Hats Off Day will take over Hastings Street in Burnaby on Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. This ultimate street festival kicks off with a parade, features a vintage car show, local retailers, and food from Burnaby Heights restaurants.
Spanning Hastings from Boundary to Gamma, about 100,000 residents and visitors take part in Hats Off Day, it’s actually an incredible sight. It’s consistently been voted “Burnaby’s Best Festival” every year since 2005.
There are plenty of activities for the kids throughout the entire 10-block stretch and grown-ups will enjoy sampling food, grabbing a refreshing lemonade, dancing, and checking out the vendors. The entire festival is free to attend.
Be sure to mark June 2nd in your calendar and bring the family out to Hats Off Day. Parking restrictions will be in place but there are also plenty of transit options.
John has a great set of photos up on Flickr from last year if you’d like to see more. Miss604.com is once again a proud sponsor of Hats Off Day.
Vancouver Craft Beer Week officially kicks off in just over 24 hours as over 60 BC breweries participate in this hop-filled celebration. One very popular event is Sisters of the Tap as it showcases local women who are behind some of the most-loved craft brands in the province.
Sisters of the Tap
When: Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 6:00pm
Where: Ensemble Tap (990 Smithe, near Burrard)
Tickets: Still available for $60. Includes a 5 course menu prepared by Top Chef Canada Dale Mackay and Executive Chef Brad Hendrickson and paired with samples from 6 breweries (and meet the women behind each).
If you would like to attend, I have 2 tickets available. Here’s how you can enter to win them:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 10:00am. Must be at least 19 years of age to enter, win, and attend this event. Please enjoy responsibly and plan a safe ride home. Miss604.com is a proud sponsor of Vancouver Craft Beer Week 2012.
Update The winner is @jvoon!
Camping options in BC are abundant but as I noticed from the comments on camping post about campgrounds within 2.5 hours of Vancouver, some aren’t too happy with the consistent sold-out status of these popular outdoor destinations. To stay within the 2 hour travel zone, I’m going to dip down into Washington State and help you explore some options south of the border.
Camping in North West Washington State
These listings are for Washington State Parks only and do not include private campgrounds. For vehicles entering state parks, a Discover Pass is required ($30 for the year, $10 for the day*). There are many more options as you head down the coast but I’ve selected the four closest spots (and some with the most incredible views and lingering ocean sunsets).
Park Name: Birch Bay State Park
Description: Birch Bay State Park is a 194-acre camping park with 8,255 feet of saltwater shoreline on Birch Bay and 14,923 feet of freshwater shoreline on Terrell Creek. Hiking, water skiing, windsurfing, scuba diving, fishing. Hike the Terrill Marsh trail or the interpretive trail.
Distance from Vancouver: 1 hour 1 minute [Google Map]
Park Name: Larabee State Park
Description: Larrabee State Park is a 2,683-acre camping park with 8,100 feet of saltwater shoreline on Samish Bay near Bellingham in northwest Washington. The park features two freshwater lakes, coves and tidelands. Hiking, biking, clamming, crabbing, waterskiing, scuba, fishing, boating. 17.2 miles of hiking & biking trails.
Distance from Vancouver: 1 hour 21 minutes [Google Map]
Park Name: Bay View State Park
Description: Bay View State Park is a 25-acre camping park with 1,285 feet of saltwater shoreline on Padilla Bay. Swimming, fishing, picknicking. Over 11,000 acres of Padilla Bay are designated as National Estuarine Sanctuary.
Distance from Vancouver: 1 hour 40 minutes [Google Map]
Park Name: Deception Pass State Park
Description: Deception Pass State Park is a 4,134-acre marine and camping park with 77,000 feet of saltwater shoreline, and 33,900 feet of freshwater shoreline on three lakes. Sightseeing, hiking, biking, scuba diving, boating, saltwater beaches, jutting cliffs, freshwater lakes, great views. Most campsites are near Cranberry Lake and West beach.
Distance from Vancouver: 1 hour 56 minutes [Google Map]
Results as of May 17, 2012.
The online reservation system allows you to pick your dates and view an interactive map that will display availability at Washington State Parks. You can also select your park and see a calendar view of available dates.
Find Washington State Parks on Facebook and Twitter for more information and updates.
Related: 10 BC Parks to Visit For Camping Season // Camping Around Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Sea to Sky, Sunshine Coast, 10 BC Parks to Visit.
*Prices stated are all as-of the publish date of this post.
The Vancouver Draw Down coming up June 9, 2012 and will celebrate drawing with activities all day long. With 27 free workshops at 18 locations, there is a full schedule of events to encourage Vancouverites young and old to “touch a pen to a piece of paper, and make a mark.”
Gather in an art gallery, museum, community centre, or on the street to doodle, sketch, create a font, add to a mural, and more. You don’t need to be a professional artist — everyone can draw. You can drop-in to the workshops and visit multiple sessions and venues throughout the whole day.
Just a few of the events: Humand & Animal Forms at the Museum of Anthropology, Circus! At Collage Collage, Drawing From Memory at Mountain View Cemetery, Community Portraits at Art Starts, and Drawing Across the Board.
There’s also a Daily Drawing Project leading up to the event if you would like to start drawing right away. One of the event sponsors, Vancouver is Awesome, has been profiling some Daily Draw Down participants like Billy Campbell, Jenny Kwan, and Mina Shum.
Vancouver Draw Down culminates with the kick off of Vancouver Drawn, an exhibition of drawings at local galleries from July 14 to August 4, 2012. Follow the Vancouver Draw Down on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Imagine an entire stadium filled with chefs, restaurants, vendors, and foodies. Throw in Food Network stars, demonstations, seminars, and cooking competitions and you have EAT Vancouver.
Happening June 1-3, 2012 the 10th annual EAT Vancouver cooking festival will take over BC Place. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Celebrity Stage
Featuring: Bob Blumer (World’s Weirdest Restaurants, Glutton for Punishment), David Rocco (David Rocco’s Dolce Vita), Rob Feenie (Canada’s first Iron Chef winner, Food Concept Artist at Cactus Club), Annabelle Waugh (Food Director at Canadian Living Magazine).
International Culinary Stage
Explore the Spice of Louisiana with Chef Patrick Mould
Peru presents Chef Pedro Guillen
Fun Flavours of the Philippines with Chef Albert S. Rivera
Thailand, A Taste of Thai with Chef Arnat Seksantrakul
A feast of Flavours from Oaxaca with Chef Rossana Ascencio
There’s also the Dairy Farmers of Canada Cheese Seminar Stage, the Fit to EAT Stage, and the Grapes & Hops State with wine and beer presentations.
Competitions include a barista challenge, and you’ll find some of your favourite Vancouver restaurants represented in the food pavilion.
Photo credit:
CogitoErgoShoot on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.
The festival will be open Friday June 1st from 2:00pm to 9:00pm, Saturday June 2nd from 10:00am to 9:00pm, and Sunday, June 3rd from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Tickets are available online now, starting at $14. You can also sign up for a variety of Pop-Up Culinary Centre Cooking Classes for $28.
There’s an extensive list of exhibitor information, stage schedules, and more all posted online. You can also follow EAT Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
If you would like to attend EAT Vancouver, I have a family 4-pack of tickets to give away along with 2 spots in one of the Pop-Up Culinary Centre cooking classes. The winner will also receive a Mott’s Clamato Caesar Starter Kit. Here’s how you can enter to win this prize pack:
- Leave a comment naming your favourite local restaurant, food truck, or chef (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 3:00pm. The winner can choose from any of the following Pop-Up classes: Don’t Be Afraid of the Bones, Delving into the Knife Drawer, Modern Plated Desserts, Delving into the Knife Drawer, It’s all in the Wrist, A Chef’s Arsenal Revealed, Baking Magic, Local Shucks & BC Spot Prawns, Delving into the Knife Drawer, Brunch Staples, From Street Food to Table Food Locally.
Update The winner is Jennifer Breakspear!
