Holiday Craft Markets in Vancouver 2011

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

It’s a crafter’s wonderland around Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley this season as craft markets open their doors and setup their tables for the busy holiday season. I managed to find a great selection of events to share including a handful of listings from GotCraft?.

day 18 ornament
Photo credit: hownowdesign

Christmas at Hycroft
Date: Thursday, November 17 to
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 9:00pm
(closes 6:00pm Saturday & Sunday)
Location: Hycroft (1489 McRae Ave)

Riverside Secondary 9th Annual Craft & Dealer Fair
Date: Saturday, November 19, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Location: Riverside Secondary
(2215 Reeve St, Port Coquitlam)

- Yum Yum
Photo credit: Warm n’ Fuzzy

Britannia Christmas Craft Fair
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011
Time: 3:00pm to 8:00pm
Date: Saturday, November 19
and Sunday, November 20, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Location: Britannia Secondary School
Gyms A&B (1001 Cotton Drive)

Blim Community Market 2011
Date: Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Time: 12:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Chinese Cultural Centre (50 East Pender)

crafts
Photo credit: Margarida Sardo

Bloom Market
Date: Sunday, November 20, 2011
Time: 11:00am to 5:00pm
Location: Fort Langley Community Hall

Make it! Vancouver
Date: Thursday, November 24 to
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Time: 4:00pm to 9:00pm (Thursday)
Opens at 11:00am Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Location: Croatian Cultural Centre
(3250 Commercial Drive)

Knitting :)
Photo credit: stephalicious

Strathcona Winter Craft Fair
Date: Saturday, November 26, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Location: Strathcona Community Centre
(601 Keefer)

Urban Artisans Craft Fair
Date: Saturday, November 26 to
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Where: Roundhouse Community Centre
(181 Roundhouse Mews)

Handmade Construction Paper Ornaments
Photo: Patrick Q

Crafts for a Cause
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2011
Time: 6:00pm to 10:00pm
Where: Rhizome Cafe (317 East Broadway)

Got Craft?
Date: Sunday, December 4, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Where: Royal Canadian Legion
(2205 Commercial Drive)

One of a Kind
Date: Thursday, December 8 to Sunday, December 11, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 9:00pm (closes 5:00pm on Sunday)
Location: Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place)

The Craftacular
Date: Sunday, December 11 to Monday, December 12, 2011
Time: 5:00pm to 10:00pm Sunday 12:00pm to 7:00pm Monday
Location: The Beehive Hair Lounge (3904 Fraser)

Inside Vancouver has listed their Top 5 picks for holiday craft markets.

Also check out the Winter Farmers Market every week until April and browse holiday theatre listings for gift ideas.

Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival 2011

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival takes place this weekend in the Harrison region. The schedule is filled with special events at the Kilby Historic Site, Sandpiper Golf Resort, entertainment, and of course viewing of these magnificent birds who call the area home.

Eagle
Photo credit: Tyler Ingram on Flickr

View eagle at the aptly-named Eagle Point Park, visit the artisan fair or exhibitor fair, go on a riverside walking tour, or head out on the water by jet boat.

The festival would be great for families, nature lovers, and wildlife photographers. The 16th annual Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival (which is a registered local charity) takes place November 19th and 20th with various activities running between 9:00am and 4:00pm.

HistoryPin: Places Then and Now

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

HistoryPin has been developed by We Are What We Do (a non-profit company) and Google to mashup maps with historic photos from communities around the world.

HistoryPin

The map works by adding user-contributed photos to Google Maps and Street Views. You can zoom into communities and pin points for a true “the and now” view of streets, buildings, and places. City of Vancouver Archives volunteers spent hours uploading and cultivating their official HistoryPin page and the results are impressive.

HistoryPin

Other organizations that have added their content such as the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Public Library, the Museum of the City of New York, the London Metropolitan Archives, and hundreds of others including schools.

Any user can upload images (which will be moderated if they are inappropriate or offensive) and each user retains credit for the photo which will link back to their profile. You can also use the map to create your own historic tours of a neighbourhood, splashed with street views and old photos for reference. Do you have your parents’ old photos from their 1972 trip to Seattle? You can digitize their trip and make a tour, mashed up with modern map points.

It’s free to use the site, upload photos, and create tours. I know that I could spend hours browsing the British Columbia points and tours, and I’m thankful that the Vancouver Archives hopped on board with this project. Download the web app for your iPhone or Android to check out points on the go.

Cento Notti Yaletown

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt
Disclosure: Review — I was not paid to write this post nor was I expected to publish a review. Our meal was compliments of Cento Notti. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

Formerly Elixir, the restaurant space at the Opus Hotel has undergone month of changes with the 100 Days, followed by the 100 Nights pop-up bistros. The most recent incarnation is Cento Notti, another pop-up but with new decor and a menu focused on hand-made Italian specialties.

Cento Notti - Yaletown

Mirrors, pearls, painted busts, and candlelight give the space a warm, golden glow. The single-page menu is presented on a clipboard as you select from appetizers, mains, and sides. Our server highlighted a few features, including the burrata (made in-house) with roasted onion jam & rosemary oil, and recommended that we get some sides to share since the pasta portions aren’t overly generous.

Cento Notti - Yaletown

We began with the wild boar & asiago meatballs in tomato fondue ($9). There were 3 of us and 4 meatballs arrived. Our forks fought over who got to devour the remainder. The tomato fondue was a fresh tomato sauce with cheese melted throughout – perfect for dipping. Executive Chef Paul Marshall also prepared an amuse bouche and a crisp salad with kale, grapefruit slices, and blue cheese.

Cento Notti - Yaletown

Our three main courses were spaghetti bolognese with shaved blue cheese ($16) for John, the hand-rolled gnocchi with tomato pomodoro and fresh basil ($17) for me, and our dear friend Laura was presented with the prawn-of-all-jumbo-prawns atop her fettucini with lemon herb vegetables ($26).

Cento Notti - Yaletown

Cento Notti - Yaletown

Cento Notti - Yaletown

The generous tomato topping on my gnocchi was light and fresh, giving a nice contrasts to the soft, tender, and cheesy pasta. John said that he enjoyed his spaghetti (he got it because it’s the signature dish) and that the hint of blue cheese was not overpowering, which can sometimes happen.

Cento Notti - Yaletown

We ordered two sides to share (steamed asparagus and brocollini with chili) although I think we would have been good with just the brocollini as the pasta portions were just right.

Full from our mains, and just able to get the last few vegetables from fork to mouth, our eyes widened as dessert was delivered on a majestic platter. There’s always room for dessert.

Cento Notti - Yaletown Cento Notti - Yaletown

There was a lemon tart with (what I’m going to call) drunken cherries, a chocolate panna cotta with roasted strawberries, and a frozen tiramisu that was slice of mocha heaven.

Cento Notti - Yaletown Cento Notti - Yaletown

If you haven’t been by Cento Notti in its current form, it’s worth making a reservation — although it wasn’t very busy around 7:00pm on a Monday night (probably a different story on a Canucks game night in the bar area though). For an appetizer, two dinners, and a dessert, you can look to spend about $60 on a date night, which isn’t outrageous at all. The warm tones, attentive staff, and remixed house music make it a welcoming space for couples and friends out on the town.

Cento Notti is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter to hear about their daily offerings.

Vancouver Winter Farmers Market 2011

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

From Trout Lake to the West End, Main Street to Kerrisdale, weekend markets are hopping in the summer months around Vancouver. They have the best local produce and hand-crafted goodies from May to October. The offerings now continue as Your Local Farmers Market Society presents the Winter Farmers Market along with a Holiday Market next month.

Somerville Winter Market, 1/8/2011
Photo credit: rutt on Flickr

Winter Farmers Market
When: Saturdays through to April 28, 2012. Open 10:00am to 2:00pm.
Where: East Parking Lot of Nat Bailey Stadium (30th and Ontario)

Holiday Market
When: Saturday, December 17, 2011 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Where: Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive)

Operations Manager Roberta LaQuaglia told me that at a winter market you can find root crops and hardy greens, apples and pears, greenhouse veggies, cheese, meat, seafood, baking, and preserves. Christmas trees will also be available from Bees Knees in Chilliwack.