The PNE announced its entertainment and exhibition line-up this morning for attractions that are free with your PNE admission. Joining the President’s Choice SuperDogs, The Peking Acrobats, Evolution of Extreme, and Pop City! A Pyro Celebration will be a live version of the Family Feud game show and an impressive Star Trek exhibit.

Photo credit: P Squared Pics on Flickr

Star Trek: The Exhibition
This world-famous attraction will be brought in for the PNE from Vienna, Austria. It will have its own pavilion, occupying 20,000 square feet of space at the fair. Walk through the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, browse masks and models, imagine you’re getting beamed in the Transporter Room, and take a photo in Captain Kirk’s chair.

After six years of marriage my husband recently discovered just how much of a Trekker I am so this news excites me the most — sorry Superdogs!

Family Feud
Family Feud Live will be hosted daily by former Entertainment Tonight co-host Bob Goen. Be a part of the audience or throw your hat in the ring and participate. Prizes are to be won if you and your teammates know the answers to popular poll questions.

These two new attractions compliment the fair’s marketplace, Playland‘s rides, and the 2nd annual rib festival competition, and the international sand sculpture competition, and the legendary Dal Richards Orchestra.

Photo Credit: Michael Kwan on Flickr

The PNE has made an effort to bring back family entertainment and daring attractions along with promoting creative food options — like the deep-fried Pop Tarts last year. The Fair at the PNE will run from Saturday, August 18th to Monday, September 3rd, 2012. Playland is now open Monday through Friday, 10:00am to 3:00pm with extended hours beginning June 30th.

If you ever wondered what happened to the giant map of BC, I have covered the history of the Challenger Relief Map.

BC Place has been an icon in Vancouver since it first opened in June of 1983. It’s featured on post cards, posters, banners, and almost every image that depicts our city.

Photo credit: Basedigital Images on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

Home to the 2011 Grey Cup Champion BC Lions and Vancouver’s WhitecapsFC MLS team, BC Place also hosts expos, trade shows, and other events throughout the year. For 2012 they already have 250 occupancy days booked.

The stadium underwent renovations after the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and re-opened last fall. Aside from the roof replacement, seismic upgrades were performed, suites were re-modeled, seats were swapped out, and many of the grey cement walls were transformed into large multi-storey windows.

I’ve spent more time at BC Place in the last few months that I have at any other point in my life since we became WhitecapsFC season ticket holders. ‘Fresh air’ and ‘light’ are now words you can associate with the stadium.

I took a quick tour last week prior to the first BC Lions exhibition game of the season. Graham Ramsay, Director of Sales and Marketing, fielded my questions that mostly stemmed from overheard conversations at games.

Why this colour pattern on the seats?
You’ll notice there doesn’t appear to be a discernible pattern to the grey, orange, and red seats placed around the stadium. Ramsay said that the developer quite simply showed them 6 different computer-generated layout patterns for the seats, then they chose one that looked good and went with it. They wanted to avoid big blocks of blue (from the previous seats) that you would see in the old BC Place configuration.

Can you close the roof if it starts raining during a game?
The roof can be closed at any time however, Ramsay said that’s something they can’t do in the middle of a match as it could effect game play (wind direction and other conditions). It takes about 20 minutes for the roof to fully open or close.

Play Dome at BC Place. Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

How long does it take to go from a Whitecaps to BC Lions setup?
Removing the banners from seats, opening up the top level, cleaning the lines off the field, adding in the goal posts — all of that takes about 48 hours to complete. For special events, the field gets covered in over 1200 sheets of Terracover material.

Something new that’s been introduced to BC Place this season is a wider selection of food options. From a Vij’s stand and Steveston Fish & Chips, to ‘Southsliders’ pulled pork mini burgers.

I also got a taste of what you can find in the Edgewater Lounge, near the club section and suites. There I met Executive Chef Ryan Stone who demonstrated the “hot potato bar” — think Marble Slab or Coldstone Creamery for ice cream but on a hot marble slab and with mashed potato. Guests can choose their toppings like braised short rib, chicken, bacon, onions, gravy, and cheese curds.

Lost and Found, where do the items go?
Any items not claimed from lost and found at BC Place after a 2-month period are sent to the Development Disability Association, a charity supported by BC Place.

If you would like to check out BC Place for yourself, whether you’ve seen the results of the renovation already or not, I have 2 tickets available for the BC Lions season opener against Winnipeg on June 29th. Here’s how you can enter to win them:

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I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 11:00pm. Update The winner is ag.!

The Royal BC Museum, a favourite attraction of many in Victoria (myself included), has opened up a satellite gallery in Vancouver at the Wing Sang building on East Pender.

From June 14 to September 3, 2012 Wing Sang will feature Intimate Glimpses: Emily Carr — the evolution of an artist. This exhibition will include a recently uncovered Emily Carr “funny book” and watercolour, neither seen by the public before.

Curious is the overall theme of the four new and concurrent summer installations created by the Royal BC Museum: Intimate Glimpses, Artifact|Artifiction, Magic Lantern and Bottled Beauty. Each is built around unique items and stories from the 125-year-old provincial museum and archives, based in Victoria.

The satellite museum gallery, Royal BC Museum at Wing Sang, is made possible by the Museum’s Sustaining Patron, Rennie Marketing Systems.

The Wing Sang building is the oldest in Vancouver Chinatown. The Victorian Italianate structure located at 51 East Pender Street was constructed in 1889 for Yip Sang, a prominent Chinese-Canadian businessman whose Wing Sang Company flourished in an era when the Chinese faced discrimination and restrictions.

In 1901 the building was extended to 69 East Pender Street by architect Thomas Ennor Julian (best known for Holy Rosary Cathedral). In 1912, Yip Sang built a six-storey brick building across the alley behind Pender Street for his family.

An elevated passageway connected the two buildings. Beneath it ran Market Alley, a once thriving retail area with small shops and services which also served as a former center for the production of opium (legal in Canada until 1909). The building has had a rich and varied history and contains the oldest schoolroom in Vancouver. Wing Sang Building acquired historical preservation and heritage designation by the City of Vancouver in 1999. [Continue reading »]

The satellite gallery is open every day from 10:00am to 6:00pm now until September 3, 2012. If you’re already a Royal BC Museum member, your admission is free. Others can enjoy the exhibit for $11, or $33 for a family pass.

Make a day of it and visit Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens or the Chinatown Night Market on your visit if it falls on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday this summer.

Follow the Royal BC Museum on Twitter and use the tags #WingSang & #YVR if you’re posting updates about the exhibition.

Free outdoor movies are returning to Stanley Park’s Ceperley Meadow this summer thanks to Fresh Air Cinama. Not much can top ending your day out around the water or under the forest canopy like a free film in the meadow at sunset.

Photo credit: rbrtwhite on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

If you’re planning your date night, family night, or outing with friends, here’s the lineup for Stanley Park free outdoor movies this year, a part of the Chevron Summer Cinema Series:

The films begin at dusk, when it’s dark enough to see the screen, so showtimes may vary. Follow Fresh Air Cinemas on Facebook for all of their outdoor movie listings around the province.

The Vancouver Park Board also presented Dance at Dusk, happening on Tuesday nights this summer. Stop by for a free dance, then a free movie. Pack a picnic and make it the perfect summer evening in Vancouver.

Vancouver’s ultimate bike festival, Velopalooza, is on for the next two weeks with a packed schedule of over 125 events.

Photo credit: {e u g e n e} on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

Every morning begins with what they’re calling “Morning Mass” — a sunrise bike ride starting out from Devonian Harbour Park at Georgia and Denman. We’re now three days into Velopalooza and some of the upcoming events include:

• Junktion Kickball Dusk Ride: Drop-in kickball for adults tonight at 7:00pm at Robson Park on Kingsway.
• Mystery Ride: Departing from Broadway and Commercial tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19th.
• Meet up for beer & ride bikes to the Whitecaps game (free bike valet) on Wednesday, June 20th.
• PEDAL Ladies Night: Come learn to fix your bike with a bunch of great ladies at the Pedal Depot.
• Bike! Bike! Conference on Thursday, June 22nd. An international annual conference organized by and for not-for-profit community bicycle projects and initiatives.
• Richmond Dyke Dash: A non-competitive fast paced ride from the RiverRock Casino to Gary Point and then up the dyke to shell and back to the casino following the the shell road trail on Friday, June 22nd.
• 5th Community Bike Fair at Second Street Community School in Burnaby on Friday, June 22nd.
• 2nd Annual Kiddiepalooza at MacLean Park on Saturday, June 23rd.
• Water Gun Bike Wars on Saturday, June 23rd meeting at the Village on False Creek.
• … And that’s just the first week! Velopalooza runs until July 2nd in and around Vancouver.

A full schedule of events, that are either free or very affordable, is posted online. All you need to bring is your bike. Everyone has the chance to lead a ride by adding it to the calendar and Velopalooza operates year-round, promoting bike-themed events around the city.

Follow Velopalooza on Facebook and Twitter for more information and event updates.