The Tour de Concord criterium cycling raceand its accompanying Free Family Bike Festival is coming up Saturday, June 10th. Tour de Concord is part of Concord’s returning Summer Wellness Series which also includes “Own Your Run” and Yoga @ Concord Community Park with lululemon.
Free Family Bike Festival and Tour de Concord Cycling Race
When: Saturday, June 10, 2023 from 10:00am to 3:00pm
Where: Concord Pacific Place (88 Pacific Boulevard)
Admission: Free! Everyone is welcome to register online and check in on site to receive a wristband that grants admission and access to perks at the bike-themed community festival. All those who register and check-in on site will be entered for various prize draws, including a chance to win thousands in Trek gift cards and a staycation at the Westin Bayshore with a VIDA Spa visit.
The race and the onsite festival will be Vancouver’s first major summer event and takes place on a new 900-metre cycling course fully contained within Concord Pacific Place on the north shore of False Creek. This new configuration allows for a custom designed route that eliminates the need for closures of surrounding city streets to minimize disruptions for surrounding residents.
Experience the exhilaration of amateur and pro cyclists’ racers close-up with: Amateur Races; Kids 6-12 Years Old Track Lap; Concord Charity Race; Men’s and Women’s Pro Races. Athletes can register via Cycling BC.
More Event Features
Kids aged 6-12 are encouraged to bring their own bikes and see how it feels to take a lap on the closed course prior to the Tour de Concord Criterium.
There are also free bike safety checks and tune-ups provided by Trek Bicycle, food trucks, various bike vendors, and a beer garden. Kids can enjoy free treats including popcorn and ice cream.
Cycling BC’s HopOn Kids Zone offers free drop-in skills, obstacle course and games sessions for children between the ages of 3-12.
See displays of the latest e-bikes, road bikes and mountain bikes, and help end bike theft by registering your bike for free onsite with the 529 Garage, the world’s largest digital registration and theft recovery system.
Concord Charity Race
Ten teams of three cyclists will complete eight 900-metre laps. The best combined team lap times overall wins $5000 for the local kids’ charity or organization of their choice. There is already a waiting list for this popular race.
Along with Tour de Concord, the Concord Pacific presents a summer wellness series in partnership with lululemon, and the “Own Your Run” which starts today at Concord Community Park. It will be followed in July by Thursday Yoga at Concord Community Park which attracts hundreds every week throughout the summer.
Join the Vancouver Heritage Foundation (“VHF”) to discover the rich heritage and diverse stories of Vancouver’s first neighbourhood: Strathcona. Pick your stops from the self-guided Vancouver Heritage House Tour book and learn historical information about every site with the help of volunteers on location as well.
Tickets cannot be accessed through email as they are detailed guidebooks and must either be mailed if purchased before May 25 or picked up from the VHF office (303 – 3102 Main Street) open from 9:00am to 5:00pm mid-May. Guidebooks may also be picked up from VHF office on June 4 from 9:30am to 3:30pm.
Strathcona, or the East End as it was known until the 1950s, is Vancouver’s first neighbourhood. What started out as a collection of shacks and cottages around the Hastings Mill site has grown into a vibrant, multicultural community filled with historic sites, community spaces, artist studios and corner grocery stores. A diverse area that many new immigrants once called home, it is a community that has managed to survive and thrive, despite constant pressure for change.
Take a peek inside a selection of unique heritage properties and learn about their history, architecture, and design, as well as other lesser-known places and spaces that have shaped the area. Participants will also have the opportunity to connect with local Strathcona businesses and community organizations through outdoor activations and further explore the neighbourhood through themed discovery routes and a heritage scavenger hunt.
The tour is self-guided and ticket holders can choose which stops to visit and in which order. Volunteers and your guidebook will offer historical information about each site as well as additional neighbourhood insights.
The tour will be well enjoyed on foot, by bike or by transit, although parking information will also be provided. Please be aware that ticket holders are responsible for finding and covering costs associated with vehicle parking. VHF will also provide information on local transit routes with your ticket.
This summer at Burnaby Village Museum you can explore historical exhibits and live demonstrations, take a ride on the restored 1912 C.W. Parker Carousel, enjoy a picnic lunch in the meadow, and much more!
Summer at Burnaby Village Museum
When: May 6 to September 4, 2023
11:00am to 4:30pm, Tuesday to Sunday, including statutory holidays
Where: Burnaby Village Museum (6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby)
Admission: FREE! Ride the restored 1912 C.W. Parker Carousel for $2.65
Scavenger Hunt Throughout the site Pick up your scavenger hunt at the gates and explore the scents of South Asia.
Bell’s Basics – Bell’s Dry Goods Learn about matching, measuring and patterning fabrics.
Coffee Grinding – General Store See and smell the coffee beans ground by hand.
Cedar Basket – Love Farmhouse Learn about Hazel’s cedar basket.
Ruby’s Lunch – Seaforth School What is in Ruby’s lunch? Find out at the schoolhouse.
Blacksmithing – Blacksmith Shop Watch the metalsmith heat and hammer metal objects.
Weekly Activities
Heritage Games – in the Meadow Tuesdays 1:00pm to 3:00pm Engage in a variety of hands-on games and toys. Fun for kids and adults!
Steam Demo – in the Steam Shed Wednesdays throughout the day Learn about how steam pressure runs machinery.
Butter Making – at the Love Farmhouse Thursdays 11:30am to 3:30pm Watch, learn (or churn?) and try butter made from scratch.
Mahjong – at the Herbalist Fridays 1:00pm to 3:00pm Participate in this Chinese game of strategy, skill, and summation.
Coast Salish Seed Bombs – Saturdays, 11:15am & 2:15pm Make a seed bomb with Coast Salish plant seeds. Take it home or place it in your garden. This is a registered program, book your spot at the entrance to the site for $5.
Gardner in Residence – in the Orchard Sundays, 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Hands on Harvest – in the Orchard Sundays (beginning June) 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Featured Exhibits
Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby
This exhibit highlights the stories of Burnaby’s South Asian Canadian communities as they migrated to Burnaby in the early 1900s to find jobs, experienced restrictive policies and worked together to build community supports. Truths Not Often Told: Being South Asian in Burnaby evolved from a multi-year research project to record and present the diverse experiences of Burnaby’s South Asian Canadian communities and features recorded poetry and plays, family photographs, cultural belongings and the commissioned art by renowned South Asian visual artist, Jag Nagra.
Produced in close consultation with the Museum’s South Asian Advisory Committee and curated by Burnaby Village Museum’s Curator Jane Lemke and Simon Fraser University Visiting Faculty Dr. Anushay Malik.
The 7th annual ParkerArtSalon at the Pendulum Gallery May 15 to June 16, 2023 begins with a preview exhibition, What Moves You featuring more than 50 artists, emerging and established, showcasing a diverse range of creative output. What Moves You invites visitors to explore: What provokes, stimulates, inspires, and moves the heart and mind?
“What Moves You” ParkerArtSalon Exhibit at Pendulum Gallery
When: May 15 to June 16, 2023
Where: Pendulum Gallery, 885 W Georgia Street, Vancouver
What Moves You is a thought-provoking exploration of what inspires, stimulates and moves artists, inviting visitors to discover what moves them too. The exhibition promises to be a captivating blend of disciplines, styles and ideas, all coming together in one dynamic showcase.
In addition to the exhibition, there will be an online auction hosted by Waddington’s Auctions, taking place online nationwide, with 50 percent of the auction proceeds going to the Beedie Luminaries Foundation’s program. Online bidding will commence at the Pendulum Gallery Reception on June 8th and will remain online until closing on June 17th.
An additional open studio look at participating Parker Street Studios artists and hall exhibition will take place June 10th at 1000 Parker Street, Vancouver.
Zee Zee Theatre presents the world premiere of the fully-staged, female-led comedy, Unexpecting from May 5 to 21, 2023. Written by emerging Vancouver playwright Bronwyn Carradine, and directed by Zee Zee Theatre’s Artistic and Executive Director Cameron Mackenzie, the heartfelt work explores the challenges and triumphs of modern-day female relationships, as queer partners navigate careers, finances, and the desire to build a family with love, ambition, and compassion.
Unexpecting Premiere at Zee Zee Theatre
When: May 5 to 21, 2023 at 8:00pm Wednesday through Saturday and 2:00pm Saturday and Sunday (except for May 6)
Where: Studio 16 (1551 West 17th Ave, Vancouver)
Admission: Tickets are available for purchase online; Zee Zee Theatre is also offering an accessible pricing option. Each performance of Unexpecting will have 15 Reduced Barrier Tickets available at $15 each (excluding the preview performance on May 5)
Set in East Vancouver, married couple Annie and Josephine have been trying to start a family for the past five years. Annie, a struggling writer with one, decade-old bestseller to her name, and Jo, a painter who longs for motherhood, start to second-guess themselves and their relationship as their patience and finances reach rock-bottom. Complicated by the presence of Annie’s brash, lifelong best friend, Pam, the couple are tested when presented with the sudden opportunity to adopt a baby.
“While Unexpecting is a joyful and insightful celebration of queer love and the intricacies of relationships, this play is truly for anyone who has struggled with their decision to become parents,” says Mackenzie, Unexpecting director and Zee Zee Theatre Artistic and Executive Director. “Written by one of Vancouver’s most compelling new playwrights, and full of quick-witted humour and enormous heart, Unexpecting offers Vancouver audiences a fresh perspective on love, loss, commitment, and the unpredictable journey towards modern motherhood.”
Initially developed as part of the Arts Club Theatre Company’s “Listen to This Series,” and first presented as an audio play in February 2021, Unexpecting was praised for its “humour, warmth, and fast-moving dialogue” by Stir Vancouver. Zee Zee Theatre’s production of Unexpecting represents the first time this play will be performed in front of a live audience.
Inspired by Carradine’s adolescent affection for romantic comedies, Unexpecting is a love letter to female relationships in our modern world, with relatable characters, a familiar setting, and an uplifting message about the courage and vulnerability it takes to hold on to your loved ones.
Win Tickets
I have a pair of tickets to give away to the Opening Night performance on May 6th. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Unexpecting stars Elizabeth Barrett, Jessica Heafey, Melissa Oei and Rahat Saini. Set design is by Lachlan Johnston, costume design by Carmen Alatorre, lighting design by Sophie Tang, sound design by Shawn Sorensen, and props design by Carol MacDonald.
For more information and to stay up to date with Zee Zee Theatre, visit their website and follow Zee Zee Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.