Traditionally attending an outdoor concert in Vancouver means packing a garbage bag just in case you need to turn in into an emergency rain poncho. Hopefully this summer will be a bright one as there are so many outdoor events lined up, I’m not even sure I’ll get them all in this post but I’ll try.
Stanley Park
Location: Malkin Bowl
When: August 24 – Sept 18
Artists: Blue Rodeo, Neko Case, Destroyer, Andrew Bird, Deehoof, Evaporators, The New Pornographers, Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian, The 1900’s, Visqueen (as a part of the Stanley Park Singing Exhibition), and The Raconteurs
Burnaby
Location: Deer Lake Park
What: 9th Annual Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival
When: August 10 from 2:00pm – 10:00pm
Artists: Colin James and many more – details are available on the festival’s website.
When: August 5
Artists: Feist with The Weakerthans
Haywood Bandshell
Location: Beach Ave @ Bidwell
When: June 1 to July 31
Artists: Dave Davies Trio, Urbana, Little Mountain Brass Band, Celtic Harp Choir, The Creole Jazz Band, Just Jazz Trio, Vancouver Thunderbird Barbershop Chorus, The Randy Bluegrass Boys, Rainbow Concert Band, Warren Nipp, The Tunemakers
More information can be found on the official schedule
Yaletown Concert Series
Location: 1000 block of Mainland Street
When: June 27 to August 15 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Artists:Dj Johnny D’erico and other live music and DJs
15th Annual Enchanted Evenings Concert Series
Location: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden – 578 Carrall Street
When: Jul 11, 2008 to Sept 05 from 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Artists: Various
Surrey Fusion Festival
Location: Holland Park
When: July 18 to July 20
Artists: Jully Black and many more, information is available on my blog post and the official site
Canada Day Special July 1
Location: Cloverdale (Surrey)
Artists: Loverboy, Payola$, Rymes with Orange – read more in my blog post or on the official site.
Location: Canada Place, Vancouver
Artists: 54-40 and many more
Location: Waterfront Park, North Vancouver
Artists: Pipe bands, dancers, and more
Location: Steveston (Richmond)
Artists: Choirs, dancers, singers and various others
This post will be updated throughout the summer and I’ll pop it on the sidebar for easy reference.
I’ve been using Firefox for about four years and they recently unleashed Firefox 3 which touts: Increased security, wicked-fast loading times, heightened security, and new UI improvements, including default themes for different operating systems and new download manager [wiki] not to mention basics like tabbed browsing and spell-checker.
I’m a fan of “add-ons” like the del.icio.us toolbar and Firebug, and I use to be all over themes although not since my days of being a Windows user have I truly tricked out any application or got a new skin for Winamp. Now it feels as awkward as peeling the backing and placing that first sticker on your pristine Macbook – some say it enhances while other say it’s simply ruined now. However, what I’m hearing lately is that the themes for Firefox 3 are pretty freakin’ cool, so I’m willing to try out a couple.
– There’s one that makes it look like you’re running Vista (if you’re on XP), and another that simulates XP (if you’re on Vista). These are also available on Kubuntu Linux.
Things to remember when looking for a theme a) is it available for the current version of the browser you are running b) is it available for MacOSX (which pertains to me anyway). If you have a favourite theme for FF3, drop a link in the comments below.
Update: Another form of customization is to change around the toolbars, giving you more browsing space. I found these tips on LifeHacker via Sameer Vasta over Twitter.
I’m always a huge fan of roadtrips that have a theme. It’s a secret desire of mine to drive across North America finding the “biggest” things ie. biggest easter egg in Vegreville, Alberta or the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota. A while back Metroblogging authors from DC did a Brewpub Tour of Vancouver:
It wasn’t until I saw these posts that I realized how much beer there really is flowing out of and brewing in Vancouver which leads into its (fitting) role as the host of the 2008 Canada Cup of Beer.
To be a truly national competition we have invited brewers and beer importers from across Canada to the festival. A select panel of beer experts (you, the event patrons!) will judge beer in various categories and award prizes for a variety of beer styles, flavours and packaging. The awards won’t stop at just the beer, the Canada Cup of Beer will include marketing categories for t-shirts, and beer names.
The event takes place at UBC Thunderbird Stadium on July 5th (B-Day aka Beer Day) from 1:00pm – 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20 ($25 at the door) which include 5 sample tokens (1 token equals 1, 4-ounce sample, some specialty items are 2 tokens or available in 2-ounce pours). More info can be found on the official B-Day website.
Spirit of Stanley Park
Last weekend of June, 2008
Entrance to Stanley Park @ English Bay
[More Info]
No Pants Party for the Underwear Affair
Thursday, June 26, 2008 9:00 pm – 2:00 am
Cellar Nightclub Vancouver BC, 1006 Granville Street
[More Info]
Run for Canada
July 1, 2008 8:00am (Registration begins at 6:30am)
West Cordova St. & Bute St
[More Info]
Slice of Summer: A Summer Extravaganza (Killarney Youth Council)
July 5, 2008 1:00pm – 5:00 pm
6260 Killarney Street, Vancouver
[More Info]
ALS Adventure Challenge
Saturday, July 19, 2008 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Panorama Park, North Vancouver
[More Info]
Rona MS Bike Tour
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Creekside Park, Science World
[More Info]
BCSPCA Paws for a Cause
Sunday, September 14, 2008 10:00am
Various Sites
[More Info]
Annual Terry Fox Run
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Various Run Sites
[More Info]
Walk for Mercy
Saturday, September 20, 2008 10:00am-1:00pm (Registration begins at 9:00am)
Stanley Park @ Second Beach
[More Info]
If you know of a non-profit event that is not included (or if you have more information about any of the events) please feel free to contact me regarding promotion and blog post coverage.
On Friday I was over at the Strutta event tucked into an office with DaveO while his brother fed us draft updates over the phone. I admit I was much more involved in the processed when the event was held in Vancouver but nevertheless, there were some interesting results.
Continuing my Surrey love-fest this morning, it’s my pleasure to announce (although many already know) that a hometown Surrey hockey player Prab Rai has been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks.
“Though he’s not the first Indian to be drafted, he’s one of very few over the years,” noted Alanah on Canucks and Beyond who links to this blog in her post:
“The Vancouver Canucks drafted Prab Rai (full name Prabhraj) in the 5th Round of the 2008 draft… …He is from the city that love built, Sunny Surrey, BC. Is he the first Indian guy to play in the league? No, that was Robin Bawa who played a game or two here and there, who’s career highlight was a missed bodycheck knocking out the glass. Hopefully this guy makes it up to play, and plays well, you know he’d be a fan favourite. I’m sure every brown guy in BC is claiming he’s his cousin already anyways.” [Blog Trot]
Interview while playing for Seattle in the WHL
The Province even called him the Surrey Sizzle in Sunday’s paper:
Rai grew up in the Surrey Minor Hockey Association, tallying 96 points in bantam, and spent a year with the famed Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan before being drafted by the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. He spent 18 months with the Cougars before being traded to the Thunderbirds, where he flourished, notching 25 goals and 49 assists in 110 games over the past two seasons. He patterns his play after his hockey hero, Pavel Bure, but instead of the Russian Rocket, Rai could be the Surrey Sizzle. [The Province]
It’s always exciting to see young talent rise to the big leagues and even moreso when they’re from your region and are truly proud of their community. I can see all of Metro Vancouver (and BC) getting behind this kid who has many great years of hockey ahead of him.
