My Metro Vancouver Park Series has laid dormant for several months but with spring around the corner, what better time to profile some of our region’s best green spaces. Today’s feature is on Garry Point Park in Richmond.
Basics
A 39-acre waterfront park at the mouth of the Fraser River in south Richmond, at Steveston.
How to get there
Head West on Steveston Highway then turn south on No 1 Road until you reach Chatham Street. Turn right on Chatham and head all the way to the end of the road.
View Larger Map
History
Walk over to the Scotch Pond Historic Moorage Site in Garry Point Park. It was originally a slough then was dredged in the early 1950s and connected by a channel to the Strait of Georgia.
Along with the pond are the remains of wooden boardwalk pilings which run directly along the south edge of the pond and were constructed in 1899 as part of the Scottish Canadian Cannery operation. The Pond is located on Garry Point Park in the tidal flats of Sturgeon Bank, on a line that is a western extension of Chatham Street.
Scotch Pond’s heritage values include its historical associations, first with the use of the original slough at Garry Point as the location of a year round Musqueam Indian settlement until the late 1890’s, with the Scottish Canadian Cannery built by Malcolm and Windsor in 1899, with the Atagi Boatworks located at the head of the slough and operated until Japanese internment during World War II, and finally with the dredging operation undertaken in the 1950’s by the Canadian Fishing Company. [source]
Photo credit:
Ruth and Dave &
Popejon2 on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.
Photo credit: Americanuck – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.
Photo credit: rbrtwhite on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.
Features
From sunsets and watching boats on the Fraser River to views of the Gulf Islands, fishing, and sandy beaches, there’s plenty for all ages to enjoy at Garry Point.
![Catch The Sun [Explored - Front Page]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6157/6202561887_df449d0816_z.jpg)
Take a quick walk over from Steveston and return for lunch in the village or check out the Japanese Garden, Fisherman’s Memorial sculpture and the Scotch Pond Historic Moorage site. Kite flying is also a popular activity. Parking, picnic tables, washrooms and a food concession stand are available.
West Dyke Trail: The popular West Dyke Trail provides excellent view of the Sturgeon Banks marshes, distant Howe Sound mountains, and the Gulf Islands along a 5.5 km path between Terra Nova and Garry Point Park.
Find more parks by browsing all 37 entries in my Metro Vancouver Park Series.
Tweetups (Twitter meetups) “back in the day” used to be when you were out at a restaurant or pub, picked up your phone, and told others on Twitter to spontaneously join you. Arriving with a pint in their hand, you would chat up new friends and old thanks to social media.
Now that things are a little more organized in the online realm, Vancouver has its very own, official beer Tweetup that organizers hope will become a monthly event.
@YVRBeerTweetup was founded in early 2012 by Jonathan Evans (@JonnyBeers) and Nick (@VancityBeerGuy).
“We just had a few tweets back and forth about how there was a lack of Tweetups in Vancouver, in January,” Jonathan told me over the phone. “We both like beer so we said ‘let’s do a beer Tweeetup’, then we both laughed about it… then thought ‘why not?’.”
The very next day Jonathan and Nick started up the Twitter account and saw a rush of 100 followers almost instantly. Within 2 days, they already had the interest of 8 local breweries and venues.
The first YVRBeerTweetup happened at Doolins just 2 weeks following their brainstorm and the second is on its way. The instant popularity can be credited to the wide reach of Twitter, pulling in audiences from all professions and corners of the region and of course, as Jonathan says, the common denominator is the beer.
The plan is to make YVRBeerTweetup a monthly occurrence and now with over 10 venues interested, they’re looking to diversify the event’s activities. “We don’t want to have the exact same thing every time,” Jonathan added. Beer dinners, bus tours, and expanding beyond Vancouver – reaching out to Howe Sound, Surrey, the Fraser Valley, and the interior could be next.
Join the next Tweetup at Malone’s on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The beer special will be $5 sleeves for a Central City cask espresso vanilla bean oatmeal stout. You can also order a BC beer taster paddle (five x 4 ounce samplers) for $6. For food, there will be poutine for $5 and burgers for $6. Just show up and enjoy.
Find out everything you need to know about upcoming events by following @YVRBeerTweetup on Twitter.
The 8th annual Vancouver Diversity Health Fair is happening this Saturday with a theme of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection. The fair will feature cooking demonstrations, a kids activity zone, free health screenings, multicultural performances, and over 50 health-related exhibitors.
Where Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive)
When Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 10:00am to 3:00pm
Tickets Admission is free, no tickets are required for entry.
The Diversity Health Fair is in initiative of the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Services Agencies of BC (“AMSSA”), which also operates the Safe Harbour workplace campaign. AMSSA is “committed to a vision of a just and equitable society in which everyone benefits from social and economic inclusion.”
Follow the Diversity Health Fair on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about this weekend’s event and other AMSSA projects. Miss604.com is a sponsor of the 2012 Diversity Health Fair.
A few weeks ago we spent the weekend at Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet, just ahead of Valentine’s Day. We did a rain-soaked late night drive across the Tofino Highway, arriving on a Friday, and took the ferry home from Nanaimo on Sunday afternoon.
Probably one of the best hotel room views in the world.
We had an unbelievable spacious 2-bedroom suite — I only managed to snap photos of 1 of the bedrooms and bathrooms since we were using the others. We spent the evening sipping wine by the fireplace as the incessant chorus of waves crashed on the rocks below.
In the smaller of 2 bedrooms. The view of the bed, and the view from the bed.
Living area view.
On Saturday we went for a walk around the Wild Pacific Trail and enjoyed lunch in our suite. We had a full kitchen, with a dishwasher, hidden fridge, a coffee maker, kettle, stemware, dishes, and more. The little things make all the difference when it comes to the comfort of one’s stay at a resort. Top of the line amenities, cedar beams, slate tiles, and coastal artwork, to gas fireplaces, wall-mounted flat-screen televisions, iPod docks, in-floor heating, and open WIFI. Consider the location, setting, and views, I have to say that it’s quite magnificent.
Wrap-around patio.
Another view from the other side of our balcony.
Later that night we enjoyed the “Sweetheart Dinner & Chocolate Addiction Dessert” at Fetch Restaurant downstairs. It is a beautiful restaurant with modern, West Coast decor, looking out on the sharp and ominous ocean rocks of Ucluelet. Their seasonal menus are a reflection of Vancouver Island’s local ingredients and the best of BC’s wine offerings. This was our second dining experience at Fetch, the first was in 2010, and it did not disappoint.
The meal was capped off with the chocolate buffet in the wine cellar complete with a chocolate fountain, brownies, trifle, mousse, a cupcake tower, and chocolate-covered bacon. The dinner package was $58 per person and we did the wine pairing as well which was $35 per person.
Another balcony view and the patio for Fetch Restaurant, bottom right.
Coming up at Black Rock in March, you can enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day Phillips Beer Tasting Event (in Float Lounge) March 17th and Barnacle Blues: A Whale Festival Tasting Event (in the Rainforest Ballroom) on March 23rd with live music from Headwater and the legendary Jim Byrnes.
The resort is always offering various packages such as the Gourmet Getaway or Storm Watching package starting at $195 per person, including 2-nights accommodation and dining credits. They also habe a package for the Whale Festival where you can stay for four nights and only pay for three.
Black Rock also has a spa facility and banquet rooms for large events and weddings.
Last summer I sponsored Burnaby Heights‘ Hats Off Day which, as I quickly found out, is an annual summer highlight for tens of thousands. Since that time, I have worked with Burnaby Heights Merchant Association a little more and have now partnered with them for a fantastic contest where you can enter to win $250 gift cards every day, all day this week.
Experience Burnaby Heights
Every day this week they will post a new prize theme. You can enter the contest 3 different ways daily by visiting the new Burnaby Height website, Liking them on Facebook, or following @BurnabyHeights on Twitter and re-tweeting the daily contest code. I will also update this post with their daily prize information:
1. Monday’s prize theme is Beauty and Fashion. You can enter to win $100 to spend at Chickadee Boutique and $150 to spend at Athena Day Spa.
2. Tuesday’s prize theme is Dine the Heights from morning till night. You can enter to win $250 to spend between Chez Meme Baguette Bistro, Anton’s Pasta Bar, and The Pear Tree Restaurant.
3. Wednesday’s prize theme is Get fit and have fun on the Heights. You can enter to win $250 to spend between Dance Addicts Studio and Moksha Yoga & Heart.
3. Thursday’s prize theme is Gourmet shopping made easy. Enter to win $250 to spend between Cioffi’s Meat Market & Gourmet Kitchen, Valley Bakery, Regent Fish Market, and Rocky’s Meats.
They will draw a winner daily at 12:00pm then open up the next stage of the contest, which will be another shopping prize valued at $250, until Friday afternoon.
Experience Burnaby Heights with Miss604
They have also offered up $100 to spend on the Heights exclusively to one Miss604 reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post with the name of a Burnaby Heights merchant. There are over 350 businesses located along East Hastings from Boundary to Gamma to choose from. Drug stores, coffee shops, bakeries, beauty, fitness, services, and more.
I will draw one winner at random from all of my entries at 12:00pm on Friday, March 2, 2012. Update My winner is Angie!
