee $100.
- Prospect Point shelter for up to 150 people features a kitchen with sinks and 3 power outlets, ball diamond access, hot coal disposal pit, shuttle bus stop nearby, washrooms. Fee $159.82.
Fill out the application form online to start your reservation and check out the Park Board site for the most up-to-date availability and fee listings.
Hidden Gem
If you’re up for a bit of a hike, follow the Merilees Trail down from Prospect Point (accessible from the Stanley Park Drive sidewalk) and where it splits, vere right down the unmarked path that goes along the water. This is Siwash Rock Trail, which is marked from the other side.
There are a few rolling hills but once you get to the Westernmost point on the trail, Siwash Rock will come into view and you’ll spot a decent-sized clearing on the park side. You can tell the area was hit hard during the storm of 2006 as it’s unusually bare. Trees have fallen and made way for a tiered picnic area where a handful of few picnic benches have been installed.
Bring a picnic, enjoy the hike, savour the views — and the solitude. Be sure to cart out everything you bring into the park and use recycle bins where available.
Related: Stanley Park Trails
