Summer is just a day away and with the heat already causing us to slather sunscreen on our normally Gore-Tex-covered skin, Vancouverites are looking for ways to cool off. With cottonwood fluff in the air, and the cedars emitting their aromas that smell like home in the PNW, our local Metro Vancouver lakes make for some lovely, scenic day trip destinations. Enjoy a picnic, paddle a canoe, build sandcastles with the kids, take a hike, and definitely cool off in the waters where swimming is available.

Here is a roundup of our beautiful local lakes, thanks to those who have shared their photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool and the #Photos604 tag on Instagram:

Metro Vancouver Lakes

Any more to add? Feel free to leave a note in the comments:

Surrey
Green Timbers Lake Trails, fishing, cycling. No swimming.
Surrey Lake Trails, fishing, cycling. No swimming.

Contributed by Megan Edwards and Janet Reynolds “The Und8ables” and authors of Girl it’s Not You (it’s definitely him)

Now ladies, we get it, the dating world is a tough one. It’s a dark and twisted tunnel that can swallow us up whole – leading us to believe we’ll be single forever, or asking the question, “what’s wrong with me?”. We’ve been through it all and we’ve actually written a book on it called “Girl it’s Not You (it’s definitely him)”.

From guys who disappear for 5 hours, to guys who arrive in their car to pick you up for the date butt naked. No matter how many bad dates we’ve endured, we have faith that the right guy is out there for everyone (yes, Miss Und8able, that means YOU too!) and you want to be at your best when that time comes. You go ahead and pamper yourself, spoil yourself, and when your date walks in, it’ll be all eyes on you! And hey, if the date doesn’t work out, call up your girlfriends and hit the town, cause you’ll be looking like a smoke show!   
 
Below are 5 “date ready” tips from some of our favourite places in VanCity – you’ll leave feeling like your best YOU – confident, gorgeous, and ready to grab the dating world by the balls (just the world, not your date).  

How to Get Ready for a First Date in Vancouver

1. The Skin Girls  
Girl, there’s nothing like having flawlessly soft, glowing skin, are we right? We can only do so much at home, so why not let the pros take care of the rest! The Skin Girls are at your service! How about an oxygen facial?  

Executive Hotel Le Soleil’s signature restaurant, Copper Chimney Indian Grill & Bar, located in downtown Vancouver’s financial district, is kicking off the summer season with fresh menus, a new Bread Bar concept, one of the city’s most extensive gin & tonic cocktail selections and an accompanying Indian Happy Hour.

These exciting changes come hot on the heels of the restaurant’s 2018 Vancouver Readers’ Choice Award in the “Downtown Indian Food” category hosted by the Vancouver Courier.

Copper Chimney Indian Grill & Bar

Where: 567 Hornby St, Vancouver
When: Happy Hour is Monday-Friday 3:00pm to 6:00pm
Reservations: Call 604-689-8862

Photo credit: Kuna Lu Photography

The Copper Chimney’s new menus continue to reflect an ongoing commitment to authentically prepared contemporary Indian comfort foods made in-house from scratch using family recipes, hand-ground exotic spices, fresh BC ingredients and the use of two tandoor (clay) ovens. The extensive, yet simple, menus pair classic Indian dishes with more western- influenced menu items with a few fun twists. There are also gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options.

Lunch is a favourite with the rushed downtown business crowd and this is where the two Tandoor ovens really shine as simple grilled meats, fish and breads cook swiftly. The Daily Tiffin (an ancient Indian design) is a popular takeout option that offers curries packed in an environmentally reusable metal container that guests can return to have filled with different daily offerings accompanied by naan bread, salad and rice for only $9.

The Bread Bar, offered at lunch and dinner, is a selection of fresh authentically-made flavoured naan breads and kulchas (stuffed breads or “Indian pizza”) cooked to perfection in the tandoor ovens. At dinner, the tandoor ovens impart a unique flavour to grilled meat, fish and chicken, while braised dishes such as the Bombay Braised Beef Short Ribs or Duck Korma are cooked slowly in their own juices.

Photo credit: Kuna Lu Photography

Indian Happy Hour at Copper Chimney is destined to be as fun and tasty as it is unique to Vancouver with menu items featuring an Indian-twist on classic dishes. From handmade samosas, Indian pizza, lamb meatballs or Bombay short rib sliders to squash fritters with tamarind dipping sauce and poutine creatively topped with butter chicken.

Copper Chimney’s new gin bar just might offer one of the city’s most extensive selections of gin & tonics and gin-based cocktails. To kick off the season, the bar will initially introduce 18 local and international gins, a selection of six flavoured tonics (using complementary Indian spices) along with condiments and natural flavours.

Win an Indian Happy Hour Party

I have the chance to give away a delicious prize to a lucky Miss604 reader and 5 friends! The prize includes:

• 1 welcome gin & tonic cocktail per person from the new gin bar featuring 18 local and international gins and a great selection of artisanal tonic waters.
• Copper Chimney poutine, topped with butter chicken
• Garlic naan and vegetable kulcha fresh from the tandoor ovens with a selection of three toppings
• Lamb meatball sliders, with avocado mint salsa
• Squash fritters, blue cheese raita, tamarind dipping
• Handmade samosas, tandoori vegetables, tandoori beef or chicken, mango chutney, tomato kalonji
• Bombay short rib sliders, pickled onion and smoked cheese
• Spiced chips and dip, jalapeno and cumin raita dip
• Manchurian cauliflower

Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Follow Copper Chimney & Miss604 on Instagram (1 entry)
• Follow Copper Chimney & Miss604 on Facebook (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

Prize value $150 (includes taxes but not gratuity). Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

Free outdoor movies are coming to Downtown Vancouver! The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (“DVBIA”) has just announced the lineup for their upcoming outdoor movie series, Summer Movie Nights on the Square, bringing a fun mix of classics and new favourites to the Vancouver Art Gallery’s North Plaza each Wednesday night.

Free Outdoor Movies in Downtown Vancouver

Summer Movie Nights on the Square will kick off on July 4 and continue through August 29 every Wednesday night. The movies will be shown at the North Plaza — which has just been renamed šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square — on Fresh Air Cinema’s giant, four-story, inflatable movie screens.

The theme of the first Summer Movie nights on the Square series will be “cities”. Each week you’ll be transported to another city, real or fictional, all from the comfort of Vancouver’s beautiful downtown core. Our first film will be chosen by you, the viewer, from a selection of five movies, including A Night at the Roxbury, Meditation Park, Midnight in Paris, Sleepless in Seattle, and Ghostbusters.

The 2018 Movie Nights on the Square lineup is:
JULY 4 – VIEWER’S CHOICE!
JULY 11 – Tokyo – Lost In Translation
JULY 18 – Fictional – Zootopia
JULY 25 – Las Vegas – Ocean’s Eleven
AUGUST 1 – Paris – Moulin Rouge
AUGUST 8 – London – Notting Hill
AUGUST 15 – San Francisco – Mrs. Doubtfire
AUGUST 22 – Los Angeles – La La Land
AUGUST 29 – New York – Avengers: Infinity War

Bring your lawn chair and join us on a cinematic tour of cities around the world at the first Summer Movie Nights on the Square.

Movies begin at sundown each night, but there are activities and festivities beginning at 5:00pm and continuing until the show begins. For more tips, news and regular updates on shows and schedules, visit Downtown Vancouver online, and Outdoor Movies BC on Facebook and Twitter.

Contributed by FestivalSeekers‘ Steve MacNaull

Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival

Robyn Cyr is one hip and awesome grandma. During the day she plays with her grandkids, aged 10, six and two, at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival. They romp in the bouncy castle and play games in the Family Fun Zone and pound on bongos, shake tambourines and dance in the interactive Playzone.

Of course, there are drinks and treats from food truck alley afterward. Then the kids go home to the babysitter and Cyr gathers her husband, daughter and son-in-law.

Charlie Jacobson at the 2017 fest

The adults return to the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival for one of the Saturday night’s headliner concerts – Celtic trio McGoldrick, McCusker & Doyle. Roots and Blues truly is the multi-generational family-friendly music fest.

Read more on FestivalSeekers »

It’s not too loud or too rowdy. And with 40 acts playing daytime and nighttime on four different stages, you’re sure to discover some amazing blues, folk, country, bluegrass, boogie, soul, funk, gospel, jazz, Celtic or reggae sounds.

The 25th anniversary fest in 2017 featured Cuban-Canadian jazz master Alex Cuba, 17-time Grammy winner bluegrass prince Ricky Skaggs and Indigenous DJ Shub.

My wife and I grooved to Alex Cuba, while our 15-year-old daughter and her friend were off catching the Talking Dreads’ beach-themed reggae. And we didn’t have to worry about two teens being off on their own on the grounds.

The 26th annual festival will be held in 2018 from August 16 to 19 and will again attract 35,000 to not just revel in the music, but also bask in Salmon Arm’s summer sunshine.

Performers include six-time Juno winner Colin James, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Family Stone, blues rockers MonkeyJunk, electric blues singer/songwriter Big Dave McLean, country-jazz artist Cindy Church, accordian-playing singer/songwriter Geoff Berner, blues evangelist Harpdog Brown and the West African rhythms of David Thiaw.

Houseboating with the Family

On the shore of Shuswap Lake in British Columbia’s idyllic Southern Interior, the region is a water sports, hiking, biking, wine and dine super-destination. You can combine the best of both worlds and use a houseboat as your floating hotel suite while attending the 2018 fest.

Roots and Blues and Waterway Houseboats has partnered to meld the two iconic experiences with fest packages.

Moor your luxury vessel at Salmon Arm Wharf and you are only a 15-minute walk through downtown Salmon Arm to the fest grounds.

A houseboat is an incredible family holiday headquarters. Waterways has multiple models that sleep 10 to 30. There’s no roughing it with comfy beds, air conditioning, gourmet kitchen with dishwasher, living room, dining room, fun decks for lounging and hitting the waterslide and both indoor and outdoor command centres to pilot the boat.

If You Go

• Get more details on the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival
• #ExploreShuswap, start by checking into Shuswap Tourism’s website.
• Did you know that the Roots and Blues Festival grounds are a 10 min walk to the Salmon Arm marina? Think outside the box and hit the water for the festival – rent a houseboat with our partners Waterway Houseboats.
• 2018 Waterways Houseboats celebrates its 50th anniversary on the Shuswap Lake. They are giving away 50 wicked prizes to celebrate! By booking and sharing your trip on social media using the #Waterway50for50 you will be entered to win 1 of 5 grand prizes including winning back your houseboat trip, a 2019 houseboat trip and more! And, all 2018 bookings will receive an extra $150 off. Discover your new favourite way to vacation. Book today.
• Read more about Houseboating on ZenSeekers.com

The Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival is August 16-19, 2018. Tickets are available online now.

On May 15, Vancouver City Council approved the signing of a proclamation to declare 2018 “The Year of the Queer” in Vancouver, in recognition of decades of LGBTQ contributions to the artistic, cultural, and social landscape of Vancouver. To celebrate, and to kickstart your summer with some really fun events, I have a fun prize package to give away featuring the following:

Queer Arts Festival

When: June 16 to June 28, 2018
Where: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, except where noted.
Tickets: Available online now

The Queer Arts Festival (“QAF”) marks its landmark 10th anniversary this year with a multi-disciplinary summer celebration called DECADEnce, running June 16 to 28, 2018 at Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre also commemorates Pride in Art’s 20th year as an artist-led organization, and features a boundary-pushing, dialogue-igniting array of creators that amplify artistic risk-taking and incite creative collaboration and experimentation.

The 2018 Queer Arts Festival will mark the monumental milestone with a varied and provocative array of visual art, performance, and special programming: