Italian Day on the Drive hosts the ultimate community celebration of Italian culture and heritage in Vancouver this Sunday. Seven intersections, as well as Grandview Park, will be transformed into Piazza-style cultural attractions with live music, DJs, fashion and street dancing.
Italian Day on the Drive – Photo Submitted
Italian Day on the Drive
When: Sunday June 9, 2024 from 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: Commercial Drive, Vancouver from Venables to East 7th Ave (view map here)
Admission: FREE!
From a vendor-filled street to fashion shows, feel transported while you take in the many sights and displays that are synonymous with Italy. Take part in pasta-eating contests, interactive games, or human foosball, and kids can have a ball in the children’s zone. And don’t forget to eat! Taste the best of the ‘fest from local merchants, vendors, food trucks, and dine on al fresco patios.
The theme of the 2024 event is STORIA meaning History or Story in Italian. “History creates memories, generating emotional connections with the ability to transcend generations via storytelling, keeping traditions and important values alive while bridging the past with the present,” say organizers. “We are drawn to history because its story is our story, where we can learn from the past to create a better future together.”
Attraction Highlights
The Drive Main Stage at 2nd will have opening ceremonies 12:00pm-12:45pm followed by live entertainment, then there are six more stages filled with a line up free performances. Catch DJ Storm at the Grant St Piazza, Duelling Pianos w/ Mark Olexson & Aaron Grant at Parker St Piazza, Fashion Shows at Piazza Moda Stage at 3rd, Langley Ukulele Ensemble at Grandview Park and much, much more.
There’s also a big raffle happening this year with prizes valued over $14,000 plus a 50/50 jackpot. Follow the event on Facebook for more info.
This weekend in Vancouver you can enjoy events such as the Musqueam Canoe Races, the Greek Food Festival in Surrey, Doors Open Richmond, Italian Day on the Drive, and much more! Burnaby Village Museum is open for the season with free admission as well. Find these events and more things to do around Metro Vancouver listed below:
This month the Vancouver Canadians are hosting two homestands, a Father’s Day event at the Nat, promotional giveaways, and more!
Father’s Day with the Vancouver Canadians
Celebrate Father’s Day at the Nat! Fans are encouraged to get to the ballpark early to enjoy a White Spot Family Fun Sunday with travel mugs for the first 500 dads through the gates. Gates open at noon in advance of a 1:05pm First Pitch.
Pi Theatre presents the Canadian Premiere of Enda Walsh’s Medicine, June 14-23 at Vancity Culture Lab, and you can enter to win tickets.
Medicine – Nyiri Karaka, Jay Clift, Genevieve Fleming. Emily Cooper Photography
Written by multi-award-winning Irish playwright Enda Walsh (Once; Lazarus) and directed by Pi Theatre’s Richard Wolfe, Medicine is smart, funny, and absurd.
Enda Walsh’s Medicine
Dates: June 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, & 22 at 8:00pm
Matinees: June 15 & 22 at 4:00pm; June 16 & 23 at 2:00pm
Written by multi-award-winning Irish playwright Enda Walsh (Once; Lazarus; Disco Pigs) and directed by Pi Theatre’s Richard Wolfe, Medicine is a heartbreaking, yet hugely energizing and thrilling journey through one man’s troubled past. It’s a devastatingly funny and moving meditation on how, for decades, we have treated those we have called ‘mentally ill’.
John lives in an institution. Every year, a couple of struggling local actors are hired to do “drama therapy” with John, re-enacting bits and pieces of his life and trauma. Chaos ensues, secrets come to light, and John grapples with the question of whether anyone is even watching.
Enter to Win
I have a pair of tickets to give away to opening night on June 14th, here’s how you can enter to win:
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Sponsored by ZenSeekers Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
You are invited to feast with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in Tofino this season as you savour naaʔuu, an Indigenous cultural experience through food, art, song and dance.
naaʔuu Indigenous Experience in Tofino with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation caterer Roberta Tom – Photo by Bryanna Bradley for ZenSeekers.
naaʔuu Indigenous Experience in Tofino with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation
Dates: Fridays and Saturdays in June, 2024 6pm to 9pm
Location: Best Western Plus Tin Wis Resort (1119 Pacific Rim Hwy, Tofino)
Tickets:Available online now. Miss604 readers get $40 off! Use code: 40Miss604 at checkout.
You’ve maybe hiked, walked, surfed, and enjoyed its storms, but Tofino’s magic comes from another very special source: its people, culture, and history.
This limited event series supports Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks work in restoring and furthering the nation’s lands, language and culture.
I was fortunate to experience naaʔuu during its limited run last year, where we gathered inside the resort’s conference center, which was transformedinto the feel of a traditional longhouse. The three-hour Indigenous experience shared cultural presentations, and depicted the Nation’s history through song, dance, and traditional carvings coming to life over a delicious dinner.
It’s informative, enchanting, mesmerizing, and deeply moving. All of your senses come alive with intrigue, from the scent of cedar, to the taste of the bannock, and your heart – and belly – will be delightfully full.
Thunderbird totem in Tofino – Bryanna Bradley for ZenSeekers.
The Food
Named after a Nuu-chah-nulth word that translates to “come together” and “feast,” naaʔuu’s menu, crafted by caterer Roberta Tom, includes dishes such as bannock with berry preserves, BBQ cedar plank salmon, foraged greens, steamed crab, herring roe, baked halibut, roasted potatoes with herbs, and more. Savour some nettle tea or a nettle tea brownie for dessert.
Catering at naaʔuu photo by Bryanna Bradley for ZenSeekers
“I wanted to show the world that we know about Chinese food. We know about Italian food. We eat all those kind of foods when we go out and about. But I never see any restaurants that would do the food that’s from our area,” says Tom. “That was my dream.”
“I have been taught by my mother and my grandmother, my grandparents about food and about the importance of food and the way we have harvest in different locations, different seasons. We take what we need, and that’s all. And then if we have extra, we share.”
Co-Producer Maria Clark sees naaʔuu as a springboard to a much more ambitious plan for Tla-o-qui-aht citizens to realize a bigger piece of Tofino’s multi-million-dollar tourism economy. “naaʔuu provides a platform for our people to showcase our culture, on our terms and includes spin offs to future opportunities growing Tla-o-qui-aht’s piece of the Tofino Tourism pie.”
The Art & Culture
Ivy Cargill-Martin is a Tla-o-qui-aht multidisciplinary artist, as well as the art director of the naaʔuu experience. She will be bringing to life large scale Tla-o-qui-aht curtains that will be on display in the Tin Wis Conference Center, one of the many highlights of the naaʔuu evenings.
“It’s definitely our way of storytelling and keeping traditions alive in a sense, there was no written information… the totem poles tell a story, our family curtain tells a story. Being able to do these curtains is fun because now I get to tell a story too.”
