There will be street hockey on Granville this month as the road is closed to traffic and thousands celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Street hockey games popped up on Smithe, Howe, Granville, in Yaletown and across the region as so many participated in cheering on our Canadian athletes by playing our nation’s celebrated game.
Five Hole for Food, a charity street hockey event that crosses the country to fundraise for local foodbanks, is behind this initiative. “Being a proud Canadian, it occurred to me that in the name of community and charity we could play hockey for a good cause and thus Five Hole for Food was born,” founder Richard Loat told me last summer. “When we heard that they were shutting down Granville to try and recreate some of those Olympic memories we were first to ask about the road hockey. Lets be honest, it wouldn’t really be a commemorative street party if there wasn’t any road hockey now would it?”
Street hockey will take place February 12, 2011 during the Olympic Commemoration Street Party downtown and the rink will be setup at the 700 block of Granville. There will be integration with Lunar Fest, the Canadian Mint will be open, and a handful of other activities across the city will also be taking place. The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association is behind most of the anniversary event planning and they have a few ‘big names’ who will be making an appearance during the street hockey event (to be announced at a later date).
The Greater Vancouver Foodbank Society will be at the hockey game to collect donations and you can RSVP for the event on Facebook.
February 12th is also Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada up in Whitehorse.
My monthly event listings return for February 2011 as the city prepares to celebrate anniversaries, festivals, tours and shows.
February 3, 2011
Japanese Canadian National Museum presents The Cats of Mirikitani
February 4, 2011
Vancouver Magazine presents A Big Night
23rd annual SnowBall Classic dance competition
Great Digital Film Festival
Kwantlen Polytechnic University Music & Arts symphony event Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
As you may know, it is Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary this year. It is also the 25th Anniversary of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden which is located in the heart of Chinatown.
Although the Garden has been around since 1986, many people have never visited. In some ways, it is Vancouver’s secret garden.
To help celebrate the special occasion, the Garden recently held a special ‘secret’ tour of the grounds and a few special surrounding businesses.
We started off with a reception inside the Gardens with some special guests, Mike Harcourt, who was mayor of Vancouver back in 1986 (as well as former Premier of BC) when the Gardens opened and Joe Wai, the renowned local architect behind the project. Both men described some of the challenges of getting the Gardens built and some interesting tidbits of how it all came together in the end.
The reception was followed with a lantern-lit tour of the Gardens. I’d only ever been inside during the day so it was pretty cool to see the place lit up on such a perfectly clear (and dry) evening.
When the Gardens were originally built, there were no high-rises around the area, unlike now. Being inside the Gardens and seeing the buildings outside adds to the secret feeling the place evokes.
We then headed out into the night air just around the corner for tour of the spectacular penthouse of The Keefer Suites and a cocktail reception hosted by Danielle Tatarin (bar manager @ The Keefer Bar) served from her wonderful apocrathy cart.
My favourite cocktail was the Dragonfly (gin, Pearl Sake, ginger, lemon and Magnolia Bark).
The penthouse has been host to many famous visitors and was recently used as the apartment for Chris Pine’s character in the upcoming movie, This Means War. It features an amazing rooftop pool which can be seen from below inside the main hall of the penthouse as a stunning skylight:
After a few tasty cocktails, we headed up the street for dinner at Bao-Bei – one of Canada’s Best New Restaurants according to EnRoute Magazine, where we had a wonderful family-style meal.
We then headed back to The Keefer Bar for the Sweet Soul Burlesque show, a regular event every Thursday night.
I had the pleasure of photographing the troop previously and their latest show didn’t disappoint, especially in the intimate setting of The Keefer. More photos from the show can be found on my Flickr stream.
Read more about upcoming activities in and around Chinatown as part of the 2011 Chinese New Year celebrations.
John is an avid photographer, gadget geek and traveller. You can find him on Twitter and at johnbiehler.com where he discusses photography and all sorts of technology. All photos in this post were taken by John.
Disclosure: cmp.ly/2 Activities, services and dining experiences during the tour were compliments of businesses mentioned.
The Year of the Rabbit will be rung in with much fanfare this week as communities across the city celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year Parade
Date: February 6, 2011 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Location: The starting point is at the Millennium Gate on Pender Street (between Shanghai Alley and Taylor Street) then the parade will proceed east along Pender Street, turn south onto Gore Street, turn west onto Keefer Street and then disperse at Keefer and Columbia. Check out the parade route map for the best viewing locations.
Details: This is a free, public event that is attended by 50,000 people each year with 3,000 participants from various community and cultural groups.
Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival
Date: February 6, 2011 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm (immediately following the parade)
Location: Chinese Cultural Centre Courtyard (50 East Pender St)
Details: Free, public event with a lions dance, multicultural performances, and martial arts demonstrations. More information is available from the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver .
International Village
Date: February 4, 5, 6, 2011 from 12:000pm to 10:00pm (7:00pm on Sunday)
Location: International Village (88 West Pender St)
Details: Sponsor showcases, multicultural performances, product and service booths, kids corner with games and activities, Chinese New Year Opening Ceremony on the main stage, and free admission.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden
Date: February 6, 2011 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Location: Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden. The entrance is in the lane off Carrall St between West Pender St and Keefer St.
Details: Drumming, children’s lions parade, flower-making, calligraphy, warm buns by Bon Chaz, storytelling, mini-tours of the gardens, face-painting, balloons and more. Admission is by suggested donation of $5.
Should you know of any other Year of the Rabbit celebrations or community events, please feel free to list them in the comments.
The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is celebrating Vancouver’s 125th birthday by seeking public assistance in nominating ‘Places that Matter‘.
1937 – The new City Hall superimposed with the first City Council in front of a tent. Archives Item# City P39
Over the next few weeks, the public are asked to submit an address, photo, and description about a place they feel is significant to Vancouver’s history. This could be a historic meeting place, a legendary venue, or a location where a momentous occasion. The VHF’s Places That Matter committee (of which I am a part) will then select 125 winning location that will receive a Vancouver 125 plaque as recognition.
The nomination form can be found online and there will be an event at the Vancouver Public Library Sunday February 26th, 2011 where you can submit your nomination in person. Nominations will be open for several weeks and then an online vote will open up March 16th, 2011. Once the winners are determined, the plaques will be written out during the summer and installations will occur in the fall. A mapping website to pin point each of the Places That Matter will also be launched at that time.
Key events: February 1, 2011: Nominations open & February 26, 2011: In-person nomination process at the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch 10:00am – 4:00pm.
Rules: All nominated places must have a history prior to 1991 and be located within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver.
Update March 2011: Voting is now open. Sites that were nominated throughout February and March have been listed and the public can now cast their vote.
